Caucasus Business Week #234

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April 23, 2018 #234

April 23, 2018, Issue 234 - www.cbw.ge

Interview EU4Energy Governance Talks: Interview with Predrag Grujicic

Pg. 9

Jewelry Reviving Ancient Jewelry Traditions Qarisma Atelier

Pg. 11

Marika Nadaraia: ‘After 12 years at Poti Sea Port, it feels more like home than a fulltime job’ Pg. 8

Container Terminals’ Future in Georgia

Unfair Rules of Play in Georgian Banking Sector The Ministry of Finance of Georgia has announced a new government initiative to create an alternative to expensive banking products.

According to Minister of Finance Mamuka Bakhtadze, this initiative is necessary to help the economy progress. “The Georgian banking system should drive economic development, not frustrate it, but, regretfully, in reality, commercial banks do not fulfill this driving function.”

“Therefore, we have found it necessary to propose the creation of an alternative source, and we have called for a reform of the startup capital instrument,” Bakhtadze said.

According to this proposal, nearly interest-free resources will be supplied to young entrepreneurs, the Minister noted. “This will be an alternative to high-interest banking products,” he said. “Our economic growth will be inclusive, people-oriented and based on free economy principles. Entrepreneurial activity will increase considerably through a combination of 1% taxes for small entrepreneurs, an automated system for VAT return and access to capital.

Pg. 7

National Bank Bans Issuing Bank Loans to Insolvent Clients

Pg. 6

The president of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has passed a decree to add changes to the Provision on Concentration of Credits at Commercial Banks and Big Risks. The changes aim to protect consumer rights and bolster healthy credit portfolios at commercial banks. The changes restrict issuing loans without valuable analysis of consumers solvency. Namely, total amount of similar loans must not exceed 25% of supervisory capital of commercial banks.

«Over the past years debts of household economies have been growing at high paces. Moreover, crediting of physical bodies with higher loan liabilities also grows.

Financial institutions change the business model for issuing retail loans and they pay less attention to the source of incomes, but make accents on other characteristics to ensure risks management. As a result, high risks are reflected in the price, however, the high prices do not decrease the demand in vulnerable groups. This factor diminishes the volume of responsible crediting. At the same time, the research works have showed that a majority of borrowers do not receive incomes from employment or any other sources.

Pg. 4

Newsroom

2 Government

Minister of Finance: Our goal is to return 450 mln to the companies this year

According to Mamuka Bakhtadze, 107 million GEL will be returned to the entrepreneurs in Q1, 2018. However, the goal is to return 450 million GEL until the end of the year.

ADB Grows Investments for Developing Georgia’s Transit and Tourism Potential

ADB will finance a construction of 24-kilometer road of Kvesheti-Kobi, which is a part of Mtskheta-Stepantsminda motorway. The project calls for building a 9-kilometer tunnel.

economy

IMF Increased Georgia’s Economic Growth Forecast

According to the Fund’s prediction, economic growth in Georgia will accelerate to 4.8% in 2019. In addition, the current level of inflation in Georgia will be 3.6%, and in the next year it will be reduced to 3%.

IMF to Allocate $43.6 million Tranche to Georgia

The credit will be the third tranche under a three-year IMF programme totalling $285 million, bringing total disbursements to $130 million. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s executive board.

banking

Banks cannot Afford to Issue loans without Full Analysis of ability-to-pay

According to the decision of the National Bank, as of the new regulations, total amount of loans will not exceed 25% of the bank’s supervisory capital.

TBC Bank Released Issuance Plan of Dividends

The Notice of AGM includes a resolution to approve a final dividend of GEL 1.64 per TBC PLC share. If approved, the Final Dividend would be paid on 22 June 2018 to shareholders who are on the register of members on the record date of 18 May 2018.

business

External Trade of Georgia increased by 23.3%

According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia in January-March 2018 external merchandise trade (excluding non-declared trade) of Georgia amounted to USD 2 823.8 million, 23.3 percent higher yearon-year.

Real Estate Market Highlights

GEO real property market grew by 10.6% in 2017 in comparison with 2016. Annual increase was observed in all quarters, with the highest jump in Q2, 14.2% (QoQ) and 20.0% (YoY).

company

Gebruder Weiss Plans to Invest Additional 2 million EUR in Georgia

Major Austrian transport and logistics company GEBRÜDER WEISS plans to invest additional 2 million EUR in expansion of terminal infrastructure in Georgia.

April 23, 2018 #234

New Expectations, New Promises – Welcome to Georgia to Host 3th Annual Tourism Conference

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ourism and Hospitality Conference Welcome to Georgia!

The National Awards of Tourism will be held on at the beginning of June, this year and is organized by Welcome to Georgia! and co-organized by the Bank of Georgia and will be the fourth annual one.

The project aims to encourage Georgian tourism and hospitality industry and promote the recognition of companies and brands in the field and to better represent Georgia in the international tourism market.

The organizers of the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards Project promise much more interesting competition year for the companies working in this field. New jury expert board and other news will be publicly known on the Third Tourism and Hospitality Conference Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards.

“We are preparing for the fourth ceremony very actively.

This year will be new nominations. We will try to appreciate the work of the private sector in tourism development “, – said Giorgi Chogovadze, head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration.

Two years ago within the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards Bank of

Georgia successfully launched special category for small and medium segments – “THE FASTEST GROWING COMPANY OF THE YEAR IN THE SME SEGMENT AWARD”. The main reason for initiating this category was to encourage and motivate companies working in the SME segment in tourism and hospitality industry.

And last year for the Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards 2017 Bank of Georgia developed second, a very special category – “The best female entrepreneur in the tourism industry awards”. This category was created specially to encourage and motivate female leaders who have dedicated their career to the development of Georgian tourism and hospitality industry and from the beginning of this nomination has great response and interest from the side of women working in this field.

“Project is very successful, so many companies take part in it. The Bank of Georgia tries to maximize its support for this sector. This year we will have an even more exciting offer for participants. The first two nominations, which are small and medium business, and the most successful entrepreneur woman remains and we have another nomination, which will be very interesting and

we will announce a bit later “- Zurab Masurashvili – Head of Micro and Small Business Banking Department of Bank of Georgia.

