Caucasus Business Week #235

BUSINESS WEEK

DISTRIBUTED FREE OF CHARGE

caucasus1

April 30, 2018 #235

April 30, 2018, Issue 235 - www.cbw.ge

UG Investment Recent Developments in Infrasture Construction

Pg. 6

Global Economy Gayle Allard: Rigid labor markets reduce productivity

Pg. 9

Maya Bichikashvili: “The PR Management profession is diverse, dynamic, in-demand and prestigious’’ Pg. 8

Oil Companies Sell Fuel for 35 Tetri More to Retail Clients

Smoking Ban will Badly Hit Private Sector Starting May 1, 2018 Tobacco Control Law will come into force. The law bans smoking, including electronic cigarettes, at various facilities. Smoking is banned at: Any building, public transport, excluding taxi and motorboat; educational facilities, libraries, youth camps, children entertainment centers and other buildings for underage bodies and their territories; public meetings for underage bodies.

Smoking is also banned at medical and pharmaceutical facilities and their territories, fueling and gas distribution stations, buildings and territories, where inflammable substances are stored.

Smoking is also banned at cafe-bars and restaurants.

Smoking is permitted at: Residential houses of physical bodies; specialized laboratory devices for examination of tobacco smoke; penitentiary facilities, where smoking rules are determined by the corresponding Minister; preliminary detention cell.

Smoking will be also permitted at legally-licensed cigar-bars, casinos, specially allocated smoking rooms at airport transit zones.

Pg. 7

External Trade Grows

Pg. 6

In January-March Georgia’s external trade turnover (without undeclared trade) made up 2 823.8 million USD, up 23.3% year on year, including exports totaled 740.3 million USD (up 28.4%) and imports amounted to 2 083.4 million USD, up 21.6%. Georgia’s negative trade balance equaled to 1 343.1 million USD, which is 47.6% in external trade turnover. In the same period, exports without re-exports constituted 554.8 million USD, up 18.6% as compared to the same period of 2017. It is noteworthy that in terms of amount the January-March exports, imports and negative trade balance recorded the highest figures over the past 5 years. As to percentage indicator, better than 1Q18 indicators were registered only in 2014. For example, in the same period of 2017, negative trade balance was 49.6%, in 2016 – 54.2%, in 2013-2015 – 48.3%, 45% and 56.4%. Despite reduced negative trade balance in total indicator compared to the past 3 years, the number of countries, where Georgia’s exports are of lower value compared to imports, increased in 2018.

In January-March 2018 Georgia’s foreign trade turnover with EU countries made up 820.1 million USD, up 27.6% compared to the same period of 2017, including exports marked 209.4 million USD, up 31.4%, and imports made up 610.7 million USD, up 26.4%. Pg. 4

Newsroom

2 Government

Government to launch Full-scale Inventory of Woodlands in Georgia

As a result, the country will have a valuable database about conditions of woodlands. This is the ground for taking important decisions and planning woodlands sustainable management.

Georgian Railway Switches to Modern Lighting System

According to document, company accepts obligation to install energy efficient lights on stations, bases, tunnels and bridges, produced by American company ”Cree”.

economy

EIB to Allocate 250 Million EUR for Road Infrastructure

At the working meeting, the sides discussed about the ongoing projects of EIB financing and details of future cooperation in the framework of “Georgian Transport Communication Project (II).

Georgian and European Electricity Connection Project Worth is Estimated to 3 Billion USD

”The project might be as large scale as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, “said Zviad Chumburidze, a project under which Georgia could connect Europe with an underwater electric line.

banking

Finca Bank’s Market Ratio Declines

Finca Bank’s ratio on crediting market has declined.

As of April 1 (Q1/2018), the bank’s ratio accounts for 1%.

The bank’s market ratio in terms of assets accounts for 0.8%.

Banking Sector’s Revenues Grow

The banking sector’s revenues have increased by 113 million GEL year on year. According to NBG, in January to March the Georgian banking sector earned 675.5 million GEL from loans. The year on year growth constituted 16%.

business

ENPARD Starts Receiving Project Proposals

With the financial support of the ENPI in Georgia, the Delegation of the EU to Georgia (EU) has announced acceptance of rural development proposals within European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Developmen.

Georgian Products Exports to China Shrinks 2.4 times

According to Geostat, national statistics service of Georgia, Georgia’s exports to China in the first quarter of 2018 made up 20.4 million USD, which is an extremely lowered figure compared to 2017.

company

April 30, 2018 #235

Georgian Lemonade Exported to China

With the support of Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, fruit lemonade “Venakhi Lemonade” was exported to China. Georgian products on the Chinese market will enter through the partner company “Tiangbei.”

Watchdog Improves Georgia’s Press Freedom Ranking Georgia’s press freedom score improved in 2017 over the previous year, according to a study by the Paris-based watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

2018 World Press Freedom Index, a country-by-country survey on the level of freedom available to journalists, covers developments of 2017.

Georgia, according to the survey, is ranked 61st in the table of 180 countries with 27.34 points, up from 64th (27.76) place in 2017.

The index rankings are based on a scale of 1 to 100, with 0 representing the highest and 100 the lowest level of press freedom.

None of the countries of the former Soviet Union (except the Baltics) are ranked ahead of Georgia.

Report Assessments “Georgia’s media are pluralist but still very polarized. The reforms of recent years have brought improvements in media ownership transparency and satellite TV pluralism, but owners still often call the shots on editorial content,” the organization said in its indexrelated assessment on Georgia.

The Reporters Without Borders then noted that the “continuing dispute” over ownership of the “main national opposition TV channel, Rustavi 2,” would “therefore have a big impact.”

“Violence against journalists is less frequent although threats are often reported,” the organization added. It also touched upon the case of Afgan Mukhtarli, saying the Azerbaijani journalist’s “abduction” in Tbilisi in 2017 and his “mysterious reappearance” in police custody in Azerbaijan,

“sent shockwaves” through the exile community of Azerbaijani dissidents living in Georgia.

