Economic Press Monitor December 1 - 7, 2013	Days:  23 30 07 14 21

economic & politics

VERSIA: “KAKHA KALADZE: THE NEW GOVERNMENT, THE COUNTRY’S POPULATION REAP THE RESULTS OF THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT’S NEGLIGENCE!”

December 6, 2013 - In an interview with the newspaper, Vice-Premier and Economy Minister Kakha Kaladze points that KhudonHES is the most important ongoing project. He assures that all serious questions are removed in terms of economic, energy, engineering, hydrology and environmental protection.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ECONOMIC DYNAMICS FROM OCTOBER TILL OCTOBER: REALTY AND PROSPECTS”

December 5, 2013 - Merab Kakulia, former vice-president of National Bank of Georgia and current director of Center for Financial Stability and Competitiveness, says that “all those macro-economic reasons, which conditioned decline of GDP growth rate in Georgia, are more or less connected to the parliamentary elections and the government change”.

Foreign investors have apprehended quite sharply an uncertainty of this situation and “it had reflected on their behavior model, which could be called “wait and see””, Kakulia notes.




LIBERALI: “GEORGIAN CODE WILL PROTECT CONSUMER RIGHTS FROM 2014”

December 4, 2013 - Works on the draft bill “On Consumer Rights Protection” are finished. The document will come into force from the next year.




KVIRIS PALITRA: “BIG STORY OF SMALL BUSINESS”

December 2, 2013 - Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili declared that Small Business Development Agency will be launched in near future, which creation was conditioned by recommendations of international institutions.

During next 3 years, the Agency will allot $150 million for financing of startup entrepreneurs.

macroeconomics & budget

REZONANSI: “LARI DEPRECIATION ALREADY CAUSED PRODUCTS’ PRICE GROWTH”

December 6, 2013 - The article reports that prices growth on foodstuff has started in late September and it is not excluded, that this trend will be continued until the end of this year. Cost of potato has been increased by 40-50 tetri, vegetable oil – by 80 tetri, sugar – by 30-40 tetri, etc.




VERSIA: “BUDGET-2014 – NEW PUZZLE OF THE GOVERNMENT”

December 6, 2013 - The article says that key subject of disputes between members of the parliamentary majority and minority is the issue, why the state takes a debt of 1.6 billion lari to cover deficit of 3.9% in budget-2014.

At that, 600 million will be borrowed on local market, while 200 million lari out of this sum will be placed in local commercial banks in order to encourage them to issue long-term credits.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “NEW ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT – FINANCIAL MEDIATOR”

December 5, 2013 - It is already known that the government will take internal debt of 600 million lari in the next year and place 200 million lari of this sum on deposits in commercial banks in order these banks to issue long-term investment credits.

It seems that the government has broaden the meaning of budget deficit or the government has assumed itself a new function and decided to supply the banking sector with financial resources, the newspaper notes.




REZONANSI: “PRIVATE INSURERS WILL LEAVE THE STATE PROGRAM FROM JANUARY”

December 3, 2013 - Lasha Nikoladze, head of State Service for Insurance Supervision, says that “the state has declared that private companies will not provide insurance of social type and it totally will be moved in area of universal healthcare”.

“This will be made in 2014”, Nikoladze notes, but finds difficulty in naming exact date at his time.




REZONANSI: “THE BUDGET PLANS TO TAKE INTERNAL DEBT OF UP TO 1 BILLION”

December 3, 2013 - As of October 31, balance of domestic debt amounted to 1.316 billion lari, including 702 million lari of treasury securities (bills and bonds), while 614.8 million lari – of state bonds.

According to the draft budget-2014, internal debt will grow by 600 million lari through issuing of treasury securities.

energy, oil & gas

REZONANSI: “TURKMEN PETROL WILL COST ABOUT 1.75 LARI”

December 4, 2013 - Through the last 2-3 days, information is spreading that Turkmen petrol is already entered Georgian market and that it is of quite low quality, the newspaper reports.

However, Deputy Energy Minister Ilia Eloshvili declares that Turkmen fuel is not unloaded yet.

conflict and court

VERSIA: “MEMBER OF GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT TEMUR PEIKRISHVILI BLACKMAILS BUSINESSMAN, WORKING IN SANKT-PETERSBURG”

December 4, 2013 - LLC MedGroup Georgia plans to build a world-class health complex in Tsavkisi village near Tbilisi. Founder of the company is businessman Tamaz Mchedlidze, who works in Sankt-Petersburg.




VERSIA: “THE SCHEME, WHICH ADEISHVILI AND HEAD OF SAAKASHVILI’S GUARD USED TO BANKRUPT THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY”

December 2, 2013 - The article considers problems, created to construction company M.G. and Company and insurance company Ardi Group under ruling of the previous government.




KVIRIS PALITRA: “PERSON, WHO PLANNED ASSAULT ON ME, COMMANDS SPECIAL TASK UNIT TODAY”

December 2, 2013 - In an interview with the newspaper, businessman Valeri Gelashvili (now MP from ruling coalition Bidzina Ivanishvili – Georgian Dream) declares that he had two houses on territory of former president’s residence, which were taken away by force. He demands return of seized property, claiming that he was paid “much below the real value” for it.

transport & communications

REZONANSI: “KOKA GUNTSADZE: WE PROMISE THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE IMPROVED IN THE RAILWAY”

December 3, 2013 - Koka Guntsadze, supervisory board’s chairman of Georgian Railway, names reduction of crude oil flow as one of the reasons of declined railway freight turnover. We have missed transit of 550,000 t of oil this year, as “there were some administrative barriers (but not on our side)”, he declares.

tourism

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “TOURISM – A PRIORITY BRANCH WITHOUT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY”

December 5, 2013 - Maia Margvelashvili, head of Tourism Department at Economy and Business Faculty of Tbilisi State University, and Marina Metreveli, senior specialist of Branch Economy and Economic Policy Committee of Georgian Parliament, discuss problems existing in the tourism sphere.

Metreveli points that tourism sector does not have umbrella law and development strategy until now, which would bind chaotic development of the branch.