Tourism and Hospitality Conference within Welcome to Georgia! National Tourism Awards Project was launched in 2016 and represents an unique business platform to exchange information, to communicate and catch up with the latest trends and challenges in tourism and hospitality sphere and Georgian Business industry in general. The aim of this conference is to consolidate representatives of respective industry, government officials; international and local experts, media and opportunity to promote among the broad target audience, to establish all key persons of industry.

The fourth Tourism and Hospitality Conference will consist of panel discussions; B2B meetings and interesting presentations from the top market suppliers and professionals will have a chance to get latest developments and upcoming projects in Georgian tourism and hospitality industry.

The winners will be revealed in December at the Welcome to Georgia! fourth event of the National Tourism Award.

Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan – Georgia’s top trading partners in 2018

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urkey, Russia and Azerbaijan are Georgia’s top trade partners this year, shows the preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

Georgia’s top 10 trade partners in January-March 2018 made for 67.1 percent of the country’s total trade turnover, with Turkey ($404.6 million), Russia ($311.1 million) and China ($270.2 million) filling the top three spots.

Overall, Georgia’s external trade grew by 23.3 percent this year and reached $2.82 billion in January-March 2018.

Trade with EU countries Trade turnover with EU countries increased by 27.6

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

percent year-on-year (y/y) and amounted to $820.1 million, said Geostat.

Exports were worth $209.4 million (31.4 percent higher), while imports reached $610.7 million (26.4 percent higher).

Trade with CIS countries The external trade turnover of Georgia with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries totalled $976.9 million in January-March 2018 – 30 percent higher compared to the same period of 2017.

Exports were worth $303 million (48 percent higher) while imports equalled $673.9 million (23.2 percent higher).

What are Georgia’s main exports?

Georgia’s top exported com-

modities in January-March 2018 were: Copper ores and concentrates (worth $118.8 million, or 16 percent of total exports) Ferro-alloys (worth $85.1 million, or 11.5 percent of total exports) Motor cars (worth $64.9 million, or 8.8 percent of total exports) What are Georgia’s main imports?

Georgia’s top imported commodities were: Petroleum and petroleum oils (worth $186.9 million, or nine percent of total imports) Petroleum gases (worth $127.4 million, or 6.1 percent of total imports) Motor cars (worth $118 million or 5.1 percent of total imports)

Editor: Nutsa Galumashvili. Mobile phone: 595 380382 Copy Editor: Ellie Rambo 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

April 23, 2018 #234

publicity

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econo-mix

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April 23, 2018 #234

National Bank Bans Issuing Bank Loans to Insolvent Clients What to expect from new regulations Irakli Aslanishvili Executive Director of the Business Association of Georgia

Merab Janiashvili Economic Analyst

As a result, the current problems between the banking sector and clients have sharpened more. Today, several persons and groups talk about these challenges, while in 2-3 years all political forces will speak about this problem if the exiting challenges are not resolved.

‘‘

According to the Executive Director of the Business Association of Georgia Irakli Aslanishvili, banks are a very important financial institution, which is the main source of business lending.

The role of banks in strengthening and improving the economy is very high and the very formulation of the question is wrong when saying that the banking system hinders the development of the economy.

“We cannot separately ask whether banks are a brake on the economy.

Many people say about the lack of access to start-up capital in Georgia and there is no way to start a new business. This problem is really urgent especially for small and medium-sized businesses which face difficulties when obtaining a loan at the bank. But it is wrong to blame only the banks for this,” he says.

Irakli Aslanishvili believes that banks operate as they should, they avoid investing in risky projects, and any new business in our time is automatically risky.

For this reason commercial banks do not actively provide loans to new businesses that certainly hinders development.

“Commercial banks, by virtue of their specifics, cannot become a source of financing for a new business, and one cannot demand from them to work at a loss. To develop small and medium-sized businesses, other financial instruments are needed and they should exist outside the banking system,” Aslanishvili notes.

In his opinion, to support the startup business, the state should create a special financial institution.

“As far as we know, the Ministry of Finance is already working on this project. It is still difficult to say whether it will actually increase business access to financing. The project will be ready in the near future and after its content becomes known, it will be possible to talk about prospects, “ the spokesperson of the Business Association concludes.

‘‘

Business Association about the Availability of Seed Capital

The president of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has passed a decree to add changes to the Provision on the Concentration of Credits at Commercial Banks and Big Risks. The changes aim to protect consumer rights and bolster healthy credit portfolios at commercial banks.

The changes restrict issuing loans without meaningful analysis of consumers’ solvency.

The total amount of these loans must not exceed 25% of the supervisory capital of commercial banks.

Over the past years debts of individual household have been growing at high rates. Additionally, the practice of crediting physical bodies with higher loan liabilities also grows. Financial institutions change the business model for issuing retail loans and they pay less attention to the source of income, but emphasize other characteristics to ensure risks management.

As a result, high risks are reflected in the price, however, the high prices do not decrease the demand from vulnerable groups. This factor diminishes the volume of responsible crediting. At the same time, research has shown that a majority of borrowers do not receive income from employment or any other sources. Many clients have overdue loans. This category, as a rule, has restricted access to bank accounts. Being afraid of legal enforcement measures, they lose motivation to become employed, and this is real problem for the whole economy. At the same time, the social conditions for this part of the population worsens.

“Starting May 7, 2018, commercial banks will be restricted in issuing loans exceeding 25% of supervisory capital without analysis of clients’ solvency. This restriction does not apply to loans guaranteed by precious stones or metals or real estate. The total amount of loans guaranteed by real estate must not exceed 15% of the bank’s supervisory capital without analysis of the client’s solvency, while the loan to value ratio must not exceed 50% when issuing a loan,” the NBG statement reads.

Minister of Finance Mamuka Bakhtadze thinks that excessive indebtedness is a serious problem in Georgia. According to him, this is an unacceptable situation and should be improved through regulations.

