Economic Press Monitor June 14 - 20, 2020	Days:  06 13 20 27 18

economic & politics

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “IRAKLI KOVZANADZE BLOCKED TRANSFER OF SERVICE OF AUDIT SUPERVISION FROM THE FINANCE MINISTRY TO NATIONAL BANK”

June 18, 2020 - Irakli Kovzanadze, chairman of Georgian Parliament’s Fiscal Committee, declared that the Committee cannot agree with transfer of Service on Accounting and Audit Supervision from the Finance Ministry to National Bank of Georgia.

That transfer contradicts international standards and many legal provisions, Kovzanadze specified.




FORBES GEORGIA: “GEORGIA AND COVID-19: STRONG BASE FOR MULTILATERAL AND INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC RECOVERY”

June 18, 2020 - Georgia, as regional trade hub and international tourist destination, appeared exposed to COVID-19 pandemic, but managed to outstandingly cope with it, points Shane Rosenthal, director of Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Georgia, in opinion, published by the magazine.

Together with acceleration of economic activity, Georgia has unique opportunity to pass to a new stage of growth, which will be more multilateral and inclusive, Rosenthal considers.




TABULA: “CHIABERASHVILI: THE HEALTHCARE MINISTRY BECOMES MEDICAL SECTOR’S PROSECUTOR AND JUDGE AT THE SAME TIME”

June 16, 2020 - MP from oppositional European Georgia Zurab Chiaberashvili (healthcare minister in the government of National Movement), the Ministry of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection “becomes medical sector’s judge and prosecutor at the same time”. The matter concerns a package of amendments to the law “On Drugs and Pharmaceutical Activity”.




FORBES GEORGIA: ““FORBES” – GEORGIA INTENDS TO MAKE “SU-25””

June 15, 2020 - Referring to the American Forbes, the magazine reports that Georgia intends to make Su-25 attack jets. Production of new Su-25 can cost over $10 million, the article indicates.




TABULA: “PRIVATE KINDERGARTENS ON THE VERGE OF BANKRUPTCY AND PARENTS, WHO HAVE NOBODY TO LEAVE CHILDREN WITH”

June 15, 2020 - Because of COVID-19 pandemic, operation of educational institutions, including kindergartens, is stopped. Restrictions are lifted in almost all sectors, but re-opening of kindergartens is not planned until September, Tabula reports.




FORBES GEORGIA: “YOU HAVE TO WALK A LONG WAY IN ORDER TO BECOME MAGNET FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS – ISRAELI AMBASSADOR”

June 15, 2020 - “You have to walk a long way in order to become a magnet for foreign investments”, Israeli ambassador in Georgia Ran Gidor points.

“Now, Georgia is still not known well in Israel, as the best direction for investments”, the ambassador said in interview to BMG and added: “I hope, it will change”.

macroeconomics & budget

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “IRAKLI KOVZANADZE TO ARCHIL MESTVIRISHVILI: WILL NBG ENSURE STABILITY OF PRICES?”

June 18, 2020 - Archil Mestvirishvili, vice-president of National Bank of Georgia (NBG), said that NBG expects that “inflation this year has to be on average 4-4.5%, at the end of the year – 3% or below”, while “in 2021, we will be below 3%”. He declared this in the Parliament, during consideration of updated draft of the state budget-2020 at the meeting of Fiscal Committee.




FORBES GEORGIA: “DOLLARIZATION IN GEORGIA”

June 18, 2020 - Koba Gvenetadze, president of National Bank of Georgia indicates that along with currency and resulting credit risk, dollarization increases also risks of liquidity. At the same time, dollarization decreases efficiency of monetary policy, he notes.




REZONANSI: “PROGRAM OF MORTGAGE LOANS LED THE REAL ESTATE MARKET TO HIGH COST”

June 17, 2020 - Georgian government subsidizes 4% in interest rates on mortgage loans of up to 200,000 lari and issues guarantee of 20%, if borrower’s participation exceeds 10%. In total, the government allocates 434 million lari for that end, the newspaper says.




TABULA: “BEDINEISHVILI TO THE GOVERNMENT: WHEN YOU HAVE FOREIGN INVESTMENTS OF 6% OF ECONOMY, IS IT THE MAXIMUM TOO?”

June 17, 2020 - “Perhaps, the more was the better, but current capacity of Georgia makes up about 5.5%”, Georgia’s Deputy Finance Minister Giorgi Kakauridze declared regarding economic growth of the country.

