Tag Archives: Georgia

Georgian billioner finances politics

MAY 10/16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili sold his Russian bank, Rossiysky Credit, to a group of private investors for $352m. A week later he also sold off his Moscow property assets for nearly $1b. Mr Ivanishvili is Georgia’s richest man and is gearing up to challenge President Mikheil Saakashvili in a parliamentary election later this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 088, published on May 18 2012)

Georgia plans to build a census

MAY 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Georgian national statistics agency plans to carry out a census of the population this year, media reported. A census is carried out every 10 years and should provide policy makers and business with important data on how the country’s population is changing. The date of the census has yet to be announced.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 087, published on May 11 2012)

Opposition TV station begins broadcasting in Georgia

APRIL 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A new TV station owned by the wife of Georgian opposition leader and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili began broadcasting. The opening of Channel 9 will increase pressure on President Mikheil Saakashvili and his political party ahead of a parliamentary election later this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 086, published on May 4 2012)

Freedom House rates Turkmen and Uzbek media as least free

MAY 2 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Other than Georgia, US-based Freedom House rated media in Central Asia and the South Caucasus as “Not Free”. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan propped up the bottom of the table, closely followed by Kazakhstan. Media freedom in Georgia, the report said, had improved in 2011.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 086, published on May 4 2012)

Georgia unveils planned Trump Tower

APRIL 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Fond of eye-catching initiatives and with a flair for showmanship, Georgian President Mikheil Saahashvili was in his element on April 21 when he welcomed Donald Trump, the renowned US property developer, to the South Caucasus state.

Mr Trump had flown in from the US (via Istanbul) to unveil plans to build a $250m glittering new tower in Batumi, a town on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. This was the culmination of a deal signed in March 2011 when Mr Saahashvili had been in New York.

The planned 47-storey residential tower may be called Trump Tower Batumi but Mr Trump will only be one of the investors funding the project.

The private investment firm Silk Road Group is leading the push to find financial backing. And so the hard work starts.

Since a short war in 2008 against Russia, Georgia’s economy has rebounded due mainly to a boost in foreign direct investments (FDI) which Mr Saakashvili has lobbied hard for. FDI measured $981m last year compared to $658m in 2009, Reuters reported.

Finding investors for Trump Tower Batumi and completing the project will act as a litmus test for the attractiveness of the Georgian economy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 085, published on April 27 2012)

Georgian billionaire launches political party

APRIL 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili launched his political party, Georgian Dream, which commentators have said could pose a genuine challenge to President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement party. At the founding conference, Mr Ivanishvili promised to scrap income tax for the poorest Georgians.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 085, published on April 27 2012)

Georgia plans to sell national railway company

APRIL 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia plans to sell up to 25% of its national railway company on the London Stock Exchange in May, Irakly Ezugbaia, the company’s CEO said. The sale will be made through Global Depositary Recipients (GDRs) and fits with Georgia’s plans to attract more foreign investment.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 084, published on April 20 2012)

US fast-food chain to open in Georgia and Azerbaijan

APRIL 5 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Wendy’s, the US fast-food chain, said it would team up with the Georgia-based Wissol Group to open 25 restaurants in Georgia and Azerbaijan over the next 10 years. The first restaurant will open in Tbilisi in 2013. The announcement is a boost to Georgia which has been pushing for more foreign investment.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 083, published on April 13 2012)

Ex-KGB agent wins vote in the Georgian breakaway region

APRIL 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Leonid Tibilov, a 60-year-old ex-KGB officer, won a 2nd round in a presidential election in the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia with 54% of the vote. His opponent accepted the result but alleged some voting irregularities. A protracted election has threatened to destabilise South Ossetia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 083, published on April 13 2012)

Georgian region holds presidential election

MARCH 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia held another presidential election, although none of the four candidates won a majority forcing the vote to a second round on April 8. The election was a re-run of an annulled election held last year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 081, published on March 30 2012)