Caucasus Business Week #226

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February 19, 2018 #226

February 19, 2018, Issue 226 - www.cbw.ge

Business Part of Georgian Businessmen Hails Idea of Inviting British Magistrates Pg. 4

Interview 3-Year Summary of San Diego University Dean Dr. Ken Walsh

Pg. 6

Sophie Tchitchinadze: Communication for development makes you part of great social change Pg. 8 Inflation Declines

In January 2018, as compared to December 2017, inflation level constituted 0.6%, while annual inflation rate made up 4.3%. In December 2017 the annual inflation rate marked 6.7%, averaged inflation level (comparison of 12-month averaged indicator with the previous 12-month averaged indicator) made up 6.1%, while National Bank of Georgia (NBG) had forecast the target inflation rate to be 4%. As to the current year, NBG forecasts 3% inflation rate. General price level will be approximate to NEG-determined indicator, the NBG forecasts.

As compared to the previous month, change in prices in the following groups have mainly shaped the inflation indicator: Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 1.7 percent, contributing 0.52 percentage points to the overall CPI change. Prices were higher for the following subgroups: fruit and grapes (9.8 percent), vegetables (5.3 percent), milk, cheese and eggs (3.0 percent), sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionary (1.0 Percent); Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels: prices in the group increased by 2.7 percent, contributing 0.21 percentage points to the overall CPI change.

Pg. 4

The Role of Economic Liberalism in Development of Singapore

Pg. 7

Considering the actuality of liberal principles, we can assume that, economic liberalism is an important topic of the political economy. Its methodology consists of human relations, individual welfare, and laws of economics that are prevalent for success. Singapore is the classic form of free-market liberalism.

According to this, the outcomes caused by the liberal economic policy are significant in Singapore and the case of this country gives us an idea of whether this policy is a cornerstone of Singapore’s success, even when the state is developing under a dictatorship, or not.

Thus, the main question of this theoretical paper is: Which was the main reason for the rapid development of Singapore, liberal economic policy or dictatorship?

This question is far more extensive, considering the fact, that currently, the country is not ruled by the dictator Lee Kuan Yew, whose efforts developed the economic liberalism in Singapore.

Pg. 9

Newsroom

2 Government

New tax break to apply to small businesses in Georgia

The Government of Georgia is launching a second wave of small business assistance efforts building on the successful programs such as ‘Produce in Georgia’, agriculture programs like ‘Plant the Future’ and others.

USAID launches $7.5 million 3-year energy program in Georgia

The program aims to contribute to the development of commercial electricity opportunities in Georgia; to optimise energy-related investments; help the country integrate with the renewable energy network.

economy

Foreign Trade Turnover Increased by 20.1% In January

In January 2018, foreign trade turnover in Georgia (excluding undeclared trade) amounted 815.8 million US dollar , which is 20.1 percent more than the corresponding period of the previous year.

Georgia’s Exports-Imports Items with EU

Georgia exports filbert and nut, wood materials, fruit and vegetable juices, tinned fruits and herbs, flour to Germany. Total value of the exports is 45.361 million USD. As to imports, Georgia imports motorcars, medications, trucks.

banking

Commercial Banks Issued 15 billion GEL Mortgage Loans in 2017

Namely, TBC Bank issued 6.080 480 billion GEL mortgage loans. Bank of Georgia – 5.689 112 billion GEL mortgage loans, VTB Bank – 875 781 710 GEL mortgage loans.

Georgian Citizens Annually Lose Property Worth GEL 500 Mln

According to statistical data available, as of the 4th quarter of 2017, the banks received property worth GEL 209,192,767 for payment of debts, and Bank of Georgia leads in this direction with GEL 94.98 million.

business

Kulevi Oil Terminal To Receive One Billion Investment

According to Poti City Hall, the plant will employ 350 persons.

The volume of investment will be about 1 billion GEL. The company will employ 600-700 citizens in the construction process.

Beer Industry Grows by 2-3% in Georgia

As a result of changes in the excise tax structure, we have received a very good tendency and the so-called low-alcohol beer segment has been developed by 10-15% and its ratio in the whole sector constituted 20%.

company

Dairy Plant Launched in Shida Kartli

Nebiera company was founded in 2008 as part of UNDP program.

The plant was to ensure educational and production practice components for students of Gantiadi college, as part of milk processing technology program.

February 19, 2018 #226

Georgian, Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministers highlight positive tourism trends

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eorgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze has met with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel AlJubeir in Kuwait, within the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Conference, where the officials highlighted positive trends in tourism between the two nations.

Discussing bilateral relations, the officials highlighted trade-economic cooperation and the exchange of bilateral visits. The positive dynamics of cooperation in tourism and the increasing number of Saudi Arabian visitors to Georgia was also highlighted,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry reported.

Janelidze briefed Adel Al-Ju-

beir about Georgia’s economic development trends, transit and investment potential and the government’s efforts towards the development of tourism and infrastructure.

Exchanging views over international security, the two ministers recognized the importance of the international community’s joint efforts in further strengthening stability across the world.

Janelidze invited his Saudi Arabian counterpart to Georgia.

The Georgian official also delivered a speech at the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Conference.

Janelidze congratulated the Coalition on the “significant success” made in its fight against ISIS and reaffirmed

that Georgia, as a member of the coalition, will continue its efforts towards ensuring global security.

Highlighting the importance of joint and coordinated actions against terrorism, the minister welcomed the adoption of the guiding principles of the Global Coalition.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid AlSabah and the US Secretary of state Rex Tillerson delivered opening remarks at the conference.

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and foreign ministers of EU member states and other countries forming the coalition were also present.

AYFB Urges Zurab Alavidze for Promptly Revision of Tender Regulations

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ssociation of Young Financiers and Businessmen (AYFB) urges Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Georgia Zurab Alavidze to promptly revise regulations for conducting major road-infrastructural tenders.

The first part of AYFB research exposed serious violations and errors and even law enforcement bodies may be invited to comprehensively explore the existing malpractices.

Therefore, the Ministry and the whole Authorities should take efficient steps immediately to eradicate manipulative schemes in road infrastructure construction process.

The current ugly practice of conducting tenders should be changed as soon as possible.

Compliance of tender terms and agreements signed with winner companies should be verified. In most cases, key parts of tender conditions are not included in agreements.

As a result, quality of construction works fail to satisfy due requirements and corruption deals are concluded.

All changes in tender conditions, be it full or partly revision of the project or an inclination from environment impact

BUSINESS WEEK caucasus

The Editorial Board Follows Press Freedom Principles Publisher: LLC Caucasian Business Week - CBW Address: Aleksidze Street 1 Director: Levan Beglarishvili Sales: Mob: +995 591 01 39 36 WWW.CBW.GE Email: caucasianbusiness@gmail.com

reports, should be publicized.

