Caucasus Business Week #220

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December 18, 2017 #220

December 18, 2017, Issue 220 - www.cbw.ge

Capital How New Government of the City Plans to Spend its Budget?

Pg. 9

Anna-Karin Modigh Golden Age of Video – Main Trends and Drivers

PR Person Nino Kusrashvili: It’s a great pleasure to promote literature’’

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Pg. 8

Inflation Grows

Goderdzi, Bakuriani, Gudauri, Svaneti

General price level has risen again.

In November 2017 the inflation level rose by 1.1% compared to the previous month, while annual inflation constituted 6.9%. It is worth noting that this year National Bank had planned the inflation at 4%, however, the growth in general price level exceeded the target indicator and since them the figure remains above 4%.

Change in prices in the following groups have made key influence on shaping inflation indicator in November: prices in the group rose by 2.8% and the group’s ratio in total inflation upturn constituted 0.39%. Prices rose for purchase of vehicles (9.5%), transportation services (4.5%) and exploitation of personal vehicles (1.6%); Food and soft drinks: prices in the group rose by 0.8% and the ratio in total inflation indicator constituted 0.26%. Prices rose in subgroups: vegetables and garden plants (6.5%), sugar, jam and other sweets (1.4%), milk, cheese and eggs (1.2%) and oil and fat (0.7%); At the same time, prices declined on fruit and grapes (-9.2%); Strong drinks, tobacco: prices rose by 1.7% and the ratio in total inflation index upturn made up 0.12%.

How Ski Resorts Meet the Winter Season

Pg. 4

Alternative Ways of Financing Agribusiness Projects – Pasha Bank Holds Meeting with Businessmen

Juozas Šalna Pg.7

The bank’s commercial director Goga Japaridze noted that Pasha Bank has been actively engaged in the state program for agribusiness sector financing and the bank plans to enlarge agribusiness loans portfolio. The amount of loans depends on quality of projects. The more interesting projects, the higher the amount is, Goga Japaridze said.

PASHA Bank plans to not only grow agroloans portfolio, but also introduces ways and alternatives for drawing financial resources to the agribusiness sector. As part of Meeting Room project the bank has hosted businessmen and introduced alternative mechanism for financing agribusiness projects. Besides ways of drawing capital, the meeting participants discussed almost all issues that raise the interest of the private sector, including, insurance systems, conditions for financing agrobusiness projects.

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Newsroom

2 Government

Bureaucratic Expenditures to Shrink by 25%

Bureaucratic expenditures will be cut by 25% for the next 3 years, Minister of Finance Mamuka Bakhtadze noted. As a result, Government’s savings will be enlarged to 6.5% in GDP by 2012, up from 2.6% of 2016.

PSP to Insure Parliament’s Vehicle Fleet

PSP company will insure the vehicle fleet of Parliament of Georgia. PSP has won the state tender. Presumable value of the deal was 215 000 GEL, while the company offered to insure 94 vehicles for 189 000 GEL.

economy

Foreign Direct Investment Increased in Georgia

the volume of direct foreign investments implemented in Georgia in the third quarter of 2017 was 594.5 million. The US dollar amounted to 17.6 percent more than the adjusted data for the third quarter of 2016.

United Nations Expects 4,8% Economic Growth in Georgia This Year

The United Nations expects 4.8% increase of the economy in Georgia, while in 2018-2019 the GDP growth rate is 4.34.3% – The new report of the UN Economic and Social Affairs Department says.

banking

Capital Requirement for Commercial Banks Grows on January 1

Capital requirement for commercial banks will grow to 30 million GEL starting January 1, 2018. The first phase of the 30/40/50 million obligatory requirement will expire at the end of 2017.

Directors of TBC Bank Sold Shares on the LSE

Paata Gadzadze sold per share at 16.35 GBP. Total volume of the shares amounts to 3 000 (49,050 GBP), while Giorgi Shagidze alienated per share at 16.254 GBP, toting up 4 500 shares (73,143 GBP).

business

The Level of Domestic Tourists’ Satisfaction has Increased

According to Sakstat, 49.1% of domestic tourists are satisfied with travel in the third quarter.

This figure was 48.5% in the second quarter, while 48.9% in the third quarter of the last year.

Parliament Approves 2018 State Budget

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he Parliament of Georgia approved on December 13 with 111 votes the 2018 state budget, ending two-monthlong parliamentary discussions on the document.

The 2018 state budget, the initial draft of which was presented to the Parliament on September 29, was modified in October and resubmitted in November following the announcement of Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili’s structural reform plan, but major budgetary parameters have remained unchanged in the final document.

Aggregate revenues in the 2018 state budget are set at GEL 12.44 billion, up

by GEL 48 million compared to the October draft of the document and by nearly GEL 1 billion compared to the 2017 budget.

The 2018 state budget sets tax revenues at GEL 9.49 billion, including income tax – GEL 2.78 billion; profit tax – GEL 630 million; VAT – GEL 4.4 billion; excise – GEL 1.45 billion; import tax – GEL 60 million, other taxes – GEL 170 million.

The document sets revenues from foreign grants at GEL 414 million, up

by GEL 79 million compared to the October draft and by GEL 83 million compared to the 2017 state budget.

“Other revenues” will increase by GEL 25 million and reach GEL 410 million.

The Government projects 4.5% economic growth next year, and sets the inflation rate at 3.5% with GEL-USD exchange rate at 2.5.

Aggregate expenditures of the 2018 state budget are set at GEL 12.45 billion, up by GEL 56.2 million compared to the October draft and by nearly GEL 739 million compared to the 2017 budget.

Breakdown of funding per ministry in the budget is as follows: Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia – GEL 3.52 billion (up by GEL 112.2 million compared to 2017).

Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure – GEL 1.81 billion (up by GEL 527 million compared to 2017).

Ministry of Education and Science – GEL 1.18 billion (up by GEL 70 compared to 2017); GEL 4.4 million from the amount will be spent on youth programming, which was assigned to the Ministry of Education following the Government’s structural reform process, which abolished of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

The new agency – the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture will receive GEL 274 million in 2018 with over GEL 40 million allocated

for environmental protection. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection, which will also be abolished from 2018, received GEL 35.7 million in 2017. Funding for the Ministry of Agriculture amounted to GEL 323 million in 2017.

Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development – GEL 229 million with over GEL 82 million allocated for the energy sector. The Ministry of Energy will be merged with the Ministry of Economy from 2018. In 2017, the Ministry of Energy received GEL 197 million, and the Ministry of Economy received GEL 476 million.

Ministry of Defense – GEL 802 million (up by GEL 100 million as compared to the October draft). Increase in Defense Ministry’s funding is apparently related to the planned purchase of the Javelin anti-armor missiles from the United States. In 2017, the Defense Ministry received GEL 748 million.