“This problem arose after our citizens were enabled to take loans without proof of income.

This became a certain form of fashion, then it grew into a trend, and finally, we have created a serious problem of excessive indebtedness, as major groups of our citizens have to spend a majority of their incomes on paying loan liabilities,” Bakhtadze said.

It is necessary to introduce a document indicating what percent of manageable revenues may be directed to guaranteeing a credit, he said.

“I will be very scrupulous, we have specific questions, including sharp questions. We are

conducting consultations to answer these questions and take due steps to resolve this problem as soon as possible.”

“We have to reduce excessive amount of debts and prevent this problem from arising again,” Bakhtadze said.

It should be noted that the new regulations do not entirely ban issuing loans without proof of income. Commercial banks will be still able to direct 25% of supervisory capital to these loans. The banking sector’s supervisory capital is about 2.5 billion GEL, so therefore commercial banks are authorized to issue 1.3 billion GEL in loans without proof of income.

At this point, Georgian commercial banks have issued 22 billion GEL in loans, including 3.5 billion GEL in short-term and 17.9 billion GEL in long-term loans. Commercial banks issue predominantly short-term loans without analysis of solvency, and this is the most expensive kind of loan.

Consequently, the 25% gap will enable commercial banks to issue short-term credits with high interest rates without proof of income. According to current estimates, commercial banks will be able to issue about 37% of short-term credits by ignoring the proposed regulations.

Consequently, these changes will not have an important influence on the banking system.

These regulations were published on April 18, while and will begin on May 7.

NBG would not have given such a short period to commercial banks for harmonization with new regulations. This signifies commercial banks have already satisfied the new supervisory regulations and consequently, new regulations will not create problems for them.

It is excellent when the central bank analyzes the existing situation in the lending field, however, regulations should be efficient and oriented on results, not oriented towards only the appearance of consumer protections.

NBG carries out an unclear policy. If NBG believes that it is a bad practice to issue loans to insolvent citizens, then why does it leave a 25% gap in supervisory capital? These very inefficient reforms cannot respond to the current challenges in the society, and the Minister of Finance has to talk about the banking sector, while the NBG remains in the role of an observer.

NBG reforms over the past years aimed at improving existing problems in the banking system turned out inefficient, because a majority of them were superficial and were not oriented towards problem resolution.

As a result, the current problems between the banking sector and its clients have sharpened.

Today, several persons and groups discuss these challenges, but in a few years all political forces will speak about this problem if the existing challenges are not resolved.

“I do not think that the approaches which raised excessive debt in the society are fair. The classic example of an unfair approach is that no one has been demanding confirmation of income for years. This is the reason of excessive debt in the society. This is unacceptable practice. It is intolerable practice for Europe, and we need to find ways to solve this problem”.

Mamuka Bakhtadze Finance Minister of Georgia

April 23, 2018 #234

5

Logistic

6 Regular container liner service has been launched between Caspian Sea ports in April 2018.

Container shipments are performed by the general cargo ship Mahmud Rehimov, which belongs to the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company. The Azerbaijani ship made its first voyage on April 6, 2018, from the port of Aktau in Kazakhstan to the port of Alyat in Azerbaijan.

Jaba Tarimanashvili, Business Analyst, Maritime services and Freight forwarding professional in Georgia, Director of Trans Logistic LLC.

April 23, 2018 #234

Container Terminals’ Future in Georgia

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eventy containers, of twenty feet each (20’ – TEU), were loaded with wheat and lentils. From Alyat, the containers were loaded on the Georgian and Azerbaijani railway platforms and transported by Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Mersin. The railway transportation tariff from Alyat to Mersin is about 1,350 USD per 20’ container, which is quite a competitive rate and leaves container terminals and operators in Georgia in an offside position.

Only about 10% of the containers arriving in Georgian ports were carried by rail, thus Azerbaijani and Georgian railways set preferentially discounted rates for the transportation of containers on the sections of railway between Baku/Kishli and Poti/ Batumi. The discounted rate is 800 USD per 20’ container. However, for further delivery of a 20’ container from the port of Poti to the port of Mersin, an additional 1,090 USD is required. The breakdown of terminal and freight costs on the Poti-Mersin route are as follows: 290 USD THC in Poti (outbound loading), 450 USD sea freight free in Potifree out Mersin, 350 USD DTHC in Mersin (inbound discharge). Consequently, the Alyat-Mersin railway transportation route is 540 USD cheaper than the combination of the Alyat-Poti rail route and Poti-Mersin sea freight and terminal costs.

One more fact to consider is the restriction of vessels passing through the Turkish Straits. At this stage, there is no other way for the vessels to pass into the Black Sea than through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits. The main limitation of the Bosphorus strait is that vessels must not exceed a length of 300 meters. With a special permit, a 336-meter long ship passed, but only under special monitoring.

There is a risk of ship collisions at the narrowest bend of the Bosporus strait, which is located between Asiyan and Kandilli, and requires a 45-degree course alteration.

Another difficult area is the Yeniköy bend, where the course alteration is 80 degrees.

Severely limited vision makes these bends very tricky, and limits are set for the safe navigation of ships. Additionally, bridges over the Bosporus limit maximum air draft (the vertical distance from the waterline to the highest point of the ship) to 57 meters.

To comply with International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations, which reduce the maximum sulphur content of bunker fuel oil to 0.5% from January 2020, and to secure a stronger fleet in this intensely competitive market, container operators ordered eco-friendly New Panamax and Post-Panamax container vessels. These mega containerships may carry about 14-20 thousand TEU onboard and range from 365 to 400 meters in length. Based on Turkish strait restrictions, these vessel types are

currently unable to enter the Black Sea. As a result there is potential for developing container ship terminals in Turkish Mediterranean ports, which could further connect Caucasian and Central Asian countries using the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line. Accordingly, this would decrease the volume at Georgian container terminals. If we look at recent history, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline reduced crude oil transshipment at Georgian oil terminals, so we can assume that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line will reduce container and dry cargo volumes through Georgia’s ports and terminals. This change will have a direct impact on people employed by the companies, especially the owners of trucks, terminals and their employees. The intermediary in the container transport chain will not be required, because each additional re-loading operation increases transportation costs.

