Caucasus Business Week #141

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April 11, 2016 #141

April 11, 2016, Issue 141 - www.cbw.ge

economy

city

energy sector

Georgia’s Economic Growth Falls to Lowest in 5 Years

Tbilisi Infrastructure Changes

Gazprom agree new deal under previous terms

Pg. 6

Pg. 9

Pg. 2

100 Days of Kvirikashvili Giorgi Kvirikashvili outlined the following directions: taxation system reformation; reformation of involvement and transparency, development of regions and fundamental reformation of education system. Later the Prime Minister specified that the Government would introduce the German model in the education system.

“We will reform the tax administration system to make this system oriented on consumers. Tax inspection will be carried out in strictly regulated timeframes and it will be carried out by the tax office. Accounts seizure will be carried out on the ground of court decisions. Moreover, imported equipment and devices will be exempted from taxation. We are also working on decriminalization of economic crimes. A major part of our reforms is directed to supporting beginner businesses. Georgia is a PostSoviet country, but young people still suffer from Soviet influence. Young people should gain business-oriented knowledge. The technological park will assist them in making focus on business activities. This park will also promote startup business activities among young people”, the Prime Minister noted.

Pg. 5

Investors’s Public Report “AGL is building the Shuakhevi Hydro Power Plant, one of the largest investments in Georgia’s infrastructure and economy,” CEO of Adjaristsqali Ronny Solberg said in his speech.

AGL is implementing one of the largest infrastructure investments in Georgia, the Shuakhevi Hydro Power Plant (HPP) project. AGL is a joint venture between India’s Tata Power and Norway’s Clean Energy Invest (40 percent each), and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group (20 percent).

Speeches were delivered by the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Kakha Kaladze, Chairman of Advisor’s Board of Adjaristsqali Georgia Kyrre Olaf Johansen, and the company’s CEO Ronny Solberg.

AGL is investing a total of USD 416 million and employing 730 Georgian citizens on this project.

One year ago, AGL has signed the Shuakhevi project’s build-ownoperate direct agreement with the Government of Georgia and the international financial institutions ADB, EBRD, and IFC. Pg. 4

2 GOVERNMENT

NEWSROOM TANAP Project Increases Economic Development in Georgia At the initial stages of production, TANAP will increase volumes of gas transported through the Southern Gas Corridor from 6 to 22 BCM per year.

Our Goal is to Transport Important Amount of Cargo via Georgia Chamber of Silk Road International Trade was established in 2015 in a special administrative region of Hong Kong.

ECONOMY

Georgian State Energy Company Plans to Issue Eurobonds GOGC plans to issue Eurobonds, a banking source and a source in Georgia’s government. The company plans to issue Eurobonds in U.S. dollars and has mandated Bar lays and J.P.Morgan to organise the deal.

China to Promote Georgia’s Tourism Potential China has expressed its readiness to contribute to the promotion of Georgia’s tourism potential. A consultation meeting was held in Beijing where the parties discussed the two countries.

BANKING

National Bank of Georgia Warns Citizens Our citizens are free to take a decision on managing their own funds. However, to prevent risks of losing the invested funds in the future, we urge our population to take reasonable and knowledge-based decisions.

Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Sees 10 years’ Bottom The mortgage loan’s interest rate has dropped to the 10 years’ minimum, but this rate runs for USD-denominated mortgage loans.

BUSINESS

Georgian Fish And Sheep Exports To Saudi Arabia Georgian Agriculture Minister introduced 21 Georgian agtriculture products for exports to the Saudi Arabia agriculture ministry delegation.

Georgia to Export Plum Dried Fruit to EU Market Supermarkets of Smart, Goodwill and Two Steps have introduced black plum dried fruit of domestic production into their retail networks.

COMPANY

Geocell Introduces Digital Signature April 5th – Green, innovative service in Geocell shops Geocell, with the support of State Service Development Agency, offers its customers digital signature service valid for the whole country.

Maroon 5, Robbie Williams, Erros Ramazzotti coming to Georgia One of the world’s most popular bands, Maroon 5, is coming to Georgia this summer for the first time.

Today it was officially announced Georgia was gearing up to host the American pop band, English singer Robbie Williams and other world-famous artists, stage dozens of concerts and provide nationwide tours in a new eightmonth cultural project Check in Georgia, which will launch this month.

Check in Georgiawill see the country transformed into a vibrant cultural hub, with 19 locations set to host 35 festival and numerous concerts between April 24 and December 4.

Launched with a budget of 29 million GEL (about $12.6 million/€ 11 million*) from the Governmental Reserve Fund, the initiative was announced today by Georgian officials at a special press conference.

The announcement was made

by Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Dimitri Kumsishvili, Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia Mikheil Giorgadze, Deputy Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia Kakhi Kandelaki and Georgian National Tourism Administration Manager Giorgi Chogovadze.

Initiated and organised by the Government of Georgia, Check

in Georgia will see a range of performing arts events hosted in 19 Georgian cities.

Between April 24 and December 4, Georgia will host performances by popular and classical music artists, and headlined by Maroon 5, Robbie Williams, Italian musician Eros Ramazzotti and Spanish tenor Jose Carreras.

The Government officials said it was a coup attracting such popular musicians and bands and they wanted to make the four headline concerts affordable for all. Ticket prices for the shows will start at 20 GEL (about $8.5/€7.5*) and range up to 90 GEL (about $39/€34.5*).

• The four headline acts will perform on: • Eros Ramazzotti, April 24 at Tbilisi Sports Palace; • Robbie Williams, May 27 at Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi; • Maroon 5, June 7 in Batumi; • Jose Carreras on June 18 in Kutaisi This year a number of annual Georgian festivals will be hosted under the Check in Georgia umbrella, including the Fest I Nova contemporary art festival, the folk art and culture festival Art-Gene, theGeorgian International Festival of Theatre, the Tbilisi International Film Festival and Batumi Music Festival.

In Georgia’s Black Sea coastal

town Batumi, local artists will have an opportunity to take advantage of a newly created performance venue that will be especially fitted out to hold performances. In an unprecedented move from the Government, the venue will be made available to local producers, singers and musical artists free of charge during the entire summer season.

Musical occasions will be complemented by a range of other events including Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, held in capital Tbilisi from May 5-9.

In addition to the Government-organised activities, Check in Georgia will also include events and activities hosted by private companies. Furthermore, agricultural and product displays including wine and cheese festivals will offer the best of local production to visitors.

During the eight-month cultural celebration tour agencies operating in Georgia have planned a range of eco-tourism activities, with bicycle tours, hiking and special visits to Georgia’s protected natural areas included in the range of events. Organisers of Check in Georgia said the project would become an annual fixture and in the future expand to feature a wider range of events.

Tickets to the shows by the headlining artists are already available www.tkt.ge/en.

Georgia-Gazprom agree new deal under previous terms Russian energy giant Gazprom has accepted Georgia’s offer and agreed to sign a new deal that honours the old terms, meaning Georgia will receive 10 percent of the natural gas that transits through the country to Armenia instead of monetary compensation.

The contract text has been already prepared and the Georgian Government will approve it at the next Governmental meeting.

The agreement implies that we are still under the terms of the previous contract and Georgia will receive 10 percent of the natural gas transit,” Georgia’s Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze told reporters.

Georgia held three rounds of negotiations with Gazprom in

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April 11, 2016 #141

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Austria’s capital Vienna after its annual contract expired. All three rounds ended without success as Gazprom wanted to monetise its transit fee and see Georgia pay cash for its gas instead of the country receiving 10 percent of the gas transported to Armenia via Georgia. Kaladze said Gazprom’s offer was “unfavourable” for Georgia.

The nature of negotiations changed in early March when SOCAR President and Kaladze signed an agreement to increase the amount of gas Azerbaijan supplied to Georgia.

After securing additional gas supplies from Azerbaijan and deepening the energy partnership with Azerbaijan, Georgia offered

Gazprom to continue with the old terms of agreement.

Russia has already signed the new deal while Georgia will sign it in the near future.

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Most of the Foreign Students in Georgia Come from Azerbaijan

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Batumi International Airport to Increase Frequency of Flights

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Georgia Reclaims its Function of Being a Nexus Between Europe and Asia

Editor: Nutsa Galumashvili. Mobile phone: 595 380382 Reporters: Nino Kuparashvili, Lazare Gvimradze; Shiva Parizad.

