Economic Press Monitor December 23 - 29, 2018	Days:  15 22 29 12 19

economic & politics

REZONANSI: “SALE OF LAND TO FOREIGNERS BECOMES EXTREMELY TOUGH, HOWEVER EXPERTS DEMAND THE TOTAL BAN”

December 27, 2018 - Since spring, foreigners will be able to buy land plots of agricultural purpose in Georgia, the newspaper reports.

As the article explains, the matter concerns exception rule, envisaged by new Constitution of the country.




FORBES GEORGIA: “PAYING TAXES: GEORGIA ADVANCED IN THE RATING OF TAX SYSTEM’S SIMPLICITY”

December 27, 2018 - Georgia is on the 16^th place among 190 countries according to Paying Taxes, the joint report of the World Bank and PwC. In comparison with previous year, the country has improved its ranking by 6 steps.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GIORGI KOBULIA: DISTRESS OF THE PEOPLE, PERHAPS, DOES NOT WORSEN, BUT NEVERTHELESS IS VERY HEAVY”

December 25, 2018 - Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Giorgi Kobulia declared some days ago that the people can have a feeling that they suffer privations, however it not so, the newspaper reports.

However, as Kobulia explains, he did not say that people in Georgia in not needy.




FORBES GEORGIA: “BIDZINA IVANISHVILI’S PROPERTY DECREASED BY $600M IN ONE DAY”

December 25, 2018 - Referring to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, the magazine reports that property of Georgia’s ex-premier and chairman of ruling Georgian Dream Bidzina Ivanishvili decreased by $600 million in one day – from December 22 to December 23.

As the article notes, property of the only Georgian in the list is estimated at $4.97 billion that is by 10.8% less than just two days ago.




NETGAZETI.GE: “SOSO RAMISHVILI APPOINTED AS HEAD OF FINANCE MINISTRY’S INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE”

December 24, 2018 - Head of Investigative Service of the Finance Ministry became Soso Ramishvili, who was deputy chief of the Service since May.

Post of head of the Service became vacant in October of this year, when Levan Gamkrelidze has sent in his resignation, Netgazeti.Ge reminds.




TABULA: ““EUROPEAN GEORGIA” DEMANDS ASSIGNMENT OF STATUS OF MICROENTREPRENEUR TO PERSONS LEASING OWN APARTMENTS”

December 24, 2018 - Oppositional European Georgia put forward a legislative initiative, which assigns status of microentrepreneur to persons, leasing own apartments. In case annual income from apartment rent does not exceed 30,000 lari, these persons will be exempted from tax of 5%.




FORBES GEORGIA: “GENDER INEQUALITY IN ECONOMY AND POLITICS – GEORGIA ON 99-M THE PLACE IN THE WORLD”

December 24, 2018 - In its Global Gender Gap Report, the World Economic Forum placed Georgia on the 99^th place among 149 countries of the world, the magazine reports. As the article notes, the ranking in comparison with previous year has worsened by 5 steps.

macroeconomics & budget

NETGAZETI.GE: “TBILISI BUDGET FOR 2019 WILL EXCEED BILLION LARI”

December 26, 2018 - Sakrebulo (City Council) of Tbilisi approved the city budget for 2019, Netgazeti.Ge reports. Volume of the budget is set at 927.6 million lari that by 66 million lari exceeds the initial version of the budget-2018 and by 10.8 million – the adjusted one.




NETGAZETI.GE: “WHY IS NOT ACCURATE THE AVERAGE SALARY OF 1,125 LARI, NAMED BY “SAKSTAT””

December 25, 2018 - According to report, published by Sakstat, average monthly nominal salary in Georgia amounted in the 3^rd quarter to 1,125 lari.

Author of the report, Irma Gvilava, specifies that Sakstat obtains data on salaries not from Revenue Service, but through independent research.




KVIRIS PALITRA: “WHEN GEORGIAN ECONOMIC MIRACLE WILL HAPPEN?”