“Two senior Georgian security officials were fired but Georgia’s investigation into Mukhtarli’s abduction has yet to produce any convincing explanation of how it happened,” the assessment also reads.

The Reporters Without Borders compiles its annual survey based on several criteria measuring pluralism, media independence, media environment and self-censorship, legislative framework, transparency, and the quality of the infrastructure that supports the production of news and information. The qualitative analysis is then combined with quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists documented by a network of correspondents in individual countries.

Tbilisi Art Fair to be Held with the Support of TBC Status

T

he International Festival of Contemporary Art (TAF) will be held in Tbilisi on May 17-20 organized by Expo Georgia and with the support of TBC status and “Check in Georgia”.

The four-day exhibition-sale will unite more than 25 galleries from around the world and up to 35 independent artists.

Press conference was held at the exhibition center “Expo Georgia” regarding the project.

Head of the Department of Corporate Communication – Tamuna Kirvalidze, head of the National Tourism Administration – Giorgi Chogovadze and representatives of “Expo Georgia” – Tina Lagidze and Nino Gamrekeli talked about the event.

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

Participants of the market were selected by specially invited experts group. The TAF Council is composed of professionals such as Rita Jansen – Bozar, an Advisor to the Center for International Cooperation in the Middle East and Nicholas B. Illyn – Guggenheim Museum founder in Berlin, Bilbao and Las Vegas.

The lectures, master classes, open forums and parallel events will be held within the market: Tbilisi Photo Festival – The first large-scale retrospective of Georgian photography, which covers three centuries of photography.

Twelve women were lost – exhibition about Georgian emigrant artists.

War on Hold – an exhibition

that combines the video, photo, installation, performance, sculpture and paintings of 20 young artists, and the theme of which is temporary peace as a creative meditation.

International Cultural Forum – The forum will be discussed with the “creative Georgia” about challenges of the modern art market.

The international market of contemporary art focuses on galleries and art institutes of the countries of Eastern Europe and South Caucasus that have not yet been presented in the art fairs.

The goal of TAF is to support the establishment and enhance partnerships between local and international art institutions.

For more information visit www.tbilisiartfair.art

Editor: Nutsa Galumashvili. Mobile phone: 595 380382 Copy Editor: Ellie Rambo Reporters: Nina Gomarteli; Mariam Kopaliani; Merab Janiashvili, Economic columnist: Andria Gvidiani; Technical Assistant: Giorgi Kheladze;

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

April 30, 2018 #235

publicity

3

4

econo-mix

April 30, 2018 #235

External Trade Grows Exports experienced a 28% increase, while imports grew by 21% in 1Q18 Paata Bairakhtari Vice president for the Association of Young Financiers and Businessmen (AYFB)

Merab Janiashvili Economic Analyst

Thus, Government of Georgia should make focus on developing exportsoriented domestic production, like this happens in all developed countries.

‘‘

Gulf earns 30 Tetri from sales of only one liter of fuel.

Economists and field experts have long been talking about the drawbacks and unhealthy environment of the fuel market. As a rule, oil companies do not accept criticism. Their lobbyists frequently assert that the companies receive minimal profits, and that there is healthy and meaningful market competition.

Today we have a situation where domestic oil prices started rising along with growing oil prices on the global exchange. At a glance, there is a close correlation with the international market, but we should not forget one important detail. As a rule, the Georgian fuel market shows sensitivity only in relation to retail sales, as fuel prices do not change in for corporate and consolidated clients. Fuel prices are much cheaper in this segment, when compared to the retail sector.

Paata Bairakhtari, the vice president for the Association of Young Financiers and Businessmen (AYFB), discussed a similar case.

“Today the fuel market is open, but artificial barriers were replaced by natural barriers for new players. I mean the urban disposition that six giant oil companies have. The point is that these companies have almost entirely occupied the central part of the city, where the population is mainly concentrated.

Consequently, new players are limited in providing real competition to these six giant companies. My opponents frequently say that the market prices are competitive and they respond to economic tendencies. I will refer to a simple case. Analysis of retail and corporate prices shows a huge difference, which would be impossible in a healthy market. For example, the GULF company sells a liter of Premium fuel for 2.29 GEL in the retail sector, while in the corporate segment, for example, to Tegeta Motors, the same category of fuel is sold for 2.04 GEL, despite the fact that the company spends the same amount of money on the technical aspects of the fuel sales. As a result, retail prices are higher by 25 Tetri compared to corporate prices. It is true that, in general, corporate clients enjoy preferential rates, but no company can sell fuel to corporations for a net loss. Therefore, this signifies that the GULF company receives at least 29 Tetri profit for a liter of fuel from the population, and this is a genuinely huge margin,” Bairakhtari noted.

We have contacted the GULF company, and the vice president, Nino Jibladze, confirmed that corporate clients genuinely have preferences.

“We provide various preferences for corporate clients. As for this specific case in relation to the Tegeta Motors company, I do not know this agreement and I cannot comment on this issue,” Jibladze said.

The Union of Oil Importers asserts that the price difference is preconditioned by sales of guaranteed reserves. The organization’s head, Vano Mtvralashvili, explained that a company accepts even extremely low profits for large-volume sales.

“The difference between retail and tender sales is that in tenders we have guaranteed sales of fuel in huge volumes, and this may be considered a wholesale supply. Consequently, companies sell fuel with the least extra price added, like all other businesses. As for the supply of fuel to private companies at preferential rates, we have the same situation. Companies are corporate clients and they buy fuel in huge volumes and enjoy various discounts due to the volume of the purchased product. People who are loyal clients also use various cards and enjoy various discounts, like in all other fields,” Mtvralashvili said.

Fuel experts do not agree with these explanations.

Beka Kemularia, the head of the Consumer Protection Center, explained that a price difference is bigger in state procurement.