Designer illustrator: Ilia Chrelashvili. Technical Assistant: Giorgi Kheladze

Source: www.commersant.ge, www.bpi.ge, www.gbc.ge, www.agenda.ge, www.civil.ge

April 11, 2016 #141

PUBLICITY

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AGL

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April 11, 2016 #141

Investors’s Public Report “Today, a year later, we are here to report on the progress of our work before the government, people, and media of Georgia.

“The success of the Shuakhevi Hydro Power Plant project is the result of the combined efforts of many people, so I would like to begin by thanking the Government of Georgia for its constant support and each person involved in our project for their dedication and hard work,” Ronny Solberg said.

Currently the company has completed roughly 75 percent of the project’s construction. This involves building over 37 kilometres of tunnels, of which nearly 33 kilometres have already been completed. Construction at the Didadjara, Skhalta, and Chikhuristsqali dams is progressing well.

The Didadjara dam will be finished in November 2016, and the station will start operating by the end of the year. The Skhalta dam will be finished by December 2016. Roofing the Shuakhevi power station is already finished and have nearly completed installing its generators, turbines, and other machinery.

Our success so far has been made possible by the team of Georgian professionals working with us to build the Shuakhevi Hydro Power Plant. At the moment, our project employs 730 Georgian citizens, and the majority of these are residents of highland Adjara .

“In addition, we are contributing millions of Georgian laris in property taxes to the budgets of local municipalities. In 2013 we paid over 1.171. 680 Georgian laris in property taxes, 3.000 000 in

2014, and 4.500 000 million in 2015. This number will significantly increase in 2016 to an estimated 5 million Georgian laris,” Solberg added.

I would like to note that minimizing our project’s environmental impactis one of our top priorities.

AGL is committed to protecting the environment in the project area both during construction and after commissioning, and we are implementing mitigation and compensation measures to minimize these impacts. We constantly strive to comply with all relevant Georgian legislation and, in addition, adhere to the highest international environmental standards and best practices.

Safety is of the highest importance for AGL and the Shuakhevi Hydro Power Plant project. Safety is both a legal and a moral obligation, and we pledge to maintain the highest standards to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for our employees. Safety, the preservation of human life, and protecting the environment are the responsibilities of every employee, supervisor, and manager – and everyone is held accountable.

We believe that the Shuakhevi Hydro Power Plant will promote the long-term development of highmountain Adjara. Social responsibility is one of our main priorities, and we are implementing more than 70 social projects in the Project area.

“We have built roads and water systems, rehabilitated schools and kindergartens, and carried out a variety of educational programs for local students and teachers. I am particularly proud of our initiative to develop local small business by providing

them with training and financial support. Our goal as a company isn’t just to build a hydro power plant, it is also to strengthen and develop the region where we work”.

The Shuakhevi Hydro Power Plant will be commissioned at the end of 2016 and commercial operation will start from the beginning of 2017. At that time, Georgia will have a power station capable of generating 187 megawatts of clean energy.

All the electricity that we generate during the winter months will be exclusively for the use of the Georgian people.

During the summer, when there is a surplus of power being generated, we will export electricity. Thus, on one hand, we will contribute to Georgia’s energy independence and, on the other hand, increase Georgia’s export potential.

To sum up, Adjaristsqali Georgia’s Shuakhevi Hydro Power Project is one of the largest infrastructure investments in Georgia. Our project is boosting the development of Georgia’s hydro energy sector and creating new jobs.

“We are making a huge contribution to municipal budgets through property taxes, minimizing our environmental impact, and doing our utmost to ensure the safety of every worker. We are also implementing social projects focused on the long-term development of highland Adjara.

Once our hydro power plant becomes operational, it will help build Georgia’s energy self-sufficiency and raise its export capacity,”Ronny Solberg said.

“Today we celebrate the implementation one of the largest and most important project in Georgia since gaining our independence. This is

an enormous step in the development of our energy sector. Our goal is the rational utilization of energy resources in order to ensure our country’s energy independence. Cooperation with international finance institutions and leading companies is a significant precondition for the development of Georgia’s economy which is closely to the development of the energy sector,” Kakha Kaladze said.

As a result of the successful collaboration of EBRD, IFC, ADB, TATA Power and Clean Energy Invest, a USD 416 million investment was made in Georgia’s energy sector. This included an investment in social projects that focused on infrastructural development and raising the level of education and awareness.”

Today we celebrate the implementation one of the largest and most important project in Georgia since gaining our independence. This is an enormous step in the development of our energy sector

We believe that the Shuakhevi HPP will promote the longterm development of upper Adjara.

Social responsibility is one of our main priorities and we are implementing more than 70 social projects

KAKHA KALADZE Energy Minister

RONNY SOLBERG CEO of AGL

This is an important project for the Ajara, because the company will pay taxes.

AGL has employed local residents and additional infrastructure will be developed in the Region

Shuakhevi project could be viewed as a success story for the Georgian energy sector - it demonstrates Georgia’s untapped hydro potential for private investments from all over the world

NODAR KHADURI Minister of Finance of georgia

KYRRE OLAF JOHANSEN Chairman of Advisor’s Board of AGL

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ECONO-MIX

April 11, 2016 #141

100 Days of Kvirikashvili Three months have passed after the new Prime Minister was appointed in Georgia, but Giorgi Kvirikashvili has voiced many useful initiatives and promises in the past quarter and the Government has already launched implementation of a major part of them. In only January the Prime Minister put forward 4 new initiatives.

MERAB JANIASHVILI Economic Analyst

The taxation system reformation raised major interest. The Government has already submitted a revised variant of the tax code. According to the bill, starting January 1, 2017 profits tax will be abolished on reinvestments. It should be noted this model was taken from the Estonian experience, which has been successfully working for many years.

What does the Estonian model imply behind removing the profits tax? The company that will reinvest the profits into business development/ expansion will be exempted from the 15% profits tax. To put simply, reinvested sums are exempted from profits tax. Enactment of this initiative was planned on July 1, but after the Georgian Business Association submitted a due application, the date for enactment of this initiative was rescheduled for January 1, 2017. The business sector substantiated its pretences by complicated accountancy.

“Today companies pay both profits tax, as well as advance payments for the next year on monthly basis. This signifies if this year the profits tax constitutes 1000 GEL, companies are to pay 250 GEL on quarter basis in advance. This is ad-

ditional burden and these are considerable funds for companies. If they are able to use this sum for development of their own companies, the state economy will make benefits. Higher economic indicators, more business opportunities, less social responsibility of the Authorities and more revenues from other taxes such as property and revenues taxes and so on”, Giga Mikautadze, head of the Association of Taxpayers has evaluated the Estonian taxation model in this way.

Introduction of the Estonian Model will considerably cut the budget revenues. According to the Government, they have calculated supposed budget losses and in the first year the budget will lose 500 million GEL. However, leaving the reinvested profits in the state economy in the next years will rapidly boost the economy and the state budget will mobilize higher revenues.

Giorgi Kvirikashvili has not confined with only tax system initiatives. In February the Prime Minister proposed another initiative on adding a new component into the Produce in Georgia state program. The new initiative is called Host in Georgia. As part of the new initiative, the interest-

ed enterpriser is entitled to build a new hotel, expand and re-equip the existing infrastructure in regions of Georgia, excluding Tbilisi and Batumi, as well as to sign a franchising agreement with an international hotel operator and invite a foreign brand in the Georgian market. Consequently, the hotel business will receive cheap credit resources with the support of the Authorities.

It should be noted that the tourism sector remains one of the priority directions in the Georgian economy and the recent statistics proves this assertion. In January to March 2016, the number of visitors marked 1 134 436 million, up 14.7% compared to the same period of 2015. In 2014 the revenues from the tourism sector marked 1.8 billion USD, while the country received 1.935 billion USD form the tourism field in 2015, up 148 million USD compared to 2014. The tourism sector’s averaged growth rate in 2009-2014 was 27%.

The new Prime Minister has also made focus on small and medium business sectors. At his meeting with enterprisers he noted that the Government planned to introduce the system of Startups to finance innovative ideas.

“Entrepreneurship, firs of all, implies small enterprises and promotion of beginner businesses in obtaining essentially important financial resources. In the near future, the Beginner Business Financing Foundation will launch operation. The Produce in Georgia program will be expanded and its new subprograms will be launched, including Host in Georgia, that is to promote the networks of small-sized hotels and this program will provide fundamental basis for obtaining financial sources. It is of crucial importance to finance startups so as beginner business obtain financial resources without mortgaging.

The country should finance innovative ideas in financial institutions without mortgaging component”, Giorgi Kvirikashvili noted at his meeting with small business sector representatives.

