Economic Press Monitor September 6 - 12, 2020	Days:  15 05 12 19 26

economic & politics

TABULA: “BUSINESS’ MISTRUST TO GEORGIAN JUDICIARY AND ANAKLIA PORT – REPORT OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT”

September 11, 2020 - Report of US State Department on investment climate in 2020 indicates that in Georgia, “business and investment conditions are sound”, but “some companies have expressed an increasing lack of confidence in the judicial sector’s ability to adjudicate commercial cases independently or in a timely, competent manner”. The report specifies that “some business dispute cases languishing in the court system for years”.




FORBES GEORGIA: “BRITISH EMBASSY KEEPS A CLOSE WATCH ON ISSUE OF ANAKLIA AND “CAUCASUS ONLINE””

September 11, 2020 - Wendy Morton, Minister for European Neighborhood and the Americas at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the UK, declared that “UK embassy in Georgia is aware and keeps a close watch on current developments around Anaklia port and Caucasus Online”.

Morton said this, while responding to British MP from Labor Party Catherine West, the magazine reports.




TABULA: “PRESENTATION OF LIST OF “DREAM” WAS ATTENDED BY BUSINESSMEN COCO PKHAKADZE AND GIORGI RAMISHVILI”

September 11, 2020 - Presentation of first twenty names from proportional electoral list of ruling Georgian Dream (parliamentary elections in Georgia will take place in October) was attended by businessmen Soso Pkhakadze and Giorgi Ramishvili, Tabula reports.

Pkhakadze is founder and president of oil-products company Wissol Group and holds since 2019 post of president of Georgian Business Association.




TABULA: “MIKAUTADZE ON SALE OF 25% STAKE IN “TELASI”: AUTHORITIES ONCE AGAIN WASTED NATIONAL PROPERTY”

September 10, 2020 - Gigla Mikautadze, majoritarian candidate of opposition movement Lelo for Georgia in Tbilisi district Gldani, estimates that with sale of state-owned share of 25% in Tbilisi energy distributor JSC TELASI Georgian government “once again wasted property of Georgian people”. “Initial price was low – about $10 million”, he specifies.




FORBES GEORGIA: “DETAILS OF CAMPAIGN AGAINST ANAKLIA PORT, DIRECTED BY GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT, ARE KNOWN”

September 10, 2020 - Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) estimates that from the side of Georgian government, there was “purposeful and well-orchestrated campaign” against the project of deep-water port Anaklia.

“Initially, the government itself supported [the project], however then decided to ruin it – under influence of political and economic interests of ruling party and its leaders”, ADC says in the statement, released on September 9.




TABULA: “TIKARADZE: OPENING OF BORDER WITH OTHER COUNTRIES IS NOT ON THE AGENDA, DYNAMICS WORSENS THERE”

September 8, 2020 - Ekaterina Tikaradze, Georgia’s Minister of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare andSocial Protection, said that “What is visible for today, is that dynamics in other countries [in connection with COVID-19] does not develop to the better, on the contrary, it worsens”.

Proceeding from this, opening of border with other countries (except France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which citizens can arrive in Georgia without further passing of obligatory quarantine) “is not on the agenda for today”, the Minister declared on air of TV Imedi.




TABULA: “CAPITAL OF WINE, CENTER OF MEDICAL TOURISM – WHAT “MARSHALL PLAN” OF “LELO” ENVISAGES”

September 7, 2020 - “Marshall Plan”, offered by opposition political movement Lelo for Georgia, envisages creation of 200,000 new jobs in Georgia, while 600,000 people have to have income over 3,000 lari a month, Tabula reports.

As the article notes, Lelo’s model envisages creation of guarantee fund of 3 billion lari for ensuring accessibility of funds, investment fund of 2 billion lari for small and medium enterprises, investment fund of 1 billion lari for innovations and high tech.




TABULA: “QUARANTINE PERIOD COULD BE REDUCED TO 8 DAYS”

September 7, 2020 - Amiran Gamkrelidze, director of Georgian National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, indicates that duration of quarantine in connection with COVID-19 is already reduced from 14 to 12 days. “Currently, several mechanisms are under development, including 8 days [of quarantine] with following testing”, he says.




BATUMELEBI: “PERMIT FOR GOING TO WORK IN TURKEY WAS ISSUED TO 4,453 PERSONS”

September 7, 2020 - Ajara Employment Agency reported that 5,309 people have passed registration for the moment in order to departure for work to Turkey.