A state-assigned body should carry out an expertise, while the technical supervision and construction agency of Ministry of Economy should issue a building permit anew.

AYFB urges Ministry of Infrastructure to toughen contracts for relation with supervisory companies and broaden the range of their responsibility, because population of Georgia pays millions of GEL for constructing major road-infrastructural projects, but receives low-quality infrastructure and roads.

Monthly reports should be published by supervisory companies in media editions, so as our society have accurate and trustworthy information on implementation of projects.

Changes in major road and infrastructural works should be approved by the Government, based on due expert conclusions submitted by Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development.

Implementation of projects should become transparent in terms of financial transactions.

Any new transaction should be approved through publishing acts of acceptance and

delivery, which accompany previous financial operations, in media editions.

The young financiers urge Ministry of Infrastructure to enhance control over roads and infrastructure construction and supervision companies whether they meet deadlines and technological procedures.

The Ministry should timely apply commissions under legislation and provide immediate reaction to information delivered by supervisory companies and eradicate all violations.

Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development should develop a bill of amendments to the current law on regulations of conducting tenders and commencement of projects with contrahents, ensure publicity of project delivery, process transparency based on best management principles.

Finally, the young financiers urge Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development: – Mr. Minister, just take Kaladze as your model, who has decided to revise tender documentation of municipal infrastructural projects. As a result, the quality of project implementation, designing works and delivery process will be obligatorily controlled.

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

February 19, 2018 #226

publicity

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econo-mix

February 19, 2018 #226

Inflation Declines General Price Level Rose by 4.3% in January Part of Georgian Businessmen Hails Idea of Inviting British Magistrates

‘‘

Merab Janiashvili Economic Analyst

According to Geostat indicators, increased prices on food and soft drinks have mainly shaped inflation indicator. Since poverty level in Georgia is 21.3% (the 2016 indicators), food, payments for public utilities and essentials occupy a main place in expenses of our citizens.

‘‘

Kazakhstan has launched a revolutionary project for effective resolution of commercial disputes.

Namely, retired judge Harry Woolf, one of the distinguished representatives of English system of justice, has been appointed as a senior judge of Commercial Court that was recently established in Kazakhstan. Besides him, 8 other famous British judges and influential defense lawyers will work in the mentioned court. Similar instances have been already shaped in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. The new court in Kazakhstan was organized as part of Kazakhstan Modernization Program, which aims at transforming the country into a key financial hub in Central Asia.

“This is the first similar court in Eurasia. Kazakhstan has very long borders with Prussia and China.

And China is shaping the New Silk Road that will cross Kazakhstan. Therefore, Court of Commerce has all preconditions for success”, Lord Woolf noted.

All judges come from Great Britain and the court will follow English legislation, in practice.

The Caucasus Business Week (CBW) has inquired whether Georgia may also share this experience of Kazakhstan and whether the British model will justify in our country.

It turns out that, like Kazakhstan, domestic business sector in Georgia welcomes the idea of establishing the commercial court in the country.

Currently, establishment of Commercial Court is not on the agenda, however, the idea is very interesting, Business Ombudsman Irakli Lekvinadze noted.

“I think this process should be analyzed there, where it was underway, to determine how successfully this undertaking will work there and how it will justify in practical life. Before, it is difficult to talk about establishing British Commercial Court in Georgia. However, the idea is genuinely interesting and special. Kazakhstan is the first Post-Soviet country, where this innovation was established and we should examine this specific yet. In our case a lot of factors should be taken into consideration, because our country has different peculiarity. In general, it is early to talk about this issue in details”, Lekvinadze noted.

TechnoBoom founder Anzor Kokoladze pointed out that Britain is one of the special countries in the court system and the project will succeed in Georgia if the process is carried out in a good manner.

“It is famous that sometimes domestic judges lack for due qualifications to discuss business disputes. There are two issues – honesty, on the one hand, and staff shortage, on the other hand.

If the whole process is implemented properly and transparently, the mentioned initiative may eradicate the current problems”, Kokoladze said.

Senta Petroleum founder Zaal Iakobidze also backs the idea of implementing the process transparently. Iakobidze told the CBW that the British judges should own full-scale legitimacy. In this case, the project has the chance to succeed in Georgia too.

This is a very interesting idea. If British Commercial Court launch operation in Georgia, the judge should have full legitimacy and their decisions should be ultimate. I know from my experience that the situation is heavy in Georgia in this respect. Therefore, this project would be a step forward for Georgia”, Iakobidze noted.

Regretfully, the court system in Georgia is in grave situation and it will be wonderful if a new circle of lawyers is shaped. As to the Kazakh model, it is genuinely acceptable. None of the parties trust the court system because of the existing situation”, David Begiashvili, founder of Albatros company, noted.

Fady Asly, head of International Chamber of Commerce Georgia (ICC Georgia), also hails the idea of establishing British Commercial Court.

This project will ensure safe environment for foreign investors, he said.

“Arrival of British judges to Kazakhstan is a genuinely good idea. Only problem is that the judges will arrive there only 5 times a year and I suppose this will not be sufficient. However, the initiative is very good in itself. If this project is implemented in Georgia, number of foreign investors will increase in the country. In case of problems, investors will be sure to resolve them by court. As a result, corruption will be defeated. Therefore, this is a fantastic idea for Georgia too”, Fady Asly said.

In January 2018, as compared to December 2017, inflation level constituted 0.6%, while annual inflation rate made up 4.3%.

In December 2017 the annual inflation rate marked 6.7%, averaged inflation level (comparison of 12-month averaged indicator with the previous 12-month averaged indicator) made up 6.1%, while National Bank of Georgia (NBG) had forecast the target inflation rate to be 4%. As to the current year, NBG forecasts 3% inflation rate.

General price level will be approximate to NEG-determined indicator, the NBG forecasts.

As compared to the previous month, change in prices in the following groups have mainly shaped the inflation indicator: Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 1.7 percent, contributing 0.52 percentage points to the overall CPI change. Prices were higher for the following subgroups: fruit and grapes (9.8 percent), vegetables (5.3 percent), milk, cheese and eggs (3.0 percent), sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionary (1.0 Percent); Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels: prices in the group increased by 2.7 percent, contributing 0.21 percentage points to the overall CPI change. Prices were up for electricity, gas and other fuels (2.5 percent), also for water supply and miscellaneous services related to the dwelling (7.7 percent); Clothing and footwear: prices decreased by 2.1 percent, contributing -0.08 percentage points to the overall CPI change. Prices were down for footwear (-3.5 percent) and clothing (-1.5 percent).