Georgia can not resist global processes and regional development: if artificial barriers are created to retain cargo volumes, alternative routes will be developed. Therefore, it would be beneficial to increase transport industry research and development organizations in Georgia. Based on this research, global and regional trends could be predicted, and the industry will be more prepared for future possibilities. Business profiles could be adjusted consistently by entrepreneurs to protect employees from losses.

If Georgia is able to create additional value in the logistics chain, while countries only trade with each other, volumes will not be lost. On the contrary, turnover will increase and more wealth be created in the country.

If a transparent and accessible platform for doing business is made available, the wealth that will result may reach the people. Otherwise, the economic growth divide will deepen, and for vast masses of the Georgian population it will be harder to overcome poverty.

“

If Georgia is able to create additional value in the logistics chain, while countries only trade with each other, volumes will not be lost.

“

Only about 10% of the containers arriving in Georgian ports were carried by rail, thus Azerbaijani and Georgian railways set preferentially discounted rates for the transportation of containers on the sections of railway between Baku/Kishli and Poti/ Batumi. The discounted rate is 800 USD per 20’ container.

“

Georgia can not resist global processes and regional development: if artificial barriers are created to retain cargo volumes, alternative routes will be developed. Therefore, it would be beneficial to increase transport industry research and development organizations in Georgia.

Based on this research, global and regional trends could be predicted, and the industry will be more prepared for future possibilities. Business profiles could be adjusted consistently by entrepreneurs to protect employees from losses.

April 23, 2018 #234

banking

7

ninna gomarteli

The Ministry of Finance of Georgia has announced a new government initiative to create an alternative to expensive banking products.

According to Minister of Finance Mamuka Bakhtadze, this initiative is necessary to help the economy progress. “The Georgian banking system should drive economic development, not frustrate it, but, regretfully, in reality, commercial banks do not fulfill this driving function.”

“Therefore, we have found it necessary to propose the creation of an alternative source, and we have called for a reform of the startup capital instrument,” Bakhtadze said.

According to this proposal, nearly interest-free resources will be supplied to young entrepreneurs, the Minister noted.

“This will be an alternative to high-interest banking products,” he said.

“Our economic growth will be inclusive, people-oriented and based on free economy principles. Entrepreneurial activity will increase considerably through a combination of 1% taxes for small entrepreneurs, an automated system for VAT return and access to capital. This signifies that small and medium companies and new entrepreneurs will hold at least a 60% ratio in GDP growth,” Bakhtadze added.

Caucasus Business Week (CBW) has inquired into whether the Georgian banking sector actually frustrates the economic development of the country.

Andria Gvidiani, an analyst for the Association of Young Financiers and Businessmen (AYFB), said that the initiative by the Finance Minister will considerably incentivize small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs.

“The initiatives announced by the Finance Minister are of crucial importance.

I believe these initiatives will bring a revolutionary breakthrough for small and medium entrepreneurs. I believe the new initiative will essentially incentivize entrepreneurial spirit. As for the banking sector, today financing the real economy has been minimized. In practice high interest rates, and inadequately bubbled interest rates, frustrate crediting the economy and economic growth in general.”

“Therefore, the entrepreneurship-encouraging mechanisms offered by the Finance Minister will considerably promote entrepreneurial development. As a result, a lot of people will receive benefits and dividends as part of these reforms.

Consequently, this will be an important and successful step for overcoming

Unfair Rules of Play in Georgian Banking Sector poverty, as citizens will have access to capital if they have a properly shaped business plan. Therefore, simplified access to capital will be combined with the preferences the Ministry of Finance has made for small and medium businesses and very liberal tax reform, and all these factors will jointly bolster small and medium business development. This is a very important step for valuable economic development,” Gvidiani said.

Gvidiani also discussed the positions expressed by Georgian banking sector representatives and noted that today the banking sector has detrimental priorities.

The Georgian banking sector is not motivated to benefit the economy, according to Gvidiani.

“As for the banking system, today commercial banks are oriented on their own profits. Crediting the economy is a secondary direction for them. The banking system profits grow year after year, however, in reality the economy is not credited. In reality, commercial banks do not share the risks of financing the business sector,” said Gvvidiani.

“Therefore, the banking sector directs unimportant resources to business crediting. The main earnings come from physical bodies, fines, conversion operations and so on. Naturally, this is unacceptable. 1.5 billion GEL out of 3.5 billion GEL turnover is received from physical bodies. And this signifies that the banking sector is not developed in the proper way, and it is not oriented to contribute to the economy,” Gvidiani said.

Economic analyst Merab Janiashvili agreed with the Finance Minister’s argument. According to Janiashvili, Georgian commercial banks frustrate economic development and essential changes are required.

“Our banking sector is ranked in the world’s top 20 banking sectors, with 24% profits. These profits mainly come from non-interest incomes and retail loans.

Despite the fact that business loans hold 45% of the total crediting portfolio of the Georgian banking sector, only 20%

of the banks’ revenues are accumulated from business loans. To make use of the banking sector, commercial banks should favor the economy, not imports.

Today it is difficult to find a social group that is content with commercial banks.

Clients are not content with the banking sector: however, the banking sector has high profits, because it issues shortterm loans with high interest rates, and this banking product is very profitable,” Janiashvili said.

Only the central bank and legislative amendments can change this situation.

Banks are commercial organizations and they are oriented to maximize profits, Janiashvili noted. “And the mechanism they use for profit multiplication does not serve economic development. If we want to change something, the central bank should play a leading role,” Janiashvili pointed out.

Economic expert Shota Buchukuri said that he agrees with the Finance Minister’s statement, because small and medium businesses face serious problems attracting necessary financial resources. Commercial banks issue loans with high interest rates, and this is problem for small and medium companies, he said.

“The responsibility of issuing loans is another related issue for commercial banks.