“First of all, I should note how consolidated tenders are held. In this case all government offices jointly notify the state procurement office what volume of fuel they need. There is a special formula in tender for fuel price calculation. This signifies that fuel price is determined every month, at the beginning of each month and at the beginning of each year due to this formula, when the currency exchange and oil price are changeable. This means a company will not lose money, that’s why the currency exchange and price are changeable. Therefore, companies do not sell fuel to state clients for net losses. As for the current situation, this month the price of Premium petrol is 1.98 GEL, that is, a liter of Premium petrol for a government vehicles costs 1.98 GEL, while on the retail market the same fuel costs 35 Tetri more. This is a huge price difference,” Kemularia said.

‘‘

Oil Companies Sell Fuel for 35 Tetri More to Retail Clients

In January-March Georgia’s external trade turnover (without undeclared trade) made up 2 823.8 million USD, up 23.3% year on year, including exports totaled 740.3 million USD (up 28.4%) and imports amounted to 2 083.4 million USD, up 21.6%. Georgia’s negative trade balance equaled to 1 343.1 million USD, which is 47.6% in external trade turnover. In the same period, exports without re-exports constituted 554.8 million USD, up 18.6% as compared to the same period of 2017.

It is noteworthy that in terms of amount the January-March exports, imports and negative trade balance recorded the highest figures over the past 5 years. As to percentage indicator, better than 1Q18 indicators were registered only in 2014.

For example, in the same period of 2017, negative trade balance was 49.6%, in 2016 – 54.2%, in 2013-2015 – 48.3%, 45% and 56.4%. Despite reduced negative trade balance in total indicator compared to the past 3 years, the number of countries, where Georgia’s exports are of lower value compared to imports, increased in 2018.

In January-March 2018 Georgia’s foreign trade turnover with EU countries made up 820.1 million USD, up 27.6% compared to the same period of 2017, including exports marked 209.4 million USD, up 31.4%, and imports made up 610.7 million USD, up 26.4%. Ratio of these countries in Georgia foreign trade turnover made up 29%, including 28.3% in exports and 29.3% in imports. In January-March 2017 the mentioned indicators were 28.1%, 27.7% and 28.2% respectively. Ratio of EU countries in Georgia’s trade deficit made up 29.9% (28.5% in January-March 2017).

Foreign trade turnover with CIS countries constituted 976.9 million USD, up 30% compared to January-March 2017, includ-

ing exports marked 303 million USD, up 48% and imports made up 673.9 million USD, up 23.2%.

Ratio of CIS countries in Georgia’s foreign trade turnover was 34.6%, including 40.9% in exports and 32.3% in imports (32.8%, 35.5% and 31.9% respectively in January-March2017). Ratio of CIS countries in Georgia’s negative trade deficit made up 27.6% (30.1% in January-March 2017).

It is noteworthy that in 2018 foreign trade turnover rose with EU countries, but declined with CIS countries. Over the past years this tendency has become irreversible.

As to major imports and exports items, oil (imports) and copper (exports) are leaders.

In January-March 2018, in top ten exports items copper ores and concentrates rank first with 118.8 million USD, 16% ratio in total exports. Exports of ferroalloys made up 85.1 million USD (11.5% in total exports).

Motorcars rank third with 64.9 million USD and 8.8% ratio.

In the reporting period, in top ten imports items oil and oil products rank first with 186.9 million USD and 9% ratio. Oil gas ranks second with 127.4 million USD and 6.1%. Motorcars rank third with 118 million USD and 5.7% ratio.

It should be noted that ratio of domestic production remains low in Georgia’s exports. The country exports semi-finished products or carries out re-exports of vehicles that brings less benefits to the economy, unlike domestically manufactured products such as wines, medications and water.

Thus, Government of Georgia should make focus on developing exports-oriented domestic production, like this happens in all developed countries.

“Infrastructure, competitiveness and education is the main challenges for Georgia. Those are the main barriers for inclusive growth. Economics should create job places, every citizen to feel the result of development. It’s also very important quality of education to improve, as well as teachers’ skills and adaptation of schools. As we see, most of the people hold university degree in the sectors were unemployment is high. It proves that they graduate but can’t meet market requirements”.

Mrs. Mercedes Vera Martini

Head of the International Monetary Fund’s mission to Business Morning

April 30, 2018 #235

5

6

interview

Interview with Ukrainian-Georgian Investment Company Director Koba Bochorishvili - Mr. Koba, you are one of the founders and directors of the Georgian-Ukrainian Investment Company. Can you tell us about the mission of the company, who the Ukrainian partners are, and what their experiences and qualifications are?

We founded the company last year along with our Ukrainian partners.

Based on opportunities available in the country, we became interested in getting involved in the implementation of various infrastructural projects, both in terms of investment, technical supply and construction management, using the expertise in which our Ukrainian partners have extensive experience. The Ukrainian company Interex, which is our major partner, has been operating very successfully for two decades in these fields, both in the Ukrainian and Eastern European markets. Our main direction is municipal infrastructural projects, technical support for drainage, sewage and gas supply systems, construction and further installation of electronic systems.

The company’s priority is to introduce modern technologies, both construction of new infrastructural facilities and rehabilitation of existing networks for which our company is actively collaborating with the world’s leading companies in this sector.

- A couple of days ago, your company held a very interesting conference where world-famous engineering products manufacturing companies met each other.

Please tell us about the conference and its results.

On April 19th, we held a tech forum at Tech Park with our Ukrainian counterparts. It was called “Modern Technologies in Municipal Infrastructure Projects,” and we brought together representatives from the world’s leading companies. The largest manufacturers of sewage system companies, like the French TECOFI, Austrian HAWLE, the Swiss waterproofing company Wandex and the Finnish company Welesgard were present at the forum. Iranian and Ukrainian companies producing high-tech iron pipes, and most importantly, technologies providing remote accounting, management and utilization for infrastructural projects were highlighted at the forum.