As to annual inflation, that implies a growth in general price level compared to previous January, the change in prices in the following groups have mainly shaped prices: Food and non-alcoholic beverages: prices increased by 4.7 percent, contributing

1.44 percentage points to the annual inflation. Prices were up for the following subgroups: fruit and grapes (13.5 percent), milk, cheese and eggs (7.9 percent), meat (6.6 percent), vegetables (4.3 percent), coffee, tea and cocoa (4.3 percent), oils and fats (4.0 percent); Transport: prices increased by 6.6 percent, contributing 0.91 percentage points to the annual inflation. The prices rose for operation of personal transport equipment (9.7 percent) and transport services (3.4 percent). Meanwhile, prices were down for purchase of vehicles (-9.2 percent); Alcoholic beverages and tobacco: prices increased by 11.5 percent, with a relevant contribution of 0.75 percentage points to the overall index growth. Prices within the group were higher for tobacco (19.8 percent) and alcoholic beverages (3.5 percent); Health: prices were up by 6.4 percent, which resulted in a 0.52 percentage point contribution to the overall annual inflation. Prices increased for subgroups of medical products, appliances and equipment (10.7 percent), out-patient services (5.4 percent) and hospital services (2.8 percent).

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels: prices increased by 4.2 percent, contributing 0.35 percentage points to the annual inflation. Prices rose for electricity, gas and other fuels (4.6 percent), also for water supply and miscellaneous services related to the dwelling (7.7 percent).

According to Geostat indicators, increased prices on food and soft drinks have mainly shaped inflation indicator. Since poverty level in Georgia is 21.3% (the 2016 indicators), food, payments for public utilities and essentials occupy a main place in expenses of our citizens.

Consequently, inflation level for these citizens are higher than 4.3%. Increased tariffs on electricity and natural gas heavily burden socially vulnerable population.

“According to our forecasts, in all other equal conditions, the inflation indicator will continue declining to around 3% target indicator. After 2.8% rise in 2016, Georgian economy grew by 4.8% in 2017, thanks to exports and money transfer from abroad. Highest pace of growth was recorded in processing industry, services and real estate field…

In December NBG rose refinancing rate to 7.25% to 7%, but did not change the rate in January 2018”.

Koba Gvenetadze NBG President

February 19, 2018 #226

publicity

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interview

February 19, 2018 #226

3-Year Summary of San Diego University Dean Dr. Ken Walsh

Dr. Ken Walsh is the founding Dean of the SDSU Georgia Campus.

Previously, he served as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering and occupied an endowed position as the AGC-Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Engineering and Management at San Diego State University. He holds BSE, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University. He was named as the Outstanding Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at SDSU in 2014, and holds the National Teaching Award from the Associated Schools of Construction. Dr. Ken summarized his experience in Georgia with CBW: ninna gomarteli

- Dr.Welsh how would you assess your presence in Georgia and process of establishing San Diego State University together with the three state universities?

It’s almost impossible to unpack my experience here in many ways. First of all, it has been the most important experience in my career as I had a chance to be involved in every aspect of university function, from dealing with student’s transcripts, to scheduling classes to everything. I had personal connections with students, which is hard to do it in the US where system is more established. It left me by further richer for the opportunity to come to better understanding of Georgia and how every university has to function in general.

- What was the demand of STEM directions in Georgia when you started your activity and what has changed over the years?

I’ve been in Georgia very often since 2013, full time since 2014 and I think, there’s been a lot of change in the students’ interest in science engineering over the time. When I first came to Georgia, there was a rare student having any interest in STEM fields other than medicine, which is completely different. So, most common interest from students was expressed towards international relations or business, and I understand where that comes from. We’ve been working really hard to make the case that modern world is driven by changes in science engineering, that the face of the planet and what we expect from technologies changes this point of a five-year cycle.

In order to contrast my grandparent’s life, there was no that many changes the way they lived their lives other than jet aircrafts, while we use technologies routinely that no one used five years ago.

I think young people are more aware than their parents that things are changing fast, and I think even in 2013 they were led by parents to go to business or international relations. Young people are aware of technologies and its impact on their careers, and probably they didn’t believe the opportunity to get proper education in these field in Georgia actually existed.

- What do you consider as a major achievement from this 3-year perspective?

You can see the results, our student body is doubled every year, and we can see the demand is increasing dramatically. It was the major achievement to increase popularity, I think we’ve been an important part of it but it won’t be right to take all credits. Government has done a very good job of by emphasizing new developments in science and engineering, and the compact has been very good raising the profile of these fields in general education, as well as higher.

- Just a few days ago Ilia State University completed the carcass construction of a new edu-

cational building of San Diego University. Tell us more about this space?

The interior still has to be finished. There will be laboratories of computer engineering, our students will be able to complete design projects of industry problems and will be developing solutions for it. This is the key part of the process to make sure, they are ready to go to work on the very first day. So that involvement in industry bringing into that classrooms is only possible if you’ve got modern equipment. We also have new laboratories in civil engineering across the wide range of aspects foundation, hydraulics, river flow, etc.. Those students will have similar experiences and be able to go right to work on the critical infrastructure problems Georgia bases. So, all of these programs were targeted towards workforce needs, and that building makes it possible to meet high standards.

- Dr.Walsh, you’ve received numerous awards and have published a number of works, including you are named as an outstanding professor of civil construction and engineering, what advice would you give young people who consider entering one of STEM field?

I will come to this from several different directions.

First of all, a lot of times people say it, the only place for computer science and civil engineering is in the US, where there are developed industries, and there is a big demand, while there are so many civil engineers and computer engineers in the states that the competition is extremely stiff. The problem is that Georgia ends up importing a lot of these kinds of skills, so you have a lot of engineering being done by professionals who don’t understand Georgian culture, society and needs. What does engineering solution need to look like in order to satisfy Georgian culture? Nobody can do that in Georgia, right? You’re going to have a mismatch between the kinds of solution that get developed and the demands, unless you get many more Georgian youth educated in science engineering and taking leadership in completing these solutions.

Furthermore, the opportunities are much more richly available here, an excellent outstanding topnotch science graduates in the US faces thousands of competitors just like them from thousands of other universities, while young Georgian graduate faces almost no competitors. They have ability to start new jobs, companies, go on their own be an entrepreneur and build wealth. I think it’s overlooked to not focus on these huge opportunities available to high school students. Maybe US schools look fancier but if we look at the student’s performance in Georgia they do better than our students in San Diego, they do better on GPA, continuation rates, they even do better in writing English. So, students in Georgia are more incapable with an education resources to succeed, to take that and go create businesses. I think, any Georgian student who has interest developed in math and science should feel very confident follow that and get education in Georgia.

bank

February 19, 2018 #226

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Country of bank of georgia www.bfm.ge

Noncore assets of commercial banks bring serious problems to the country.