Ministry of Internal Affairs – GEL 569 million (down by GEL 35.4 million compared to the October draft). Decrease in the funding is related to the withdrawal of the Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Material Reserves from the Ministry.

In 2017, the Ministry of Internal Affairs received GEL 599 million.

Ministry of Penitentiary – GEL 150 million (up by GEL 5 million compared to the October draft and by nearly GEL 11 million compared to the 2017 budget).

Ministry of Foreign Affairs – GEL 120.9 million (up by GEL 2.9 million compared to the October draft). Increase in the funding is related to the merger of the Office of the State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration with the Foreign Ministry. The former’s funding amounted to GEL 2.8 million in 2017, while the Foreign Ministry received GEL 115 million last year.

The new agency – Ministry of Culture and Sport will receive GEL 285 million in 2018 with GEL 124 million to be spent on sport-related programming.

The Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, which dealt with the field, will be abolished from 2018 as part of the structural reform process. In 2017, the Ministry of Sport received GEL 146 million and the Ministry of Culture – nearly GEL 100 million.

Ministry of Justice – GEL 63 million, up

by GEL 1 million compared to 2017.

Ministry for Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees – GEL 96.2 million (down from GEL 99.8 million in 2017).

Ministry of Finance – GEL 82.3 million

(same as in 2017).

Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality – GEL 1.6 million (up by GEL 400 000 compared to 2017).

The Intelligence Service will receive the same amount of funding as in 2017 – GEL 13.5 million. Initially, the government’s structural reform plan envisaged the merger of the Intelligence Service with the State Security Service, with the latter’s budget reaching GEL 137.5 million.

Finance Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, who presented the budget at the Parliament’s plenary session on December 13, did not specify the State Security Service funding next year. The October draft set the amount at GEL 123 million.

The new Emergency Management Center, which will be established through the merger of the Emergency Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security and Crisis Management Council under the Prime Minister, will receive GEL 82 million in 2018.

Funding for the Parliament (GEL 52 million), the Government administration (GEL 16.5 million), the Presidential administration (GEL 9.8 million), the Presidential reserve fund (GEL 5 million) and that State Audit Office (GEL 14.5 million) will remain unchanged compared to 2017. The Government’s reserve fund will increase by GEL 10 million and amount to GEL 50 million.

Funding for the Central Election Commission will increase by GEL 7 million, narrowly exceeding GEL 67 million.

More than GEL 40 million from the amount will be spent on conducting the 2018 presidential elections.

Common courts will receive GEL 71.1 million in 2018, while the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court will receive GEL 8.4 million and GEL 4.15 million, respectively.

Funding for the Public Defender’s Office will also increase to GEL 5.5 million (up by GEL 700 000 in 2017).

Funding for the Georgian Public Broadcaster will increase by almost GEL 6.1 million and reach GEL 52.5 million in 2018.

Funding for the Georgian Orthodox Church will remain unchanged at GEL 25 million.

Funding for regional administrations will also remain unchanged next year (GEL 6.12 million); transfers to cities and municipalities will increase by almost GEL 93 million and amount to GEL 768 million.

The opposition participated in the parliamentary discussions, but did not take part in the voting.

Investor to Spend 100 million USD on Rose Square Development

Central Bank increases refinancing rate to 7.25% to deal with inflation

Wizz Air adds New Destination from Kutaisi Airport

he National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has decided to increase its refinancing rate in response to expectations of increased inflation. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the bank met today and decided to increase the refinancing rate by 25 basis points to 7.25 percent. The NBG said the monetary policy decision was based on macroeconomic projections forecasting inflation in upcoming months – further changes to monetary policy will depend on actual inflation, factors affecting

Since 2007 Silk Road Group has invested 200 million USD, he said. Starting 2018 construction of a 5-star Telegraph hotel will start in the former Post Office building.

company

December 18, 2017 #220

The Georgian cultural center in the city of Taixing (Jiangsu province) is situated in an attractive building of original design, with a considerable adjacent territory.

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BUSINESS WEEK caucasus

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inflation and the general state of the economy. Survey indicators for the last two months indicate a rise in inflation expectations, while the improvement of the economic activity by more than was expected is likely to reduce the possibility of a reduction in inflation. In order to reduce inflation in the mid-term period it was necessary to tighten the monetary policy. At this stage the refinancing rate will be increased by 25 basis points,” read the press release by the NBG. The NBG forecasts inflation to start decreasing from the beginning of

2018 in Georgia. Georgia’s annual inflation rate posted a 6.9 percent year-onyear increase, while in November 2017 the monthly inflation rate amounted to 1.1 percent, reports the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

Meanwhile, Georgia experienced 4.9 percent economic growth in the first 10 months of 2017 and the estimated real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate amounted to 5.7 percent year-on-year in October 2017.

The next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee will be held on January 31, 2018.

Editor: Nutsa Galumashvili. Mobile phone: 595 380382 Reporters: Nina Gomarteli; Mariam Kopaliani; Merab Janiashvili Technical Assistant: Giorgi Kheladze;

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

December 18, 2017 #220

publicity

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econo-mix

December 18, 2017 #220

Inflation Grows How Timely National Bank Has Tightened Monetary Policy

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Alternative Ways of Financing Agribusiness Projects – Pasha Bank Holds Meeting with Businessmen

‘‘

Merab Janiashvili Economic Analyst

When talking about power management, it mainly implies a proper tariff policy that determines the behavior of the consumer.

Namely, when electricity tariffs differ in the daytime and at night, some activities may be carried out at night to cut expenditures, as electricity tariff is comparatively lower at night.

‘‘

Pasha Bank plans to expand crediting agribusiness sector. The bank’s commercial director Goga Japaridze noted that Pasha Bank has been actively engaged in the state program for agribusiness sector financing and the bank plans to enlarge agribusiness loans portfolio.

The amount of loans depends on quality of projects. The more interesting projects, the higher the amount is, Goga Japaridze said.

PASHA Bank plans to not only grow agroloans portfolio, but also introduces ways and alternatives for drawing financial resources to the agribusiness sector. As part of Meeting Room project the bank has hosted businessmen and introduced alternative mechanism for financing agribusiness projects. Besides ways of drawing capital, the meeting participants discussed almost all issues that raise the interest of the private sector, including, insurance systems, conditions for financing agrobusiness projects. The bank’s commercial director believes that the shared experience will be valuable for both agribusiness sector representatives and financial donors. As part of the 4th conference of Meeting Room, we invited representatives of agribusiness sector and capital supplier organizations, including Partnership Fund, Co-Investment Fund and commercial banks.