Georgians expressed their interest in both state and private companies working in the field. Such forums are very informative and important for Georgian companies, because technology develops increasingly quickly.

Here, I would like to give my sincere thanks to the Infrastructure Construc-

Ukrainian-Georgian Investment Group Recent Developments in Infrasture Construction tion Association and its head, Ani Sabakhtarishvili, for the topics Association member companies were interested in.

- Your company’s first project is related to the introduction of cast iron pipes from Iran. Can you share more information about it with us?

As for our first project: it has definitely turned out to be large-scale one. Our leading client company is GWP, and by their order we have supplied a strategic project—a seven-kilometer highway water pipeline made of highstrength cast iron pipes by the Iranian company Hanyco and the German VonRoll Hydro Company.

The project is being implemented in Tbilisi on Mount Tabor. Due to the rough terrain, the company had to make innovative technical solutions, which we dealt with successfully with the help of our experts. That became

a starting point for the implementation of an absolutely new standard for building highway water pipelines.

- What advantages does using cast iron pipes have, where can they be used and how adaptive are they to local conditions in relation to similar products?

As for cast iron pipelines, it’s really an appealing offer for our market.

Cast iron has been used for ages, and its durability is not suspicious.

To put it simply, the high-tech and

April 30, 2018 #235

high-strength cast iron pipes provided by Hanyco offer different advantages in terms of installation simplicity, overall economy and the minimum one hundred year warranty.

When it comes to local terrain— the pipes are perfectly suitable.

We have mountainous terrain and high levels of seismic activity. The product, with the incredible installation technology TAYTON, maintains endurance under high pressure and during seismic events.

Nowadays, technology enables implemented infrastructural projects to endure much longer than before.

- Who are your other partners and what sort of products do you import from them?

As I mentioned above, basically we represent the high-quality cast iron pipe company Hanyco in Georgia. We also exclusively represent the international manufacturer of industrial valves companies Tecofi and Hawle. For waterproof protection technology companies there are Wandex and Welesgard.

As for high tech companies in the IT sector: OrionM2M and Rikom provide remote control of gas and water supply systems, and record rendered services.

- How ready are local companies to share engineering news, and what is their reaction?

Many infrastructural projects are being implemented in this country, and the interest in companies is high. Sharing news is an inevitable process, as competition will force them to share.

- After your first successful project, what are your company’s plans, and are you planning to expand on the regional market?

Our most recent plans include making a logistics base in Tbilisi where we will produce our partners’ products. We will keep working with manufacturing companies that are very interesting for the Georgian market.

5 Marjanishvili st. room 418; Phone: +995 032 2974100; Mob: +995 599107855 Email: uginvesment1@gmail.com

April 30, 2018 #235

Business

7

Smoking Ban will Badly Hit Private Sector

S

tarting May 1, 2018 Tobacco Control Law will come into force. The law bans smoking, including electronic cigarettes, at various facilities. Smoking is banned at: Any building, public transport, excluding taxi and motorboat; educational facilities, libraries, youth camps, children entertainment centers and other buildings for underage bodies and their territories; public meetings for underage bodies.

Smoking is also banned at medical and pharmaceutical facilities and their territories, fueling and gas distribution stations, buildings and territories, where inflammable substances are stored.

Smoking is also banned at cafebars and restaurants.

Smoking is permitted at: Residential houses of physical bodies; specialized laboratory devices for examination of tobacco smoke; penitentiary facilities, where smoking rules are determined by the corresponding Minister; preliminary detention cell.

Smoking will be also permitted at legally-licensed cigar-bars, casinos, specially allocated smoking rooms at airport transit zones.

At inpatient psychiatric and palliative treatment facilities smoking is permitted under regulations passed by special decree of the facility director.

Smoking is admissible on the territory of a stadium till January 1, 2020. Smoking is also permitted at no more than 20% of total number of hotel suites till January 1, 2020.

Parliament of Georgia adopted the law on tobacco control on May 17, 2017.

The law violation will result in imposing a 500 GEL on corporate bodies in the first case, 1000 GEL – in the repeated case. The fine for physical bodies is 100 GEL. The Caucasus Business Week (CBW) has inquired whether restaurants and cafe-bars are ready for the mentioned novelty and whether this regulations is detrimental for the private sector.

Shalva Alaverdashvili, founder of Federation of Hotels and Restau-

rants, is interested how Government plans to control such largescale cevents as weddings, funeral feasts and corporate evenings. Control is impossible in similar cases, he said.

«I asked the same question last year. Therefore, we have offered the Government to add more details to the alternative law, but nobody has listened to us. I welcome introduction of this law at small cafes and bars, but taking into account peculiarities of the domestic market, I supposed this regulation will not work, like all other laws.

We cannot control smoking at wedding with 250 guests», Alaverdashvili noted.

Tamuna Aksanderi, founder of KHIDI club, also agrees with the position of Shalva Alaverdashvili. Control will be impossible in such facilities as night clubs with a common space, where a majority smokes within the club, she noted.

“The club visitors smoke all the time. I have no idea how to control this process in our case. I think this is impossible. Moreover, cigarette manufacturers frequently sponsor our club to invite popular foreign DJs and therefore, the mentioned law creates double problem”, Tamuna Aksanderi said.

It will be difficult to control clients and this regulation will make negative effect on number of clients, Giorgi Gogoladze, manager for the Machakhela network of restaurants, noted.

“In general, we welcome any regulations, but in certain cases they will bring many problems. It will be difficult to explain to drunk clients with Georgian mindset to smoke out of the building. Therefore, the law should comprise detailed interpretation. I think general regulations will decrease number of our clients and bring negative effect for our business”, Gogoladze said.

