Economic Press Monitor September 11 - 17, 2022	Days:  03 10 17 24 01

economic & politics

NETGAZETI.GE: “IN 5 MONTHS SINCE [START OF] THE WAR, UP TO 40 THOUSAND RUSSIAN CITIZENS OPENED ACCOUNTS IN GEORGIA – STATISTICS”

September 15, 2022 - Referring to National Bank of Georgia (NBG), Netgazeti.Ge reports that in 5 months since start of Russian invasion of Ukraine, up to 40,000 Russian citizens opened bank accounts in Georgia. The largest number (10,078) was opened in the period from March 24 to May 1.




NETGAZETI.GE: “BELGIUM: NUMBER OF GROUNDLESS ASYLUM APPLICATIONS FROM GEORGIA IS GROWING”

September 14, 2022 - Nicole de Moor, State Secretary for Asylum and Migration of Belgium, declared that the number of applications from Georgia for asylum in Belgium has increased.

“Georgia is now among the top ten countries, from which we have the most applications”, the State Secretary indicated in Tbilisi on September 12.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “FINANCE MINISTER CONNECTS THE OUTFLOW OF CITIZENS FROM GEORGIA WITH THE BURDEN THAT HAS ARISEN BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC AND THE WAR OF RUSSIA IN UKRAINE”

September 13, 2022 - When asked by journalists, why so many people are leaving Georgia, Georgia’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili replied that the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war caused price growth and inflation, the newspaper reports.

The Minister assured that “all measures are being taken to ensure that inflation returns to the target” (3%).




REZONANSI: ““PERHAPS IN A SHORT TERM WE DID NOT SEE SUCH AN EFFECT OF SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA, THOUGH”, – WHAT DID IRAKLI RUKHADZE SAY?”

September 12, 2022 - As the newspaper says, “National Movement and its supporting wing in the government of Ukraine” demand sanctioning of 12 Georgians, whose names were published recently on the Ukrainian portal. Among them is the businessman Irakli Rukhadze, who is citizen of the US.

macroeconomics & budget

NETGAZETI.GE: “60 THOUSAND PEOPLE EXPRESSED INTEREST TO PUBLIC WORKS, THROUGH ONLY 22 THOUSAND GAVE FINAL CONSENT”

September 15, 2022 - Tamila Barkalaia, Georgia’s Deputy Minister of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection, declared that initially, 60,000 socially unprotected citizens expressed interest to the public works program (started on March 1). Then, 23,000 declared their refusal, however.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: ““THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS IN TERMS OF BUDGET EXPENDITURE, AS WELL AS IN TERMS OF TAX REVENUES’ FULFILLMENT””

September 14, 2022 - Georgia’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili assures that “there are no problems in terms of budget expenditures, as well as in terms of tax revenues’ fulfillment”.

According to the analysis, conducted by TI Georgia (Georgian branch of Transparency International), the plan for 6 months of 17 budget programs was executed by less than 50%, including 5 programs, for which funds were not spent at all.




BATUMELEBI: “COAST-PROTECTIVE STRUCTURE BUILT IN BATUMI FOR 52M HAS NO MASTER”

September 13, 2022 - There is already the 3^rd month that Batumi City Hall does not put in operation the coast-protective structure of 1,700 m near the New Boulevard in Batumi, the article reports. Construction of the structure cost 52.2 million lari.

energy, oil & gas

NETGAZETI.GE: “PETROL IN SMALL COMPANIES IS OF THE SAME QUALITY, AS IN LARGE BRANDED ONES – IRAKLI LEKVINADZE”

September 16, 2022 - Irakli Lekvinadze, head of Georgian Competition Agency, stated that in relatively small companies, engaged in trade with oil-products, fuel is of the same quality as in large companies.

Lekvinadze reported that as of 2022, 5 largest companies account for 60% of the local market of car fuel, while the remaining 40% is occupied by small networks.




REZONANSI: “AT THE END OF THE YEAR, UTILITY PAYMENTS MUST NECESSARILY DECREASE IN PRICE!”

