Tag Archives: Georgia

Currencies: Georgian lari, Azerbaijani manat

MARCH 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a week of light trading and only incremental currency fluctuations, the Georgian lari performed strongest pushing up by 1.6% to 2.44/$1.

This is its highest level since the start of November last year and reflects a general strengthening of Georgia’s macro-economic scores.

Of the other currencies, only the Azerbaijani manat and the Uzbek som moved more than 1%. The manat continued its strong performance since February by moving up another 1.3% to 1.7050/$1, a five month high. Bloomberg described the manat as the strongest performing currency in the world this year. It also said, though, that ordinary Azerbaijanis still had little confidence in their currency after two devaluations in 2015 halved its value.

It said this lack of confidence showed through in Central Bank data which said 81.3% of bank deposits were now kept in US dollars, up from 79.6% at end-Dec.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Georgian capital forces street vendors to move into regulated markets

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TBILISI, MARCH 19 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Officials from the mayor’s office ejected street vendors from outside Tbilisi’s Marjanishvili Metro Station in a move designed to smarten up the centre of the city, reflecting its new emphasis on becoming a favourite for foreign tourists.

According to Georgian law, street trading is forbidden, although vendors – often poor old women or young girls wearing ragged clothes – sell everything from books to meat to flowers on pavements across the capital.

A lack of cleanliness and congested pavements forced the city government to act, Irakli Lekvinadze, the deputy major of Tbilisi, told media. He said he wanted the street vendors to move into the city’s markets.

“We are actively negotiating with representatives of the Association of Markets, which unites 17 markets in various districts of Tbilisi. Most of them expressed their readiness to accept street vendors and give them a preferential, six month period when they can work for free,” he was reported by media as saying.

Georgia signed an Association Agreement with the EU last year and has been working on improving the hygiene of its food products. Earlier this week the National Food Agency called on people not to buy food from unregulated trading places.

Evicted vendors, though, called the move unjust. One of them said that they will simply lose their meager livelihoods. “There are too many sellers in the entire country to regulate, there is not enough space in the bazaar for all of us,” she said.

It is not the first time that Georgian authorities have tried to regulate street vendors. There was a clamp- down on street trading in 2006. However, after protests, street vendors returned. Another clampdown also failed in 2010.

And some are sceptical that this ban will work.

“I have seen this before, street vendors always come back and find a way to sell their products,” said Teona, a 25 years-old Tbilisi resident, said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Record number of Iranians flock to Georgia and Armenia for Nowruz

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TBILISI/YEREVAN, MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iranians have been piling into Georgia and Armenia to celebrate Nowruz, one of the biggest Muslim holidays of the year.

Visitor data for both Armenia and Georgia will be released later this year but evidence shows that the holiday, the biggest annual get-away for Iranians, is likely to have triggered a record number of tourists from Iran.

Media in Iran said that airlines were going to run 22 flights a week over the Nowruz period from Iran to Armenia to cope with the demand.

Both Georgia and Armenia scrapped visas for Iranians last year, triggering a boom in tourist numbers and also in business links. Iran has become an important revenue generators for Georgia and Armenia, especially during the economic downturn that has hit the region.

According to statistics held by Georgia’s National Tourism Administration, nearly 150,000 Iranians travelled to Georgia in 2016, a 6-fold increase from 2015.

Masoud Silakhori, economic advisor of the Georgia-Iran Common Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told The Conway Bulletin that Iranian investment in Georgia has grown exponentially since the visa free regime reintroduction.

“Nearly 20,000 Iranian companies have been registered in Georgia in the last year,” he said.

In 2012, when Georgia first relaxed restrictions on Iranians doing business, there was a reported rush of new companies linked to Iran being open — 1,500 in total.

And it’s changing the face of Georgia’s streets too. Now Farsi signs hang above shop windows in Tbilisi, head scarves are an increasingly common sight and the Iranian flag competes for space among other more familiar flags outside businesses.

Geopolitics and the spread of terrorism, is also an issue. Nima Farzaneh, the owner of the Iranian restaurant 1001 Nights told the Bulletin that along with the establishment of visa free regime, the high number of terror attacks in Turkey played a role too.

“For many years Iranians went to Turkey, but since terrorism spread there, our tourists decided to come here. That also helped the increase of Iranian businesses,” he said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Georgia rugby looks for 6 Nations spot

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MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — >> So, what is this story about Georgia being decent at rugby and potentially playing in the Six Nations against England, Ireland, France, Scotland and Wales?

>> Pressure has been building on the Six Nations for some time to introduce a playoff system at the end of each season between the bottom placed team in the tournament and the top placed team in the Rugby Europe Championships, essentially the second tier rugby division. Basically, Italy have been so poor in the last couple of Six Nations, they have lost their last 12 matches, that many people think its now time to give

>> And Georgia is the next best team?

>>Actually, in terms of the World Rankings, Georgia is comfortably above Italy. It is in 12th position, behind Japan but ahead of Tonga. Italy lie in 15th position just above Romania. And it is Georgia, not Italy, that is pulling in the big crowds. Nearly 55,000 people filled Tbilisi’s Dinamo Stadium to watch Georgia beat Russia 28 – 14 in the Rugby Europe Championship on March 12. When Italy played Wales in Rome, 41,000 people watched, with TV shots showing plenty of empty seats.

>> Is Georgia the only option to replace Italy?

>> Actually, Romania, a country with a decent, if patchy, rugby pedigree won the Rugby Europe Championships this year, beating Georgia in Bucharest 8-7. If a playoff system was introduced it would be Romania and not Georgia who would compete in it. But it’s Georgia that has shown the most consistency over the past few years and Georgia who would potentially be the most able to replace Italy.

