THE GEORGIAN SPACESUIT THAT AMCHAM MEMBER FRAMING GEORGIAN ART AS WILL WORK LIKE MAGIC ON COMPANIES RESPOND TO AN INVESTMENT MARS CORONAVIRUS Investor.A Magazine Of The American Chamber Of Commerce In Georgia geISSUE 73 APR.-MAY 2020 Georgia’s successful response to COVID-19 APRIL-MAY 2020 Investor.ge | 3 Investor.ge CONTENT 6 Investment News Investor.ge provides a brief update on investments and changes in government policy that could impact the business environment. 10 AmCham member companies respond to coronavirus 11 AmCham member hotels providing quarantine spaces, critical support in fight against coronavirus 12 Follow the tiger: to survive Covid-19, Georgia 12 should look to the East 18 BLC: Coronavirus and its legal impact on business 20 Coronavirus’ impact on the Georgian real estate market 22 9 things you didn’t know about Georgian wine 26 Framing Georgian art as an investment 30 Investor spotlight: the Georgian spacesuit that will work like magic on Mars 34 Taking the four-day work week for a spin in 22 Georgia 36 What’s behind the unlikely duo of Georgia and Japan? 38 What Georgian startups can take away from Silicon valley 41 Agro-exports to the EU: overcoming key barriers 44 Delivery service, restaurants saying ‘fork no!’ to plastic 46 How Georgia can solve its plastic bottle waste 30 problem 48 Banking regulations revisited – NBG eases lending requirements 50 The Georgia wide web – a snapshot of the country’s internet infrastructure 55 NEWS ......54 4 | Investor.ge APRIL-MAY 2020 APRIL-MAY 2020 Investor.ge | 5 GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES 2 EU ALLOCATES 183 MILLION INVESTMENT BLN GEL STIMULUS PACKAGE EUROS TO GEORGIA TO FIGHT AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK CORONAVIRUS The Georgian government announced The European Union announced on NEWS a series of measures to mitigate damage April 9 it will provide 183 million euros to the economy during the coronavirus in a relief package to help Georgia deal INVESTOR.GE crisis. The measures have particularly with the coronavirus crisis. The funds emphasised support for the tourism come as part of the EU’s commitment PROVIDES A and hospitality industries, which have to redirect over 15 billion euros to help BRIEF UPDATE been hit the hardest. Taxes for tourism partner countries efforts in tackling the ON INVESTMENTS companies will be suspended for four epidemic. EU Ambassador to Georgia months, and will affect a total of 18,000 said that “while Europe is in the midst of AND CHANGES companies and almost 50,000 employ- its own struggle to overcome the harsh IN GOVERNMENT ees. The government also announced consequences of the COVID-19 pandem- POLICY THAT that it intends to double the volume of ic, it continues to stand by its partners... COULD IMPACT VAT returns this year, from a predicted These funds will support economic and 600 million GEL to 1.2 billion [around social recovery, and will be provided at THE BUSINESS $375 million]. For six months, the state the local level, and also strengthen state ENVIRONMENT. will bear the costs of the interest rate on ¿QDQFHVWRKHOS*HRUJLDVXFFHVVIXOO\JHW INFORMATION IN loans for 2,000 hotels which have be- WKURXJKWKLVGLI¿FXOWHFRQRPLFSHULRG´ tween 4 - 50 rooms. Banks have agreed The funding will be provided as non- THIS ISSUE WAS to help tourism companies restructure reimbursable grants. TAKEN FROM their debts, and have announced they AGENDA.GE AND will accept postponed payment on loans WORLD BANK PREDICTS CLOSE OTHER SOURCES. taken out by private individuals for three TO 0% ECONOMIC GROWTH IN months. GEORGIA IN 2020 The World Bank predicts the corona- virus pandemic will sharply slow GDP growth in Georgia to close to 0% over the course of the next year, noting this will EHSDUWO\FXVKLRQHGE\D¿VFDOVWLPXOXV of around 2% of GDP. Several scenarios even suggest the economy will experi- ence a recession in 2020, contracting by as much as -4.4%. IFIS, INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS PLEDGE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR GEORGIA AMID PANDEMIC International financial institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD, ADB and other partners such as the EU published an open letter on $SULOSOHGJLQJD¿QDQFLDOUHOLHISDFN- age for Georgia to provide economic assistance and help with recovery amid the coronavirus outbreak. The EBRD 6 | Investor.ge APRIL-MAY 2020 APRIL-MAY 2020 Investor.ge | 7 investment, business environment and macroeconomic stability in the face of regional shocks. Georgia’s account GH¿FLWKLWDKLVWRULFDOPLQLPXPLQ at 4.5% of its GDP, and Fitch forecasts that the trend will continue in 2020 down to 4.1%. FDIS AMOUNT TO $1.26 BILLION IN 2019 FDIs in Georgia amounted to $1.26 billion in 2019, with the UK (19.5%), itself has made an emergency ‘Solidar- HUZLVHZLOOUHVXOWLQD¿QHRI*(/ Turkey (18.7%) and Ireland (10.5%) ity Package’ of 1 billion euros available >@7KHSURSRVHG¿QHIRUGLVSRVLQJ making for the three largest investors for 38 countries, including Georgia. of two kilograms of municipal waste in Georgia last year. The three larg- EBRD Managing Director for Eastern from residential