December 24, 2018 - Professor Soso Archvadze declares that “Georgia needs the -digit or close to it [rate of] economic growth”. “If to take economic growth for the last 2-3 years, then we will need, at least, 12 years to achieve level of the weakest link of the EU, Bulgaria”, he specifies.

energy, oil & gas

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “REGULATING COMMISSION EXPLAINS REASONS OF THE TARIFF DECREASE”

December 27, 2018 - Gocha Shonia, member of Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulating Commission, declares that decrease of gas tariff was caused mainly by reduction of distribution tariff.

“The distribution tariff decreased by approximately 1.3 tetri”, Shonia declares.

companies

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “EDUCATION, BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT – KEY TASKS OF “MICROSOFT GEORGIA” FOR 2019”

December 28, 2018 - Education, business responsibility and market development are key tasks of Microsoft Georgia for 2019, the newspaper says.

In an interview with the newspaper, sales director of Microsoft Georgia Ketevan Ratiani says that official representation of Microsoft Corporation in Georgia has 3 major directions of operation: commercial, governmental and educational sectors.




FORBES GEORGIA: “IN WHAT CASE “RYANAIR” WILL ENTER GEORGIA? – ANSWER OF THE COMPANY”

December 28, 2018 - Irish low-coster Ryanair remains interested in entry in Georgian market, but under certain conditions though, the magazine reports.

As Ryanair told the magazine, the airline expects the definite “encouragement mechanisms”.

international cooperation

TABULA: “NORWAY, PORTUGAL, SWEDEN, DENMARK, LITHUANIA – WHERE GEORGIANS WILL BE ABLE TO FIND JOB LEGALLY ”

December 27, 2018 - Georgia’s Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani declares that assistance to legal employment of Georgian citizens abroad will be one of the key priorities in 2019.

Zalkaliani indicates that “there is an agreement with the EU, “Partnership for Mobility”, and within this agreement, we already started activity in respect of signing bilateral agreements with particular EU countries”.

finances & banking

NETGAZETI.GE: “I HOPE, WE WILL NEVER NEED SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN FUTURE – MACHAVARIANI ON THE PROJECT OF DEBTS’ ZEROING”

December 28, 2018 - Georgia’s Finance Minister Ivane Machavariani commented on statements of a number of citizens, who complain that despite their fit to all criteria, their debts were not written off, Netgazeti.Ge says.

“Just some companies, which are debt collectors or credit-issuing financial institutions, did not alienate these portfolios” (of overdue debts), Machavariani declared.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “THE FIRST FULLY DIGITAL BANK – UPDATED VERSION OF “SPACE” IS LAUNCHED”

December 26, 2018 - In May, the first fully digital bank, Space, appeared in Georgia, which launched in December the updated application, the newspaper reports.

As the article says, Space has added 2 products in the eve of New Year – a sticker worth 10 lari, which could be purchased by means of trade devices of the company (installed in various universities at the first stage).

agriculture & food

TABULA: ““THE GUARDIAN” NAMED CHACHA AMONG 10 BEST WARMING DRINKS”

December 25, 2018 - In the eve of Christmas, The Guardian named best warming winter drinks around the world and placed chacha (Georgian analog for grappa) at the top of the list, Tabula reports.

British edition indicates that today, homemade chacha could be found in menu of almost all Georgian restaurants and recommends Chacha Time, located in Tbilisi district Sololaki.

construction

FORBES GEORGIA: “CHALLENGE-BUSTER”

December 26, 2018 - In 7 years, already $200 million is invested in Dirsi (housing estate on 47 ha in Tbilisi), while in order to accomplish the construction, AS Georgia, affiliate of developing holding AS Group Investment, plans to spend over $1 billion, the magazine reports.

Beso Jikurauli, director general of AS Georgia, says in an interview to the magazine that the company plans to set up park on 8 ha in 2019, which will cost over $3 million.