Financier Gigi Bedineishvili does not agree with this consideration, bringing example of Korea’ growth in 1962-1995 by 10% annually.




TABULA: “IN JANUARY-MAY, INCOME FROM TOURISM DECREASED BY $655M”

June 17, 2020 - National Bank of Georgia reported that Georgia’s income from tourism for January-May made up $445 million. If compared with the same period of 2019, the volume has decreased by 40% (by about $655 million).




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ECONOMIC EXPERTS ESTIMATE NATIONAL BANK’S ACTIVITY AS INEFFICIENT”

June 16, 2020 - One can consider with confidence that the current year is one of the most difficult periods for national currency, the newspaper says.

As the article indicates, experts unanimously agree that lari is depreciated more, than it is caused by macroeconomic factors.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “WITHIN 3 MONTHS, 9,600 CITIZENS REFUSED FINANCING OF MUNICIPAL BILLS”

June 15, 2020 - David Narmania, chairman of Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulating Commission, declared that 1.2 million consumers used state subsidy of electricity bills and over 670,000 – of gas bills.

Narmania said this to InterPressNews agency and noted: “At this stage, we have adjusted data for 2 months”.

companies

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “OVER 12,000 INSURED FROM 101 COMPANIES, REIMBURSEMENT OF UP TO 3M LARI AND THE HIGHEST INDICATOR OF CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION – RESULTS OF “TBC INSURANCE””

June 16, 2020 - TBC Insurance (founded by TBC Bank) reports that after one year of operation on the market, the company has over 12,000 insured from 101 companies. Reimbursement total up to 3 million lari.




TABULA: “ABSENCE OF DISINFECTION BARRIER, INSTRUCTIONS, ETC. – WHY 16 CAFES WERE FINED WITH 10,000 LARI”

June 16, 2020 - For the last 2 days, Georgian Ministry of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection has checked 26 cafes and fined 16 of them, Tabula reports.

According to Beka Peradze, head of the Ministry’s department of labor conditions’ inspection, the penalties, imposed during these 2 days, totaled to 160,000 lari.

international cooperation

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “SWISS GOVERNMENT ALLOCATED $300,000 FOR AGRARIAN SCHOOL – “KAVKASIA” IN GEORGIA”

June 17, 2020 - Referring to Swiss embassy, the newspaper reports with that Swiss government allocated additional $300,000 for opening in Georgia of the Swiss agrarian school Kavkasia. The school will enroll first students in spring of 2021.

ecology & health

TABULA: “TIKARADZE: ROBOT “PEPPER” WILL ASSIST US TO DEFEAT CORONAVIRUS”

June 19, 2020 - During reporting on own one-year activity, Ekaterina Tikaradze, Georgia’s Minister of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection, presented robot Pepper, Tabula reports.

Pepper is “my assistant, which arrived from France yesterday, now it learns Georgian and will assist us in future to defeat COVID-[19]”, the Minister declared.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “IN GEORGIA, SYSTEM OF COVID-19 CLINICAL MANAGEMENT WORKED AND WORKS “AS SMOOTHLY AS CLOCKWORK” – TSERTSVADZE”

June 19, 2020 - Tengiz Tsertsvadze, director general of Infectious Diseases, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Center, asserts that Georgian Ministry of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection and clinical sector were prepared to any scenario of COVID-19 epidemic development. The system worked and works “as smoothly as clockwork”, he declares.

tourism

BATUMELEBI: “OUT OF 393 HOTELS IN AJARA, TESTING FOR COVID-SAFETY HAVE PASSED 39”

June 19, 2020 - In Ajara, 39 hotels have passed testing for safety concerning COVID-19, the newspaper reports. In total, there are 393 hotels in Ajara.




TABULA: “TIKARADZE: IF A TOURIST HAS NO RESULTS OF PCR TEST, WE WILL MAKE IT HERE, NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE”

June 19, 2020 - Ekaterina Tikaradze, Georgia’s Minister of IDPs from Occupied Territories, Labor, Healthcare and Social Protection, said that in case a tourist did not make PCR test prior to arrival to Georgia, he/she will pass testing for COVID-19 at the airport.

“In case of big inflow, we hold negotiations with hotels, where we will place tourists, and they will wait for results there”, the Minister noted.