Objective of the meeting is to demonstrate what alternative financial sources exist, listen to this category of businessmen, outline conditions and other alternatives for mobilizing financial resources, besides commercial banks.

The meeting is especially interesting for those wishing to finance small businesses. They discussed real cases how various companies have drawn financial resources, what requirements various companies have satisfied. All these aspects will help businessmen in the decision-making process.

We think it is important to provide corresponding information to these directions, because agribusiness is one of the growing fields in Georgia. As to Pasha Bank, we plan to make special focus on small and medium business sectors.

The bank’s crediting policy determines that applicant business companies must be profitable. We can join the process, when business has a certain growth, but there are such funds that offer partial participation in the stock capital», Goga Japaridze noted.

As part of Meeting Room project, Vladimer Gugushvili, Aroma Products partner and director shared the company experience to the meeting participants. «We have financed several projects successfully. Aroma Products is a fruits processing and exporter company. At the same time, we are engaged in bio garden production and we believe that the attending society will make a use of our experience. Aroma Products is one of the major exporters of frozen and processed fruits. The company fully exports products to about 40 markets, both in Europe and the USA. At the meeting organized by Pasha Bank, Giorgi Jibladze, deputy director of agriculture projects management agency, introduced all those projects that are being implemented by the Agency, including preferential agroprocredit, agro insurance project, Georgian tea project, Plant the Future, project for financing processing and storehouse enterprises, project for financing young entrepreneurs…

Giorgi Janelidze assures that the bank-organized event will be beneficial for entrepreneurs and commercial banks will intensify efforts for financing agribusiness sector. In general, state projects have justified, because the interest in agribusiness sector has risen considerably. After inauguration of the state projects implementation, agribusiness sector financing rose 8 times, Jibladze said.

This was the 4th conference organized by Pasha Bank as part of Meeting Room. The previous meetings made focus on hotel business, renewable energy and health sector directions.

Giorgi Danelia, director of investment department of Partnership Fund, talked about agribusiness sector financing issues. The largest portfolio is recorded for hotel business, after energy sector, he said. The joint projects include the first branded hotel in Kutaisi. Partnership Fund has already withdrawn from its capital, Rixos in Borjomi and so on. Partnership Fund follows standard scheme in any field, with about 49% stake in this or that profile company. Radisson hotel in Tsinandali, under the partnership with Silk Road is among the ongoing projects. Meeting Room is a PASHA Bank project, a cycle of business conference focused on various industries, with joint platform, which provides opportunity of exchanging ideas and useful experience between representatives of various fields.

eneral price level has risen again. In November 2017 the inflation level rose by 1.1% compared to the previous month, while annual inflation constituted 6.9%. It is worth noting that this year National Bank had planned the inflation at 4%, however, the growth in general price level exceeded the target indicator and since them the figure remains above 4%.

Change in prices in the following groups have made key influence on shaping inflation indicator in November: prices in the group rose by 2.8% and the group’s ratio in total inflation upturn constituted 0.39%. Prices rose for purchase of vehicles (9.5%), transportation services (4.5%) and exploitation of personal vehicles (1.6%); Food and soft drinks: prices in the group rose by 0.8% and the ratio in total inflation indicator constituted 0.26%. Prices rose in subgroups: vegetables and garden plants (6.5%), sugar, jam and other sweets (1.4%), milk, cheese and eggs (1.2%) and oil and fat (0.7%); At the same time, prices declined on fruit and grapes (-9.2%); Strong drinks, tobacco: prices rose by 1.7% and the ratio in total inflation index upturn made up 0.12%. Prices increased on tobacco products (1.9%) and strong drinks (1.4%).

Change in prices in the following groups has made influence on annual inflation: food and soft drinks: prices rose by 7.5% with a 2.24% contribution to the whole index upturn; Prices rose in subgroups: vegetables and garden plants (25.8%), meat and meat products (9.9%), milk, cheese and eggs (9.7%), coffee, tea and cacao (6.1%). Transport: prices have risen by 15.8% with a 2.02% contribution to the annual inflation growth. Prices have risen on exploitation of personal vehicles (18.9%), purchase of vehicles (18.6%) and transport services (8.5%); Strong drinks, tobacco: prices rose by 19.4% with a 1.24% contribution to the total index growth. In the group prices rose on tobacco products (40.4%); healthcare: prices rose by 6.4% with a 0.55% contribution to the total index upturn.

Prices rose in the subgroup of medical products, devices and equipment (12.2%) and outpatient medical services (6.3%).

For several months, the general price level growth is fixed above 4%, however, National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has stubbornly repeated that it was not necessary to tighten monetary policy. Last week the NBG president said an absolutely surprising thing that money mass cannot influence GEL exchange rate and inflation level.

Money mass makes influence on neither inflation nor exchange rate, NBG President Koba Gvenetadze noted at the finance and budget committee meeting.

According to the NBG President, «When economy is developed, when various instruments are introduced, money mass cannot give right information».

«Correlation between inflation and money mass is violated.

Therefore, the countries, having seen this interaction is absent or has shrunk, have decided that this method will not work any more and moved to the inflation targeting. If we talk about 50% inflation and 100% money mass growth, naturally, in this case the influence may be real, but according to the existing framework, money mass growth cannot influence either inflation or the exchange rate», Koba Gvenetadze said.

Inflation signifies money depreciation, reduction in its solvency, imbalance between demand and supply. Inflation signifies overcharged turnover channels with excessive cash, which is not guaranteed with corresponding commodity mass growth norm. It is interesting that over the past 3 months NBG was saying it did not plan to tighten the monetary policy or make currency interventions with the aim to stop GEL exchange rate depreciation, as if this process could not make influence on growth in general price level. And we receive an absolutely different result in November, when annual inflation hit 6.9%. At the same time, the general level of inflation irreversible grows YTD and it is unclear why NBG had similar

optimistic expectations.

In December the central bank recognized inflation risks in Georgian economy and tightened policy. The NBG monetary policy committee raised the refinancing rate by 25 base point to 7.25%, on December 13, 2017.

«According to the current forecasts, inflation indicator will start declining in January 2018, along with cessation of temporary factors. After previous meeting of the committee, the nominal efficient exchange rate considerably worsened and as compared to the previous forecast, inflation pressure increased (similar scenario was discussed in the November 2017 report on monetary policy). At the same time, over the past 2 months the market research indicator point to growth in inflation expectations, while improvement of economic activity more than expected weakens possibility that the demand may reduce inflation. Based on the above-mentioned, for the purpose of inflation reduction in midterm period, it became necessary to apply monetary policy instrument. At this stage, the committee has decided to raise the policy rate by 25 base point. Further tightening of monetary policy and duration will depend on how quickly the pressure of nominal efficient exchange rate on prices will decrease.