I mean physical bodies, because clients’ incomes are not examined frequently, and this factor becomes ground for unpaid loans in the future,” Buchukuri said.

“Another problem is related to noncore businesses that commercial banks own, including ones in the development, health and insurance sectors. In many cases commercial banks want their creditors to fail to pay loans, so commercial banks can expropriate their property and clear the market for their own subsidiaries,” Buchukuri said.

The situation could be improved if the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) introduced additional regulations, he said.

“We can say that today unfair rules of play dominate in the Georgian banking system,” Buchukuri concluded.

PR Person

8

April 23, 2018 #234

‘After 12 years at Poti Sea Port, it feels more like home than a full-time job’ -How did you start your job and what are the opportunities that PR can give?

-After 12 years at Poti Sea Port, it feels more like home than a full-time job. Working as one of the primary liaisons with the city and key point contact for all press matters my responsibilities transcend Port business and extend deep into the community.

I can easily say that I have enjoyed every single moment of my work - especially having the opportunity to manage all external communications and lead various social initiatives locally.

At Poti Sea Port we are engaged in sustainable projects viable for the long-term and in projects that clearly support building the constructive relationship within the community to benefit a wider group and worthy cause. Successful PR connects you to the outside world and gives you a platform to learn more about the communities and the people around you.

-What is important for having a successful communication with public?

-In most cases, businesses tend to talk about themselves how good they are and how good their services are. Unlikely, the question you need to ask yourself is – what do people want to hear from you? How your service or product can influence on them? I think to have an effective and successful communication with the public and the community around you it is crucial to understand and always remember people’s concerns and needs. When you know your audience and customers you choose the most successful communication approach.

- What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR? -It is challenging to give valuable advice that could work for everybody. I think it’s all indi-

Marika Nadaraia - Head of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, Poti Sea Port - APM Terminals Poti

vidual and everybody should think through their own situations. However, it is helpful to share some insights from the people who solved a similar problem in the past and whose experience is more relevant. The following is very important to me: 1. Always consider people’s concerns and create stories that are relevant both to you and your community.

2. Sharpen your skills to be a good listener - the more you listen the more you see people’s stories differently, ask questions and create content from the different angle.

3. Believe in yourself, be fast, proactive and passionate for what you do.

-What do you wish you would have known before starting your career in PR? Prioritize the workflow to manage time effectively, have mentor to learn more about the industry and engage in more volunteering opportunities to understand the market trends.

I would like everyone who is currently starting out to know that it is essential to be able to manage your resources properly and invest in yourself to grow and never stop, not even if you are satisfied with the result, and certainly not even when you think that despite of the hard-work, you did not achieve what you had intended.

- How do you start your work day?

-Reading the industry news and media highlights comes first, followed by managing the content and social media, preparing news, stories and communicating with the media. On a weekly basis, I visit different terminals inside the Port and engage with people. We do filming and photo shooting for various stories.

I also manage CSR activities. With a strong com-

mitment to corporate citizenship, we contribute to the progress of local community through supporting projects for youth and children.

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

Despite recognizing the importance of online platforms and virtual introductions – think about how different it is to meet people in person – to me, networking events, gatherings and face-to-face meetings are the best opportunities to find relevant contacts and build relations.

-What are important skills for successful PR manager?

PR is a fast-growing industry. Today, unlikely from traditional media social platforms give you a huge opportunity to promote your company and connect with your customers in a quick manner. Being fast and having good storytelling, content development and leadership skills are vital to manage the process effectively.

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

Honesty, commitment and the ability to support others are the most important qualities I value in a workmate. Moreover, it is very important to understand and be in line with the values of your organisation. In APM Terminals Poti we share A.P. Moller - Maersk values which have been an integrated part of the business for more than 110 years.

A distinctive set of our core values are: Constant Care, Humbleness, Uprightness, Our Employees and Our Name.

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

Best PR practice - being honest, open and sincere in dealing with people. Mean what you say and say what you mean.

interview

April 23, 2018 #234

EU4Energy Governance Talks: Interview with Predrag Grujicic

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Head of Gas Unit, Energy Community Secretariat

Ellie Rambo

A two-day event organized under the EU4Energy Governance Project focused on upcoming reforms and Georgian legislation to be adopted in compliance with the EU Third Energy Package.

Discussions covered increased market transparency and fluidity, the unbundling of natural gas system operators and Georgia’s place in the European natural gas market. Caucasus Business Week interviewed Predrag Grujicic, the Head of Gas Unit of the Energy Community Secretariat, who regularly assists member countries with the implementation of gas acquis obligations.

- What key reforms are needed in the Georgian natural gas market?

We are here under the umbrella of legal obligations of Georgia to comply with the requirements of the Energy Community Treaty that they signed and that was adopted by the Parliament recently.

Now they need to adopt into their national legislation a legal framework in line with the Energy Community.

The deadlines in relation to the gas market provisions are relatively generous - end of 2020. The most important step, and for us the sign of real commitment, is the adoption of a draft Energy Law. With Georgia we are extremely happy, as it is a very cooperative country with very knowledgeable people, and no problems so far. It is very important not to lose additional time, which means that the work will consist of not only adopting this law, but having secondary acts already prepared in order to ensure effective implementation of the law in practice.

Those acts should mainly be developed and adopted by the regulatory authority, GNERC, and some of them by the government. So far, so good. We are providing assistance in this respect.

The second stream of activities is related to restructuring the companies in line with the law and with the respective secondary acts. The most important activity will of course be unbundling, which means the restructuring of incumbent supply companies by separating their network activities from commercial activities. This relates first of all to Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, and the second part will be the unbundling of system operators.

Georgia will have an independent network operator, which would open the grid to every potential supplier.

It will be independent from any activities which are not related to transmission, which will bring transparency in their activities and prices, and also in investment decisions.

- How will the unbundling of natural gas system operators be achieved in the Georgian market?

As we speak, we are discussing exactly this topic. Typically, the action starts within the company. The incumbent company shall kick off the process of its unbundling (the State will act in its capacity of the owner) and send the certification application to the regulatory body. The regulator then issues a preliminary decision on certification and sends it to the Secretariat to issue its opinion. Then the Secretariat as the third, European institution, comes into the picture to say everything was done right—or not.