>> Has Georgia ever beaten a top flight rugby team?

>> No. It has played in every Rugby World Cup since 2003 but has yet to beat a big team. It has pushed some big names hard though. Ireland beat Georgia in 2007 14 – 10 and Scotland scrapped home 15 – 6 in 2011.

>> Where does Georgia get its rugby heritage from?

>> In World Cup terms, Georgia is very much a new boy. Its rugby roots have really been developed since the 1991 break up of the Soviet Union. Rugby was played under the Soviet Union and links with French clubs were developed but it has only been adopted as a national sport since independence.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Parking ticket sparks riot in Georgian city

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TBILISI, MARCH 11/12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police and rioters clashed in Batumi, Georgia’s second city, allegedly after an argument over a parking ticket escalated into violence.

Rioters burned cars and fought police who resorted to firing tear gas into the protesters in what observers have said was the worst violence for years in Georgia. Local media said that 85 people were detained after the violence.

For the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, the violence is a potential problem as it may show that people are become increasingly tired with the status quo and also of deal with an economic downturn that has started to impact living standards. A Georgian observer said that the main riot was the culmination of a build-up of a bad feeling towards a new police chief in Batumi who was trying to impose heavier fines for small misdemeanours such as littering the street.

There had been two days of protests before the riot.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Markets: TBC Bank

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MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Rather like the Georgian rugby team that it sponsors, TBC Bank is on the up. The bank, which has a 37% share of the consumer loans market in Georgia, is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It pushed up to near an all-time high on March 17 of 1,497p/$1. This is 29% higher than it was at its IPO in mid-August.

And analysts say there is more to come from TBC. It’s main rival is Bank of Georgia, which has a market share of around 32%. It’s share price has tripled since it listed five years ago.

Analysts have also said that the Georgian consumer market has plenty of room to grow. They point out that the market is still underdeveloped and that banks’ loan books are growing by 20% every year.

There are, of course, risks for investors. These come mainly in the exposure to Georgia, which has a high level of political and economic risk. Its currency has been dented and its politics can be fraught.

Just like the Georgian rugby team, which is knocking on the door of the venerable Six Nations tournament, TBC Bank is heading in the right direction for increased kudos and recognition.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Russia to take some soldiers from Georgia’s breakaway region

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TBILISI, MARCH 13/14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia agreed to absorb some South Ossetian army units into its military, cementing its control over the Georgian breakaway region.

The announcement, which has been in the making for two years, comes only a few weeks after Russia held its annual military exercise in South Ossetia, manoeuvres guaranteed to draw an angry response from Georgia only nine years since the two neighbours fought a brief war over the rebel region.

Under the military amalgamation plan, members of the better trained South Ossetian units will be able to switch to the Russian army.

The Kremlin simply said Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed “The Order of Inclusion of Certain Units of the Armed Forces of South Ossetia in the Russian Armed Forces.”

In the Georgia-Russia war of 2008, South Ossetian militia were considered to be fierce but ragged. They were praised for holding off Georgia’s army from capturing Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, for a crucial 24 hours before Russian reinforcements reached them. But they were also regarded as ill-disciplined and blamed for burning Georgian houses, murder and looting.

Tension around Georgia’s border with South Ossetia is still high.

Since the 2008 war, Russia has officially recognised South Ossetia as an independent state. Only a handful of countries have followed its lead, notably the Pacific Ocean nation of Nauru, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

South Ossetia has always said that its ultimate aim is to join Russia and the move by the Russian army to absorb some its soldiers takes it a step closer.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Georgian official investigate archpriest

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MARCH 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s prosecutors said they are investigating archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze for planning to kill Shorena Tetruasvili, an aide to Patriarch Ilia II, when he was caught carrying cyanide as he boarded a plane in Tbilisi bound for Germany this year. Initially, prosecutors said archpriest Mamaladze had been planning to kill the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church as he rested in Germany after medical treatment.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Georgian government says wants to set up media watchdog

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TBILISI, MARCH 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili proposed setting up a media ombudsman, a move that several senior media figures and civil society activists said was an attempt to exert more control over the media.

The announcement came only days after the European Court for Human Rights indefinitely suspended the Georgian Supreme Court’s order to hand ownership of the opposition Rustavi 2 TV channel to a pro-government businessman.

In his statement, Mr Kvirikashvili said European values and democracy needed strengthening in Georgia, including defending the media.

“We are determined to defend European values in our country,” he said. “This is why I offer to establish the Office of Media Ombudsman, consisting of the most reputable international media rights observers. Today, I am publicly inviting for cooperation European media experts and specialists who have proved in deed their professionalism.”

Critics of the Georgian Dream coalition have said that the government’s real aim, as shown by its determination to hand the troublesome Rustavi-2 back to Kibar Khalvashi, is to control the media which has broadly retained its legacy of supporting the political party of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.

Nestani, a human rights activist, told the Conway Bulletin that any new media watchdog set up by the Georgian Dream would find it impossible to be politically independent.

“They [the government] appoint them [the ombudsmen]. If the media Ombudsman office is created then it should be independent from the government’s control otherwise I don’t see a reason for creating it,” she said.

The row over Rustavi-2’s ownership has soured Georgia’s relations with Europe just as it has won visa- free access to the Schengen Zone. Georgia has perused a determined pro-EU foreign policy.

The row has also triggered some of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in Tbilisi for years. More are expected this week.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Georgians to enter EU on March 28

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MARCH 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgians will finally be allowed to travel to the EU for up to 90 days without a visa from March 28, Georgia’s foreign ministry said. Earlier this month, the EU had approved visa-free travel for Georgia and Ukraine to the 26- member Schengen Zone.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)