In November annual inflation constituted 6.9%, which, along with other factors, was preconditioned by about 40% upturn in international oil prices in the second half of 2017. Influence of single factors, including excise tax growth, on inflation indicator constitutes about 3%. After neutralization of the mentioned factors, in other equal conditions, it is expected that at the beginning of 2018 inflation indicator will decline.

Economic growth indicators are demonstrating the improving demand. In October, according to an early report, economic growth made up 5.7%. In January-October 2017 economic growth constituted 4.9%, and this figure exceeds the NBG forecast indicator. Positive dynamics is recorded in exports and tourism. Money transfers volume is also growing.

However, over the past months, imports volume has also risen. Despite the mentioned upturn in imports, this year we expect significant growth in the current account deficit as compared to the corresponding indicator of 2016», the NBG statement reads.

«I have backed one aspect that in 2018 the inflation will decline. This signifies that NBG assumes obligation to maintain stability of prices and inflation at around 3% and apply any instrument. NBG can satisfy all these conditions. Moreover, it is very important that NBG will use all instruments to attain this objective, including money credit policy, monetary rate, reserves management, sterilization measures, interventions and so on. This year we have inclination in terms of inflation.

We had 4% inclination and today we have 6.9% inclination.

NBG assumes obligation to reduce the indicator twice in 2018», Irakli Kovzanadze, head of the parliament’s finance and budgeting committee noted.

It is worth noting that over the past 2 months NBG failed to maintain the target indicators of inflation. As a result, the real inflation has exceeded the target indicator in impressive figures. We have the same situation in 2017 too.

“In recent years the reinvestment data in Georgia ranged between 200 million and 300 million dollars. The growth of this indicator has influenced the business-friendly fiscal reform in Georgia, namely, the profit tax reform. in the same period of 2016, 318 million US dollars were reinvested in the business sector, and the current year 591 million USD, which means almost doubling.”.

Dimitri Kumsishvili

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development

December 18, 2017 #220

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interview

December 18, 2017 #220

Golden Age of Video – Main Trends and Drivers Interview with Anna-Karin Modigh Vice President at SES, Marketing Communications, Nordic, Baltic & Eastern Europe - What SES is doing in Georgia and in the whole region and how important is it for your company?

Since 2011, we have had the DTH platform MagtiSat on board on our 31,5E satellite. Of course this is very important. We have the biggest, and the first launched, DTH platform in Georgia on SES and we hope to be able to continue the good cooperation we have with them.

- Who are your competitors and what innovations are you doing to take competitive advantage on the global market?

Our main competitor in Europe is Eutelsat. To continuously develop our company we have a lot of new services developed by our skilled staff. Recently we also bought RR Media which is merged into SES and now called MX1, that offers a lot of platform services that makes SES a full service entity within broadcasting. We also make sure to always work very closely with our customers and support, if needed, with technical and marketing solutions.

- What are your plans in Georgia and how market can adopt these technologies - as soon as possible?

The plan is to stay with MagtiSat and help to develop their offer. In general, we follow our customers wishes and needs for development. If e.g. referring to techniques like Ultra-HD, it was first driven by the hard ware manufacturers with big high resolution screens, the next step was for the content providers to follow and launch channels. Next step is to make sure the market, the end-consumers are ready to adapt this technique. But to do so you need content and not only the screen, the set-top-box and the satellite dish or fiber connection. We are following our customers decisions, so when they decide to launch a new service we adapt and adjust.

- Recently you launched operations in Africa and you aim to cover all emerging markets, however countries like India, Africa, China and etc... still lack of basic need, such as electricity, technology and so on. What is your business model to overcome these issues and do you use special technologies in this regard?

Again, as described in previous question, we fol-

low our customers development. If an area is lacking of electricity, there are obviously a lack of potential customers. However SES does a number of services in the emerging markets to support.

The company brings connectivity to new areas across North and West Africa and enables contingency services during fibre outages using a satellite-based solution. The network is implemented by CETel, a German provider of global end-to-end communications solutions, in partnership with SES Networks, who will deliver Cband capacity on SES’s NSS-7 satellite. The new highly-reliable and resilient network consists of several sites located in African countries, which are connected to the customer’s European backbone infrastructure via CETel’s teleport and managed Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Network.

What we also do is make sure there is a skilled installer network in the countries that are able to install satellite dishes quickly and correctly.

To ensure this, we arrange high level installer trainings to certify a large number of installers on especially the emerging markets.

- What does Golden Age of Video mean and what are the main drivers of it?

This is a way for us to describe that video as such, broadcasting, Video on Demand etc is currently developing and the quality is getting better and better. We see a big demand of satellite services onwards and we feel that we have a solid ground of services, skilled staff and research and development to meet the future.

We are experiencing a time when content consumption is on the rise. Never before has the viewer had more opportunities to receive and watch TV over multiple devices throughout the day and one key factor is development in video technology. For example is number of TV channels over satellite expected to grow from 42K channels today to 50K by 2024. The “millenials” who has grown up with the possibility of deciding when, where and how to watch their favorite content actually consume up to +6 hours more per week compared with those 35+ of age but still is the traditional TV the most relevant in form of entertainment during prime time (evening).

December 18, 2017 #220

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Goderdzi, Bakuriani, Gudauri, Svaneti How Ski Resorts Meet the Winter Season Ski resorts are expected to host a huge inflow of tourists. Sandro Onoprishvili, head of Ski Resorts Development Company, noted that early bookings prove the current season will beat all records.

The project for transforming ski resorts into fourseason resorts is being implemented in active regime, he also added. This year the winter season was opened on December 10 at Goderdzi Resort.

The season has opened in Gudauri too, he said.

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hat novelties should we expect in the 2017-2018 season, how prepared do the local municipality and private sector meet the winter season?

Goderdzi Resort At the resort inauguration ceremony, officials noted that a new phase of the resort development has started as part of the development regulatory plan. Currently, six top-class hotel complexes are being built at the Ski Resort and their total investment value is 80 million GEL. The new projects will create 500 new job places and 435 accommodation places.

At the inauguration ceremony, agreements were signed on implementing 4 new investment projects. Ministry of Finance and Economy of Adjara has signed the mentioned agreements with four companies.

In the 2017-2018 winter season, two cable ways (gondola and bubble) will operate at Goderdzi Resort. Two new smaller cable ways will also launch operation in the new season, 200 meter bigel and 80 meter moving carpet, as well as children space and fast food restaurants.

Total length of the skiing track at Goderdzi Resort is 8 kilometers and the maximum height is 2366 meters above the sea. As part of the resort development project, 1761 meter internal and sewage channels were arranged, illumination poles were also raised, the new road connects the central highway with investment land plots.