8

April 30, 2018 #235

April 30, 2018 #235

Global Economy

9

nutsa galumashvili

Despite strong growth over the last years, a number of factors will inhibit growth over the next years, according to Professor Gayle Allard, Professor of Economics at IE Business School. One is the increase in economic inequality in many countries. Data show that economies with greater inequality grow slower than those with less inequality. This runs counter to theses which advocate using cheap labor as a growth driver.

Another growth inhibitor is the relationship between rigid labor markets and research & development (R&D).

R&D is not a very successful growth driver in rigid labor markets. This is a result of a study on 73 countries.

Q: You have explained in your research that R&D is not a very successful growth driver in rigid labor markets. However, the relationship between rigid labor markets and research & development (R&D) is in fact a growth inhibitor. What is the reason for this and what is the resolution of this problem?

A: Innovation is a really important part of development. It is one of the things that drives a country’s development. We talk about a triple helix: industry, government and business together drive the competitiveness of the country, as they work together on research, innovation and applying research to the real economy instead of having some sort of abstract theory.

So what we were trying to find out in our research was if a country had a rigid labor market, meaning that it is hard to hire and fire workers, or it is expensive to hire workers.

It is a complicated question. Because on the one hand, if workers are protected by law, you can’t just fire a worker when you want to. I understand that in Georgia it is fairly easy to fire workers, but in Spain it is not. So on the other hand you might say: it is a good thing if you can’t get rid of workers, because they have accumulated experience, and they are identified with the company, if they stayed for a long time maybe that is good for research. If workers know that they are going stay in the future no matter what, they do not care about trying new things, so it could have a negative impact.

That was the issue we wanted to solve. And we have gotten mixed results there, as we did find that rigid labor markets were not helpful for innovation, but if you are thinking about universities, maybe more stable employment helped universities promote more research.

So it is kind of a mixed result. If you talk to the government and tell them what they should do to promote research and innovation, there would be mixed recommendations.

Q: What are the effects of a rigid labor market on a wide range of economic outcomes?

A: Lots of research has been done on this and some is contradictory, but we find in general that rigid labor markets actually reduce productivity. But if you look on a company level it is a little different compared to the country level.

So on the company level: if you look at different companies that operate in the same sector, the one with workers who stay longer, with fewer temporary workers, is more productive.

There is a one thing that happens on a company level and another thing that happens on a country level. Another thing is that we find rigid labor markets tend to reduce employment, because when it is hard to get rid of workers, sometimes companies do not want to hire workers. So we do see that countries with rigid labor markets tend to have less employment growth. Sometimes that means higher employment, sometimes it does not.

There is another effect of rigid labor markets: if companies could choose whether to hire workers as permanent workers or temporary workers in rigid labor markets, they want temporary workers, because they want to keep all options open.

Whereas in Georgia for instance, where the market is quite flexible, companies do not care, because they can get rid of workers if needed. So there are some negative effects of rigid labor markets. We are looking for a very clear effect on innovation and it is not as clear as we would like it to be.

Q: Data shows that economies with greater inequality grow more slowly than those with less inequality. What are the factors that affect the economic growth of a country, and what should countries with greater inequality do to prevent or reduce inequality?

A. We suspect that when inequality rises in a country, you tend to get slower growth over time. The reason is that when most of the income is going to the middle and lower class in a very equal country, they tend to spend it. If more income is going to the upper class they tend to keep it—maybe they invest it in financial assets, or take it out of country, or save it. Everything being equal, take a country that is unequal and where the rich have more money, there’s going to be less consumption, because the rich are not spending all of their income. Whereas if it’s a very equal country and the middle and lower classes have most of the money, then they will tend to spend it. So you will have virtuous cycle where you’ve got sustained long-term growth, and it tends to be pretty strong.

And when we look at the world after World War II, most developed countries had

sustained long term growth, because they had big middle classes and they had equality.

And that is getting worse, as inequality is rising. What we suspect, what we fear, is that looking forward, countries will experience less sustainable growth, because more money is in the hands of the rich. So this is a concern.

So how do you fix this? Inequality is produced by lot of things. One thing that causes inequality is immigration, because if you have a country where a lot of people are coming in who are poor, you are coming to the bottom and your income stretches out. And yet immigration is good for the world, because people who are poor can move to the countries that are richer, so within a country it becomes less equal, but globally it becomes more equal.

One does not always mean the other. Immigration is good for growth, inflation, and for the world. Another thing you could do to reduce inequality is of course tax the rich more heavily and transfer that money to the poor. Most countries do that to a certain extent: we have progressive tax system where we tax the rich more heavily, and then we have programs to help the poor. If we look at the countries in the world with the lowest inequality, for example Sweden and Denmark, they tax very heavily and transfer it to the poor. But Japan also has very low inequality, because it is very homogenous country: everybody is Japanese and they have very few emigrants. That helps to, but if your country is heterogeneous it tends to be less equal.

One of the things we have been noticing is that with the globalization, there is a tendency for a small group of corporations to be keeping more profits. This also causes inequality, because the owners of the corporations tend to be rich.

Today it is hard to make a country more equal than it used to be in the past. You have to tax more and transfer more to get the same inequality it used to have. For example, in Spain, which is the country where I live now, inequality rises, but if you look at inequality before taxes and transfers it is rising a lot more. So in other words: a country which is working really hard to reduce inequality, and is not getting the same results they used to.

But then you have countries like the U.S., which have cut taxes on the rich. We have cut taxes on corporations, so we are increasing inequality with our tax policy.

Gayle Allard:

Rigid labor markets reduce productivity Q. How can we maintain a stronger global economy, and what are the roles of individual countries in this process?

A. In some ways, global growth is going to slow down no matter what we do. I really think we are looking forward to a slower growth world. Part of the reason is demography, because the world population will soon begin to shrink, and there are a number of countries which are shrinking already: Germany, Japan and China will soon shrink, Italy is shrinking. Birth rates are falling as well.

At the same time, to grow the economy and develop business, you need people to join the workforce, to be able to work for companies, and you also need people to consume. So demography is having an effect on growth.

