Economic Press Monitor April 23 - 29, 2023	Days:  15 22 29 06 13

economic & politics

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “GOTSIRIDZE: SOME COVERT MOVES ARE NOTICED AROUND ANAKLIA PORT – WE SUSPECT THEY ARE GOING TO EXPEL WESTERN COMPANIES FROM THIS FACILITY”

April 28, 2023 - “There are some covert moves around Anaklia port”, “we suspect they are going to expel Western companies from this facility”, the opposition MP Roman Gotsiridze posted on social media. On May 19, we are summoning the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development to the plenary session of the Parliament in connection with this issue, he reported.




BATUMELEBI: “291 FOREIGNERS HAVE SOUGHT SHELTER IN GEORGIA THIS YEAR, WHILE 55 HAVE BEEN EXPELLED”

April 28, 2023 - Georgian Interior Ministry reported that in the 1^st quarter, 291 citizens of various countries registered for asylum in Georgia. Namely, asylum seekers include 68 citizens of Ukraine, 49 citizens of Iran, 29 citizens of Turkey, 24 citizens of Russia, 11 citizens of India, etc.




TABULA: “INADEQUATE PRICES OF GARIBASHVILI’S CONCERTS”

April 27, 2023 - The concert hall Black Sea Arena, located in Shekvetili on the Black Sea coast of Georgia, starts a 2-year program “Starring Georgia”, within which it will host concerts of famous bands and performers.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili made the decision to popularize and strengthen the potential of the country.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “DEPUTY AGRICULTURE MINISTER GELA KHANISHVILI IS LEAVING THE POST”

April 26, 2023 - First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Gela Khanishvili is leaving the post.

Khanishvili has already written a letter of resignation, although it has not been satisfied yet, press service of the Ministry said.




BATUMELEBI: “TAMAR IOSELIANI LEAVES MARITIME TRANSPORT AGENCY”

April 26, 2023 - Georgian Maritime Transport Agency reported that its head Tamar Ioseliani is leaving the post and moves to another position within Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. From May 1, the Agency will be headed by the first deputy director.




NETGAZETI.GE: “I COUNT ON GEORGIA TO REDOUBLE EFFORTS ON DOMESTIC REFORMS – STOLTENBERG”

April 26, 2023 - “I count on Georgia to redouble efforts on domestic reforms, and uphold democratic standards”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared.

“That is why I welcomed the decision to withdraw the draft law on “foreign influence”“, Stoltenberg said, indicating that this draft law “was incompatible with Euro-Atlantic values and the protection of fundamental freedoms”.




REZONANSI: “FOREIGNERS IMPORTUNATELY BUY LAND PLOTS IN GEORGIA”

April 25, 2023 - In the 1^st quarter, foreigners registered 2,038 non-agricultural land plots in Georgia. Of which, 1,256 plots, or up to 62%, were acquired by 447 citizens of Russia.

macroeconomics & budget

REZONANSI: “LARI HAS OVERCOME PSYCHOLOGICAL MARK AND WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN IN FUTURE”

April 27, 2023 - Current official exchange rate of lari makes up 2.5 GEL/USD, while at Bloomberg trading platform a mark of 2.4976 GEL/USD was recorded. On January 1, the exchange rate made up 2.71 GEL/USD.




FORBES GEORGIA: “IN TERMS OF INCOME PER CAPITA, GEORGIA RANKS 76^TH IN THE WORLD”

April 27, 2023 - In the IMF Global Economic Outlook, Georgia ranks 76^th among 191 countries in terms of average annual income per capita.

The rating is based on data of 2022, according to which Georgia’s income per capita, adjusted to purchasing power parity (PPP), made up $20,244.




NETGAZETI.GE: “PARTNERSHIP FUND WILL BE NO LONGER FUNDED FROM THE BUDGET”

April 25, 2023 - The article reports that Georgian Partnership Fund will be no longer financed from the budget. The sources of financing will be the income, gained from own projects, the Fund said.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “BUDGET RECEIVED ALMOST 5 TIMES BIGGER SUM FROM FINES OF STOWAWAYS”

April 24, 2023 - In January-March, Georgian budget received 944,335 lari from fines of stowaways. If compared with the same period of 2022, the amount has increased 5 times.

companies

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: ““CEMENT INVEST” FULLY BOUGHT OUT SHARE OF “HEIDELBERG MATERIALS””

April 26, 2023 - Cement Invest BV has fully bought out stake of Heidelberg Materials in HeidelbergCement Georgia and Terjola Quarry.

During the current year, HeidelbergCement Georgia will retain its trade name, though rebranding is possible in future.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “CHANGES IN “BOG” TOP MANAGEMENT”

April 24, 2023 - Levan Kulijanishvili, deputy director general of Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia, BOG) in charge for operational direction, will leave his post on May 12. His duties will be temporarily performed by Archil Gachechiladze, director general of the bank.

transport & communications

NETGAZETI.GE: “CONTROL OF VEHICLE EXHAUST TO START FROM JUNE”

April 25, 2023 - From June, control of visible vehicle exhaust will begin in Georgia. At the first stage, the control will cover 4 major cities: Tbilisi, Rustavi, Kutaisi and Batumi.




TABULA: “ROUTE OF RUSSIAN CRUISE SHIP “PETER THE GREAT” INCLUDES GEORGIA TOO – “VESTNIK KAVKAZA””

April 24, 2023 - Referring to the Russian edition Vestnik Kavkaza, Tabula reports that the international route of new Russian cruise ship Peter the Great includes Georgia too. The vessel, which will start cruising in August, plans calling port of Novorossiysk and Sochi (Russia), Batumi (Georgia) and Istanbul (Turkey).

finances & banking

REZONANSI: “BOTH DEMAND FOR LOANS AND THEIR RATES HAVE INCREASED – WHILE LARI REGAINS CONFIDENCE”

April 28, 2023 - Alexander Dzneladze, president of Georgian Banking Association, declares that on the local market, “demand for loans is quite high, simply, based on restrictions, it has decreased in certain areas”. “It depends on the fact that duration of consumer loans has decreased from 4 to 3 years”, he explains.