Specialists and business sector representatives stress that this environment kills valuable competition and aggravates the situation for various businesses. Entrepreneurs frequently note that they have taken loans from major commercial banks. As a result, this or that bank has full information on financial indicators of competitor companies.

As a result, when a commercial bank enters a special business field, all other competitor companies are oppressed and they fail to offer valuable competition. Moreover, commercial bank possess huge financial resources and they finance their noncore businesses themselves.

Bank of Georgia is a special commercial

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bank in terms of noncore assets. Despite the bank does not possess these businesses any more, as they were united into the joint holding of Georgian Capital (the former BGEO Group), informed circles know very well, how Bank of Georgia used to enter various business segments for many years and expand noncore activities thanks to its own financial resources.

Moreover, Bank of Georgia and Georgian Capital have the same stakeholders and assertions as if the bank holds no noncore business are just attempts of misleading and cheating the society.

Despite Bank of Georgia encurtains its noncore assets behind Georgian Capital or BGEO Group, everybody knows very well that Bank of Georgia finances the mentioned businesses itself, supplies

Insurance business – Aldagi and Imedi L

In the insurance business the bank owns two major companies - Aldagi and Imedi L. According to the January to September 2017 indicators, Aldagi insurance company ranks second due to attracted insurance premium of 64 million GEL, while Imedi L ranks third with 41 million GEL insurance premium.

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Pharmaceutical business– GPC and Pharmadepot

Pharmaceutical business is one of the most profitable sectors in the country and, naturally, Bank of Georgia stakeholders would not miss the chance and this business sector was taken over simply, where the bank owns two major companies – GPC and Pharmadepot. It should be noted that Pharmadepot was bought in in the current year and these two companies jointly hold the major ratio on the market.

Development Business – M2

M2, one of the largest development companies, is actually owned by Bank of Georgia and representatives of competitor construction companies frequently protest against this fact.

Evex Medical Corporation

Evex medical corporation is the largest hospital sector in the country with 76 clinics in 6 regions. The field specialists often stress that pharmaceutical companies should be stripped of the right for management of clinics and insurance companies, because similar situation frustrates market competition and hinders a reduction in prices. However, has Bank of Georgia ever respect any rule?

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cheap money, spends high financial resources, and even it directs its own money from one pocket to another even when lending money to them.

Therefore, the bank cannot so easily swindle the society, business sector and specialists. The fact is that today the country has become a business for Bank of Georgia and the bank’s tentacles penetrate almost all business fields. In a certain segment, the bank owns even two competitor businesses.

It is regretful that if this processes continues, commercial banks will take over all major businesses in the near future. As a result, the current grave situation in business sector will be further aggravated.

Here we introduce information on key businesses that Bank of Georgia owns

Energy System

Water supply companies and HPPs – GWP, Mtskheta Water, Rustavi Water. GWP, Georgia’s major water supply company with more than 400 000 subscribers, is owned by Georgian Capital, as well as Mtskheta Water and Rustavi Water. These water supply companies own several hydro power plants, including Saguramo HPP, Zhinvali HPP and Bodorna HPP.

Distribution Company – Teliani Trading Georgia

Teliani Trading Georgia distribution company was founded in 2006 for distribution of domestic and imported beverages. It holds a 47% stake in bottle wine category.

The company carries out distribution of soft and strong drinks.

Energy System

Water supply companies and HPPs – GWP, Mtskheta Water, Rustavi Water. GWP, Georgia’s major water supply company with more than 400 000 subscribers, is owned by Georgian Capital, as well as Mtskheta Water and Rustavi Water. These water supply companies own several hydro power plants, including Saguramo HPP, Zhinvali HPP and Bodorna HPP.

Beer Business – Heineken, Aisi, Black Lion

Over the past period Georgian Capital expressed interest in beer business too and obtained the right from Heineken for building a brewery, then it launched bottling Aisi and several days ago it also bought Black Lion at 3.2 million USD. As a result, the company will hold a significant ratio on the beer market.

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eventually in the holding of Georgian Capital.

The mentioned businesses are only a small part of interests that Bank of Georgia Group has in Georgian business.

It is worth noting that both government and parliament members permanently talk that noncore activities should be regulated on the level of holdings, but no efficient steps have been taken so far.

There is no explanation to such indifference and there are doubts that the influential banking sector’s lobby makes pressure on parliament members. If so, this is political corruption, otherwise this is just political impotence, when they initiate projects, but cannot bring them to an end.

Payment Terminals – Express Pay

Our society remembers when Bank of Georgia offered a standard model of dumping, when, initially, contrary to competitors, it did not increase fee for making payments to cell operators, but after competitors withdrew from the market, it raised service tariffs.

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Soft Drinks – Kampa

It would be really surprising if the bank had not penetrated the business of soft drinks. Kampa company was founded in 2008 and offers assortment of juices and nectars.

Payment Terminals – Express Pay

Our society remembers when Bank of Georgia offered a standard model of dumping, when, initially, contrary to competitors, it did not increase fee for making payments to cell operators, but after competitors withdrew from the market, it raised service tariffs.

Winemaking Company – Teliani Valley

One of the biggest winemaking companies in Georgia, which sells its own products on both Georgian and foreign markets.

Bank of Georgia University

The bank has established its own university with BA and MA courses in business administration.

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PR Person

February 19, 2018 #226

“Communication for development makes you part of great social change’’ - Why did you decide to enter this field and what kind of opportunities does it give in terms of career growth?

- Public Relations is more than a career.

It is my state of mind. Looking back now, I see that everything I have been doing my whole life led me to this professional path.

I studied psychology in Georgia and journalism in the UK, worked as a reporter, tried myself in emerging IT business. All those experiences shaped my personality and were truly rewarding. They also helped me understand that what I really wanted was to be part of positive change.

Not just watching, but making, and telling people the great story of social transformation. When I realized that, I dropped journalism for development communication and never regretted my choice.

Today I am part of the UNDP team in Georgia, the most vibrant and dynamic community of professionals who believe that their work makes the world a better place.

You are asking what it gives me – best job in the world and a wonderful opportunity to see very real results and share this success with everyone.

- What does it take to hold successful communication with public?

The spirit of the job is in three Ps – being Passionate about your work, Proud of what you do, and willing to share your story with People. The rest is about tools and professional machinery.