Out of this number, permit for going to work in Turkey was issued to 4,453 persons, while Georgian-Turkish border was crossed by 2,693 persons, Batumelebi points.

macroeconomics & budget

REZONANSI: “WILL GROW OR WILL DECLINE FURTHER? – ECONOMY IN 2021 WILL STAND ON BALANCE”

September 11, 2020 - Georgian government expects economic growth in 2021 at 5%. Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts that growth of Georgian economy in 2020 will be zero, while in 2021 – 4.5%.




FORBES GEORGIA: “UNEMPLOYMENT AFTER EMPLOYMENT POLICY OF GEORGIA”

September 9, 2020 - In Georgia, as a rule, as main reasons of unemployment are considered lack of investments, unskilled labor force and unstable political and economic environment, the article says.

According to Sakstat, average rate of unemployment in the country made up 11.6% in 2019, while in the 2^nd quarter of this year – 12.3%.




REZONANSI: “THE BILL FAILED: MINIMUM WAGE OF 20 LARI, ESTABLISHED BY SHEVARDNADZE, STILL REMAINED IN FORCE”

September 9, 2020 - Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Branch Economy and Economic Policy voted down legislative initiative on setting minimum wage at the level of 500 lari a month, the newspaper reports. The initiative belongs to independent MP Beka Natsvlishvili.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GEORGIA WILL HAVE NOT TO PAY FROM NEXT YEAR EXTERNAL DEBTS, TAKEN BECAUSE OF CRISIS”

September 9, 2020 - Georgia’s Deputy Finance Minister Giorgi Kakauridze declared that “We are not bound in the next year” to pay debt, taken because of the crisis, caused by COVID-19, “as everybody have a grace period of 3 years, at least”. “However, in general, the country should meet debts”, he noted.




REZONANSI: “PANDEMIC BLOW: IN THE COUNTRY, BOTH JOBS ARE REDUCED AND SALARIES GO DOWN”

September 8, 2020 - Sakstat reported that employment rate in Georgia decreased in the 2^nd quarter by 8.1% year-on-year, while turnover of business reduced by 11.5%.

Statistician Soso Archvadze notes that “unemployment rate in Georgia went down less, than economy volume, therefore decrease in salaries was quite expected”.

energy, oil & gas

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: ““ENKA RENEWABLES”, INVESTOR OF “NAMAKHVANIHES”, INVESTED 12M IN Q2”

September 10, 2020 - ENKA Renewables, which implements project of construction of series of Namakhvani hydroelectric stations, invested 12 million lari in the 2^nd quarter of this year, the newspaper reports.

The company says that preparatory works in Tskaltubo municipality (Imereti region) are already started.




REZONANSI: “PROJECT OF GAS STORAGE IS POSTPONED ALREADY INDEFINITELY”

September 8, 2020 - Because of COVID-19 pandemic and decrease in demand for oil, Georgia had to refuse the project of underground gas storage construction for an indefinite term, the newspaper reports. The article notes that as a result, target purpose of the credit, allocated for the project, was changed.

companies

REZONANSI: “HOTELS INDEFINITELY CANCELLED PLANNED PROJECTS”

September 10, 2020 - Hotel business is in such difficult situation now that even start suspension of projects, the newspaper says.

In particular, because of COVID-19 pandemic, projects were temporarily suspended by Ajara Group.




FORBES GEORGIA: ““RAISIN” EFFECT”

September 9, 2020 - Germany-based fintech company Raisin has over 270,000 customers. The startup, launched 7 years ago, cooperates now with 95 banks in more than 30 countries, the magazine reports.

finances & banking

FORBES GEORGIA: “GEORGIAN BANKS SUSTAIN LOSSES – RATING OF H1 OF 2020”

September 8, 2020 - Georgian banks have loss, totaled to 486 million lari, the magazine reports. As the article notes, the major loss-causing factor is banks’ loan loss reservation of 1.2 billion lari.

agriculture & food

KVIRIS PALITRA: “WHETHER BREAD WILL RISE IN PRICE IN GEORGIA”

September 7, 2020 - Giorgi Khanishvili, Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, assures that no ground for rise in price of bread exists in Georgia. “Existing price policy does not create any reasons for that end”, he says.