Bakuriani Gocha Gobronidze, Borjomi Mayor’s representative in Bakuriani administrative unit, says that Bakuriani resort has met the new season with renewed infrastructure.

A total of 14 streets were rehabilitated in Bakuriani, including sidewalks were arranged on four ones. In the future, 10 more streets will be rehabilitated. A new park has been arranged along with the adjacent territory of the central park, Gobronidze said.

«We are trying to implement projects as soon as possible. Bakuriani has no problems with supply of water, electricity and natural gas», Gocha Gobronidze said.

Representatives of Batumi-based hotels state that the resort is developed, but much higher paces are required.

Natia Lezhava, manager of 4House Bakuriani, noted that Bakuriani has much potential for development, but at this stage due attention is not paid to it and Bakuriani resorts should be developed at high paces.

Gudauri Winter tourism season has already opened in Gudauri. The hotel representatives noted that for the coming New Year the hotel places have been booked by almost 100%. Despite growth in demand, the resort has met the season with problems anyway.

Irakli Mamforia, sales director of Marco Polo hotel told the Commersant that infrastructural problems still exist at the Resort. «Water supply problems are very sharp and this factor seriously frustrates business development. Gudauri is developed, however, much more should be done in this direction», Irakli Mamforia said.

For the coming new year 100% of places have been booked at Marco Polo.

Svaneti Svaneti Region is getting ready for winter tourism season inauguration. Mestia-Hatsvali cable way will be put into exploitation on December 23 and vacationers will be able to reach the skiing track in the shortest period.

National Tourism Administration says that Mestia is ready to meet tourism season, hotels are also ready to host tourists. However, it is another issue how they will satisfy the needs of vacationers, because the current problems in Svaneti Region are much sharper compared to other resorts.

According to the hotel representatives, water, natural gas and electricity supply problems still exist in Mestia Municipality. The private sector names medical services as the sharpest problem. In case of serious breakdown, patients cannot been treated locally and they are transported to Zugdidi or Tbilisi.

Tea Zhorzholiani, owner of Ushba guesthouse, says that the region has serious problems with electricity supply and medical services. «The hospital lacks for trauma and various specialists, however, the working process continues in this direction. The hospital lacks for corresponding equipment. First medical

aid is available, however, patients are transported to other cities in case of serious problems», Tea Zhorzholiani noted.

Ski Resorts Development Company Sandro Onoprishvili, head of Ski Resorts Development Company says that a development action plan is being prepared for all existing and potential resorts and this document will be a certain guideline for investors.

“The world’s one of the best companies from Canada has prepared Gudauri development plan. The mentioned company has projected more than 1000 resorts. At this stage, the plan is at Ministry of Economy. We think multi-storied hotels should not be built in Gudauri. As to Mitarbi, we are waiting for the development plan to launch the resort active construction works. Mitarbi has potential to become one of the special resorts in Europe. Goderdzi resort has the development regulation plan and the resort is being developed due to this plan”, Onoprishvili noted.

Bakuriani did not have good conditions for construction and the construction process was carried out chaotically, but the situation has changed now.

Svaneti Region development plan will be ready in February 2018 and the project will be introduced to make Tetnuldi more attractive destination for the world, Onoprishvili said.

Mulakhi community unites 11 villages. It is a unique community and economy and business should not intervene at high paces and distort the villages. WE should should tender approaches and that’s why we are waiting for the plan”, Onoprishvili said.

PR Person

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’It’s a great pleasure to promote literature’’ - Why did you decide to enter this field, and what kind of opportunities does this profession give you?

A large number of students around the world will study public relations as the future career field. In the United States, more than 34,000 students have it chosen as the main study discipline. 100 universities of Europe offer to study this subject. Over 500,000 students study PR in China. In the end, communication with the public is a well-established academic subject that is studied in the world and practiced in almost every country. Georgians also joined us these students. I was one of the first who decided to study this specialty at Bachelor degree. After graduating from the Faculty of Journalism I entered the Faculty of PR and took 4 years to study. Relationship with the public is growing so much that the specialist is constantly developing and learning new skills.

- What is it necessary to hold a successful communication with public?

“In democratic countries, all cases start with the consent of the public and exists with public opinion,” says Arthur W. Page . As you know, research, action, communication and evaluation are the main part of PR programs, but the main thing is to develop a PR strategy and implement different tactics. The strategy is somewhat widespread statement that describes how to achieve a goal. Maybe the company can develop one or more strategies. And tactics, unlike strategy, is a tactical part of the plan. Tactics is specific steps for activities that the organization should take. It is nothing more than a plan to perform. A reasonable definition of strategy and tactics in brief helps us to finally achieve the goals of the campaign.

- What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR? 1. Academic study, 2. Skills of PR specialist, 3.Constant self-development.

- What do you wish you would have known before starting your career in PR? First of all, the PR professional should be sociable, convincing and have writing skills. In our country professionals often switch from journalism to PR field, it’s good because journalistic experience helps the manager in success. At the same time, thorough education and practice are essential. The PR manager should be the face of the company to take care of its reputation.

Develop the core concept of the manufacturer’s work well. One must manage between bilateral relations between customer and the company; develop a piracy strategy and perform with the team.

Interview with Nino Kusrashvili, public relations of publishing house Diogene.

- Describe your typical work week.

My main activity is to plan and implement new book presentations. Traditional and social media relations. Planning different predictions Dissemination of promotional information and so forth. Accordingly, I have planned all week long and I try to do my job with great responsibility. I would like to rejoice that the publishing house “Diogene” has published university manuals in this field.

“Public Relations: Strategy and Tactics” and “Advertising and Promotion”, which I am sure will be helpful for students studying this field as well as PR and marketing managers. I was very struck by the visit of Dr. Denis Wilcox, an American PR specialist who shared his experience with his own book in Georgian (Public Relations: Strategy and Tactics Publishing House “Diogene”).

- How would you go about finding relevant contacts and sources?

As I work in this field for 16 years, I have a huge base of contacts. I believe that effective management of contacts helps the manager correctly plan and implement the PR plan. “PR Club”, professional association in Georgia helps me to find contacts and communicate with managers.

- How would you prioritize and start your work day?

I am starting a day by checking email by morning. I answer many letters and interact with readers. I’m already familiar with new translations, I read many unfamiliar writers in my native language, and it is a great pleasure to promote literature and not something else.

- What are the skills Public Relations Specialist need?

In order to build a career as PR, only personal skills are not enough. In addition to good writing, you should be able to have relationships with investors, government jobs, brand management, crisis communication and corporation social responsibility. Relations with the public have long gone beyond the “media relationship” and the promotion of advertising-news letters. New technologies develop the field and the specialist of this field.

- What trait do you value the most in your co-workers?

It is very important to have a sense of responsibility, ability to teamwork, creativity, crisis management and of course professionalism.