- What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR? Enjoy your work. Tell the truth whatever it takes. Always try something new.

This way, you will be true to yourself, will

Sophie Tchitchinadze, Communications Analyst at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Georgia

like the results of your work, and will have a lot of fun in the process.

- What do you wish you would have known before starting your career in PR? Public Relations is so complex these days that it is hardly possible to learn everything you need in advance. What you really need is keenness to gain new knowledge and courage to innovate.

- Describe your typical work week.

-I don’t think there is anything in my work that can be described as a typical week.

UNDP is unique because it is so dynamic and diverse. We work in many different areas – from human rights and rural development, to election media monitoring, climate action and vocational education. As a person responsible for communication, I am involved in every single project, which makes my work days a bit crazy though fascinating and never boring.

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

Open mind and open eyes usually help.

We live in the age of information, you can easily find whatever you are looking for.

My personal favourite, however, is talking to people. There’s nothing that can possibly replace face-to-face communication.

- How would you prioritize and start your work day?

I plan my working day on my way to the office, so that I come to work fully prepared and never start slow. Of course, there are a lot of pressing tasks, urgencies and routine to take care of. But I always have a couple of yummy bits in store to sparkle up my day – an interesting project, something new to try on social media, or

an enjoyable piece of writing.

- What skills are required to be a successful PR? Positive thinking, curiosity and excellence in horizontal management. PR practitioners work with everyone and should learn how to lead, without actually leading, and be an inspiration to others.

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

It is always rewarding to work with top professionals who are motivated and determined at work while being easy-going and open with their colleagues. I am a lucky person because I found the team which exactly falls under that description.

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

Technology is a useful tool if you know how to use it. And you definitely should if you want to succeed in PR profession.

Technology makes things faster, more focused, better packaged, but it does not replace the essentials of communication.

Great PR projects are always based on great content and, of course, on great personalities.

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

-Acceleration looks like a universal trend.

The world is moving faster than ever and PR has to adapt to this pace. Content avalanche is another challenge we are facing. It takes a lot of skills and creativity to make yourself noticeable. There is good news too. Human storytelling is a growing trend and development agencies, like UNDP, have a significant advantage here.

Everything we do is about people, their needs and their future.

February 19, 2018 #226

opinion

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The Role of Economic Liberalism in Development of Singapore Considering the actuality of liberal principles, we can assume that, economic liberalism is an important topic of the political economy.

Its methodology consists of human relations, individual welfare, and laws of economics that are prevalent for success. Singapore is the classic form of free-market liberalism. According to this, the outcomes caused by the liberal economic policy are significant in Singapore and the case of this country gives us an idea of whether this policy is a cornerstone of Singapore’s success, even when the state is developing under a dictatorship, or not.

Megi Qavtaradze

Marketing and communications manager for Georgia Investing

Thus, the main question of this theoretical paper is: Which was the main reason for the rapid development of Singapore, liberal economic policy or dictatorship?

This question is far more extensive, considering the fact, that currently, the country is not ruled by the dictator Lee Kuan Yew, whose efforts developed the economic liberalism in Singapore. It is, therefore, interesting if a new prime minister’s- Lee Hsien Loong’s dictatorship will pursue further development of the economy in line with the liberal principles.

It is worth mentioning, that Lee Hsien Long, perceived as one of the greatest dictators, is a son of Lee Kuan Yew and he continues to follow the policy of his father since 2004. The theoretical paper discusses the economic role of liberalism on economic welfare indicators and sustainability towards economic crises, consequences of liberal-economic policy on democratization process and development, outcomes of implementing market economy as a precondition of state’s military power and the process of becoming a strong actor in an international system. Expected finding of the paper is: a dictatorship was a helpful way for liberalism to be born in Singapore but liberalism itself was the only way that caused the development of the country.

The paper talks briefly about three main justifications of economic liberalism benefits in order to emphasize its great role. The first part discusses methodology and theoretical framework validity to the research question of the paper.

The second paragraph is about historical choice and its consequences. The third one talks about achievements of the country according to liberal decisions. The fourth paragraph discusses the role of Singapore among the Asian Tigers. The last two parts present the debates, which are shown in the literature, in order to prove how relevant they are to the main question. The major expected findings and the results of economic policy will follow.

Economic liberalism is the only one economic theory that explains the case of Singapore. According to the theory economic liberalism is a set of principles which works for self-regulated market and creates the market that should be affordable for everyone. Liberals claim that market develops with its own rules and people get more than they give. As liberal principles are important, the paper maintains, that in the contemporary international system, economic liberalism is a very important issue and its methodology includes relations between people, individual prosperity and the fact, that economics has its rules which is the prerequisite of success. That is why this paper will claim that liberalism is the main effective theory in the development of Singapore, as the situation after huge economic transition helped the market to become self-regulated and free.

There is a huge debate about the main reasons for Singapore’s development. The ideas are divided into two parts.

One school of thought maintains that economic development is based on the free-market idea in Singapore, while others claim, that the liberalism can not exist under government intervention in economics.

The late dictator Lee Kuan Yew started liberal politics under the dictatorship, which he saw as a must after the isolation policy which was very difficult for the country when it divorced the Great Britain and Malayzia. Yet, his policies resembled those of ‘’shock therapy’’, that means a sudden change in national economic policy which turns into the free-market model. When Singapore achieved freedom from the Great Britain its economy was almost nothing.

Donella Meadows research from Donella Meadow Institute shows that there is also dictatorship today in Singapore but it is not the main reason for its development. As Donella Meadow claims the dictator was benevolent and he changed the whole economics into a liberal model to achieve the same goals as Switzerland did in order to produce Economic Miracle. According to Tim Worstall, Cuba chose socialism at the same time when Singapore chose liberalism. Cuba had a dictator like Singapore and this dictator made a mistake when he chose socialism regime because it obstructed the development of Cuba. The economic policy in Cuba didn’t achieve the first thing that an economic policy is supposed to achieve: make the people richer.

Particularly- the statistics which are published by World Bank on its official website: for example, 73.5% in the country is engaged in service. There is almost no agricultural sector in Singapore, which means that Singapore is highly developed country. The official website of Economic Freedom Index shows that Economic freedom in Singapore is 87.8 % and it is second after Hon-Kong in the world. These statistic indicators are evidence to suggest that Singapore achieved ideal liberalism model with its liberal Economics.