Decriminalization of economic crime, introduction of the Estonian model of taxation system, establishment of one-window service system for business sector, simplification of the tax administration, reformation of the education sector, financial support of startups – this is an incomplete list of the initiatives that Giorgi Kvirikashvili has put forward in three months after his appointment.

It should be noted no fundamental positive changes have taken place in the Georgian economy in this period, but expectations have radically changed and ISET reports over the past months evidently prove this consideration.

The business sector confidence index has considerably improved in Georgia and increased to 14 point from 11 point under the -100/100 scale.

The Effect of Kvirikashvili – researchers of the TSU International Economic School have called the improved indicators in this way. They assert that without any large-scale macroeconomic changes in Georgia, the business sector confidence index improvement should be considered as a vote of trust from the business circles toward Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

In the first three months Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has proposed many initiative to the benefit of the business sector, including in terms of tax code and tax administration reformation, the ISET experts noted.

“We have witnessed unexpected and unexplained improvement in terms of business expectations. The business sector’s enthusiasm may be based on Kvirikashvili’s priorities for tackling business related problems and taking decisions to the benefit of the private sector”, ISET experts said.

In the last week Georgian Prime Minister made a new optimistic statement. To his words, Georgia will be a genuine European country in 10 years with dynamically growing economy. The current economic growth paces do not enable to reach the European level in the next decade.

Georgia needs to have 7-8% economic growth a year to reach averaged European economic level in 10 years. Only the time will show whether the Effect of Kvirikashvili s able to accelerate Georgian’s economic growth to this extent. It should be also noted that there are positive expectations in the country and we should just wait for new steps to be taken by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili for accelerating the economic growth in Georgia.

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Increase in the Number of Registered Entities in Doing Business

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What is Exports Potential of Georgian Lemonade?

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Southern Gas Corridor to Attract $2 Billion

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Construction Area of Anaklia Sea Port is Comprised of 400 Facilities and 1000 Land Plots

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Turkey Ratifies Energy Agreement With Georgia

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ECONOMY

All leading advertising agencies joined Cannes Lions and this is huge victory

AKO AKHALAIA Marketer

The most influential event in the advertising world – Creative international festival of Cannes Lions youth contest will start in Tbilisi on April 9!

This year Georgia will be represented in 4 categories. The teams that will win the domestic competition will take part in the international festival in Cannes in June beside the world’s best advertisers!

“Cannes Lions festival has a long history. It was founded 62 years ago and Georgia has joined this competition

Georgia’s Economic Growth Falls to Lowest in 5 Years

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two years ago.

The Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency provides general sponsorship for our project. Thanks to this agency, Georgia will be represented at the youth festival by 4 teams, i.e. 8 persons, to bring victory to the country. The registration process in Georgia will end on April 4. All leading advertising agencies of Georgia and major companies have joined the project and this is huge victory!” the festival representative Ako Akhalaia noted.

In 2015, according to the preliminary data, the real GDP growth rate of Georgia amounted to 2.8%.

In 2015, production outputs in the industry sector amounted to 3 752 mln GEL, which is 1.1% less compared to the corresponding indicator of 2014.

In 2015, the value added by the construction sector is significantly higher (by 15.2%) than the corresponding indicator of 2014.

PMCG

The Volume of GDP and its Growth Rate, 2011 - 15 Mln GEL

PASHA Bank to sponsor “Innovations and Digital Economy” forum PASHA Bank supported “Innovations and Digital Economy” business forum hosted by Technopark on April 8th, 2016. Georgian companies presented their latest successful projects to the audience.

PASHA Bank, one of the sponsors of the forum, provides corporate and investment banking services to large and medium-sized enterprises in the region. The Bank has been operating in Georgia since 2013 and has supported a range of events aimed at the development of Georgian economy.

Business forum is a joint initiative by the World Bank, magazine Business Georgia and GITA (Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency). The forum covered such topics as supporting innovations in business, challenges and successful cases.

“Fostering of the innovative business environment is of major importance for the country’s economic growth. We were happy to have had the opportunity of contributing to this process by supporting the forum,” – commented Chief Commercial Officer at PASHA Bank, Goga Japaridze.

A special guest from the World Bank Mr. Uwe Deichmann presented the World Development Report 2016 with main focus on innovations and digital trends prepared by the World Bank’s development research group.

Representatives from Wissol Group, Geocell, ACT, TBC Bank and other companies discussed their innovative projects and experiences at the panel meetings.

The forum hosted over 200 guests from business sector, government and diplomatic corps.

April 11, 2016 #141

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In the first quarter of 2015, GDP increased by 3.2%, while in the second and third quarters it rose by 2.5%

”

Based on the preliminary data, in 2015, Georgia’s economic growth rate was at its lowest over the past five years, amounting to 2.8%, which is a significant decrease compared to the corresponding indicator of the previous year (-1.8 percentage point). However, the regional situation should be taken into consideration and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that economic growth will be reduced by 2.0%.

In 2015, according to the preliminary data, the real GDP growth rate of Georgia amounted to 2.8%.

In this period, the largest sectors according to production outputs were trade (16.6%) and industry (16.5%), but compared to the previous year their added value declined (-0.3% and -1.1%, respectively).

In 2015, the highest growth rate (15.2%) was observed in construction sector.

Based on the preliminary data, in 2015, Georgia’s economic growth rate was at its lowest over the past five years, amounting to 2.8%, which is a significant decrease compared to the corresponding indicator of the previous year (-1.8 percentage point). However, the regional situation should be taken into consideration and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that economic growth will be reduced by 2.0%.

In the first quarter of 2015, GDP increased by 3.2%, while in the second and third quarters it rose by 2.5%, and in the fourth quarter it increased by 2.9%.

In the mentioned period, the structure of real GDP is similar to the corresponding structure of 2014.

In 2015, 16.6% of the value added comes from trade, 16.5% from industry, 10.7% from transport and communications, 9.3% from public administrations, 9.2% from agriculture, 8.0% from construction, 6.6% from real estate, 6.2% from healthcare, 5.4% from community, social and personal service, and 4.9% from the education sector.

In 2015, real growth was recorded in all sectors except trade (-0.3%) and industry (-1.1%), which have the first (16.6%) and second (16.5%) largest shares in the composition of the real GDP. The quickest growing economic sectors during 2015 were

The Structure of GDP, 2015 Education

Other Sectors

Community, social and personal service

Trade

Healthcare

Real Estate Industry Construction

Agriculture

Public Administration

construction (15.2%), community, social and personal service (7.1%) and real estate (6.1%).

In 2015, production outputs in the industry sector amounted to 3 752 mln GEL, which is 1.1% less compared to the corresponding indicator of 2014.

Production declined in all four quarters and the largest decline recorded was in the third quarter (-2.5%; 24.2 mln GEL).

In 2015, based on the business sector data, a number of employed individuals in the industry sector also declined (- 8 322 people), but the average monthly remuneration increased by 11.8% and equalled 896 GEL.

Transport and Communication

In 2015, the value added by the construction sector is significantly higher (by 15.2%) than the corresponding indicator of 2014.

The growth recorded during all four quarters, among them, the most attractive was the third quarter, which makes up 31.6% of total added value of the construction sector.

In 2015, compared to the previous year, based on the business sector data, despite increased activity, the number of people employed in the construction sector decreased significantly (7 842 people), however the average monthly remuneration increased by 42.7% and amounted to 1 352 GEL..

RATINGS

April 11, 2016 #141

FITCH AFFIRMS GEORGIA AT BB-

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NINO KUPARASHVILI

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Georgia’s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at “BB-“with Stable Outlooks in the years of 2015-2016.

However, the issue ratings on Georgia’s senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds have also been affirmed at “BB-“ in 2016 whereas in 2015 the estimation result was without minus. Meaning that the situation has slightly deteriorated. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at “BB” and the Short-term foreign currency IDR at”B” in both years.

Moving on the years of 20102011, when Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Georgia’s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) to Positive from Stable, affirmed them at “B+”. The agency has also affirmed Georgia’s Shortterm IDR at “B” and Country Ceiling at “BB-“.