- What is the best PR practice technology can’t change?

PR is a field of mood. The PR specialists should better understand the environment where they work to find out what is happening in the state. One change of the law may influence the company’s activities. Just like the US, Germany, UK and others. The process has begun in Georgia and the relations with the society are developing more and more, but the reputation of the company is still important. It is not formed only by packaging and slogans. A good reputation creates or destroys everything that the organization is doing - starting with relationships with employees and ending with external factors. Just to say that the reputation is a trace that the organization leaves in the memory of the community.

- What are some of the growing trends in the public relations industry?

The new technology boom gives a great opportunity to the success of the public relations, but these opportunities will never change the wisely planned strategy and the carefully drafted manuals. You have to go where the society is. Now society is in social network, so Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and mobile phones are the best way to communicate with them. I will not even try to predict what will happen after 10 years, because 10 years ago there was no Facebook and everything was planned through traditional media. Now I know that the mobile phone in our pocket will be great information.

December 18, 2017 #220

capital

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How New Government of the City Plans to Spend its Budget?

Tbilisi Budget Spending Plan for 2018 Last week the 2018 municipal budget bill was sent to the Tbilisi Council with significant amendments. As reported, the new Mayor recalled the 2018 municipal budget bill submitted by previous Mayor David Narmania from the Council. Contrary to the initial variant of the bill, the new variant has increased by 60 million GEL and exceeded 875 million GEL. The 2018 budget contains significantly revised expenditures. Namely, infrastructural expenditures grow considerably to 282 million GEL. This signifies that in 2018 the expenditures on infrastructural projects will increase by 55 million GEL, as compared to initial plan.

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has talked about the budget details and pointed out that the mentioned meeting was of crucial importance for the capital city development.

“The 2018 municipal budget will rise by about 60 million GEL. This is very important for implementing the planned projects and, in general, for the capital city development. These funds will be directed to specific projects, including underground rehabilitation works, repair of both subway stations and wagons. We will implement specific projects announced in the per-election period.

I am very happy that the year of 2018 will be especially different for the capital city, of special importance, because we start implementation of the projects unveiled in the pre-election campaign”, Kakha Kaladze said.

Rehabilitation of Gudiashvili and Orbeliani Squares is one of the biggest infrastructural projects. 46 million GEL will be spent on the mentioned projects in 2018. Financial resources for greening zones will also rise. Namely, financial resources for green infrastructure will rise to 9 million GEL from 2.9 million GEL. Healthcare and social protection is one of the key directions in the 2018 municipal budget. A total of 32 programs will be implemented in this field in 2018, including two new programs, screening of thyroid gland cancer and liver transplantation.

The municipal budget will allocate 1.5 million GEL for disease screening program. Moreover, additional 1.5 million GEL is allocated for liver transplantation program.

Gela Chiviashvili, head of municipal office for

The 2018 municipal budget will rise by about 60 million GEL. This is very important for implementing the planned projects and, in general, for the capital city development.

“The 2018 municipal budget will rise by about 60 million GEL. This is very important for implementing the planned projects and, in general, for the capital city development. “

health and social services, explains that the municipal budget will finance disease screening program with 1.5 million GEL and liver transplantation program with 1.5 million GEL. According to Gela Chiviashvili, thyroid gland cancer, mammal gland cancer ranks second in the female death toll. “Detection of disease on early stage is of crucial importance, as well as involvement of people in the corresponding treatment.

At this stage, we are specifying details of target groups, forms and criteria for financing the research under the new program”, Chiviashvili noted. It is famous that the Tbilisi Council opposition parties will not back the 2018 municipal budget bill. The parties explain that the document does not call for cutting bureaucratic expenditures. Levan Khabeishvili, one of the leaders of United National Movement, noted that finances for sustenance of socially vulnerable citizens, pensions and medication vouchers for pensioners do not grow either.

“Issues proposed by us are adapted to Tbilisi residents. For example, 1.18 GEL does not suffice for socially vulnerable citizens and it should be tippled. Kaladze says that 1.18 GEL is sufficient.

Second one, pensioners cannot buy medications. Therefore, we have said that they should receive specific vouchers. We have also indicated articles where to find due finances. We have also proposed to restore vouchers for public utilities in winter period. Kakha Kaladze denies all these projects”, Levan Khabeishvili said.

European Georgian members have also expressed remarks regarding the municipal budget. According to them, despite the opposition demands, the budget bill does not contain article for introduction of vouchers for public utilities in winter period “We have offered to cut bureaucratic expenditures, that is bonuses should not be issued to high-ranking officials. Various luxury things and the mentioned sum should be spent on growth in pension amount. Regretfully, the municipal budget does not meet key problems of Tbilisi residents”, David Jgenti, member of European Georgia, noted. bfm.ge

business

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December 18, 2017 #220

Silk Road Group to Build One More Hotel in Tsinandali Apart from hotel Radisson

“Silk Road Group” will build another hotel in Tsinandali.

George Marri, head of the Silk Road Group’s Real EstateDevelopment Project, said at Business Morning, that it will be an economy class hotel.

According to Giorgi Marri, the hotel will be 70-room and if Radisso attracts a highclass visitors, the second hotel will be oriented to the middle segment.

As for the Radisson project, according to Giorgi Marri, the hotel will be opened for the next summer. 100 million dollars will be spent in the project and the hotel will present 100 rooms.

iTechnics Becomes Apple’s Authorized Reseller in Georgia iTechnics became Apple Authorized Reseller in Georgia.

Because of this change, company implemented rebranding and now operates with a new name iTechnics, logo, corporate colors and etc.

According to the head of marketing department, Irakli Kiria, customers of the company will now have Apple’s International insurance packages.

In addition, as Irakli Kiria says, within the given status, Georgian customers have the opportunity to offer the best prices and conditions on the market.

Development Bank of China has Allocated a Special Group for Anaklia Port Project The President of the Chinese Development Bank (CDB) has allocated a special working group on Anaklia Deep Water Project and invited representatives of Anaklia Development Consortium for further talks in China.

Workshops were held in Georgia, where the importance of Anaklia Port was discussed for the country, as well as the region.

“Cooperation with Development Bank of China, as well as their interest towards Anaklia Project is very important for us and it once again underlines the scale and prospects of Anaklia Deep Sea Port”, – TBC Group founder Mamuka Khazaradze said.

Microsoft Blockchain Day Event Held at Technopark The Microsoft Blockchain Day event was organized at Technopark by Innovation and Technology Agency and company Microsoft, where the importance of Blockchain and Cloud Technologies was discussed.

The event was opened by the Chairman of Innovation Agency Giorgi Zviadadze and Microsoft Georgia Manager Nikoloz Doborjginidze.