Another profit of liberalism in Singapore is that it helped the country to become the part of The Asian Tigers. According to Bruno Marshall Shirley’s article, if we want to see how important the liberal economy in the development of Singapore was, we should consider that the development is impossible without exchanges between countries, and having successful economic relations is a priority for every country. The liberal domestic policy caused liberalization of economic policy on the international level and for today, as The Economywatch research shows, 47% of Singapore’s economics is re-exporting. The country is the 14th biggest

exporters and the 15th biggest importer in the world. Liberal economics gave Singapore the way to becoming the important, strong actor on international level among The Asian Tigers and that is why this fact answers the idea of the research question.

The theoretical paper credits liberal model of economic development to be a prerequisite of a huge success. Maximum profitability and economic welfare are possible only in the case of free market conditions. The conditions mentioned above do not necessarily claim the need for democracy, despite the fact that democracy cannot exist without free markets. Therefore, in the case of Singapore, we come across the situation in which Lee Kuan Yew’s dictatorship, which is entitled as “soft autocracy”, was characterized as implementing liberal principles with a force. His dictatorship, which implemented free market, attracted investments, diminished trade barriers and fought with corruption, helped “the birth” of liberalism and its infusion in a state’s economy, which, in turn, resulted in the economic upturn and growth.

It is important to precise that every period of Singapore’s Economic history had its own challenges. According to the history, when Singapore became an independent country,in 1965 its prospects did not look good. The high unemployment was the huge challenge for Singapore in its 60s.

Manufacturing industries became the main way to increase employment in the country. But there was still existing problem that was called – ‘’entrepot’’ trade. The dependency on the East India Company was the main reason for the undeveloped manufacturing sector.United Nations sent economic advisers to Singapore, as a result of this fact, The Economic Development Board (EDB) was established in 1961.

The main purpose of the EDB was to help the country to attract foreign capital and rise income. Consequently, GDP of Singapore was growing a high average of 6% per year. In the late 1960s manufacturing part in GDP was already grown from 10% to 15%. Finally, Singapore managed to start technology brought in that was supported by foreign investors and corporations. In 1970, the main economic challenge for Singapore was still high unemployment (10%) and British Withdrawal from the Island. Singapore did not have back from Britain. Plan of making a common market was destroyed because of separating from Malaysia. Singapore’s government had a variety of initiatives about wages and taxes. As a result unemployment rate became 3.5%.

The 1980s was a different part of Singapore’s economic history. Old challenges were transformed into problems like very tight labor market and high competition between economies of the South Asian region. Consequently, it was a must for the country to change manufacturing into a service industry.In order to save its place in region Singapore’s government formed the NCB – National Computer Board in 1981. After that Singapore was able to attract international IT firms in order to produce their software in Singapore. As a result from economic strategies, Singapore managed to grow its GDP at an average 7.3% in the 1980s. The number of highly skilled employees also rose from 11%-22% till 1985.

Period Since 1965 to the 1990s can be maintained as the ‘’take-off’’ period. From this time sound monetary policies, industrial co-operations, economic strategies, outward orientations, took root. The Economy was grown by an average 10% each year. On the level of forefront developing countries, Singapore became newly-industrialized economy. It is important to say that today’s political and economic conditions in Singapore are closely linked to the past reforms that are mentioned above. It is also worth to say that,in the framework of PAP(The people’s Action Party) and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, freedom of assembly and freedom of speech became restricted, but the Pap reinforced economic liberalization and international trade. Even though today Singapore is maintained as one of the world’s prosperous nations and Lee Hsien Loong continues exactly the same way as his father Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s developing rate is slower than it was 10-15 years ago. This process can be caused by characteristics of liberalism. According to liberalism principles, the country which achieves the highest level of development will continue developing slower than the other one which is not developed yet. To conclude, the theoretical paper describes the evolution of Singapore’s Economy after 1965, from the perspective of technological, industrial, political and economic development. The paper claims that liberalism was the main reason for country’s development. There are several arguments which prove that theoretical framework and methodology validate to the research question. The hard work of government helped markets to become open and liberalized. Since that liberalism is the spine of the country’s development. It is important to say that even today political and economic values are not developing under democracy, which can be the danger for security and stability in the long-term perspective.

Finally, other developing countries can learn from the experience of Singapore’s economic strategies. Success story can be shared by too many nations. The main lessons from Singapore can be: the culture of meritocracy, maximizing maneuverability in the foreign policy, starting with small wins, being relied on trade and investment and thinking about the long-term success.

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The International Expert Will Assist Georgia in Creating The Vineyards Cadastre

Georgian Software company FINA introduced a new software product Georgian Software company FINA introduced a new software product – FINA Audit for bookkeeping monitoring and detecting inaccuracies, errors in documentations.

The audit module carries out automatic comparison and inspection of bookkeeping documents and identifies whether financial data, financial results and money flows are accurate.

This model enables to process data in huge volumes, simply detect unregistered or inaccurately registered documents and collect information, where negative balance is on bank accounts and before debtors and creditors.

FINA launched operation on Georgian market in 2011. It has developed and established many universal Georgian software products, which are used by more than 2000 companies in various sectors.

Silk Factory Studio Hosts Local Production Market SILK FACTORY STUDIO invites at the Degustation & Exhibition Evening, presenting the local production market starting from wine, food and beverage to the handmade crafts.The aim of the event is popularization of the Georgian products and promotion of sales. The organizers promise an unforgettable evening.

This exhibition will surely benefit the visitors who plan to create their business in Georgia and alternative prospects of realization for future productivity of their company. Opening hours on Saturday from 5 PM till 10 PM and on Sunday from 12 PM till 7 PM.

First Large Hotel To Open in Tusheti, Omalo New beneficiary Samzeo has joined the hospital industry development program.

For the first time in Tusheti, in the village of Omalo, a 43suite hotel will be constructed. The hotel is member of Preferred Hotels&Resorts international brand.

The hotel will comprise premium restaurant, sauna, spa, lounge and any visitors will be able to enjoy conference services. The hotel will open in September 2018 and will employ about 50 persons.

Samzeo hotel consists of two two-storied blocks together with mansard and the socalled ground floor.

“Tusheti is one of the popular and exotic tourism destinations all over Georgia and number of visitors has been growing year to year in Tusheti”, Ketevan Bokuchava, Redix Group manger, told the Commersant.

However, there are problems with gas and electricity supply and this problem seriously hinders this business sector, she added.

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Portuguese expert Ana Luzi was involved in implementing the national cadastre program of the vineyards.

With the support of the German Agency of International Cooperation (GIZ), Anna Luzi will work as a consultant in the National Wine Agency in 2018-2019. The National Wine Agency has started implementing the vineyard cadastre program in 2014. This process should provide international experience and should be harmonized with the current EU legislation.