Another very strange thing that we do not understand is that productivity growth has slowed down: we do not know why, because there are lots of technological changes, but for some reason, productivity growth has gone way down, and this slows down growth too.

There’s a debate among economists—some say productivity growth is going to rise really fast in the future, and it’s just a matter of waiting for it, because we have all these innovations and have not seen their effect yet. Others do not believe that is going to happen. They say productivity growth has slowed down because innovations such as social media are not raising our productivity, they might be reducing it. Maybe you are sitting at work and looking at Facebook.

Global growth has slowed down because of demography, productivity and inequality.

Maybe it has slowed down because of the environment, because we can’t grow in the way we used to.

Automatization is also another restraining issue for global growth. You have a company that produces cars, for instance, and you have workers in your company that earn a good salary and have health benefits. If you replace those people with robots, then those people will find other jobs, which will probably be worse paid jobs. Maybe they go work in a fast food restaurant or become cleaners instead having good manufacturing job. This will be reflected in decreasing consumption demand levels.

So what should we do to have strong growth?

All of these trends are hard to change. We can change inequality if we really work at it. If we allow more immigration there will be more growth, and that is a good thing. As countries are shrinking, they need more workers. There are limits on deregulating business—Europe is looking for ways to help countries which are falling behind, like Greece.

Another thing we need to do is keep trade free, and you know that Trump has started a trade war. That would not help global growth; trade is important and necessary. We have lots of strikes against global growth. If you could get rid of some of these negative things: inequality and restrictions on trade and immigration, then growth would continue.

business

10 “Aziz Saltik: Georgian Electricity Consumption Grows Yearly; Domestic Supply Must Replace Imports” Aziz Saltik, deputy executive director of Clean Energy Group Georgia, has attended the Conference – Development of Renewable Energy – Road to Energy Independence. The event was held at Tbilisi Marriott hotel and it was organized by EU-Georgia Business Council.

«Namakhvani HPP will play an important role in sustainability and energy independence of Georgian power system.

Electricity consumption grows year to year in Georgia. Imports should be replaced by domestic resources and Georgia has this potential», Aziz Saltik said.

Clean Energy Group Georgia plans to invest 750 million USD in Georgian power system. Construction of Namakhvani HPP Cascades will start in 2019. The cascade of HPPs will increase domestic power generation by 15%.

Zviad Chumburidze, director general for EU-Georgia Business Council, Chris Schlueter, regional director for BP, Tornike Rizhvadze, director for Energy Development Foundation, representatives of business sector and financial institutions have taken part in the conference.

BIA Investment Forum on Georgia- Land of Opportunities Bia holds annual investment forum – Georgia- Land of Opportunities on May 15 at Radisson Blu Iveria. Event unites up to 500 businessmen, investors, government representatives and international organizations interested in Economics in Georgia and region to discuss future opportunities and challenges.

Potential investors will learn about macroeconomic environment within forum. Leading experts from government and private sector will introduce legal and tax law legislation advantages. Delegates will be able to get acquainted with current and planned projects in infrastructure, energy, tourism and property, also they will focus on cryptocurrency markets, venture and private capital importance for the development of economy.

Undue Delays in Court Proceedings – A Limiting Factor of Protecting the Human Rights The Young Barristers of Georgia is highlighting a note in the US State Department’s annual Human Rights Report, which mentions delays in reviewing human rights cases in Georgia.

The report highlights the case of Temur Basilia, a former VicePrime Minister and an advisor to the President. The Young Barristers, in responding to the note, point out that the findings in cases of unjustly prosecuted former politicians should be of note to the government and the judiciary.

April 30, 2018 #235

Bia held Regular Meeting with Regional Business in Zugdidi Within B Talks, BIA continues meetings in the regions. On April 26, the next meeting – “Local Business Challenges and Development New Opportunities “, held in Zugdidi, which was attended by representatives of more than 100 operating companies in Samegrelo. BIA team introduced new opportunities for regional business, statystcs of Samegrelo region and new ways of communication with media, get and information and analysis for local companies. Ministry of Agriculture, Deputy Head of the National Food Agency Zurab Lipartia, International Trade of the Ministry of Economy Representative of the Department and SamegreloZemo Svaneti governor Levan Shonia attended the event by BIA’s invitation.

During panel discussions, representatives of local companies had the opportunity to receive information from specially invited guests and learn about upcoming projects in Samegrelo region. Within the framework of B Talks, the first regional meeting was held in Kutaisi attended by up to 150 companies representatives of Imereti Region.

Organized meetings in the regions by BIA will last until the end of the year.

Maka Batiashvili and Gela Patiashvili Exhibited at Consulate General of Georgia in New York Consulate General of Georgia in New York host Georgian artists- Maka Batiashvili and Gela Patiashvili. Exhibition opened on April 20 and will last until April 30.

Project of Maka Batiashvili and Gela Patiashvili – Field of Harmony and Agitation is a special interest towards Georgia, which is due to the fact that our creative society has a wide range of selfexpression.

As usual, the artists of global community swim against the tide with their works. There is a substantially different situation to us, as there is no clear flow and deal with coexistence of various artistic styles, that can be perceived as plexus of flows, then ‘’swimming against the tide’’ – as a postulate is not considered.

”We give the main part in our creativity to both – human being, as part of society and at the same time, subject of study. It is an interesting range that is bounded on the one hand – the conflict between the society and the individual, and on the other hand the harmonious existence of the individual in the society is the theme of our works. This psychological condition allows us to approach pure nature of human beings and their nuances in our paintings. Consciously or unconsciously in this regard we come into concepts: – Field as a result of agitation.

– Diversity of speech forms.

– A human being as an indicator of public interaction.

– Form as an arbitrage element,”- artists explained.

