Economic Press Monitor June 18 - 24, 2017	Days:  10 17 24 01 08

economic & politics

TABULA: “REFORM, WHICH TO MAKE GEORGIAN BUSINESS SECTOR MUCH MORE TRANSPARENT”

June 22, 2017 - Within Agreement on Association with the EU, Georgia has to ensure transition of private sector to new standards of financial transparency.

In particular, companies will have to publish financial reports annually and to carry out audit according to international standards (IFRS).




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ARCHIL KONTSELIDZE: ANY STATE HAS TO HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY IN CHANGE OF TAXES”

June 21, 2017 - Director general of VTB Bank Georgia Archil Kontselidze considers that any state has to have more flexibility regarding change of taxes. However, if taxes increase, it has to be conducted reasonably, he specifies.




FORBES GEORGIA: “SIZE OF FINE FOR VIOLATION OF LAW ON SECURITIES CHANGES”

June 21, 2017 - Size of fine, established for violation of securities legislation, is changed, the magazine reports.

By order of National Bank of Georgia, non-presentation of corresponding reporting in established time frames by stock exchange, central depositary, registrar of securities, brokerage companies will lead to fining with 1,000 lari.




FORBES GEORGIA: “IN TERMS OF CYBERSECURITY, GEORGIA IS ON THE 1^ST PLACE IN THE REGION AND ON THE 8^TH – IN THE WORLD”

June 20, 2017 - In global rating of cybersecurity, compiled by International Telecommunication Union (ITU, specialized body of the UN), Georgia is on the 8^th position among 165 countries. In previous rating, the country occupied the 16^th place.




TABULA: “HEAD OF IMF MISSION: WE SUPPORT WITHDRAWAL OF FREEDOM ACT FROM THE CONSTITUTION”

June 20, 2017 - “We support withdrawal of Article 94 from the Constitution, as this will give opportunity of fiscal flexibility to the government”, IMF Resident Representative in Georgia Francois Painchaud declared.

In his turn, chairman of Georgian Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze declared that according to draft of constitutional amendments, Economic Freedom Act, i.e. Article 94 of the Constitution, will be maintained for the next 12 years.




KVIRIS PALITRA: “WHY BUSINESS OPPOSES WITHDRAWAL OF ARTICLE 94”

June 19, 2017 - Business associations and non-governmental organizations oppose withdrawal of Article 94 from the Constitution, which allows introduction of new tax or growth of tax rates only through holding of national referendum.

The article brings comment of Gigla Mikautadze, head of Taxpayers Union, who wonders why “small group of Social Democrats has such influence on the majority”.

macroeconomics & budget

REZONANSI: “INCREASE OF GAS IN PRICE WILL LIFT INFLATION ON NEW HEIGHT”

June 23, 2017 - Statistician Soso Archvadze declares that increase of gas tariff “will automatically cause price growth of other products, in a bread component only the difference will be 10-15%”. “The same can be said about transportation costs and other components”, he notes.




REZONANSI: “NATIONAL BANK DOES NOT GIVE A CHANCE OF STRENGTHENING TO LARI”

June 21, 2017 - For the last 2 days, National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has removed $30 million from the market by means of currency auctions. It appears that the government and NBG are trying to keep somehow the rate on a high mark as the budget is planned according to indicator of 2.5 GEL/USD, the newspaper says.




KVIRIS PALITRA: “HOW MANY IT IS NECESSARY FOR VILLAGE BUILDING?”

June 19, 2017 - For the last 4 years, about 1.5 billion lari was spent for agriculture through state programs or international donors financing. However, share of agriculture in GDP did not change for the last 10 years and still makes up 8.4-9.4%, the newspaper points.

energy, oil & gas

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “AT THIS STAGE, 15 HYDROELECTRIC STATIONS ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN THE COUNTRY”

June 23, 2017 - Deputy Energy Minister Ilia Eloshvili pointed that for the last 4 years, construction of 16 hydroelectric stations was finished. That means that construction of generation facilities with total capacity of 500 MW is completed, he noted and added: these are direct foreign investments of about $600-700 million.