Microsoft’s representatives held presentations about Blockchain topics.

“Microsoft Blockchain day” is a unique opportunity to find out more about blockchain technologies.

There was also a presentation on Microsoft’s supporting programs for startups.

Vere Bloom – Restaurant in Tbilisi Where Cooking is a Culinary Performance Food Art is a culinary direction that is quite popular in Europe. In the West this art starts from the Renaissance epoch. Its followers think that food is an art and not only the taste, but also its visual side and decoration.

Restaurant Vere Blooms has been functioning in the center of Tbilisi for several months, which concept and interior, as they say, is absolutely different from Georgian reality. Their main direction is the Food Art. “I think Food Art is the best opportunity to create a mood. The impression of the guest is one of the priorities for us, “said Ekaterina Tushishvili, owner of Vere Blooms.

It is also worth mentioning the transparent kitchen located in the middle of the hall. Each guest can watch the process.

“It’s a kind of performance

that is a very interesting sight for the guest – you watch how your dish is being prepared” . ” We believe that every person has the right to see where and in what condition his dish is prepared, because the quality is the most important, “Ekaterina Tushishvili says.

Vere Blooms is designed for different categories of consumers, gourmets – A La Carte menu created by different flavors, for wine lovers – wine corner for exclusive species and special lunch menu for business people.

“We have created a new type of lunch, called Smart Lunch, because we do not offer the so-called combos, in Vere Blooms, you need to have a lunch for yourself and taste according to the taste and budget. We try to be interesting,flexible and comfortable for different categories of visitors.

Georgia Among Three Countries With the Largest Number of Bitcoin Miners Georgia has been listed among three countries with the largest number of Bitcoin miners in the world.

Bitcoin mining is a process that both adds transactions to the cryptocurrency blockchain ledger but also unlocks new Bitcoins into the system. The process involves using computer power to solve complex mathematical puzzles. Bitcoin mining is an essential process in Bitcoin security – the complexity and effort makes the cryptocurrency system less vulnerable to attack.

Three countries include Georgia, China and United States of America.

Based in Georgia, BitFury is a company known for being one of the largest players in the Bitcoin mining business segment – developing and selling efficiency streaming

hardware to Bitcoin users and businesses. Bitfury is one of leading full service Blockchain technology companies and one of the largest private infrastructure providers in the Blockchain ecosystem. As such, as of 2016, BitFury was mining about 15% of all bitcoins, blog.iqoption, stated.

This is not the first time when Georgian bitcoin production gained attention, recently Harvard Business School announced that they will apply the case study of the ongoing Blockchain project in Georgia in the curricula. The Georgian experience will be discussed at various events of the Business School.

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Brand History - Biblusi

57 branches throughout Georgia, a lot of talented people for the united purpose: make the book available in every corner of Georgia and even more people to love reading - this is “Biblusi”, the biggest bookstore network in Georgia.

The idea of establishment - everything started nine years ago, in 2008 in a small store on Iosebidze Street,Tbilisi. Perhaps no one could ever imagine that this small place would turn into the largest network of books in Georgia. The book was not available to everyone, neither large bookstores existed nor “Biblusi Gallery” with its beautiful spaces, but a small, cozy store on Iosebidze Street gathered so many readers around the books that promptly promoted the books of Biblusi in the city, It followed the third, fourth, and this process still continues.

Key to a success - The company has managed to create the largest trade network of publishing products in Georgia during nine years of existence, which meets modern standards and enjoyed the trustworthiness of numerous customers.

“Biblusi” enabled locals to enjoy diverse selection of books not only big cities but also in the regions. Borjomi, Bolnisi, Senaki, Sachkhere - this is a small list of locations where the Biblus stores are functioning

This is a book store, where different branch repeatedly seen teenagers rows of their generation’s favorite writers newly-published books and to meet them, “Biblusi Gallery” its presentation and reading spaces, is a place where not only the book can be purchased by customers, but also to read in a comfortable place, attend presentations, discussions on books, taste favorite wine, and delicious food in the cafe “Piato”.

After nine years, “Biblusi” continues to expand the network, encourage literary enthusiasts and still actively care for people willing to read more.

Piato (Book Cafe) - Piato is the part of ‘’Biblusi Gallery’’, Italian cafe where one can

enjoy his time surrounding by books, where beautiful and sophisticated interior creates peculiar atmosphere. Here you can try delicious dishes: varieties of pizza, chicken wrap, Italian pasta, healthy salads and others.

Special environment lets you choose desired literature quietly and move to the cafe to enjoy it with a glass of wine.

History of name - Years ago, when the shop was opened, we thought a lot about what should we name it, something that can be remembered easily, and that is warm, associated with books. Many people were involved in this process. We had a lot of versions, but when the idea of “Biblusi” occurred, we jointly agreed, that means a roll.

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December 18, 2017 #220

December 18, 2017 #220

world

13

Walt Disney buys Murdoch’s Fox for $52bn

Agriculture Minister Wants to Ban GMOs in Armenia Armenia’s Agriculture Minister, Ignati Arakelyan, presided over a meeting of a working group established to ensure bio safety in the agriculture section, including the use of genetically modified organisms, commonly known as GMOs. Last month, the US Embassy in Yerevan organized a conference for the agriculture sector and introduced representatives of two American companies, Valmont and Monsanto, the latter being the largest producer of GMOs. This alarmed activists both in Armenia and the Diaspora to oppose the introduction of GMOs in Armenia and to reject genetically engineered crops.

To comply with European standards, Armenia has signed an agreement prohibiting the use of GMOs. Those attending the conference on Monday that the legislative regulation of the use of GMOs will be guided by “the principle of precaution,” given that science has not yet determined the GMOs safety and thus Armenia must prohibit their use.

Arakelyan instructed the working group to study the original version of the law on the biosafety of the use of GMOs in Armenia to provide diverse opinions within two weeks.

Debate about the use of GMOs in Armenia erupted after the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan organized a business conference to connect Armenian companies involved in the agricultural sector with the expertise, products, and technology of U.S. companies Valmont and Monsanto.

Turkey lira pressured after small rate hike surprises markets The embattled Turkish lira fell sharply against the dollar on Thursday after the central bank disappointed markets expecting a substantial interest rate hike with only a minimal increase.

The lira — which has lost over 30 percent in value against the dollar over the last two years — fell 1.62 percent in value to trade at 3.87 to the greenback.

The market consensus had been for a 100 basis points rate hike of the benchmark interest rate to combat inflation of almost 13 percent and the weakness of the lira, at a time of strong growth.

But the central bank left the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 8.0 percent, it said in a statement after its latest monetary policy meeting.

The overnight borrowing rate was also kept unchanged at 7.25 percent while the marginal funds rate held steady at 9.25 percent.