areas will be set at 200 est economic sectors in the country Europe and the Caucasus Matteo Patrone GEL [$71] instead of the current 100 ±¿QDQFH PLOOLRQ HQHUJ\ commented “we are prepared to step up *(/>@7KH¿QHIRULQDSSURSULDWH million) and hospitality ($157 million) our efforts, together with the Georgian disposal of batteries, light bulbs, electric – accounted for 48% of investments in DXWKRULWLHVWRVXSSRUWWKHHFRQRP\´ devices, and sharp objects will quintuple, Georgia in 2019. The support will include measures such and will be set at 500 GEL. as emergency liquidity, working capital FIRST LARGE-SCALE INVESTMENT DQGWUDGH¿QDQFLQJLQDGGLWLRQWRDLG REMITTANCES FROM ABROAD FOR GEORGIAN PENSION for SMEs. CONTINUE TO CLIMB IN JAN-FEB AGENCY 2020 The Georgian Pension Agency has ANNUAL INFLATION REMAINS Remittances from abroad to Georgia made its first large-scale investment ABOVE TARGET RATE continued to increase in January (+8%, since its launch in January 2019, placing $QQXDOLQÀDWLRQVWRRGDWLQ $125 million) and February (+9.5%, 560 million GEL ($200 million) in high- February, with food and non-alcoholic $137 million). The largest suppliers of yield deposits, with annual interest rates beverages as a whole (12.7%) and hos- remittances in February 2020 remained RIIRUD¿YH\HDUWHUPE\ZKLFK pitality (8.7%) accounting for the highest Russia (21%), Italy (16%) and Greece time the investment will have doubled. ULVHLQLQÀDWLRQ)UXLWDQGJUDSHVZHUHXS (12%), followed by Israel (10.5%), the The accumulated pension system is 25%, followed by milk, cheese and eggs US (10%) and Turkey (5.5%). Remit- mandatory for the employed under the (19.2%), meat (15%) and vegetables WDQFHVÀRZLQJRXWRI*HRUJLDFRQWLQXHG age of 40. 7KHWDUJHWLQÀDWLRQUDWHVHWE\ to grow in February 2020, totaling $21.7 the National Bank of Georgia for 2019- million, up almost 20% from the follow- NATIONAL BANK OF GEORGIA 2021 is 3%. ing year. KEEPS REFINANCING RATE AT 9% The Monetary Policy Committee of HEFTIER FINES PROPOSED FOR FITCH RATES GEORGIA AT BB the National Bank of Georgia decided IMPROPER GARBAGE DISPOSAL WITH STABLE OUTLOOK WRNHHSWKHUH¿QDQFLQJUDWHDWLQ A bill put forward in parliament pro- Fitch Ratings has left Georgia’s sov- mid-March to decrease the pressure of SRVHVOHY\LQJVLJQL¿FDQWO\KHIWLHU¿QHV ereign credit rating at ‘BB with a stable WKHH[FKDQJHUDWHRQLQÀDWLRQ$QHDUOLHU on companies and individuals that fail outlook’ in its last review in February. forecast from the NBG had predicted to properly deal with waste. Per the bill, Fitch notes that Georgia’s sovereign WKDWLQÀDWLRQZRXOGEHJLQWRGHFOLQHLQ VHWWLQJ¿UHWRPXQLFLSDOZDVWHLQFOXG- credit rating is more stable than the me- early March, and would move towards ing leaves and other organic matter and dian of the BB category countries with WKHWDUJHWLQÀDWLRQUDWHRIE\WKHHQG domestic waste, in the open air or oth- its high- quality governance, attractive of 2020. 8 | Investor.ge APRIL-MAY 2020 CENTRAL BANK EASES KUTAISI AIRPORT COMES IN Foundation’s global 2020 Index of Eco- HOUSEHOLD LENDING 2ND IN EUROPE IN UPTICK OF nomic Freedom, increasing its overall REGULATIONS PASSENGER TRAFFIC AMONGST score by 1.2 points. Out of 45 countries The National Bank of Georgia ap- SMALLER AIRPORTS in Europe, Georgia ranked 6th. The re- proved changes to lending regulations Kutaisi International Airport ranked port notes that “the Georgian economy for individuals that will come into force second in Europe in 2019 in terms of continues its spectacular, seven-year run on April 15, 2020. The NBG said the experiencing the highest increase in pas- up the ranks of the mostly free. GDP has purpose of the changes is to move from VHQJHUWUDI¿FDPRQJVW(XURSHDQDLUSRUWV also been expanding at a healthy rate for a “rule-based approach to a more princi- ZLWKDQDQQXDOSDVVHQJHUÀRZRIOHVV WKHSDVW¿YH\HDUV0XOWL\HDUUHIRUPV SOHVEDVHGDSSURDFK´5HDGPRUHDERXW than 5 million, ACI Europe announced to reduce corruption, cut regulation the banking regulations on page 48. back in mid-February. Such airports and simplify taxes have led to upward which reported the highest increases in movement in all aspects of economic PASSENGER TRAFFIC DOWN 4% SDVVHQJHUÀRZLQLQFOXGHG2KULG IUHHGRP´ AT AIRPORTS IN JAN-FEB 2020 (Macedonia – 72%), Kutaisi (Georgia 3DVVHQJHUWUDI¿FGHFUHDVHGWRFORVHWR – 41%), Zadar (Croatia – 32%), Bucha- INJURIES, DEATHS ON THE JOB 597,000 passengers in January-February rest (Romania – 25%), Turku (Finland SIGNIFICANTLY DOWN IN 2019 2020 – a 4% decrease compared to the – 22%). In 2019, Kutaisi International The number of injures at worksites same period of 2019, United Airports Airport served just under 900,000 pas- in Georgia were down 16% in 2019, the reported in early March. While Kutaisi sengers. Labour Conditions Inspection Depart- (+51%) and Batumi (+33%) airports ment reports. Deaths were down by 25%. experienced a growth in passenger 2019 VISITOR ARRIVALS UP 7.8% More than 1,500 inspections were carried numbers, Tbilisi International Airport The total number of arrivals by out at construction worksites in 2019 – 9 experienced a 19% decrease, largely due international, non-resident travelers times more than in 2019.