Winery Khareba Store Opened in Italy On April 19, the first Georgian brand wine “Winery Khareba” shop was opened in Europe, Bari, Italy. Diplomats, Bari municipality representatives and Georgian delegation attended the official opening ceremony.

During the event, company representatives officially introduced Italian wine shop concept and future strategic plans to the audience. During the gala dinner guests were given opportunity to taste several types of “Winery Khareba” wines made by Georgian traditional as well as European methods.

The first “Winery Khareba” store was opened in Georgia in 2010. Nowadays, the brand owns 8 shops, which are located all around Georgia. Wine producing company “Winery Khareba” is based on ancient traditions and since its establishment produces the wine using aboriginal wine types.

“Italy still retains the wine production leader status in the world, therefore the first

“Winery Khareba” shop was opened in Italy, what is a great success for the country and the company. “Winery Khareba” is progress oriented and constantly growing business, aiming company development and the shop opened in Italy is one of the big steps towards the main goal. This novelty has already caused great interest of local community towards the company and Georgian wine in general. “Winery Khareba” shop opened in the city of Bari is the first store opened in Europe and company aims to establish its positions on European market by opening shops in other locations of Europe.”- said Giorgi Ezugbaia.

“Winery Khareba” store in Bari is located 100 meters away from Saint Nicholas church, in touristic center, where full range of company products are presented.

Address of “Winery Khareba” shop in Italy is: via Strada del Carmine 40, Bari, Italia

April 30, 2018 #235

travelingeorgia.ge

11

From unique ice cream flavors to menu variety

Mado I

f you want to taste real Turkish-style ice cream, authentic Turkish baklava and fresh coffee, you should visit Mado on Pushkin Street near Freedom Square.

The interior is decorated in pastel colors, which makes relationships with family and close friends more pleasant. The restaurant’s slogan is “healthy products in a healthy environment,” and you won’t be bother by tobacco smoke or by the smell of dishes here. Smokers are not turned away: there is an open, comfortable space with green plants for them, which is also very pleasant.

Mado has been welcoming customers in Tbilisi for a year already. The brand is celebrating its anniversary with an updated menu, reduced prices and new branch offices.

The 24 varieties of colorful ice cream have welcomed five new flavors, and guests can now try kiwi, pomegranate, Turkish coffee, pineapple and mango ice creams. Mado is preparing a surprise for customers that will first be introduced at its Georgian locations: delicious fried ice cream.

The unique taste of ice cream and dessert is Mado’s specialty. Here, the ice cream is made using different technology from 100% natural milk, and water is not used in the recipe. This is part of its originality and partly the secret ingredient.

“There’s no water, it is noticeable by the

taste and with the visual side as well, as our ice cream is stretchable, which demonstrates its quality,” said David Gogua, Mado’s marketing manager.

Mado has reduced the prices of its sweets, and it’s now possible to buy baklava for a lower price.

Besides sweets, the restaurant offers delicious savory dishes, such as salads, chicken and fish. The menu changes constantly, as it is updated according to customer demands.

The fig, honey, black mulberry and honey and almond ice creams are sweet because these ingredients naturally contain high levels of fructose. These ice creams don’t contain any sugar or other added sweeteners, and have only natural fruit sweetness.

A new branch of Mado recently opened in the Tbilisi Galleria mall. This store’s concept focuses mainly on sweets and ice cream, so the choice of dishes is more limited. Instead, the emphasis is on drinking coffee and eating ice cream on a pleasant open terrace.

According to David Gogua, all the attention at Mado is on quality, and all products are made from natural ingredients using special methods to offer customers healthy dishes.

He says that high quality products can’t be cheap, but that at Mado prices are relatively affordable.

The management says that the restaurant’s ambition is for customers to associate Mado with the taste of ice cream or baklava. It also

has another ambitious goal: that families consider Mado for natural breakfasts, lunches or dinners in a healthy environment.

An experienced chef from Turkey takes care of the quality and design of the dishes.

Mado employs about 100 people in total, the department heads were trained in Turkey, and Mado is focused on constantly improving its quality. According to its franchising plans, there will be at least five branches in the country within three years. It offers three franchise concepts: a full-service restaurant, a cafe and a booth-style ice cream shop.

The modernity of Mado is based on the traditions of the past. Its history starts in the 1850s, when Mado offered ice cream made with special love, without any technology, in a small local ice cream shop.

After opening its own ice cream factory, Mado developed innovative ice-cream making technologies, which made Mado a world-class brand. The unique taste of Mado ice cream is created by a special, secret recipe. The main part of its composition consists of natural ingredients: cherry, orange, strawberry and other fruit extracts.

The Mado network includes more than 300 franchises globally. One of the latest surprises came when Mado broke the record for the world’s largest baklava with a 350 kilogram, 21 square meter pastry, which was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

12

publicity

April 30, 2018 #235

April 30, 2018 #235

world

13

Southern Gas Corridor to Contribute to Stability of Energy Supply in Europe

BP Builds 8 Offshore Platforms in Azerbaijan Azerbaijan is the most important and priority direction for business in the BP global portfolio, Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, vice president for Communications, External Affairs, Strategy & Region at BP Azerbaijan-GeorgiaTurkey, said.

He was speaking at the 3rd SOCAR International Caspian and Central Asia Downstream Forum on Trading, Logistics, Refining and Petrochemicals in Baku April 23.

“BP’s activity in Azerbaijan started in 1994 with the signing of the Contract of the Century, and since then, many goals were implemented at the international level through the joint efforts of the company and the government of Azerbaijan,” he said. “The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline is one of the projects of a global scale. As of today, BP has built eight offshore platforms in Azerbaijan.”

He noted that the West Azeri, the East Azeri, the Shah Deniz Stage 1 and the Shah Deniz Stage 2 are also large-scale projects with BP’s participation in Azerbaijan.