The director in Fitch’s Sovereign Group, Art Woo made a statement in 2011 and announced that: “The Positive Outlook reflects Georgia’s strong economic recovery, a reduction in both the budget and current account deficits, an improvement in the financial sector’s health and some easing of political risk”.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT Fitch estimated real GDP growth of 6.5% in 2010, after a contraction of 3.9% in 2009. It was forecasted that for the years of 2011 and 2012 GDP growth would continue, with 5.0% and 6.0% respectively. According to Fitch real GDP was set to grow by an average of 5.5% in 2012-13, faster than the “BB” median, as Georgia reaps the benefits of past structural reforms. Despite the negative trends, Georgia’s real GDP growth held

Georgian economy to grow to 4.2% in 2017 up fairly well in 2015, with the economy expanding 2.8% in real terms. Herewith, Fitch forecasts a deficit of 10.2% of GDP in 2016 and

8.6% in 2017. Beyond 2017, Fitch assumes that the government will maintain its medium-term ambition to keep the fiscal deficit below 3% of GDP, stabilizing the general government debt ratio below 40% of GDP. According to the Fitch Ratings that is the global rating agency the year 2016 will be another challenging year in terms of growth, as Russia set to contract again.

The political environment is quite polarized due to the elections will take place in October. Nevertheless, Georgia continues to enjoy very strong governance indicators by regional and rated peer standards. It should be pointed out that the slow normalization of bilateral relations with Russia is positive for political stability.

The agency expects the Georgian economy to grow 2.5 percent in 2016, rising to 4.2 percent in 2017 as external conditions improve.

CAD & GXD Georgia had a sizeable current account deficit (CAD) of 12% of GDP in 2009, leaving the country highly dependent on external financing.

The agency expected the current account deficit to remain well above the “BB” median and it to be about 12% of GDP in 2015 as it was in 2009, compared with the “BB”median of 2.7% of GDP. However, Fitch expected the current account deficit to widen a bit in 2015 than the previous forecasts. Thus, as it was forecasted the current account deficit widened marginally to 11.4% of GDP in 2015. Nevertheless, while the CAD will narrow gradually, less than half will be funded by FDI inflows, meaning that gross external debt (GXD) will continue to increase.

In 2010 the country’s external debt was meaningfully increasing. According to Fitch estimates it had to

reach 8 billion 809 million GEL. Georgia’s external debt amounted 6 billion 154 million GEL as of June 2010.

The biggest creditors were the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank.

The depreciation of the exchange rate saw gross external debt (GXD) jump to an estimated 105.7% of GDP in 2015, up from 82.9% in 2014.

The risks are mitigated by over 20% of GXD being inter-company lending, while a further 30% is government borrowing, almost 90% of which is concessional.

2007 - Short term perspectives –“ B” , Long term perspectives “BB-” – stable outlook.

2008

Short term “B”, Long term”B+”, negative outlook.

2009 Short term perspectives –“ B” , Long term perspectives “B+” – stable outlook

2007 2016

Long term perspectives BB-

Long term perspectives BB-

2010

– Short term perspectives – “B” , long term perspectives “B+”, Stable outlook.

2011

3 March - Short term perspectives - “B”, Long term perspectives- “B+”, positive outlook, however according to the rating provided on December 15, Short term perspectives were assessed at “B”, Long term “BB-“, moving to Stable outlook.

www.cbw.ge <<

The Wall Street Journal Considering Georgia as the Great Wine Destination Country

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Best Innovative Service – Georgia’s 112 Service Wins among 82 Countries

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Extra Regulations Needed for Political Advertising in Georgia

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China As an Important market for Georgian Wine

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10 Vegan Dishes from Georgia

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PUBLICITY

April 11, 2016 #141

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CITY

April 11, 2016 #141

Tbilisi Infrastructure Changes

Iinterest expression will be announced for investors for arranging parking places on about 12 locations

We plan to introduce minimum regulations in 2017 and develop the project in several stages

Georgian Railway has submitted three variants for implementing Tbilisi detour railroad project

At this stage, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development invited experts carry out the assessment process

Underground and Aboveground Parking Places

Taxi Drivers Obliged to Meet Standards

New Contact between City Hall and Business

Seven Companies Submit Offers for Delivery of Buses

Tbilisi City Hall plans to announce an interest expression procedure for arranging parking places in the capital city.

Tbilisi Vice Mayor Irakli Lekvinadze noted aboveground and underground parking places will be arranged on 12 locations in the capital city.

“In the near future we will announce an interest expression procedure for arranging underground and aboveground parking places.

An international company jointly with us will finish the geological assessment report in a short period and interest expression will be announced for investors for arranging parking places on about 12 locations”, Irakli Lekvinadze said.

Starting 2017 taxi drivers will have to meet certain standards and pass registration. Tbilisi Vice Mayor Irakli Lekvinadze told reporters that the Tbilisi government has developed an early document for regulating this field.

“Our municipal offices have been actively working with the field specialists to regulate this sector. Both Tbilisi residents and the capital city guests complain about the unregulated issues, while they want to enjoy safe and comfortable taxi services.

We plan to introduce minimum regulations in 2017 and develop the project in several stages”, Vice Mayor Irakli Lekvinadze said.

Any driver who will match minimum requirements will be able to provide taxi services to clients, he added.

Nodar Chichinadze, currently head of the Tbilisi City Hall municipal service for economic policy, will act as a contact person between the city hall and the business sector.

The Tbilisi City Hall gradually moves to one-window principle to facilitate services to both businessmen and ordinary citizens, Nodar Chichinadze said.

“The city hall has been actively working on removing bureaucratic barriers. One of the missions of our service is to offer services to the investors that are delegated to various divisions of the city hall.

“The development sector applies our services most frequently. The city hall offices provide various services and we try to provide satisfactory services to everybody and I believe we are success in this respect”.

Seven companies have submitted offers for importing buses to Tbilisi.

Tbilisi Deputy Mayor Irakli Lekvinadze noted the process of accepting tender proposals has been completed and the winner company will be named till May 2016, while new buses will be conveyed to Tbilisi in September 2016. European and Ukrainian companies have also submitted the offers, he said.

“We will have information about the company best fitting our standards in terms of technical and financial proposals by April 15. At this stage, EBRD-invited experts carry out the assessment process”, Lekvinadze noted.

Under the tender terms, the new buses will be 12 meters in length and will work on natural gas.

“

Tbilisi Bypass Railway Project will Go on Tbilisi Mayor David Narmania assures that the Tbilisi bypass railroad project will be continued definitely.

Initially, public discussions will start after the group working on city development general plan submits a due conclusion.

“The general plan development group that operates at the city hall will complete the conclusion soon.

The project will be continued and it must be continued. Specific details will be unveiled after the conclusion submission”, Narmania said.

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BUSINESS

April 11, 2016 #141

First Online Wine Shop “Bino” Launched in Georgia The first online wine shop “Bino” began operating on the Georgian market. The company’s Director Giorgi Kumsiashvili says that the online platformwas launched a month ago and currently the base includes 14 wine companies. The head of “Bino.ge” notes that the customer demand is the same both for average and high price products. “Bino” provides a customer with specific informationabout each wine .

WHERE TO GO

FARMER

Nonsmoking Cafés-Bars-Restaurants in Tbilisi

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foreigners. Another nonsmoking spot is the vegan cafe “Kiwi”, that is for those people who refused animal products in order to defense animal rights, environmental or health protection reasons.

Burger-loving non-smokers are free to visit the “PIPES burger joint”, where they are able to enjoy with healthy environment.

“Amo Rame” is the cafe with exceptionally sophisticated interior. Thus, all the nonsmokers have to visit it once at least.

“Prospero / Prospero’s Books & Caliban’s Coffeehouse” is probably the first of the cafes, where smoking is not allowed; moreover you can purchase the books there.

“Entrée” business network is in the list of the places in Tbilisi, where smoking is not

espite previous attempts to ban smoking at bars and cafes in Georgia, most still allow it. Spending even an hour or two in a smoke-filled cafe can be quite an unpleasant shock to your senses if you’re not used to it.

Most of the customers, including smoker ones, trying to defense the rights of those who are non-smokers and agree to isolate them.

During the warmer months it doesn’t pose too much of a problem since you’ll likely take your coffee on the terrace, but in the winter, as customers move indoors, it can be difficult to find smokefree bars and cafes.

There are not a lot of places where you are able to avoid from SMOKE and to get a cup of coffee in a healthy environ-

ment in Tbilisi. However, still even if you try to find them you will definitely make it.

Below we are going to introduce such cafés-bars-restaurants in Tbilisi, where you are not allowed to smoke.

“Barbarestan” – is one of the new restaurants, where smoking is not allowed. The menu of this exciting concept is created according to the book of famous cook of 20th century Barbara Jorjadze.

Additionally, the restaurant was opened by ten-childrenfamily. Herewith, the atmosphere here is very cozy and solid for both local or foreign visitors.

