Economic Press Monitor July 11 - 17, 2021	Days:  03 10 17 24 31

economic & politics

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “DEPUTY MINISTER – FULFILMENT OF OBLIGATIONS TO THE EU IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN AMOUNT THAT WE COULD RECEIVE THIS YEAR AS LOAN”

July 15, 2021 - The European Commission announced that appointment of judges is a lost opportunity for Georgian authorities to prove their commitment to judicial reform, and this move can negatively affect allocation of the second tranche of macro-financial assistance.

While commenting on the subject, Georgia’s Deputy Finance Minister Giorgi Kakauridze said that the matter concerns 75 million EUR, including grant of about 10 million EUR.




REZONANSI: “TOURIST RESERVATIONS ARE ALREADY BEING CANCELED, INVESTORS WILL HAVE EVEN MORE DOUBT IN US”

July 14, 2021 - The article says that due to tense situation in Georgia, tourists cancel their reservations. Tourists “ask me if it is safe to stay in the country”, says the owner of one of the hotels in the seaside resort of Kobuleti in Ajara.

macroeconomics & budget

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GIORGI KAKAURIDZE – IN THE STRATEGY FOR 2022-2025, WE WILL FOCUS ON TRANSFER AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE THE EXTERNAL DEBT TO THE INTERNAL DEBT”

July 16, 2021 - Georgia’s Deputy Finance Minister Giorgi Kakauridze declared that “the main risk of our debt is that it is in foreign currency and it is an external debt”. If our debt was 60% of GDP and “it was totally domestic debt, it would not bear a risk at all”, he said.




FORBES GEORGIA: “IS SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM COMING BACK?”

July 16, 2021 - 10-year plan of Georgian Ministry of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection envisages an insurance reform. In particular, in the Social Code, “a new insurance component will be developed, which covers insurance – medical, social, unemployment, accidents, temporary disability”.




REZONANSI: “NATIONAL BANK DESTROYED HOPES OF POPULATION – INFLATION WILL NOT DECREASE FOR A LONG TIME”

July 16, 2021 - In June, annual inflation rate made up 9%, the newspaper pointed out, noting that there was no such a high inflation in Georgia for the last 10 years.

Vice-president of National Bank of Georgia Archil Mestvirishvili says that “the inflation forecast will be within the range of 8-9%, and a sharp decline should begin from March next year”.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “PERMISSIVE FEE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF CASINO IN TBILISI HAS BEEN HALVED”

July 16, 2021 - Permissive fee for establishment of a casino in Tbilisi has been halved, the newspaper reports, referring to Bpn.Ge.

According to the decree of Georgian government dated July 13, fee for the first year of permission, issued from July 5 this year to January 1, 2022 on arrangement of a casino in Tbilisi, will make up 2.5 million lari.




REZONANSI: “IMPORTERS CHANGED THEIR MINDS TO REDUCE PRICE OF PRODUCTS!”

July 15, 2021 - Vegetable oil, cereals and dairy products have decreased in price on the global market. Against this background, lari has been strengthening for already 2 months, but importers are not rushing to reduce price of imported products, the newspaper points.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “WINNER OF OLYMPICS WILL GET 1M LARI”

July 12, 2021 - By the decision of Georgian government, the Olympic champion will receive 1 million lari, the newspaper reports. Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili declared this at the send-off ceremony of Georgian athletes to Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GIORGI KAKAURIDZE – THIS YEAR, FINANCING OF RTVELI INCREASES BY 100M LARI”

July 12, 2021 - Giorgi Kakauridze, Georgia’s First Deputy Finance Minister, declared that financing of rtveli (vintage) increases by 100 million lari this year, totaling to 138 million lari. He said this at the joint meeting of parliamentary committees, while presenting amendments to the state budget-2021.




FORBES GEORGIA: “WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF 10-YEAR PLAN, IT IS PLANNED TO FINANCE UP TO 500 STARTUPS – NATIA TURNAVA”

July 12, 2021 - Natia Turnava, Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, declared that “both 100,000-lari and 650,000-lari grant programs of our Agency of Innovations and Technologies will continue, which have been used by up to 150 startups”. Under the 10-year plan, it is planned to finance up to 500 startups, she noted.

energy, oil & gas

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “FUEL HAS RISEN IN PRICE – OIL-IMPORTERS UNION PUTS FORWARD INITIATIVE OF FLOATING EXCISE TAX INTRODUCTION”

July 13, 2021 - Vano Mtvralashvili, head of Georgian Oil-Products Importers Union, indicates further growth of prices on oil products, saying that “forecasts are not so positive too”. If lari had not strengthened, fuel would have become even more expensive, he points.

companies

FORBES GEORGIA: “WHAT ARE RESULTS OF KUTAISI INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY?”

July 15, 2021 - Up to 250 students accomplished the first year at Kutaisi International University (KIU), the magazine reports. As the article notes, KIU was designed for 60,000 students.




FORBES GEORGIA: ““ARCHI” OPENS GERMAN PLANT WITH INVESTMENT OF 15M EUR”

July 13, 2021 - Georgian development company Archi opens a German plant with investment of about 15 million EUR, the magazine reports.

The company started construction of the plant of Ytong heat-insulating materials in Lilo settlement of Tbilisi 4 years ago, together with German Xella.

finances & banking

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GEORGIAN BANKS WILL BE ABLE TO ISSUE MORTGAGE-SECURED BONDS”

July 15, 2021 - National Bank of Georgia held an online presentation of the draft law “On Covered Bonds of Banks”.

The draft aims to enhance access of commercial banks to diversified sources of financing and to develop market of covered bonds in Georgia.




REZONANSI: “EVERY 7^TH BORROWER HAS LOAN DELINQUENCY AND CANNOT PAY DEBT”

July 13, 2021 - In Georgia, every 7^th-8^th borrower has a loan delinquency, the newspaper says. According to data for June, provided by CreditInfo (credit bureau), 237,512 borrowers (13.6% of total number) have a payment delinquency from 30 days to 3 years, while total number of problem contracts makes up 446,830.

agriculture & food

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “6 NAMES OF GEORGIAN WINE ARE DENIED IN EXPORT”

July 14, 2021 - Since June, according to the new regulation, inspection of certified export-intended Georgian wine is carried out in the economic zone of registration by international audit companies SGS and Bureau Veritas, the newspaper reports.

Georgian National Wine Agency said that out of 62 taken samples, 6 were found unsatisfactory.




REZONANSI: “THIS YEAR, BOTH HARVEST AND QUALITY OF WHEAT HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED”

July 14, 2021 - Giorgi Khanishvili, Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, declared that this year it is expected to gather about 150,000 tons of wheat. “At this stage, average yield per 1 ha is within 2.5 t”, he said.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “KELLY DEGNAN: BERRIES ARE A PROMISING SECTOR IN GEORGIA’S AGRICULTURE”

July 13, 2021 - The US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan declared that berries are a promising sector in Georgia’s agriculture. Over the past 2 years, export volume has reached $4 million, which is quite good indicator of growth, she pointed.