September 13, 2022 - At one’s time, when utility tariffs in Georgia were growing, the only ground was exchange rate of lari, which depreciated to 3.30 GEL/USD, while now is at 2.97 GEL/USD, the article points.

Power engineer Temur Chichinadze says that “reasoning from change of lari rate, there really is a capacity for reducing the cost of utility payments”.

companies

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “AGREEMENT OF 100M LARI HAS BEEN SIGNED BETWEEN THE DUTCH DEVELOPMENT BANK FMO AND “CREDO BANK” TO SUPPORT GEORGIAN ENTREPRENEURS”

September 16, 2022 - A 5-year agreement of 100 million lari was signed between the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and the Georgian Credo Bank. For that end, FMO has attracted in Georgia a long-term resource in local currency through emission and private placement of AAA-rated bonds denominated in lari, the newspaper reports.




FORBES GEORGIA: “ENERGY PROJECTS IN PORTFOLIO OF “SAKARTVELOS BANKI” | INTERVIEW WITH OTAR SVANIDZE”

September 15, 2022 - At the end of 2021, share of electricity, gas and water supply sector in credit portfolio of Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia) made up 7.5%, the magazine reports.

In an interview with the magazine, Otar Svanidze, head of the bank’s corporate banking department, indicates that since 2021, the approach to financing renewable energy projects has changed.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “WITH INVESTMENT OF “BASISBANK”, INTENSIVE APPLE ORCHARDS HAVE BEEN PLANTED IN GORI”

September 14, 2022 - Within the state program of preferential agrolending, intensive apple orchards were planted on 14 ha in 2 villages of Gori district (Dzevera and Marana).

Total cost of the project made up 2.5 million lari, of which Basisbank allocated over 1 million lari, the newspaper reports.

transport & communications

REZONANSI: “RESTRICTIONS ON AGE OF IMPORTED CARS HAVE ALREADY CAUSED GREAT TENSION”

September 14, 2022 - Georgia will prohibit import of cars, which were manufactured more than 10 years ago, the newspaper reports.

Noe Megrelishvili, head of atmospheric air department at Georgian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, confirmed that work in this direction has already begun.

ecology & health

NETGAZETI.GE: “HOW GLDANI IS POISONED BY TOXIC BURNING”

September 12, 2022 - Residents of Gldani district in Tbilsi almost every night feel the smell of burnt plastic and rubber, the probable source of which is a landfill of non-household waste, located in 7-8 km from the populated area, the newspaper says.

As the article notes, all relevant departments have been aware of this for several years, but they point to each other and the issue has not been resolved yet.

finances & banking

FORBES GEORGIA: “ACCUMULATIVE FUTURE | INTERVIEW WITH GIORGI DANELIA”

September 16, 2022 - Giorgi Danelia, director of Georgian Pension Agency, comments in an interview with the magazine on the 4-year results of the accumulative pension system, acting in Georgia, and speaks about plans for the future.

For the moment, the Pension Fund has accumulated over 2.5 billion lari.




REZONANSI: “GEORGIA IS GOING TO REGULATE DIGITAL CURRENCIES – WHAT WILL IT CHANGE FOR THEIR OWNERS?”

September 12, 2022 - In March, president of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) Koba Gvenetadze spoke about plans regarding regulation of crypto-currencies. Now, the bill, drafted by NBG and Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, is already in the Parliament of Georgia, the newspaper reports.

agriculture & food

REZONANSI: “WHAT CAUSED ABNORMAL RISE IN PRICE OF CHEESE – PRICE MAY INCREASE EVEN MORE!”

September 15, 2022 - You can hardly find today Imeretian cheese cheaper than 17 lari for 1 kg, while sulguni costs 22 lari, the newspaper says. The article notes that prices have almost doubled compared to last year.




REZONANSI: “SITUATION HAS CHANGED: FOOD DEFICIT AND DANGER OF FAMINE ARE THREATENING US NO LONGER!”

September 13, 2022 - After recent development, the situation with food yields has improved both in the world and in Georgia, the newspaper says.

Agriculture specialist Anzor Meskhishvili declares that “there will be no famine in Georgia, as according to preliminary data, we are not threatened by problems in terms of wheat supply”.