On the Freedom Square Bar “Warsaw” is one of the favorite hangouts for nonsmokers. Besides that, Polish atmosphere and cheap drinks attract a lot of Georgians or

PHARMACY

TECHNOLOGY

PSP enters the Armenia

14-Year-Old Twin Brothers Invented Air Cleaning System

According to the management, negotiations are held with Armenian drug store chain at this stage, but the company does not exclude to establish new pharmaceutical stores. “We hold negations on acquisition of drug chain in Armenia, but simultaneously we consider the idea of establishment of new chain, which should be focused on the satisfaction of the Armenian customers”, PSP declares.

NETWORK

GEOCELL introduces digital signature Geocell, with the support of State Service Development Agency, offers its customers digital signature service valid for the whole country starting from the end of March.

During the service, customer fixes his electronic signature on a created document that considerably saves his time.

All the documentation and procedures will be kept electronically.

Giorgi Kachkachishvili and Demetre Kachkachishvili Little inventors Twin 14-year-old brothers Giorgi and Demetre Kachkachishvilis, have distinguished themselves as little inventors. Their air cleaning system ACS (Air Cleaning System) detects the level of gas, dust, steam and temperature in the air. If the existing indicators exceed the norm, respective absorption and purification system turns on immediately and the owner receives message on phone about the information on the specific place.

The twins go to 9th class of 1st experimental school. They also learn at UG-Limes Robotics and Electronics. For two years they have also studied at Komarov Physics-Mathematics school.

The twins demonstrated special interest towards technical sciences. They plan to continue studies in this direction. Recently, their invention gained victory at the republican tournament of international Olympiad of young scientists and investors.

The prototype of the system has been already created and tested. The twins have spent 85 USD on its assemblage. Jointly with specialist Guram Chaganava, the twins plan to refine and improve the system. A display will be installed on the system with menu.

This type of instrument is able to determine the level of dust, steam and smoke in the air. But in this specific case it only turns on air pollution detection system.The 9th form pupils think that similar contests induce pupils and enables young people to maximally demonstrate their capabilities.

allowed and the situation is pleasant.

At “Luca Polare” Coffee, ice cream and other dishes are waiting for you, moreover no smell of cigarettes will disturb you here.

In case you love Italian cuisine, you are a nonsmoker and you plan to spend a pleasant evening, restaurant“Piano” is an unusual decision.

“Iveria Cafe” is in the queue of non-smokers’s cafe.

“Leila” cafe is for vegetarians and non-smokers at the same time. The atmosphere is amazing and even one time visit is enough to fell in love in this cafe.

“Kama” is the cafe that is located on Paliashvili street.

Here a person will be hosted with an amazing dishes and healthy atmosphere as well.

13-year-old Farmer Wishes to Buy Land to Lay Out the KitchenGarden for Rabbits Shako Meshvelashvili, at his 11 age, borrowed 50 GEL from his mother and bought 2 rabbits. Today Shako is already the owner of 50 rabbits. During his stay in Okami village, he used to sell the rabbits at Mukhrani open market. As he states, the half of the money he received from each sold rabbit, he used to save, whereas the other part he used to buy new ones in order to increase its number and business growth.

“I always had my own money, for me and my sisters as well”says Shako Meshvelashvili.

His grandfather helped him to sell rabbits at his stay in the village. As for now he lives in Tbilisi, at Elia mountain. He left 5 to 6 rabbits in the village and brought others with him in Tbilisi.

According to him, it is not easy to look after the rabbits, they need a meal three times per day, and 5 times to clean and tidy up their place.

Although currently, Shako Meshvelashvili is the eight-grade student at school, he is going to follow its current activities and to enter Agruni in future to study in a proper faculty.

HEALTHCARE

April 11, 2016 #141

11

Interview

The tender that the Partnership Fund announced for rehabilitating three hospitals in Tbilisi has reached its final phase. AlphaMedic Austrian company has submitted the best proposal.

Public–private partnership

Hospital Sector Development is a Project of the Century for Georgia

This consortium unites such experienced companies as FMK, Keppie, The Health Partnership, FESP. PPP model develops the state to business interaction format for implementing and improving politically and socially relevant projects. The international experience proves that targetoriented cooperation between the state and a business sector is a mandatory component for the market economy development. The Partnership Fund as a state instrument is a wonderful example of cooperation between the private and state sectors and many successful projects carried out by the Foundation proves this consideration.

The Authorities are implementing large-scale projects in the hospital and pharmaceutical sectors through the Partnership Fund.

Similar approaches radically change the government policy that is directed to improving

the hospital and pharmaceutical sectors.

The medical clinics development project calls for rehabilitating the Republican Hospital, Children Infection Center and the Oncology Scientific Center. The project is expected to become Georgia’s undertaking of the ongoing century thanks to the investment volume, technological achievements and professional staff. At the BOAO international forum I conducted important meeting with Mr. Alexamndre Mashkevich, who was representing the Kazakh Party at the Asian Forum. Two companies of Alexander Mashkevich have engaged in reformation of the Georgian hospital sector. At the meeting we discussed the relevant issues of the pharmaceutical plant and new hospital center and availability of involvement of various financial institutions in the projects.

The projects implemented in the pharmaceutical sector have also reaped first positive effect and medication prices are declining in Georgia. Appearance of Humanity Georgia resulted in lowering medication prices in the Georgian market and the Georgian state has saved tens of millions of GEL in the field of financing medications in the insurance sector.

Many preparations have gone cheaper and the positive effect is seen in the society too. I believe the project implemented through involvement of the Partnership Fund have justified. The second stage of the project calls for constructing a pharmaceutical plant. As a result, medication tariffs will go cheaper. We have achieved our goal. Medication prices are decreasing and none of

the previous governments could attain similar results. Therefore, the government plans to carry out similar changes in the hospital sector too.

By the Government’s initiative, jointly with Global Alliance consulting company, the Partnership Fund has carried out the feasibility studies for development of state-owned medical clinics. Based on this research, as part of the healthcare system reformation program, the government announced a tender.

The Partnership Fund was also involved in the tender commission. Three companies had submitted an interest expression for implementing the medical clinics development project.

And only AlphaMedic consortium was found to have submitted valuable and acceptable tender proposal. The Government has spent much time to explore the company proposal in details. The clinics development project discussion process still continues. We are examining the proposal in details and this process takes much time.

- What does the PPP model imply for the hospital sector development in Georgia?

- This is a genuine breakthrough for Georgia. The hospital sector development under the PPP model will bring positive effects.

This is the project of the century.

The PPP is a cost-efficient project that calls for managing all available risks. The developing countries have considerably improved the healthcare system through public to private partnership format. The developed countries of the world employ this model and the time has come for Georgia to take this significant step in the healthcare sector.

According to the report, the Panaskerteli Index has declined by 12.5% compared to February and made up 11.1 points.

Panaskerteli Index Decreases by Extra 12.5%, Medication Prices Keep Declining

T

he Association of Young Financiers and Businessmen – AYFB and the Health Platform have introduced a report on the March indicators of the Panaskerteli Index, a specialized index on changes in medication prices.

According to the report, the Panaskerteli Index has declined by 12.5% compared to February and made up 11.1 points. Based on the recent indicators, price declination is driven by two important factors. The first reason derives from the national currency exchange rate growth against USD. This trend has incentivized importers and, consequently, the network of pharmacies to lower prices on a major part of medications. The second factor is related to market competition intensification. Over the past period the Georgian pharmaceutical market has recorded significant changes.

Namely, thanks to the policy carried out by the Government, cheaper generics have been imported to the country. There are expectations that, like Humanity Georgia, other new importers and

enterprisers will engaged in the competition process.

It is also important that the Georgian Health Group (a Bank of Georgia holding) has purchased the GPC network of pharmacies. This deal is to further intensify competition in relation to traditional players and promote a decrease of medication prices.

AYFB estimates the Panaskerteli Index on monthly basis by exploring prices of 200 medications. The below chart reflects the pharmaceutical market tendencies over the past 5 months. In this period medication prices have constantly decreased. The latest indicators prove that prices have decreased on 76 medications. To maintain the existing trend of price reduction, the government should take more active and efficient steps, including further diversify the market to attract both manufacturing and importer companies.

It is also important to develop the infrastructure of suitable laboratories. In this process, maintaining the GEL exchange rate stability is also very significant.

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CULTURE

April 11, 2016 #141

I want us all to be children of Earth.

I would draw Earth.