We are here under the umbrella of legal obligations of Georgia to comply with the requirements of the Energy Community Treaty that they signed and that was adopted by the Parliament recently.

Things can really start to happen when the retail market, which will be more liquid, more transparent, with more participants comes into place. Initially, customers sometimes—this is the bumpy start—need more time to understand the benefits which will not necessarily come at once, but in the long run.

So far there is a general consensus on which model of unbundling should be applied.

I’m really happy to tell you that in comparison with other Energy Community Members, Georgia is already just a few steps away from full compliance with its obligations under the Treaty.

It’s not the end, of course: the unbundling process is subject to continuous monitoring by the regulatory authority and also the Energy Community.

- What benefits can the average consumer expect to see from increased market transparency?

Things can really start to happen when the retail market, which will be more liquid, more transparent, with more participants comes into place. Initially, customers sometimes—this is the bumpy start—need more time to understand the benefits which will not necessarily come at once, but in the long run. For example, sometimes, household prices were kept artificially low by social policy; in other cases, they were too high and the freedom to opt for cheaper and reliable suppliers was immediate.

Then there is another round when the customer can see that it is really possible to influence what the supplier or network operator is doing, that they cannot do something unlawful. Grid operators, as I said, will have their activities under strict scrutiny of the regulator which will approve only justified costs of their business.

In the third round, democratization and decentralization of the supplies will kick off, because then technology comes in. Not only the foreign suppliers or foreign traders or the big independent companies will come, but also small ones, the small entrepreneurs. You will see the penetration of gases from renewable energy sources, which can directly benefit local communities. In addition, people can compare the energy prices and services of different companies, and they will see the benefits of increased energy efficiency measures. There will be increased transparency and consumers will know what they are paying for.

So overall there will be a benefit for consumers as well as for the economy as a whole. The reforms will kick off wider goals, like the decarbonization of the economy and increasing energy efficiency.

- How does Georgia’s current role in regional markets compare to its potential role after EU internal market expansion?

Georgia is a transit country, and it will remain a transit country. Georgia, by acceding to the Energy Community, due to lack of any connections with other Energy Community Members, was granted exemptions from application of the gas legal framework to its transit pipelines In other words, the gas reform will not create any troubles with Azeris or Russians transiting their gas to other markets.

At the same time, Georgia is an isolated country in terms of the internal gas market in Europe. Turkey is there, and it has a big, dynamic market.

I believe that the national gas market will benefit from Georgia’s accession to the Energy Community immensely and that its transit role will be further strengthened.

business

10 Cannes Advertising Local Festival – Young Lions Georgia 2018 Begins

IliaUni Business School Establishes Financial Education Center

The biggest event in advertising – Creative International Festival- Canes Lions selection competition will be held in Tbilisi, on May 12-13 at Technopark.

Local festival will cover 5 different categories. 5 winner teams named by international jury will travel to France, Cannes International Festival in June and represent Georgia.

TBC Bank is the project partner for following 3 years. Socar Georgia Petrolium joined youth festival this year.

Like last year, young talents of Georgian advertising and marketing field will compete in design, print advertising, digital campaign, young marketer and video advertising categories.

Anyone employed in advertising and digital agencies up to 31 are welcome to participate in the competition.

Georgian Famous Actors to Support Contemporary Georgian Film Industry After 2 years of pause, the only magazine of Georgian film – FilmPrint returns. Presentation of the journal will be in a different and original format.

On April 20, at 13:00, in the shopping center “Galeria Tbilissi”, which unites cinemas network, famous Georgian actors will present the new issue of the magazine to the audience.

Nata Murvanidze, Nika Tavadze, Berta Khapava, Ia Shughliashvili, Ia Sukhitashvili, Misha Gomiashvili, Zurab Antelava, Dimico Chichinadze, Giga Datiashvili, Giorgi Grdzelidze, Marika Diasamidze and others will be involved in the support of new Georgian cinema.

FilmPrint will now be able to review important Georgian films. The new editors are: Nino Mkheidze, Lela Ochiauri and Ketevan Trapaidze.

Erlend Loe and Michel Houellebecq to Visit Georgia Joint project of the country’s three well-known guests at the Frankfurt Book Fair – Erlend Loe and Michel Houellebecq will visit Georgia.

With the initiative of the Georgian Book National Center, Georgia will host the honorary guest countries of France and Norway – 2017 and 2019. The project will be jointly implemented in partnership with National Library, Bakur Sulakauri Publishing and supported by Ministry of Culture and Sport of Georgia and NORLA Norwegian Literature.

In the framework of the initiative of the Center, meeting with an honorable guest of the Frankfurt Book Fair will be held in May and June in Georgia. Norwegian writer Erlend Loe (May) and French Michel Houellebecq (June) will be hosted by modern Georgian author Archil Kikodze in Tbilisi, Davit Gareja and Kazbegi.

Three honorable guest country projects are being conducted together with the Frankfurt Book Fair and will be attended by Jürgen Boss, President of Frankfurt Book Fair, to participate in both events.

April 23, 2018 #234

IliaUni State University business school and Society and Banks nongovernmental organisation have established a financial education center.

The business school dean Giorgi Kadagidze introduced the center director Giorgi Kepuladze to the media representatives. Kadagidze also read a lecture “Education and Economic Growth” for the economic media school graduates.

The university and nongovernmental organization will unite resources to improve financial education level in the country. They will implement joint projects, conduct trainings, research works, discussions and various educational and student activities.

The center will cooperate with various interested parties: government, nongovernmental sector, private sector, academic circles, international organizations and donors.

Our society lacks for financial education, information about financial operations and risks. Objective of this center is to minimize the risks, while higher education and educated society will bolster shaping strong,

Multifunctional Environment for Business Meetings – New Meeting Space Opened in Tbilisi a place for members of the business and public sectors, non-governmental organizations, and the media to arrange meetings, plan topic reviews and hold events.

