Economic Press Monitor January 15 - 21, 2023	Days:  31 14 21 28 04

economic & politics

TABULA: “ZURABISHVILI: GEORGIA CANNOT AFFORD A LUXURY OF BEING DENIED THE CANDIDATE STATUS FOR A SECOND TIME”

January 18, 2023 - “Georgia cannot afford a luxury of being denied the status of the [EU membership] candidate for a second time”, Georgia’s President Salome Zurabishvili declared.

“We should get the candidate status as soon as possible, as this is a strategic message for Russia”, Zurabishvili declared, speaking at Oxford University.




FORBES GEORGIA: “WHETHER GEORGIA STILL HAS A CHANCE TO OBTAIN STATUS OF EU MEMBERSHIP CANDIDATE”

January 17, 2023 - Since 2018, there has been a democratic backward in Georgia, as the ruling party began to pursue an autocratic policy, hindered functioning of independent media and facilitated politicization of the judicial system, the magazine says. Such challenges have greatly hampered Georgia in obtaining the status of EU membership candidate, the article points.

energy, oil & gas

REZONANSI: “QUALITY OF GAS IN GEORGIA IS LOW, WHILE THERE IS NOT EVEN MINIMAL SAFETY”

January 17, 2023 - Academician Simon Baramidze states that natural gas, supplied to Georgia, is really unfiltered and unprocessed. The gas is low-calorie and of poor quality, he points.

companies

TABULA: “AFTER TRAGEDY IN VAKE PARK, 3.1M TENDER OF THE CITY HALL WAS WON BY “GREENSERVICE” AGAIN”

January 20, 2023 - In 3 months after the tragedy in Vake Park, the tender announced by Tbilisi City Hall was won by GreenService+.

The company should carry out works on improvement and restoration of damaged infrastructure facilities throughout Tbilisi.




FORBES GEORGIA: “REVENUES OF LOGISTICS COMPANIES, OPERATING IN GEORGIA”

January 20, 2023 - In 2021, revenues of Georgian companies, engaged in transportation and logistics, totaled to 7 billion lari (year-on-year growth – 21%). This field employed more than 62,000 people, whose salaries in total exceeded 1 billion lari, the magazine reports.




FORBES GEORGIA: “HOW MANY MILLIONS IN REVENUES DO GEORGIAN PORTS HAVE?”

January 20, 2023 - In 2021, Georgian ports and terminals served 7.8 million t of oil, 4 million t of bulk cargo and 3.9 million t of other cargo.

The 1^st place is occupied by the Poti port, where the operators’ revenues totaled to 490 million lari.




NETGAZETI.GE: ““CARTU” PLANS TO BUILD A 65-STOREY COMPLEX NEXT TO “LAGUNA VERE””

January 20, 2023 - In Tbilisi, near the Laguna Vere sports complex, Cartu Fund plans to build a 65-storey multifunctional complex on the site of a former silk factory.

The customer is LLC Kostava 69, which director is Kakha Kobiashvili, a relative of Bidzina Ivanishvili (billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream), while single owner – Cartu Fund (founded by Ivanishvili).




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “BECAUSE OF VIOLATION OF LICENSE CONDITIONS, DOUBLED PENALTIES MIGHT BE IMPOSED ON ENERGY COMPANIES”

January 18, 2023 - Georgian energy ombudsman Salome Vardiashvili stated that because of violation of license conditions, energy companies could be fined with doubled penalties. Currently, maximum amount of the fine makes up 75,000 lari.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “IRAKLI KARKASHADZE TO HEAD “GEORGIAN AIRPORTS ASSOCIATION””

January 17, 2023 - State-owned LLC Georgian Airports Association will be headed by Irakli Karkashadze, who was deputy to Kutaisi Mayor before his appointment to this post. He has also more than 7 years of practical experience in the aviation field.




TABULA: “AFTER TRAGEDY IN VAKE PARK, THE CITY HALL MAY SIGN 2 CONTRACTS WITH “GREENSERVICE” – GMC”

January 17, 2023 - Waste Detector (media project of the Governance Monitoring Center (GMC)) reports that in 3 months after the tragedy in Vake Park, Tbilisi City Hall may sign 2 contracts with GreenService+.

In December 2022, the City Hall announced 2 tenders, the only bidder in which is GreenService+, the article explains.




FORBES GEORGIA: “MIKHAIL LOMTADZE INCREASED HIS SHARE IN “KASPI.KZ””

January 16, 2023 - Referring to a Kazakh source, the magazine reports that Mikheil Lomtadze, Kazakh businessman of Georgian origin, increased his stake in Kazakh fin-tech company Kaspi.Kz by 1.13%. Now, with a stake of 24.55%, he is the largest individual shareholder of the company.




BATUMELEBI: “IN KOBULETI, 25 HA WAS ACQUIRED FOR 5M BY MAN WHO HAD NO BUSINESS UNTIL NOW”

January 16, 2023 - In Kobuleti (Ajara), a land plot of 25 ha was sold for 5.25 million lari, with the condition of investment of 150 million lari.

The project envisages construction of multifunctional facilities, hotels, residential complexes, recreational and sports areas and other facilities.

transport & communications

REZONANSI: “CARS HAVE SHARPLY DECREASED IN PRICE IN AMERICA, BUT NOTHING SIMILAR IS PLANNED IN GEORGIA”

January 18, 2023 - Lasha Darbaiseli, chairman of Georgian Car Importers Association, confirms that in the US, “price of second-hand cars has decreased for real”. “However, one of the most important and the key things is transportation”, he points.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “OUR CORRIDOR IS VERY EXPENSIVE, THERE IS NO SUCH EXPENSIVE TERMINAL FEE IN ANY COUNTRY – “LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS””

January 18, 2023 - Irakli Tsankashvili, director general of Logistics Solutions, thinks that the transport corridor via Georgia “is very expensive”. “Seems, no other country has such high terminal fee”, he declared in the air of Georgian Public Broadcaster.

agriculture & food

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “LEVAN SILAGAVA: BREAD PRICE WILL NOT CHANGE UNTIL MARCH”

January 16, 2023 - Levan Silagava, executive director of Georgian Wheat and Flour Producers Association, assures that stability will remain in relation to price of both flour and bread until March. “I can say for sure” that “no trend of bread price growth is planned”, he declares.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “IN 2022, CONTROL WAS CARRIED OUT IN 48 WINE COMPANIES – OUT OF 972 SAMPLES TAKEN, VIOLATIONS WERE REVEALED IN 30 SAMPLES OF 18 COMPANIES”

January 16, 2023 - Georgian National Wine Agency reported that out of 972 samples, taken in 2022 from 48 wine companies, violations were detected in 30 samples of 18 companies.

Besides, international companies SGS and Bureau Veritas carried out 200 inspections in the economic registration zone of Georgia.