Georgian artist Levan Songulashvili shines at Tribeca Ball in NY Works of art created by Georgian visual artist Levan Songulashvili went on display at the annual Tribeca Ball 2016, hosted at the prestigious New York Academy of Art in the United States (US) this week.

His creations were part of a display of student pieces at the celebrated venue on Monday. A number of original works, prints and other pieces by master’s degree students and New York Academy of Art members were part of the exhibition.

The Tribeca Ball 2016, visited by famous actors and celebrities including Naomi Watts, Brooke Shields and Al Pacino, honoured restaurateur Michael Chow and his fashion designer wife Eva Chow.

Songulashvili’s artworks at the event were viewed by well-known American visual artist Eric Fischl as well as American painter Vincent Desiderio.

Actor and model Brooke Shields - who missed out on buying Songulashvili’s work at last year’s Tribeca Ball - this time received one of his 2014 works as a gift.

Earlier this year Songulashvili was selected among 21 artists to create a nude portrait of American rock music pioneer Iggy Pop. The creative project was the result of collaboration between the Brooklyn Museum of Art and British conceptual artist Jeremy Deller, and held on February 21.

The group of contemporary artists, aged 19 to 80, worked to create their vision of the rock muse.

The results of their efforts will be exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum of New York later this year before being put on display at various other galleries and museums across the US. Songulashvili, now based in NY, graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts in 2013 before he won a scholarship award from Georgia’s Education and Science Ministry while studying for his master’s degree.

In 2014 he left for the US and continued his master’s studies at the New York Academy of Art. There he was awarded the Scholar Merit Award, which was founded by the famous 20th Century artist Andy Warhol.

I avoid painting the woman I like His works are similarly individualistic and wholly “his”

I

rakli Jgenti, a young artist, stands out with his vision and tastes.

It’s interesting to know how his normal day looks like, a type of agenda if you will, and what are the steps he takes in order to achieve his success. This is an interview with Irakli Jgenti regarding various topics.

- As you mentioned in one of your interviews, you protested against painting as a child, since everyone around you was doing it and diminishing your interest.

What changed this protest, and did it maybe morph into a protest of another kind?

- You could be right, maybe that was the reason; my grandmother was a great painter. Although as a child I never thought of it that deep down.

I drew things once or twice at school and they liked it. It was something else; I just did not feel like drawing. And it

was probably because I was so fed up with everyone else doing it, yes.

- Maybe your protest changed forms; maybe you had a fear of underachieving?

- I just never had the interest, but I simply could not avoid it. I still ended up painting. I think that I’ll achieve more here than through medicine for example. From today’s perspective I can see myself achieving anything through painting. And I don’t paint because I particularly like it or see happiness in it; I just think that I will genuinely achieve more through it. I don’t think during the process that I’ll earn a lot of money, win affection from girls or things like that. But subconsciously, I guess that’s a factor, yes; that all my hopes rest on this work.

- Do you think that artistry can be a source of income in today’s reality at Georgia?

- I don’t know any artists, neither am I aware of income prospects in this regard. And I also don’t think of it as a way to survive in life. I’ve changed opinions many times, but I think I’m quite set with painting at this point. I get no pleasure from collaborating or working around people. 3-4 individuals around me are already too much, it makes it difficult. So to me, painting is comfort. Solitude throughout the day.

-- Do you follow any mediums? What style do you draw in?

- I don’t know. I draw what’s required in the moment. I’m specifically drawing this for my US Master’s application.

I draw realistic portraits because that is what’s required of me right now, not because I’m pursuing certain styles.

-- What is music for you? Do you listen while you paint? Talk about the moods it gives you.

- I don’t listen to anything while I paint since I need my focus at its absolute peak. I love music a lot and always look for new sounds I might like. I seek them in any types and genres, be it Georgian folk music, rock rap, electronic or what have you. I like sounds everywhere.

- Since you organized an exhibition, it’s apparent that you have ambitions for society to get to know you better and have a say about your work. What do you think a Georgian artist needs to do in order for their pieces to penetrate the international scene?

- I will only talk about myself and if that becomes an advice to someone else, so be it. First of all, I know I need to work every day. It’s about working on your own self in this regard, always being in shape. Sometimes I go to bed at night and feel like the day was wasted, that I was just a piece of flesh; I can’t rest and being idle forbids me from feeling at peace.

- What issues do you see in society, what would you specify?

- If one wishes for senseless people to be gone from the world, they themselves become senseless. Look at history, when have people ever achieved sensibility in unison? It’s different for everyone… I try not to get irritated by anything, but… the most infuriating thing to me is people’s desire to enforce a single opinion on everyone.

For example believers might want everyone to believe. Atheists might want the opposite… while it’s all silly and pointless, no one can be something at once. It’s not the enforcing of opinions that we need to work on; it’s the coexistence of different opinions that we need to focus on, on respect

towards each other’s different views.

-Which movie would you single out and is there a film you’d like to work on as an artist?

- If not as an artist then definitely as a director, I know I’d make a movie. I love films very much, I’d direct many pictures, and it’s hard for me to specify which ones.

- What do you think about street art, and what does it mean to you? What does it express?

- It’s just regular art nowadays, I don’t think it’s any different if you draw on paper or on asphalt. It’s a form of expression, one of many.

I think that revolutions and systems for development and change are all in me already. I have a lot of inward things to resolve at first, so I don’t think of such issues nor do I have time. I have protests within me every day. In order to paint for 7-8 hours a day, I have to win entire wars with my inner self.

- I know you don’t believe in Muses and that you don’t have a particular source of inspiration, but I still am interested if there is a woman you would paint, maybe not even once?

- My friend I draw last, I’d draw again with pleasure. I’d have never drawn someone close to me, and I never thought it possible for me so it was a type of experiment. They say an artist is pitiful before a blank canvas. I always looked at it as some poetic phrase but there I was, experiencing it. It turns out there are moments when I get stuck and cannot continue. I might draw my mother’s husband a second time now; he’s a very characteristic bloke. As for a woman, I don’t know. I generally avoid painting a woman I like.

April 11, 2016 #141

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WORLD NEWS Quotes

“ SOCAR’s interest in acquisition of gas station in Turkey is associated with the launch of the Star Refinery in Izmir

War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace

”

• Biggest one-day jump in Armenian yields since mid-December • Azeri bonds pare losses after both sides call for cease-fire

Thomas Mann

SOCAR Interested in Servier Acquiring Gas Station moves Network in Turkey production to Turkey

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zerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR is interested in purchasing assets of the gas station network belonging to the Austrian energy company OMV in Turkey as a part of the company’s investment strategy.

SOCAR’s interest in acquisition of gas station in Turkey is associated with the launch of the Star Refinery in Izmir, head of SOCAR Turkey Enerji Inc. Kanan Yavuz told Turkish media on April 5. The sale of petroleum products produced in the plant will be realized in the framework of the plan on integrating the company into the market. Some 55 percent of the refinery project has been completed and the construction work still continues.

The commissioning of the refinery is expected in 2018.

SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev gave instructions to company’s Turkish branch to analyze the Turkish market for the sale of gasoline, particularly at the OMVs gas station network, said Yavuz. The issue will be addressed in terms of priorities, strategies and objectives of SOCAR. The SOCAR president confirmed SOCAR’s interest in purchasing assets of the OMVs gas station network in Turkey last week.

Earlier, OMV announced about the sale of its Turkish subsidiary OMV Petrol Office as the company intended to focus on extracting facilities and

integrated oil refining activities. OMV Petrol Office, which owns one of the largest gas station chains in Turkey, has 1,785 gasoline stations in Turkey.

The volume of fuel sold amounted to about 10 million tons, in 2015.

In 2013, Unipetrol held talks with OMV to acquire gas station network in the Czech Republic. And in 2012, the Serbian NIS-Gazprom Neft signed an agreement to buy a network of 28 gas stations that were owned by the OMV subsidiary in Bosnia and Herzegovina. SOCAR is the largest investor in Turkey’s economy. Its total investments in Turkey exceed $20 billion for the period 2008-2018. It will be Azerbaijan’s largest investment abroad by 2020.

Previously, Kanan Yavuz told journalists that SOCAR Turkey Enerji will become the second largest industrial company in Turkey by 2018. The consolidated turnover of SOCAR Turkey Enerji is expected to reach to $15 billion in 2018. In addition, SOCAR holds 56.32 percent stake in Turkey’s petrochemical giant Petkim. Turkey and Azerbaijan has always had close and amicable relations due to common roots, history and culture. Thus, Turkey is a stable market for Azerbaijan to invest. The increasing number of projects initiated by both countries will serve to enhance the cooperation between them more in future.