Cadastre’s accredited specialist Anna Luzi had short visits to the National Wine Agency in recent years to share international experience and practical advice. These advisory missions in the field of productive and technical improvement helped the National Wine Agency significantly in the implementation of the vineyards cadastre.

James Blunt will Perform Famous Hits on Independence Day Over 18 million albums sold worldwide – an impressive number for the British superstar James Blunt. His debut album Back to Bedlam, was included in the UK’s top selling albums of the 2000s. In 2017, the singer released his fifth album Afterlove, and started a world tour in which Georgia is to be included.

There are some interesting facts about the famous hit You’re Beautiful. The song was a great success for the singer, and was the third to be released by him. It won several awards.

Blunt has been playing this extraordinary song at all of his concerts and important events. It was thanks to this that James won awards for his best-selling album.

This song has a real personable meaning for the singer.

He devoted it to his former girlfriend. The video depicts a Japanese ‘tradition-

al’ suicide attempt. At the end of the video, the singer turns to the water to show that he can no longer live without love. Although the aforementioned hit is not his favorite creation, he said he would not stop performing the song as his concerts, because it is a favorite song of amongst his fans, whom he adores.

In general, music has become an integral part of James Blunt’s life. As he says, during a military placement in Kosovo, he took his guitar with him and performed songs for the locals and the army.

During this period, he wrote the song No Bravery.

James Blunt will visit Tbilisi on May 26, Georgian Independence Day. According to the organizers, the singer and composer will perform all of his hits, including Goodbye My Lover” and “You’re Beautiful”.

22 Year-Old Anano Vekua is the First Georgian Winemaker in South Africa ”Recently, Georgian Agrarian University student, Anano Vekua became the first Georgian winemaker girl in South Africa,”- On.ge reports. ”I’ve always liked the idea of producing wine. My sister recommended me to attend Agrarian University’s presentation, where I realized I felt extremely free. wine making-viticulture sounded very interesting, where I could use my favorite science direction- chemistry.

I decided to take a risk and prove producing wine is not just for men.

As for South Africa, there is a project, organized by The Embassy of Georgia in South Africa, Consulate of South Africa, the National Wine Agency and the South African-Georgian Chamber of Commerce, within this employees are exchanged between wine companies.

“The Georgian Winery Cor-

poration” has given me the opportunity to participate in this project and become the first Georgian woman winemaker in South Africa, the second largest factory in the country, called Robertson.

The company produces all types of wine, mainly French varieties. For example, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon …They don’t use Georgian types yet, although we’ve discussed with main winemakers there, and they need our characteristic grapes. If they want to use Georgian varieties, it will be a long, but important and wonderful story.

I will stay in South Africa for two months. Here’s a vintage now and I take a part in every process. They include me in various operations daily, sometimes I help with filtration, starting fermentation and control or wine processing.

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Wine and Muza Wine bar with a combination of antiquity and new trends travelingeorgia.ge

If you are not looking for wine just in horn, if drunkenness is not the only thing you expect from wine and you choose to search for muse in it, then you’re lucky. In this case, muse is more than art, culture or literature, any profession can have its own muse..

So, we have a new address for you. Wine bar ‘’Muse and Wine’’ is expecting its guests in front of famous Muse sculpture.

What to expect?-selection of best wine, nice atmosphere, Georgian unique exhibits, meeting with antiquities and past.

The wine bar has opened one month ago, got appreciated by customers and gained New York based wine master’s Lisa Granny’s sympathies, although everything is ahead.

Sandro Sakandelidze co-founder of “Wine and Muza” on question ‘’why muse?’’ explains, first of all, the title comes from its location, followed by conception: creativity, connection with art and consequently, its antiquity and history. ‘’We would like to have combination of new trends and and history… but ‘’muse’’ doesn’t necessarily mean one should be an artist, every profession has its own muse…’’

He says that wine needs appropriate atmosphere. Idea authors started to inquire antiques which can be seen on the wall. ‘’Unfortunately wine is associated with eating, getting drunk and unhealthy life in Georgia.

We don’t think this way, it has been part of daily lives: peasants went to work and brought one dish of wine, would have 1-2 glasses, which helped to restore forces. Travelers in Georgia used to say Georgian people were slenders and it has never been associated with unhealthy behaviour. We would like to bring it back its initial healthy side, which is natura;,’’says Sandro Sakandelidze.

Wine Bar founders say that they are not the first ones to

What to expect?selection of best wine, nice atmosphere, Georgian unique exhibits, meeting with antiquities and past.

11 ‘’why muse?’’ explains, first of all, the title comes from its location, followed by conception: creativity, connection with art and consequently, its antiquity and history. ‘’We would like to have combination of new trends and and history…

bring this tendency, and they are glad there to be like-minded people. ‘’We are in the same boat, we additionally create attractive space where we keep historical objects, for example, large wine trader’s belt, from XVIII century,’’- says David Megrelidze, co-founder.

They keep Victor Ostrovky’s art, who was killed in 50s of last century. ‘’This is another story, there is a short story written about him. His art is unique, done by water-colors, that has been a rare direction in Georgia’’.

There is also an old gramophone, given by Stalin to Sandro’s grandfather who was a colonel of 414th Georgian division during World War II. Here is a glass produced by

famous Georgian writer’s Ilia Chavchavadze’s friend, who has built the first brewing trade in Caucasus. You’ll find unique Georgian-Russian book, including illustrated 250 types of wine. There are old paintings on the wall, they have stains and are shabby, but its age is more important. ‘’My uncle used to be an artist and we found those works in his possessives. We have 40 paintings all together, we might hold an exhibition in the future,’’-says Sandro Sakandelidze.

A guest can try more than 100 varieties of wine here. Mostly family, Kvevri and bio wines, as well as European. Prices start from 17 GEL and exceeds 200 GEL. These are high quality small companies and wineries production that are exported too.

Georgian culinary is not less important, so the bar offers relevant category menus, boards of cheese and beef, cheese and chicken rolls, ‘’Felamushcake’’,etc.

Wine bar will host small parties soon.

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world

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EIB Approves 1.5 bln Euro Loan for TAP Gas Pipeline

Spanish company interested in construction of hydro power plant in Armenia’s Meghri Ashot Manukyan, the Armenian minister of energy infrastructures and natural resources, received Thursday a delegation headed by ACS Cobra Regional Director Alejandro Rodrigo, the ministry’s press office reports.

The ministry welcomed the Spanish company’s willingness to take part in the investment programs being implemented in Armenia. Rodrigo described the company’s activity and discussed prospects of cooperation with Armenia in energy sector.

He stressed that Cobra that has 300 branches in many countries operates also in energy area, particularly in construction of hydro power plants, solar plants and power transmission systems. Rodrigo said that the company is interested in the project of construction of the Meghri Hydro Power Plant.