“We apply the latest experience and technologies when working on the offshore oil and gas fields of Azerbaijan,” he said. “The Shah Deniz Stage 2 project for underwater gas production, which attracts a great number of foreign investments, is the most difficult to implement, and it is almost 99 percent complete. The Khankendi vessel for underwater construction work worth $378 million was used September 2017 as part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project.”

Armenia’s Prime Minister Resigns Amid Large-scale Protests Serzh Sargsyan, who ruled Armenia for 10 years, resigned Monday as prime minister after thousands of people poured into the streets to protest his political maneuvering to cling to power in this former Soviet republic.

The stunning development touched off jubilation in the capital, Yerevan, with car horns blaring and people dancing, hugging and waving the tricolor Armenian flag. The opposition called for a meeting with the acting prime minister to discuss a “peaceful transfer of power.”

Sargsyan, 63, was president of the Caucasus nation from 2008 until term limits forced him out in March. But parliament, which is controlled by his party, voted to reduce the powers of the presidency and give them to the prime minister, ultimately installing Sargsyan in that post last week.

The move echoed a maneuver a decade ago

by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenia’s closest ally. Leaders of other former Soviet republics, from Belarus to Central Asia, have similarly extended their terms.

The parliament’s action had triggered massive anti-government protests in Yerevan since April 13, with demonstrators blocking government buildings and facing off with police. A rally on Sunday attracted about 50,000 people, and about 200 soldiers joined the protesters on Monday.

Rzayeva made the remarks at the 3rd SOCAR International Caspian and Central Asia Downstream Forum on Trading, Logistics, Refining and Petrochemicals in Baku April 24.

“Southern Gas Corridor will be a turning point in gas supplies for at least three European countries,” Rzayeva said mentioning Italy, in which 38 percent of imports account for Russia’s Gazprom company, Greece, in which 40 percent of imports account for Russian gas, and Bulgaria, in which 36 percent of the market depends on gas imports.

“The project has a guaranteed market for 25 years in Europe and 15 years in Turkey,” she said. “Despite market shocks, Southern Gas Corridor is in a favorable position due to the binding agreements.”

The expert also stressed that despite financial crisis in the energy market, the financing of the project is not a problem for partners and Azerbaijan.

“Turkey and Europe represent a promising market for bigger imports of pipeline gas

after 2020, and this gas will be obtained from unconventional sources,” Rzayeva said.

She added that gas production will reach 50 billion cubic meters per year in Azerbaijan by 2028 thanks to the development of new fields. The Southern Gas Corridor, worth over $40 billion, is considered as one of the priority energy projects for the EU, which strives for diversification of gas sources. The project envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At an initial stage, the gas to be produced in 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 Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

Wizz Air Starts The Construction of a New Training Centre

Solar Electric Generating Plants are Expecting a Breakthrough in Lithuania In 2017, renewable energy sources demonstrated the biggest growth among other energy sources currently in use, shows the statistics of the International Energy Agency. The growth in the number of these electric power plants, which is promoted by the support conditions which are favourable even today, seems to be forthcoming in the future.

“The solar electric generating plant is a worthwhile investment which allows to reduce the user‘s expenses. It is important to note that the solar energy guarantees the energy independence – the user becomes dependent on the energy prices, which may grow from time to time. Today, even businesses are becoming increasingly interested in solar energy, taking into account the possibility to reduce activity costs, payback period and the opportunity to contribute to creating a purer environment in Lithuania and in the whole world“, – says Adas Ridikas, sales manager at solar energy company “Saulės grąža“.

Should you decide to install a solar electric generating plant, it is important to clearly define needs and expectations. Solar modules – electric power generating solar batteries framed and connected to general system – may be an option. The modules may be either single or connected to a more powerful

photovoltaic system, which is installed on the roof of a house, land or other surface. However, by installing “Necrat Sun“, the innovative photovoltaic water heating system produced in Lithuania, it is possible to “employ“ solar energy for water heating purposes.

“In these latter days, solar energy is being used more widely, while the systems themselves are becoming easier-to-use and more user-friendly.

The perfect example of that is water heating using a “Nectar Sun“ controller.

It is an alternative, efficient and reliable method of water heating, while the system itself is very simple – it consists of a solar battery, a “Nectar Sun“ controller and an electrical water heater present in the majority of households. The device is connected to the heater directly, without the need to change the existing electric installation, while its controller is compatible with all the heaters used in households,“ A. Ridikas said.

The legislative framework for solar energy in our country allows both private individuals and legal entities to use the advantages provided by solar energy, for which reason the successful experience encourages the businesses to avail themselves of the opportunities to share this experience with other countries.

Wizz Air, one of Europe’s fastest growing airlines and the leading low-cost carrier in Central and Eastern Europe, today announced that it will open a new training centre by the end of 2018. The new facility will feature 2 new state-of-the-art Full Flight Simulators, one Fixed Base Simulator as well as a brand new Cabin Emergency Evacuation Trainer and a Real Fire Fighting Trainer device.

As the airline continues its strong growth across Europe with more than 20% year-onyear, and looks to triple its fleet in the upcoming decade, the new modern centre will allow WIZZ to increase its training capacity to up to 100 crew members daily, growing to more than 250 in the future, while maintaining the highest standards.

Located five minutes from the Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport, the facility will be the largest aviation related training centre in the region and one of the most advanced in Central and Eastern Europe, constructed with efficient and environment friendly engineering and equipped with the latest technologies available on the market. In addition to the three simulators and the cabin trainer, the 3,800 square meter facility will include 14 training rooms, an office area, a large lobby and a common break room. The facility can be expanded with additional simulators or more training rooms, giving the company added flexibility and room for its future growth.

Diederik Pen, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Wizz Air, said: “By the end of 2018, we will have an international team of over 1,000 pilots and 2,000 cabin crew to be trained on a recurring basis. These numbers could triple in 10 years, as a result of Wizz Air’s expansion.

14

publicity

April 30, 2018 #235

April 30, 2018 #235

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

16

April 30, 2018 #235