Economic Press Monitor July 15 - 21, 2018	Days:  07 14 21 28 04

economic & politics

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR THE COMPETITION AGENCY WILL BE CHANGED”

July 20, 2018 - Nodar Khaduri, chairman of the Competition Agency, declared that the government and the Parliament work on revision of a legislative framework for the Agency.

As a result, two regulators, the Competition Agency and National Bank of Georgia, will pursue competition policy based on single law, Khaduri explained.




NETGAZETI.GE: “IN 6 MONTHS, CRIMINAL STATISTICS INCREASED BY 52.93%”

July 18, 2018 - For the first 6 months of this year, number of crimes, registered in Georgia, increased by 52.93%, Netgazeti.Ge reports with reference to the Interior Ministry.

At that, if in the same period of previous year (January-June 2017), 54.35% of registered crimes were solved, in the reporting period the rate made up 36.42%.




NETGAZETI.GE: “KUMSISHVILI ABOUT INTERROGATION: IT WAS THE USUAL MEETING, WHICH ENDED PEACEFULLY”

July 18, 2018 - The ex-minister of economy and sustainable development Dimitri Kumsishvili confirms that he was questioned in Prosecutor’s Office a few weeks ago, Netgazeti.Ge reports.

“About 20 days ago, I really was on interrogation, where the Prosecutor’s Office asked me to fix my thoughts in connection with certain questions”, Kumsishvili declares.

macroeconomics & budget

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GEORGIA’S ECONOMY IS NOT READY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PENSION REFORM”

July 19, 2018 - Ruling Georgian Dream postponed again enactment of law on accumulative pension, now – until 2019, reports author of the article (Shota Gulbani, Young Financiers and Businessmen Association). It was expected, as there is obvious luck of public consensus on implementation of reform of similar historical importance, he notes.




NETGAZETI.GE: “ARCHIL IAKOBASHVILI: RETURN OF EXCISE TO THE LEVEL OF 2016 WILL REDUCE FUEL PRICE BY 25 TETRI”

July 19, 2018 - Author of the article (Archil Iakobashvili, professor of Georgian-American University) reviews growth of fuel price on the local market and points that “the reason is absolutely exogenous: growth of oil price on international markets by 25% since the beginning of 2018”.

However, “despite the objective reasons, the only prerogative of the mentioned burden relief has the state”, the author states and urges the government to reduce the excise.

energy, oil & gas

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “WHO REGULATES PRICES ON THE FUEL MARKET – THE CARTEL STILL WORKS”

July 20, 2018 - During the last 3 months, fuel prices in Georgia irreversibly grow and price of 1 l of petrol reached a historical maximum – 2.65 lari, which importers themselves explain by international tendencies, the newspaper says.

The article indicates that currently, the local market is redistributed between 6 major players, which combined share exceeds 70%.




NETGAZETI.GE: “CRISIS IN BATUMI ENERGY SUPPLY TURNS INTO INSUPERABLE BARRIER FOR BUSINESS COMPANIES”

July 19, 2018 - Business companies, operating in Batumi, are facing insuperable crisis since May, author of the article (Geno Geladze, manager of GGM managing company) says.

As the author indicates, construction of new objects (of any appointment) in Batumi is impossible, as obtaining of permission for temporary electricity supply, necessary for construction, is impossible.

conflict and court

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “NEXT ROGUISH SCHEME IS DECIPHERED – “FX GROUP” BECOME EMBROILED IN A SCANDAL”

July 20, 2018 - Last week, former clients of FX Business Group held a protest action in front of the Main Prosecutor’s Office and demanded to arrest heads of the company and to return their money, the newspaper reports.

The protesters declare that the company worked according to the pyramid scheme and illegally appropriated their money.




REZONANSI: “CASE OF KUMSISHVILI-ALAVIDZE – PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE LOOKS FOR DISAPPEARED 710M”

July 19, 2018 - The case, in which connection Prosecutor’s Office interrogated last week the ex-minister of regional development and infrastructure Zurab Alavidze, concerns the project worth 710 million (supposedly, lari), the newspaper reports. Prosecutor’s Office interrogated also the ex-minister of economy and sustainable development Dimitri Kumsishvili as the witness on the case.

companies

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “WHETHER “ALDAGI” HAS EVADED RESPONSIBILITY CONCERNING FLATOWNERS DAMAGED BY “SVETI””

July 18, 2018 - There are active talks in public about possibility for construction company Shine to become another Center Point (which founders are criminally responsible), the newspaper says.

The article notes that number of damaged clients of Sveti, which has problems with completion of construction, makes up several hundreds.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “FOR “SAKNAKHSHIRI”, WHICH OPERATES TKIBULI MINES, IT IS A CERTAIN SOCIAL PROJECT AS IT WORKS WITH LOSS”

July 18, 2018 - Business ombudsman Irakli Lekvinadze declares that for Saknakhshiri (Georgian Coal), which operates Tkibuli mines, it is a certain social project, “as from the date of its operation [start], the company has losses and no profit”.

“The existing infrastructure is so outdated, that it is hazardous to health”, Lekvinadze specifies.




NETGAZETI.GE: “INTERIOR MINISTRY: ACCORDING TO PRIMARY INFORMATION, EXPLOSION OF METHANE IN THE TKIBULI MINE LED TO CEILING COLLAPSE”

July 16, 2018 - According to primary information of the Interior Ministry, at dawn on July 16, in one of tunnels of Mindeli mine in Tbilisi, supposedly, because of methane explosion, walls were deformed and ceiling collapsed.

The accident killed 4 miners, while 6 more were injured, Netgazeti.Ge reports and reminds that previous tragedy in this mine happened on April 5, when 6 miners died.

transport & communications

FORBES GEORGIA: “IN TERMS OF INTERNET SPEED, GEORGIA IS ON THE 77^TH PLACE IN THE WORLD”

July 17, 2018 - In terms of Internet access speed, Georgia is on the 77^th place in the world, the magazine reports, with reference to the British portal Cable. Last year, the country occupied the 70^th place.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “PROJECT OF UNIVERSAL INTERNETIZATION FAILED”

July 17, 2018 - Right after coming to power of Georgian Dream, idea was announced of the project of universal Internetization, which is actually paused already for 2 years, the newspaper says.

The project, which aimed provision of access to Internet with speed of at least 15 MB/s to 90% of the population by 2020, is buried in oblivion and nobody reminds now 500 villages in 10 regions, which had to be covered by cable network, the article specifies.

ecology & health

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE REDUCED MEDICAL EXPENSES OF POPULATION FROM 70% TO 55%”

July 16, 2018 - Healthcare Minister David Sergeenko points that if medical expenses, paid from the population pocket, made up “70% before introduction of universal healthcare, now they make up 55%”. “Over 70% of these expenses from the pocket are medicines’ costs”, he specifies and regards it as “one of the most important challenges”.

finances & banking

FORBES GEORGIA: “LARIZATION’S TREND”

July 17, 2018 - In Georgia, share of lari in credits and deposits grows, author of the article (Giorgi Shagidze, deputy director general and finance director of TBC Bank) points, who considers that this could be attributed to larization policy. Share of crediting in local currency grew mainly because of larization of retail credits, he specifies.

agriculture & food

TABULA: “MONITORING OF NITRATES’ CONTENT IN WATERMELONS AND MELONS IS UNDERWAY”

July 16, 2018 - Referring to National Food Agency, Tabula reports that content of nitrates in watermelons and melons does not exceed the established limit.

For monitoring of content, the Agency takes samples in various trade objects, chain stores and in agrarian markets.