Russia & Iran negotiate canal from Caspian Sea to Persian Gulf

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oscow and Tehran are holding talks on digging a ship canal from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf, said Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai, speaking to students in St. Petersburg. Any canal linking the two has to go through Iran.

“Yes, this issue is being discussed”, said the ambassador on Thursday without specifying details, quoted by TASS. The Caspian Sea is the largest en-

closed inland body of water in the world. Its coastline is 7,000 kilometers long and is bordered by Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan.

The North-South corridor, when built, is expected to significantly reduce the time of cargo transport from India to Central Asia and Russia. At present, it takes about 40 days to ship goods from Mumbai in India to Moscow. The new route will be able to cut this time to 14 days.

France’s pharmaceutical company Servier has decided to move some of its production operations from France and Ireland to Turkey. The company will produce around 21 million medicine packages in the next 18 months. The company plans to increase its annual production capacity through Abdi İbrahim and İlko İlaç in Turkey to 32 million packages by 2018, said company management at a press meeting on April 1.

“The production operations of 21 million packages of medicines will be moved to Turkey partly until the end of 2016. The operations will be moved to Turkey in the next 18 months. This figure is equal to some 97 percent of our current sales in Turkey now,” said Servier Turkey chief Philippe Mea. “In addition to this, we plan to produce an additional five million packages of medicines in our product group, which is to be licensed. By 2018, we will reach a total of 32 million packages of annual production capacity. We can increase this figure if we make exports to the neighboring region,” he noted.

Here’s How Much Oil Iran Plans to Pump Iran plans to boost oil output in the coming year by an amount roughly equivalent to the total production capacity of Persian Gulf neighbor Qatar. It’s a goal more likely achieved only at the start of the next decade, according to the International Energy Agency.

The targeted boost to 4 million barrels a day in the Iranian year through March 2017, announced by Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh Wednesday, would see the country add about 800,000 barrels to daily production. Iran is pursuing the plan as fellow OPEC members prepare to meet with other major producers including Russia in the Qatari capital of Doha April 17 to discuss an output freeze to ease a global oil glut.

Armenian, Azeri Bonds Tumble as Death Toll Mounts From Clashes

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rmenian and Azeri bonds dropped for a second day after clashes between the two republics over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory threatened to spill over into a politically sensitive region.

The yield on Armenia’s Eurobonds maturing in September 2020 climbed 16 basis points on Tuesday to 6.52 percent at 7 p.m. in the capital Yerevan, set for the worst day since mid-December.

The rate on Azerbaijan’s March 2024 note initially also rose 15 basis points, paring the increase to nine basis points at 5.71 percent after both sides agreed on a cease-fire. Both securities traded at their lowest yield in at least four months just before the violence flared.

Investors started ditching the two nations’ sovereign debt on Monday after dozens of people were reported dead and Armenia warned that the worst fighting in the area in two decades could spiral into a “full-scale war” in a region flanked by Russia, Turkey and Iran. The conflict dates back to the dying days of the Soviet Union, when a dispute over the territory flared into a war that killed 30,000 and created a million refugees. This week’s fight-

ing is the worst since a Russianbrokered truce 22 years ago.

“The importance of the situation should not be underestimated,” Gintaras Shlizhyus, an analyst at Raiffeisen Bank International AG in Vienna, said in a report to clients earlier on Tuesday. “Both sides of the conflict are demonstrating strong military resolve.”

www.cbw.ge <<

Ukraine Formally Joins Trans-Caspian Int’l Transport Route

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North-South Project has Good Prospects

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Switzerland Seeks to Attract More Azerbaijani Tourists

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Ford’s Plan for Mexico Plant Draws Criticism From Trump, UAW

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Europeans Spend Over 24 Billion Euros a Year on Illegal Drugs, New Study Finds

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PUBLICITY

April 11, 2016 #141

April 11, 2016 #141

Embassy United States of America Embassy 11 Balanchivadze St., Dighomi Dstr., Tbilisi Tel: 27-70-00, 53-23-34 E-mail: tbilisivisa@state.gov; askconsultbilisi@state.gov United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Embassy 51 Krtsanisi Str., Tbilisi, Tel: 227-47-47 E-mail: british.embassy.tbilisi@fco.gov.uk Republic of France Embassy 49, Krtsanisi Str. Tbilisi, Tel: 272 14 90 E-mail: ambafrance@access.sanet.ge Web-site: www.ambafrance-ge.org Federal Republic of Germany Embassy 20 Telavi St. Tbilisi Tel: 44 73 00, Fax: 44 73 64 Italian RepublicEmbassy 3a Chitadze St, Tbilisi, Tel: 299-64-18, 292-14-62, 292-18-54 E-mail: embassy.tbilisi@esteri.it Republic of Estonia Embassy 4 Likhauri St., Tbilisi, Tel: 236-51-40 E-mail: tbilisisaatkond@mfa.ee Republic of Lithuania Embassy 25 Tengiz Abuladze St, Tbilisi Tel: 291-29-33 E-mail: amb.ge@urm.lt Republic of Latvia Embassy 16 Akhmeta Str., Avlabari, 0144 Tbilisi.

E-mail: embassy.georgia@mfa.gov.lv Greece Republic Embassy 37. Tabidze St. Tbilisi Tel: 91 49 70, 91 49 71, 91 49 72 Czech RepublicEmbassy 37 Chavchavadze St. Tbilisi ;Tel: 291-67-40/41/42 E-mail: czechembassy@gol.ge Web-sait: www.mzv.cz Japan Embassy 7 Krtsanisi St. Tbilisi Tel: +995 32 2 75 21 11, Fax: +995 32 2 75 21 20 Kingdom of Sweden Embassy 15 Kipshidze St. Tbilisi Tel: +995 32 2 55 03 20 , Fax: +995 32 2 22 48 90 Kingdom of the Netherlands Embassy 20 Telavi St. Tbilisi Tel: 27 62 00, Fax: 27 62 32 People’s Republic of China Embassy 52 Barnov St. Tbilisi Tel: 225-22-86, 225-21-75, 225-26-70 E-mail: zhangling@access.sanet.ge Republic of Bulgaria Embassy 15 Gorgasali Exit, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia Tel: +995 32 291 01 94; +995 32 291 01 95 Fax: +99 532 291 02 70 Republic of Hungary Embassy 83 Lvovi Street, Tbilisi Tel: 39 90 08; E-mail: hunembtbs@gmail.com State of Israel Embassy 61 Agmashenebeli Ave. Tbilisi Tel: 95 17 09, 94 27 05 Embassy of Swiss Confederation’s Russian Federation Interests Section Embassy 51 Chavchavadze Av., Tbilisi Tel: 291-26-45, 291-24-06, 225-28-03 E-mail: RussianEmbassy@Caucasus.net Ukraine Embassy 75, Oniashvili St., Tbilisi Tel: 231-11-61, 231-12-02, 231-14-54 E-mail: ukraina_pu@wanex.net; emb_ge@mfa.gov.ua Consular Agency: 71, Melikishvili St., Batumi Tel: (8-88-222) 3-16-00/ 3-14-78 Republic of Turkey Embassy 35 Chavchavadze Ave., Tbilisi Tel: 225-20-72/73/74/76 embassy.tbilisi@mfa.gov.tr Consulate General in Batumi 9 Ninoshvili Street, Batumi Tel: 422 25 58 00 consulate.batumi@mfa.gov.tr Republic of Azerbaijan Embassy Kipshidze II-bl . N1., Tbilisi Tel: 225-26-39, 225-35-26/27/28 E-mail: tbilisi@mission.mfa.gov.az Address: Dumbadze str. 14, Batumi Tel: 222-7-67-00; Fax: 222-7-34-43 Republic of Armenia Embassy 4 Tetelashvili St. Tbilisi Tel: 95-94-43, 95-17-23, 95-44-08 E-mail: armemb@caucasus.net Web: www.armenianembassy.ge Consulate General, Batumi Address: Batumi, Gogebashvili str. 32, Apt. 16 Kingdom of Spain Embassy Rustaveli Ave. 24, I floor, Tbilisi Tel: 230-54-64 E-mail: emb.tiflis@maec.esRomania Embassy