REZONANSI: “GAS TO ROSE IN PRICE BY 5 TETRI”

June 20, 2017 - National Energy and Water Supply Regulating Commission does not comment on issue of new gas tariff yet, the newspaper notes. “We have a deadline on July 20, but until that, perhaps, the meeting will be gathered and consideration of this issue will held”, the Commission declares.

conflict and court

NETGAZETI.GE: “GYLA WILL CONTINUE LAWSUIT ON CASE OF “PANORAMA TBILISI” IN APPEAL COURT”

June 23, 2017 - On June 22, Tbilisi city court’s chamber of administrative cases partially stopped proceedings on claim of Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), where defendants were Agency for Construction and Technical Supervision and Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. GYLA will be object this decision in appeal court, Netgazeti.Ge reports.




REZONANSI: “AGREEMENT WITH KAZAKHS IS POSSIBLE, WITH RUSSIANS – NOT”

June 20, 2017 - Concerning KazTransGas-Tbilisi (gas distribution company of Tbilisi, in which Georgian party has appointed interim manager), Kazakhstan’s ambassador Ermukhamet Ertysbayev declared: “We are ready to withdraw the claim from arbitration court, if Georgian party make us an acceptable offer”.

Investments in the company “were risky”, but “we still have to return considerable part of our capital”, the ambassador pointed.

companies

REZONANSI: “WATER TARIFF IN REGIONS TO BE EQUALED AND COULD RISE A LITTLE”

June 22, 2017 - Director of United Water Supply Company of Georgia (regional water distributor) Giorgi Koberidze says that the company plans to submit tariff application to the regulating commission, but “now inventory of assets is conducted in the company”. The application will be submission presumably at the end of 2017 or the 1^st quarter of 2018, he notes.




FORBES GEORGIA: “INCOME OF AUDITORS AND AUDITOR FIRMS GREW IN A YEAR BY 8.7M LARI”

June 22, 2017 - In 2016, income of auditors and auditor firms amounted to 93.27 million lari, exceeding by 8.7 million lari the showing of 2015, the magazine reports.

Of total, share of audit of financial reporting made up 28.18 million lari, while 25.2 million lari – of consulting service.




FORBES GEORGIA: “MONITORING OF AUDITOR COMPANIES’ QUALITY CONTROLLING SYSTEM TO START SINCE SEPTEMBER”

June 22, 2017 - Since September, monitoring of auditor companies’ quality controlling system will start, the magazine reports.

Auditor companies consider that part of companies, registered in Georgia, will not be able to meet the established standards, the article notes.




EUGEORGIA.INFO: “THE FIRST BIOCERTIFICATE IN CATTLE FARMING – MOVEMENT ON UNBEATEN TRACK COSTS TO “PIROSMANI” MILLION LARI”

June 19, 2017 - Company Pirosmani, which sells its cheese or matsoni (Georgian kind of yogurt) under brand of Shiraki Dairy Products, is launching ecological dairy production for the first time in Georgia, Eugeorgia.Info reports. The company operates already 10 years and has two enterprises – in Tbilisi and Kakheti.

agriculture & food

EUGEORGIA.INFO: “ON NEED OF THE STATE STRATEGY ON AGRICULTURAL LANDS’ CONSOLIDATION”

June 21, 2017 - Most frequent subject of consideration is prohibition on sale of agricultural lands to foreigners, while persons not having Georgian citizenship own only 1% of these lands, Eugeorgia.Info states.

According to agricultural census of 2014, there are 642,209 farms in Georgia, of which 77.1% own land plots below 1 ha.

construction

REZONANSI: “SINCE JULY, EVERYBODY WILL ADD 2-3 THOUSANDS ON REAL ESTATE”

June 23, 2017 - Neli Goguadze, founder of real estate agency Kibe, points: “We are on the market for 12 years already and I cannot recall even single case, when the real estate would be sold in lari”.

Concerning demand on real estate price declaration in lari only, which enters in force on July 1, Goguadze says: “I support pricing in lari, but for that end we have to have steady currency, in order the population did not suffer financially”.




TABULA: “IN 2017, 10 CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES WERE FINED BECAUSE OF SAFETY RULES’ VIOLATION”

June 22, 2017 - Tbilisi city service of supervision has fined in the current year 10 construction companies because of safety rules’ violation, Tabula reports.

According to the Service, penalty for safety rules’ violation makes up 3,000 lari.