Economic Press Monitor May 7 - 13, 2023	Days:  29 06 13 20 27

economic & politics

FORBES GEORGIA: “PRICE CONTROL OR POLITICAL POPULISM”

May 11, 2023 - Referring to results of sociological survey, published by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) on February 2, the magazine points that the population of Georgia is most concerned about price growth, i.e. inflation.

In order to regulate growth of food prices, Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development is going to draft a bill based on the European Fair Trade Directive #633 of 2019.




REZONANSI: “WHAT RESULTS WILL BRING RUSSIA’S CANCELLATION OF VISAS FOR GEORGIAN CITIZENS AND RESTORATION OF DIRECT FLIGHTS”

May 11, 2023 - From May 15, Russia is canceling the visa regime for Georgian citizens. Russia also canceled the ban for Russian airlines on flights to Georgia, introduced in 2019.




FORBES GEORGIA: “GEORGIA RANKS 77^TH IN THE PRESS FREEDOM INDEX”

May 10, 2023 - In this year’s Press Freedom index (reflecting the situation of 2022), Reporters Without Borders placed Georgia on the 77^th position among 180 countries. If compared with the previous index, the country has advanced by 12 positions.




TABULA: “EU CANDIDATE STATUS, 12 RECOMMENDATIONS, POLARIZATION – NEW SURVEY BY “CRRC””

May 10, 2023 - Survey, conducted by CRRC Georgia, from November 2021 to this March, support to Georgia’s accession to the EU increased in the country from 72% to 81%. Expectations of economic situation’s improvement remain the main motivation for EU membership.




REZONANSI: “CALL CENTERS SCANDAL ACTIVELY FLARES UP, VASHADZE DECLARES, “YOU WON’T DO ANYTHING WITH ME” – LATEST DETAILS OF THE CASE”

May 8, 2023 - Investigative Service of Georgian Finance Ministry investigates the case of call centers, located on Agmashenebeli Ave. 75 in Tbilisi.

As law enforcement agencies declare, they revealed the call centers, which belong to Giorgi Vashadze (leader of the opposition party Agmashenebeli Strategy) and David Arakhamia (Ukrainian businessman and politician of Georgian origin), which Vashadze himself denies.

macroeconomics & budget

REZONANSI: “NATIONAL BANK IS POWERLESS AGAINST STRENGTHENING OF LARI – THE RATE WILL GO DOWN TO 2.40!”

May 10, 2023 - In the 1^st quarter, National Bank of Georgia (NBG) removed $500 million from circulation, though in January-April, lari has strengthened by 24 points (current official rate makes up 2.483 GEL/USD).

Finance expert Giorgi Tsutskiridze thinks that lari may continue strengthening and reach the level of 2.4 GEL/USD.

companies

REZONANSI: “FALSIFIED MEDICAL REPORTS AND ARTIFICIALLY AGGRAVATED DIAGNOSES TO OBTAIN STATE FUNDING – A SCANDALOUS INVESTIGATION”

May 8, 2023 - Georgian Ministry of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection has expelled the clinic Saroveli from the universal healthcare program. The clinic mainly serves cancer patients, as well as patients with other chronic diseases, such as diabetes.

transport & communications

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK COULD BECAME ONE OF THE INVESTORS IN ANAKLIA PORT”

May 8, 2023 - Georgia’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili declared that after final shaping of the Anaklia deep-water port project, one of the investors could be the Asian Development Bank (ADB). On their part, “such interest exists”, he indicated.

international cooperation

FORBES GEORGIA: “10 LARGEST ONGOING PROJECTS FUNDED BY WESTERN COUNTRIES”

May 11, 2023 - In 2023, projects worth 14.1 billion lari are being implemented in Georgia with the financing of Western governments and international banks established by them. Out of this sum, 7.3 billion lari has been already spent, up to 2 billion lari will be spent in 2023, while 4.8 billion lari – in 2024-2026, the magazine specifies.

construction

REZONANSI: “LAND AND HOUSES IN TBILISI OUTSKIRTS COST AS GOLD”

May 10, 2023 - Local real estate brokers say that land plots have increased recently in price by 15-20%. In outskirts of Tbilisi, leaders in terms of number of transactions are Tkhinvala, Tsavkisi and Tabakhmela.