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TBILISI GUIDE 7 Kushitashvili St., Tbilisi Tel: 38-53-10; 25-00-98/97 E-mail: ambasada@caucasus.net Republic of Poland Embassy 19 Brothers Zubalashvili St., Tbilisi Tel: 292-03-98 Email:tbilisi.amb.sekretariat@msz.gov.pl Web-site: www.tbilisi.polemb.net Republic of Iraq Embassy Kobuleti str. 16, Tbilisi Tel: 291 35 96; 229 07 93 E-mail: iraqiageoemb@yahoo.com Federative Republic of Brazil Embassy Chanturia street 6/2, Tbilisi Tel.: +995-32-293-2419 Fax.: +995-32-293-2416 Islamic Republic of Iran Embassy 80, I.Chavchavadze St. Tbilisi, Tel: 291-36-56, 291-36-58, 291-36-59, 291-36-60; Fax: 291-36-28 E-mail: iranemb@geo.net.ge United Nations Office Address: 9 Eristavi St. Tbilisi Tel: 225-11-26/28, 225-11-29/31 Fax: 225-02-71/72 E-mail: registry.geo@undp.org Web-site: www.undp.org International Monetary Fund Office Address : 4 Freedom Sq., GMT Plaza, Tbilisi Tel: 292-04-32/33/34 E-mail: kdanelia@imf.org Web-site: www.imf.ge Asian Development Bank Georgian Resident Mission Address: 1, G. Tabidze Street

Freedom Square 0114 Tbilisi, Georgia Tel: +995 32 225 06 19 E-mail: adbgrm@adb.org; Web-site: www.adb.org World Bank Office Address : 5a Chavchavadze Av., lane-I, Tbilisi, Georgia ; Tel: 291-30-96, 291-26-89/59 Web-site: www.worldbank.org.ge Regional Office of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Address: 6 Marjanishvili St. Tbilisi Tel: 244 74 00, 292 05 13, 292 05 14 Web-site: www.ebrd.com Representation of the Council of Europe in Georgia Address : 26 Br. Kakabadze, Tbilisi Tel: 995 32 291 38 70/71/72/73 Fax: 995 32 291 38 74 Web-site: www.coe.ge Embassy of the Slovak Republic Address: Chancery: 85 Irakli Abashidze St. Tbilisi, 0162 Georgia Consular Office: 38 Nino Chkheidze St. Tbilisi, 0102 Georgia Phone: 2 222 4437, 2 296 1913 e-mail: emb.tbilisi@mzv.sk

Hotels in Georgia TBILISI MARRIOTT Tbilisi , 13 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 77 92 00, www.marriott.com COURTYARD MARRIOTT Tbilisi , 4 Freedom Sq. Tel: 77 91 00 www.marriott.com RADISSON BLU HOTEL, TBILISI Rose Revolution Square 1 0108, Tbilisi Tel: +995 32 402200 radissonblu.com/hotel-tbilisi RADISSON BLU HOTEL, BATUMI Ninoshvili Str. 1, 6000 Bat’umi, Georgia Tel: 8 422255555 http://radissonblu.com/hotel-batumi SHERATON METECHI PALACE Tbilisi , 20 Telavi St. Tel: 77 20 20, www.starwoodhotels.com SHERATON BATUMI 28 Rustaveli Street • Batumi Tel: (995)(422) 229000 www.sheratonbatumi.com HOLIDAY INN TBILISI Business hotel Addr: 1, 26 May Square Tel: +995 32 230 00 99 E-mail: info@hi-tbilisi.com Website: http://www.hi-tbilisi.com BETSY’S HOTEL With Marvellous Tbilisi Views Addr: 32/34 Makashvili St. Tbilisi Tel: +995 32 293 14 04; +995 32 292 39 96 Fax: +995 32 99 93 11 E-mail: info@betsyshotel.com Website: http://www.betsyshotel.com

Restaurants CORNER HOUSE Tbilisi, I. Chavchavadze ave. 10, Tel: 0322 47 00 49; Email: contact@cornerhouse.ge RESTAURANT BARAKONI Restaurant with healthy food.

Georgian-European Cuisine Agmashenebeli Alley 13th Phone: 555 77 33 77 www.barakoni.com CHARDIN 12 Tbilisi , 12 Chardin St. , Tel: 92 32 38 CAFE 78 Best of the East and the West Lado Asatiani 33, SOLOLAKI 032 2305785; 574736290 BREAD HOUSE Tbilisi , 7 Gorgasali St. , Tel: 30 30 30 BUFETTI - ITALIAN RESTAURANT Tbilisi , 31 I. Abashidze St. , Tel: 22 49 61 DZVELI SAKHLI Tbilisi , 3 Right embankment , Tel: 92 34 97, 36 53 65, Fax: 98 27 81 IN THE SHADOW OF METEKHI Tbilisi , 29a Tsamebuli Ave. , Tel: 77 93 83, Fax: 77 93 83 SAKURA - JAPANESE RESTAURANT Tbilisi , 29 I. Abashidze St. , Tel: 29 31 08, Fax: 29 31 08 SIANGAN - CHINESE RESTAURANT Tbilisi , 41 Peking St , Tel: 37 96 88 VERA STEAK HOUSE Tbilisi , 37a Kostava St , Tel: 98 37 67 BELLE DE JOUR 29 I. Abashidze str, Tbilisi; Tel: (+995 32) 230 30 30 VONG 31 I. Abashidze str, Tbilisi Tel: (+995 32) 230 30 30 BRASSERIE L’EXPRESS 14 Chardin str, Tbilisi Tel: (+995 32) 230 30 30 TWO SIDE PARTY CLUB 7 Bambis Rigi, Tbilisi Tel: (+995 32) 230 30 30

Cinemas AKHMETELI Tbilisi. “Akhmeteli” Subway Station Tel: 58 66 69 AMIRANI Tbilisi. 36 Kostava St. Tel: 99 99 55, RUSTAVELI Tbilisi. 5 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 92 03 57, 92 02 85, SAKARTVELO Tbilisi. 2/9 Guramishvili Ave. Tel: 8 322308080,

SH. RUSTAVELI STATE THEATRE Tbilisi. 17 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 93 65 83, Fax: 99 63 73 TBILISI STATE MARIONETTE THEATRE Tbilisi. 26 Shavteli St. Tel: 98 65 89, Fax: 98 65 89 Z. PALIASHVILI TBILISI STATE THEATRE OF OPERA AND BALLET Tbilisi. 25 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 98 32 49, Fax: 98 32 50

Galleries ART GALLERY LINE Tbilisi. 44 Leselidze St. BAIA GALLERY Tbilisi. 10 Chardin St. Tel: 75 45 10 GALLERY Tbilisi. 12 Erekle II St. Tel: 93 12 89

Real Estate International Real Estate Company (IREC) Tbilisi. 9 P. Aslanidi St. Tel: +995 32 238 058 Mob: 599 95 76 71 Email: Info@irec.ge www.irec.ge

GSS Car rental offers a convenient service for those who are interested in renting car in Georgia. Rental fleet mainly consist of Japanese made SUV’s, the company has various models of cars including sedans and minivans which are in good technical condition.

Contact information: Email: info@gsservices.ge.

Address: Shalva Dadiani 10

Akhvledianis Khevi N13, Tbilisi, GE. +995322958377; +995599265432

Theatres A. GRIBOEDOV RUSSIAN STATE DRAMA THEATRE Tbilisi. 2 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 93 58 11, Fax: 93 31 15 INDEPENDENT THEATRE Tbilisi. 2 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 98 58 21, Fax: 93 31 15 K. MARJANISHVILI STATE ACADEMIC THEATRE Tbilisi. 8 Marjanishvili St. Tel: 95 35 82, Fax: 95 40 01 M. TUMANISHVILI CINEMA ACTORS THEATRE Tbilisi. 164 Agmashenebeli Ave. Tel: 35 31 52, 34 28 99, Fax: 35 01 94 METEKHI – THEATRE OF GEORGIAN NATIONAL BALLET Tbilisi. 69 Balanchivadze St. Tel: (99) 20 22 10 MUSIC AND DRAMATIC STATE THEATRE Tbilisi. 182 Agmashenebeli Ave. Tel: 34 80 90, Fax: 34 80 90 NABADI - GEORGIAN FOLKLORE THEATRE Tbilisi. 19 Rustaveli Ave. Tel: 98 99 91 S. AKHMETELI STATE DRAMATIC THEATRE Tbilisi. 8 I. Vekua St. Tel: 62 59 73

THE BEST GEORGIAN HONEY OF CHESTNUTS,ACACIA AND LIME FLOWERS FROM THE VERY HART OF ADJARA MATCHAKHELA GORGE IN THE NETWORK OF GOODWILL, NIKORA AND SMART

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PUBLICITY

April 11, 2016 #141