But the late liquidity window lending rate was hiked, however, by 50 basis points to 12.75 percent from 12.25 percent. This was the only interest rate to be hiked.

The central bank employs multiple interest rates — which if often changes at different times — in a complex monetary policy strategy which has been criticised by economists.

Walt Disney has agreed to buy the bulk of 21st Century Fox’s business for $52.4bn (£39bn), in a deal both companies said position them to compete in the rapidly changing media industry. The purchase includes Fox’s film and television studios, as well as its 39% stake in satellite broadcaster Sky. Fox will form a news-focused company with its remaining assets.

The move is a sharp shift for 86-year-old Fox owner Rupert Murdoch after more than half a century of media expansion.

Simon Jack: Why is Disney buying Fox? Five reasons why the Murdochs are selling Fox to Disney Media Editor Amol Rajan: Cunning Fox and mighty Mouse Mr Murdoch turned a single Australian newspaper he inherited from his father at the age of 21 into one of the world’s largest news and film empires.

He said the break-up makes sense amid new threats from online advertising and competitors who are streaming entertainment into homes via the internet.

Fox shareholders, who include the Murdochs, will get a 25% stake in the larger Disney.

“With today’s announcement, we launch the next great leg of our journey,” Rupert Murdoch said on Thursday in a call for investors.

He added later: “Are we retreating? Absolutely not.”

Disney will scoop up Fox’s movie and television studios, regional sports network and international holdings, among other investments.

The move adds to Disney’s back catalogue high-grossing films such as the original Star Wars movies, the Marvel superhero pictures, Avatar and Deadpool, as well as TV hits such as Modern Family and The Simpsons.

It expands Disney’s offerings with the FX and National Geographic cable channels, and Fox’s regional sports network in the US. The purchase also extends Disney’s global reach, adding media company Star India and Fox’s interests in Sky plc and Tata Sky to its portfolio.

Disney will also get majority control of the video streaming service Hulu, which is also partially owned by Comcast and Time Warner.

Bitcoin’s mysterious creator could become world’s first trillionaire

Bakutel: Azerbaijan wants to become an ICT hub Azerbaijan’s International Telecommunications and IT fair: a regional ICT platform. Virtual and Augmented Reality were the stars of this year’s edition of Bakutel, Azerbaijan’s International Telecommunication and Information Technologies Exhibition.

One of the trends this year was the combination of the two technologies for applications in fields ranging from art to medicine. One stand featured connected surgical glasses help surgeons better visualize the features of a patient’s face during an operation.

“The general concept of this project is to combine the virtual anatomy of each patient with the real anatomy of the patient who will be operated. During surgery, if you are wearing these glasses, you can see the internal anatomy of the patient – it’s like looking through the skin of the face, you can see the facial skeleton, the muscles, the nerves, the vessels and so on.“ Ismayil Ferzeliyev, doctor, Azerbaijan Medical University Virtual Reality is still a key element in the gaming world, but the field of application of this technology is growing fast.

“This platform that you see is not only for gaming. A lot of countries use it in medi-

cine. Our company has started to develop some platforms especially for medicine, for trainings – for example fire trainings.“ Aygun Hasanova, spokeswoman, Phobia VR Bakutel is a unique platform for professionals in the ICT field to meet. This edition brought together more than 190 companies from 20 countries.

It’s an opportunity for start-ups to present their projects to potential investors, like the ‘Wand’ smartpen. “‘Wand’ is an electronic device that sends every scratch you made on the paper via bluetooth to your smartphone’s application. After you have written on the paper the ink evaporates after 30 minutes but during this time your data has been safely saved on our servers in our software application.“ Elchin Aghazade, ‘Wand’ project manager.

According to a 2016 World Bank study, ICT has strong growth potential in Azerbaijan, which is faced with the challenge of diversifying its economy away from energy resources to create new sources of growth.

“ICT development is one of the top priorities for our country. We are planning to continue the policy of diversification of our economy and, in this respect, development of ICT is very important.“

The mystery man known as Satoshi Nakamoto, who’s believed to be the inventor of bitcoin, could become the richest person on the planet, ahead of Forbes’ list billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. With the cryptocurrency’s booming price, the fortune of Nakamoto who is reportedly sitting on $17 billion could turn him into the world’s first trillionaire.

The price of the world’s most valuable digital currency bitcoin is up 1,800 percent this year.

Last week, it rocketed above $19,000 for the first time. With a market value of more than $288 billion, the cryptocurrency was trading at $17,254 on Wednesday.

Nakamoto is believed to hold nearly one million bitcoins, and he’s never spent a single coin, according to media reports.

The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym for the author of the research paper that conceived bitcoin about nine years ago, remains a mystery. To date, nobody knows who Nakamoto is. The name appears on the original document which proposed a peer-topeer electronic cash system.

There have been at least four people that have been named or have named themselves as Satoshi Nakamoto. Three years ago, Newsweek said a 64-year-old Japanese-American living in California named Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto could be behind bitcoin. He had denied the report. In 2016, an Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright claimed he was the founder, but that was also called into doubt.

Last month, billionaire Elon Musk denied rumors he was the mysterious inventor of bitcoin. A former intern at Musk’s space company SpaceX has suggested that “Satoshi is probably Elon” because of his deep understanding of economics and cryptography, grip on advanced coding languages, and the fact he is a “polymath.”

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December 18, 2017 #220

December 18, 2017 #220

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 76-g Chavchavadze Ave., Tbilisi Tel: 231-11-61, 231-14-54 E-mail: 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 Kingdom of Spain Embassy Rustaveli Ave. 24, I floor, Tbilisi Tel: 230-54-64 E-mail: emb.tiflis@maec.esRomania Embassy 7 Kushitashvili St., Tbilisi Tel: 38-53-10; 25-00-98/97 E-mail: ambasada@caucasus.net Republic of Poland Embassy

Tbilisi Guide 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 European Investment Bank Regional Representation for the South Caucasus Address: 1,G.Tabidze Street, Freedom Square Phone: +995 322 006284

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 River Side Hotel With incredible service and views Addr: Mari Brosse street turn, Old Tbilisi.

Tel: +995 32 2242244; +995 32 2242288 Fax: +995 32 2 242277 Email: info@riverside.ge Website: www.riverside.ge

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,

15 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

75 Agmashenebeli Ave. Tbilisi Tel: 577 18 27 87 Email: hostelmtevnebi@yahoo.com

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

Limelight Travel info Center Address: 13 Sioni Street, 0105, Tbilisi (at the end of Shardeni Street) Phone: +995 322 999 123 E-mail: info@limelight.ge Web-page: www.limelight.ge Facebook page: www.facebook.com/limelight.ge

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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December 18, 2017 #220