Since its opening day, the Meeting Space has hosted many events. The space offers customers a different environment in which each detail has special significance. Due to the combination of modern and traditional designs, the space has been used as a set for a number of television commercials and TV shows.

The unpretentious and unambitious statement by the space’s Competence Center is different from meeting spaces at prestigious hotels. Those who are interested may have fun, speak up, change their environment and be set free from a routine workplace. They can present their ideas in their original form without meeting corporate formalities, allowing them to be who they are and ignore unnecessary inhibitions.

The inspiration for the creation of Meeting Space was a business meeting in Berlin held in a house. A comfortable and open environment with limited access to external persons and without distractions creates an exceptional work atmosphere.

Tbilisi is not spoiled for choice when it comes to places where seminars, workshops and discussion panels can be conducted and ideas can be exchanged. The city is not covered by world meeting space maps, so we had the desire to be the first to remedy this, and signed Competence Center up on the international platform Spacebase, which lists meeting spaces around the world.

With this initiative, we would like to begin a trend in Georgia that will facilitate private meetings and development within this field.

The meeting space can be booked on 032 2470042 Address: Merab Aleksidze street # 3

Candoco – British Inclusive Dance Company Returns to Tbilisi April 18-20 British Council in partnership with the Tbilisi Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre is organizing the second series of a three-day inclusive dance workshop led by the internationally acclaimed Candoco Dance Company from the UK. Dance Labs are the part of British Council’s ‘Culture&Development: Unlimited’ programme with The Marjanishvili Theatre as the programme partner in Georgia. The aim of the programme is to promote and develop inclusive arts by sharing the UK experience in involving people with disabilities in the arts and in supporting the creation of the accessible environment for them. Jemima Hoadley and Welly O’Brien, Candoco dancers, will share their expertise with the disabled and non-disabled participants of the Dance Lab to take the unique opportunity to interact, take risks, experiment, test new ideas and share practice.

Ketevan Zazanashvili, a professional dancer, who has been supported by British Council Georgia in her continued professional

development again will assist the British trainers in the planning and delivery of the Lab. Keti was sent to the Stopgap for the secondment, UK inclusive dance company last September and was able to share her knowledge and experiences with the participants of international conferences in Kiev and Manchester.

British Council is proud of Keti’s latest achievement – the first ever Georgian inclusive show premiered on 14 April. As Keti stated in her comments and posts the establishment of the inclusive dance company and creation of the first performance was made possible thanks to the knowledge and experience she gained through the British Council’s Culture&Development: Unlimited programme. Training sessions by the UK inclusive dance company organized by the British Council will help the newly established Georgian inclusive dance company as well as all disabled and non-disabled participants to meet, establish new relationships and plan new cooperation.

April 23, 2018 #234

Jewelry

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Reviving Ancient Jewelry Traditions

Qarisma Atelier

I

n a modern world, where traditional roots are easy to forget, Georgians are pushing forward a movement to revive ancient jewelling traditions.

When you Visit Georgia – one of the most ancient and fascinating countries of the world, you discover stunning landscapes.

Fortified mountain villages, ancient churches, unclimbed peaks, wild beauty of the nature and hospitable people. Nature in Georgia will take your breath away. Georgian wine is deeply engraved culture and religion.

Tasty food, incredible architecture and their own languages and scripts will not leave you indifferent.

During traveling to Georgia, you will meet Georgian Minankari, Cloisonne Enamel Jewelry. These jewelry has its own special value, and it is not only accessorizes.

Traditional Georgian applied art

is mainly represented by high art items fabricated from ceramics, metal, enamel.

Georgia is famous for its fine jewelry, metal engraving and enameling. Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating precious metalwork objects. Georgian cloisonné enamel dates from the fourth century as Byzantine cloisonné enamel.Nowadays Georgian cultural cloisonné enamel monuments survived more than Byzantine.

QARISMA is the company new generation of designers with artisans work to create most amazing and excellent. Highest quality, handmade JEWELRY artworks with its clearness of the baffles, vivacity of colors and ideal forms.

QARISMA stands for unique hot Enamel Jewelry handcrafted following an ancient tradition. Each Item is absolutely unique. The lively and fascinating colors make

QARISMA jewelry always look perfectly vivid and are a guaranteed sensation.

- QARISMA always offers special jewelry for every taste and kind.

- Jewelry QARISMA strives to bring joy and happiness to its owners for decades to come.

- Sometimes we wear jewelry to emphasize our appearance or to highlight something beautiful about us, but - QARISMA Jewelry has more purpose than to just look pretty when we wear it.

Every now and then, when we wear QARISMA jewelry, revolves us around the culture, philosophy and concept that matters to the country or places we visit.

Each piece of QARISMA Jewelry is the beautiful crafted document reflected of our existence at the reality we are involved in, that will be sent to your Generations.

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April 23, 2018 #234

world

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Risks to the global economy will begin materializing in 3 years ‘at the latest,’ says UBS chairman

Azerbaijan finances over 78% of its share in Southern Gas Corridor Up to 20 April 2018, Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor CJSC has invested over $9 billion as part of financing its share in the projects, Trend learned from the CJSC. The total funding needs in 2014-2020 required for the financing of the company’s participating interests in the projects is $11.5 billion, said the company.

“Up to 20 April 2018 Southern Gas Corridor CJSC has invested over $9 billion (78.1 percent) of the total of $11.5 billion (total funding needs in 2014-2020) required for the financing of its participating interests in the projects,” said the company.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

At an initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.

As part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of TransAnatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

World trade system in danger of being torn apart, warns IMF The postwar global trading system risks being torn apart, the International Monetary Fund has warned, amid concern over the tariff showdown between the US and China.

In a sign of its growing concern that protectionism is being stimulated by voter scepticism, the IMF used its half-yearly health check for the world economy to tell policymakers they needed to address the public’s concerns before a better-than-expected period of growth came to an end.

Maurice Obstfeld, the IMF’s economic counsellor, said: “The first shots in a potential trade war have now been fired.”