Manukyan presented the project details to the guests. In 2007, Armenian and Iranian governments signed a cooperation agreement to build two power plants in Meghri and Karachilar on both sides of Arax River. The foundation-laying ceremony for the Meghri Power Plant took place on the border river on November 8, 2012. It was planned to complete the 130-megawatt plant construction by early 2016. The construction was estimated to cost $323-million and an average annual output was projected at 850 million kWh.

Istanbul to host world business forum A meeting of international suppliers of seed money for such enterprises as start-ups and entrepreneurs will start in Istanbul on Sunday. The World Business Angels Investment Forum’ (WBAF) annual congress, at Swissotel The Bosphorus in the Besiktas district, will last for three days. The congress will bring together key players of the equity market to discuss the benefits of and challenges to the investment community’s achieving successful growth for their businesses.

“The discussions will explore how family offices and wealth management institutions can foster open innovation and deliver more business value through partnerships with angel investors, start-ups, scale-ups, highgrowth businesses and SMEs,” Baybars Altuntas, head of the WBAF, said on the congress website. The congress will feature several programs such as the CEO-preneurship and Fintech summits, Investment Academy, and World Excellence Awards.

“The CEO-preneurship summit will focus on transforming CEOs into angel investors, while the Fintech summit will deal with issues of financial inclusion and ways to democratize access to finance,” said the website.

Some 124 speakers from 26 countries will speak during the congress, with 1,200 delegates attending from around the world.

“The WBAF is an international organization aiming to ease access to finance for businesses from start-up to scale-up, with the ultimate goal of generating more jobs and more social justice worldwide,” said the forum’s website.

The European Investment Bank on Tuesday approved a 1.5 billion euro loan for the TransAdriatic Pipeline (TAP), part of a $40 billion project to bring new gas supplies to Europe.

The European Union is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by developing the so-called Southern Gas Corridor which is expected to bring around 16 billion cubic metres of gas per year to Europe by 2020.

The gas would come from the Shah Deniz 2 field in Azerbaijan via several routes, including the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to Greece, Albania and Italy. TAP is slated to bring up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas to Italy from Shah Deniz 2 – one of the world’s largest gas fields developed by a BP-led consortium. EIB Vice President Andrew McDowell told Reuters the TAP project would help to offset declining European production, provide a diversified source of gas and displace coal-fired power generation in central and south eastern Europe.

TAP would be the first non-Russian gas pipeline to supply Europe since Algeria’s Medgaz

link nearly a decade ago, helping to dilute Gazprom’s one-third share of Europe’s gas market. “The argument we are persuaded by, that made by the European Commission, is that it is simply not fair to leave large parts of Europe, particularly central and south eastern Europe, at the mercy of a single supplier,” McDowell told Reuters. Last year, Gazprom said it was considering selling its gas through the pipeline, potentially upsetting EU plans to diversify gas supplies. McDowell said this would not diminish the importance of the capacity already booked from Azerbaijan.

The 870-km pipeline will join up with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish border, crossing Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea. Its shareholders include Azerbaijan energy group Socar, oil major BP and Italian gas group Snam. McDowell said he hoped the EIB’s stamp of approval would smooth the way for the 4.5 billion euro ($5.57 billion) pipeline to seek further financing from the market in the coming weeks.

German-Russian trade picking up sharply

New industrial zones may appear in Azerbaijan Azerbaijan’s economic power is directly linked to the country’s industrial development.Deputy Economy Minister Niyazi Safarov made the remarks at an event titled “Innovation Industry Trends in Azerbaijan: Existing Potential, Development and Prospects” on February 15.He said that the main goal is to apply innovations and develop innovative approach in the industry.

“Presently, it is very important to increase competitiveness of the Azerbaijani economy and to ensure that it takes its well-deserved place among the global economies,” Safarov noted.

He went on to say that international structures also noted the reforms carried out in Azerbaijan.

“I would especially like to note Azerbaijan’s positions in the Global Innovation Index and the Global Competitiveness Index,” Safarov said, further adding that Azerbaijan constantly improve its positions in the Doing Business report.

Further, he told reporters that the ministry will prepare proposals on further increasing the number of industrial zones in the country.

He stressed that the ministry is studying Azerbaijan’s regions that have the potential for creation of industrial zones, adding that the regions, where industrial zones are to be created, will become

known after the study is completed.

Currently, there are five industrial parks in Azerbaijan - the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park, industrial parks in Garadagh, Balakhani, Mingachevir and Pirallahi settlements - as well as Neftchala, Sabirabad, Hajigabul and Masalli industrial zones.

Deputy Minister further mentioned that creation of industrial zones may give impetus to the lubricating oil production.

“In Azerbaijan, the lubricating oil production has always been at a fairly good level. In the past, lubricating oils were produced by the facilities of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR, and they continue production.”

“However, there must always be competition in the market economy.

As is known, Alco Lubricant is one of the residents of the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park. The facility has already started operating. I believe the facility will be able to provide the country with quality products, and this will allow us to withdraw low-quality products from circulation,” Safarov explained.

Addressing the event, Vagif Farzaliyev, the director of the Institute of Chemistry of Additives of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences added that Azerbaijan needs to strengthen control over the lubricating oil production.

Trade between Russia and Germany has increased by about a quarter in the past 12 months. The surge came despite sanctions which the European Union imposed against Moscow for its alleged role in the Ukraine conflict.

Following years of slumping trade activity, the exchange of goods and services between Russia and Germany saw a considerable increase in 2017.

Customs officials said trade between the two nations soared by roughly 23 percent in 2017 year on year despite the ongoing negative impact of economic sanctions slapped on Russia by Brussels over Moscow’s alleged role in the Ukraine conflict and the annexation of Crimea.

The German-Russian Chamber of Commerce (AHK) said the exchange of goods totaled $50 billion (€41 billion) last year.

Positive outlook Russia imported German goods worth €19.7 billion marking a 25-percent increase, while Russian shipments to Germany rose by roughly 21 percent over the same 12-month period.

AHK chief Matthias Schepp welcomed the pickup, but added it had been far from offsetting previous dips.

“We hope that the positive trend will carry over into the current year,” he told reporters in Moscow.

Schepp added that fresh impetus is bound to come with the 2018 World Cup due to be held in Russia this summer. He mentioned the large number of German companies helping to provide vehicles, machinery and chemical products for the building projects surrounding the sporting events.

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February 19, 2018 #226

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 Oniashvili str. 24, Tbilisi Tel.: +995322 920398; Fax: +995322 920397 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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February 19, 2018 #226