Economic Press Monitor March 14 - 20, 2021	Days:  06 13 20 27 03

economic & politics

FORBES GEORGIA: “ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN POST-COVID PERIOD”

March 17, 2021 - The article considers several ideas for overcoming the post-pandemic economic crisis, which consist of new ways to save sector of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in developing countries. Author of the article is Nika Gilauri (he was Prime Minister in the government of National Movement, as well as occupied posts of Energy Minister and Finance Minister).




REZONANSI: “BECAUSE OF THESE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS, YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO GO TO WORK IN GERMANY!”

March 16, 2021 - There are currently up to 300 vacancies for legal seasonal employment in agricultural sector in Germany, while up to 96,000 Georgian citizens have expressed their desire to depart for work. Migration department of the Georgian Ministry of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection expects a gradual increase in the number of vacancies for Georgians, the newspaper reports.

macroeconomics & budget

REZONANSI: “NATIONAL BANK GOT STUCK – PLAN OF ECONOMIC STIMULATION FAILED, NOW THEY ARE TRYING ONLY TO RESTRAIN INFLATION”

March 18, 2021 - The article says that some time ago Georgian experts discussed if monetary policy rate in the country should be decreased to at least 6%, while National Bank of Georgia (NBG) raised it to 8.5%.

Irakli Kovzanadze, chairman of the Parliament’s Fiscal Committee, estimates that in the current situation, increase of the rate in order to curb growing pressure on inflation was logical.




TABULA: ““TBC CAPITAL”: THIS YEAR ECONOMY WILL GROW BY 4%, TOURISM WILL REACH A QUARTER OF 2019 LEVEL”

March 17, 2021 - In 2021, taking into account the gradual recovery of non-tourism sectors, Georgian economy will grow by 4%, TBC Capital forecasts. In 2022, 7.5% growth is projected.

energy, oil & gas

REZONANSI: “THIS IS ENERGY MAFIA – INTERMEDIARY COMPANIES INCREASE ELECTRICITY AND GAS TARIFFS!”

March 16, 2021 - Giorgi Kapanadze, head of Georgian Young Businessmen and Financiers Association, points that Georgian Electricity System Commercial Operator (ESCO) publishes until now only average weighted tariffs.

ESCO should start publishing the real data – at what price and in which country electricity was purchased, grouping data by day, night and weekends, Kapanadze considers.




FORBES GEORGIA: “ENERGY OCCUPATION – CRISIS, WHICH IS ESCALATING”

March 15, 2021 - In 2020, electricity consumption in Georgia decreased in all regions, except Abkhazia, the magazine says.

Abkhazia’s consumption amounted to 2.55 billion kWh (growth – 24%).

companies

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “FROM POSITION OF ACCOUNT MANAGER TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF “SAKARTVELOS BANKI” – ETHER IREMADZE AND ZURAB KOKOSADZE WERE PROMOTED”

March 18, 2021 - Director general of Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia) Archil Gachechiladze has two new deputies, the newspaper reports. Namely, Zurab Kokosadze and Ether Iremadze became deputy director generals in this Georgia’s second largest bank.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: ““BEELINE” HAS A NEW DIRECTOR GENERAL”

March 17, 2021 - Georgian telecom company VEON Georgia, operating under Beeline brand, announced the appointment of new director general, the newspaper reports. The new director general is Lasha Tabidze, who has a 10-year experience in the telecommunications sector.




FORBES GEORGIA: “CROSSROAD OF INVESTMENTS”

March 16, 2021 - The magazine publishes an interview with David Ebralidze, director of Poti Free Industrial Zone. The zone unites more than 100 companies.

transport & communications

TABULA: “ROME, BERLIN, MILAN – “WIZZ AIR” CANCELED PART OF SUMMER FLIGHTS FROM KUTAISI AIRPORT”

March 19, 2021 - Hungarian low-coster Wizz Air has canceled part of flights from Kutaisi airport until November 2021, Tabula reports. Namely, flights to Rome, Milan, Berlin, Tallinn, Poznan and Wroclaw have been postponed.

ecology & health

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: ““ASTRAZENECA” VACCINE WILL BE DELIVERED TO GEORGIA IN COMMERCIAL WAY TOO”

March 15, 2021 - Referring to Formula TV company, the newspaper reports that anti-COVID-19 vaccine of AstraZeneca will be delivered to Georgia through commercial channels too. Insurance sector of the country holds negotiations with pharmaceutical companies for that end.

finances & banking

TABULA: ““TBC CAPITAL”: AT THE END OF THE YEAR, DOLLAR WILL BE WITHIN 3.30 LARI, EURO – WITHIN 4.05”

March 17, 2021 - TBC Capital forecasts that at the end of 2021, official exchange rate of the US dollar will be within 3.3 GEL/USD, while of euro – within 4.05 GEL/EUR.

The researchers indicate that the more stable is euro, the bigger should be share of this currency upon taking a loan.

agriculture & food

REZONANSI: “SUBSIDIZING OF FLOUR WILL BE EXTENDED UNTIL JUNE – BREAD WILL NOT RISE IN PRICE”

March 19, 2021 - Levan Silagava, head of Georgian Wheat and Flour Producers Association, declares that flour is still expected to grow in price, being influenced by various factors, including increase of electricity tariff and lari rate.

“The government thinks that it will subsidize the sector in May too, while there is the season of new harvest in June, and price traditionally declines in this period”, Silagava says.




KVIRIS PALITRA: “THE MOST DIFFICULT PERIOD FOR MAINTAINING THE BREAD PRICE WILL BE THE NEXT TWO MONTHS”

March 15, 2021 - Levan Silagava, head of Georgian Wheat and Flour Producers Association, says that Georgia needs annually 600,000-700,000 t of wheat for food consumption. Local harvest meets about 10-12% of annual consumption, while remaining 88-90% is imported, mostly from Russia – 90-95%, he notes.

construction

TABULA: “GEOLOGIST: A LANDSLIDE MAY DEVELOP AND A SECOND ONE MAY FORM, IF NO WORKS ARE CARRIED OUT”

March 19, 2021 - Geologist Giorgi Boychenko assessed the situation, created in Tbilisi because of occurrence of a landslide on Machavariani Street.

According to Boychenko, we are dealing with a block landslide, which was caused mainly by construction activity.

tourism

REZONANSI: “60% OF HOTELS ARE ALREADY WORKING – LIFTING OF RESTRICTIONS HAS YIELDED A RESULT”

March 18, 2021 - Hotels in winter resorts resumed operation on February 25, while ropeways are working since March 8.

Shalva Alaverdashvili, head of Georgian Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe Federation, states that after lifting of restrictions, 60% of hotels resumed operation, while the rest are still closed.