He said Donald Trump’s tax cuts would suck imports into the US and increase the size of the trade deficit 2019 by $150bn – a trend that could exacerbate trade tensions.

“The multilateral rules-based trade system that evolved after world war two and that nurtured unprecedented growth in the world economy needs strengthening. Instead, it is in danger of being torn apart.”

Obstfeld said there was more of a “phoney war” between the US and China than a return to the widespread use of tariffs in the Great Depression, but that there were signs that even the threat of protectionism was already harming growth.

“That major economies are flirting with trade war at a time of widespread economic expansion may seem paradoxical – especially when the expansion is so reliant on investment and trade,” Obstfeld added.

The world economy is set for one of its best years since the global financial crisis, with both developed and emerging countries growing while inflation is still subdued and monetary conditions remain largely accommodative. But such a good run could end in the next two to three years, according to UBS Chairman Axel Weber. “We’re at the end of a long recovery and, two to three years from now, at the latest, some of the risks could materialize. The recession risks are increasing,” Weber told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche this week at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The IMF this week kept its forecast for 2018’s global growth at 3.9 percent which, if it materializes, would be the fastest expansion since 2011. But the agency warned that global debt levels have hit a record, and governments should start reducing their indebtedness and build buffers for “challenges that will unavoidably come in the future.”

Financial institutions should also brace for such risks, said Weber, adding that he thinks

banks have become better prepared compared to before the last crisis.

UBS doesn’t see a trade war coming Like many in the industry, Weber said he doesn’t think a full-fledged trade war will happen as a result of the ongoing dispute between the U.S. and China. But, he added that it’s time to reassess Beijing’s role in the World Trade Organization, especially given projections that China will one day become the world’s largest economy. Weber added that companies from around the world should be allowed to do business in China more freely.

There are already some signs of China opening up: UBS last year became the first foreign bank to receive a license that allows its wholly-owned asset management unit in China to service domestic institutional and high-net-worth investors. “When we do business in China, we do it in the form of (joint ventures). We should be able to go in on our own or partnerships in Chinese subsidiaries above 50 percent or even 100 percent,” he explained.

Silicon Valley Giants Face a Test in Russia

AgroCenta, from Ghana Awarded Seedstars Global Winner 2018 Agrocenta​, the startup which is tackling food access and stock flow issues across Ghana communities, won up to $500,000 in equity investment and some unique growth opportunities at the Seedstars Summit 2018.

Seedstars World​, the biggest startup competition focused only in emerging markets, closed its fifth edition with a huge celebratory Seedstars Summit.

After covering 65+ countries during 2017, Seedstars invited and sponsored the coming of 65+ local startup winners to Lausanne, Switzerland, where they had the chance to compete for different prizes, up to $1mn in equity investment and the title of Seedstars Global Winner.

Francis Obirikorang​founded Agrocenta having in mind to create an ​online sales platform that could connect smallholder farmers directly to an online market which has wider geographic size to sell their commodities. According to PierreAlain Masson, co-founder at Seedstars, “​Agrocenta won this prize because of the disruption they are creating in the farming industry. It’s very important that investors know that talent is everywhere and that the way startups and tech entrepreneurs in emerging markets are addressing the underlying social challenges in their home countries, be

it agriculture or access to finance, basic education, healthcare or energy supply is a tremendous business trend and opportunity.”

Much more than a conference, the Seedstars Summit is an opportunity for stakeholders in impact investment, tech and entrepreneurship in and from emerging markets to network and profit from a unique hands-on growth experience. Startups participated in a two-day bootcamp; a private Investor Forum where they had the chance to pitch to be considered one of the 12 finalists to compete on the main stage and attended more than 700 one-on-one sessions with investors. On the Summit Day, the finalist startups pitched on the main stage in front of more than 1,000 handpicked participants, investors, startup enthusiasts and some of the most prominent names of tech and entrepreneurship in emerging markets. The jury, an international panel which included ​ Benjamin Benaïm​, from Seedstars, ​ Nikunj Jinsi and ​Theta Capital Group​​ decided that this year’s investment will go to Agrocenta from Ghana.

For Francis Obirikorang, “winning at the Seedstars Summit will have an enormous impact in my company’s growth and success for the next years.

The Russian authorities’ first experiment with blocking a popular messenger application -- Telegram -- is not working out so far.

The web censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, has blocked millions of internet addresses to beat Telegram into submission, but it’s still widely available even without any bypass mechanisms, while numerous legitimate sites have experienced downtime.

The Russian social networks have exploded with sarcastic memes, but the merriment is likely misplaced. The experience will almost certainly push Russia toward the Great Chinese Firewall model, which will include reprisals on virtual private networks and Western cloud services. Roskomnadzor plans to block Facebook by the end of this year, and it will need to get better at it -- and to get more resources -- to succeed against such a formidable adversary. There’s no indication that the Kremlin will deny the necessary funding.

Telegram, which has about 15 million users in Russia, has been banned for its refusal to hand over encryption keys to Russia’s domestic intelligence, the FSB. The messenger, which also hosts thousands of “channels” with all sorts of content, from political insiders’ musings to darknet business advice, was well-prepared for Roskomnadzor’s attempt to block it starting Monday. The only method Roskomnadzor has used so far to block sites was to order internet providers to cut off access to certain IP addresses. Telegram started routing users to numerous IP addresses that weren’t on the censor’s blacklist. They belonged to the world’s leading cloud services, run by Amazon and Google.

Roskomnadzor attempted to rise to the challenge. According to usher2.club, a service run by an anonymous hacker to track the number of IP addresses blocked by the censor, it went from hundreds of thousands of addresses to millions.

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April 23, 2018 #234

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 Pixel Center, 34, Ilia Chavchavadze Ave. 3rd floor Tel: +995 32 227 62 00 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 Embassy of The Republic of Korea 12, Titsian Tabidze Str. Tbilisi 0179, Geogia Tel: (995 32) 297 03 18; 297 03 20; Fax: (995 32) 242 74 40; Email: georgia@mofa.go.kr

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 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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April 23, 2018 #234