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Brexit and Georgia facebook.com/ georgiatoday Issue no: 856/33 • JUNE 28 - 30, 2016 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY PRICE: GEL 2.50 Source: BFI Film Academy 3, Autumn 2014, background photo by Tony Hanmer/GT In this week’s issue... FOCUS Tbilisi Airport to Get New ON LOCATION Terminal in 2017 GeorgiaGGeorgia lookslooks to PAGE 2 HollywoodHoH llywood for investmentinvestment PAGEPAGE 3 Georgia to Introduce Strict Smoking Laws from July 1, 2017 PAGE 2 We Want to Take Our Countries Back, and We Will! ISET PAGE 4 Georgian Foreign Minister Pays First Offi cial Visit to Liechtenstein Brexit and Georgia PAGE 8 Georgia’s Location Both a OP-ED BY LINCOLN MITCHELL Blessing and a Curse, Former US Ambassador he Georgia Analysis is a twice monthly analysis of political and Says other major developments in Geor- gia. Lincoln Mitchell is a political development, research and strategic Tconsultant who has worked extensively in the post-Soviet space. He has agreed to share some of his analyses exclusively with GEORGIA TODAY. Thursday’s vote in the UK, in which a slight majority voted for their country to leave the EU, Cartoon: Dr Meddy. Source: www.Cartoonmovement.Com will have substantial and immediate impacts on domestic politics in the UK as well as on the foreign policy, trade and economic future of that country. Continued on page 5 PAGE 13 Prepared for Georgia Today Business by Markets Asof27ͲJunͲ2016 STOCKS Price w/w m/m BONDS Price w/w m/m BankofGeorgia(BGEOLN) GBP24.5 Ͳ1,7% Ͳ2,0% GEOROG05/17 101.81(YTM4.75%) Ͳ0,2% Ͳ0,1% GHG(GHGLN) GBP2.7525 Ͳ3,3% +11,7% GEORG04/21 109.96(YTM4.54%) Ͳ0,5% Ͳ0,6% TBCBank(TBCBLI) US$12.6 Ͳ3,1% +5,0% GRAIL07/22 111.00(YTM5.58%) +0,5% +1,2% GEBGG07/17 103.75(YTM3.95%) Ͳ0,2% Ͳ0,2% COMMODITIES Price w/w m/m CrudeOil,Brent(US$/bbl) 48,41 Ͳ1,5% Ͳ0,4% CURRENCIES Price w/w m/m GoldSpot(US$/OZ) 1315,75 +1,3% +7,2% GEL/USD 2,3100 +6,0% +7,7% GEL/EUR 2,5455 +4,6% +6,2% INDICES Price w/w m/m GEL/GBP 3,1621 +1,1% +0,6% FTSE100 6138,69 +2,0% Ͳ1,3% GEL/CHF 2,3725 +4,5% +9,9% FTSE250 16088,05 Ͳ2,0% Ͳ6,1% GEL/RUB 0,0356 +5,6% +9,9% DAX 9557,16 Ͳ0,8% Ͳ5,0% GEL/TRY 0,7889 +5,9% +8,4% DOWJONES 17400,75 Ͳ1,6% Ͳ1,7% GEL/AZN 1,4994 +4,8% +4,1% NASDAQ 4707,98 Ͳ1,9% Ͳ3,1% GEL/AMD 0,0049 +6,5% +8,9% MSCIEMEE 121,19 Ͳ0,6% Ͳ0,6% GEL/UAH 0,0934 +6,6% +9,4% MSCIEM 805,87 Ͳ0,0% +2,3% EUR/USD 0,9005 +1,5% +0,3% SP500 2037,41 Ͳ1,6% Ͳ1,9% GBP/USD 0,7314 +5,0% +7,0% MICEX 1884,41 +0,4% +0,0% CHF/USD 0,9720 +1,3% Ͳ2,2% MSCIFM 2498,85 Ͳ3,0% Ͳ0,2% RUB/USD 65,1206 +0,6% Ͳ1,7% GTIndex(GEL) 842,35 +2,7% +5,7% TRY/USD 2,9279 +0,0% Ͳ0,6% GTIndex(USD) 762,96 +0,3% +4,1% AZN/USD 1,5425 +1,3% +3,4% GEORGIA TODAY 2 BUSINESS JUNE 28 - 30, 2016 Tbilisi Airport to Get New Terminal in 2017 square meters and have the capacity to receive 3.25 BY NICHOLAS WALLER million passengers per year. Roughly 500 people will be employed to build the terminal. new USD 25 million terminal will be The airport is currently implementing a costly constructed at Tbilisi’s Shota Rustaveli and time-consuming project that aims to lengthen International Airport as part of a major the runway, which will allow the airport to accom- expansion project slated for comple- modate larger aircraft. tion in 2017, according to the airport’s The project has provoked the ire of many Tbilisi Amanaging company TAV Georgia. residents and visitors to Georgia’s capital as the "In 2015, we signed a new contract with TAV expansion is carried out during daylight hours, Georgia, according to which the company made a which forces the airport to be completely closed commitment to begin constructing a new terminal to air traffi c from early morning to late evening. capable of accommodating 2 million passengers Planners of the project have faced heavy criticism per year. More than USD 25 million will be invested for having scheduled the expansion during the in the new terminal’s construction,” said Dimitry height of the country’s tourism season as it sig- Kumsishvili, Georgia’s Minister of Economy and nifi cantly hinders the airport’s ability to accom- Sustainable Development, at the groundbreaking modate the fl ow of visitors. ceremony for the future terminal. The runway’s expansion works are to conclude The new terminal will cover more than 12,000 on July 1. Georgia to Introduce Strict Smoking Laws from July 1, 2017 Sites designated for the sale of tobacco products BY TATIA MEGENEISHVILI must also clearly display special health warnings regarding the risk of smoking and a special hot line number that people can call to quit their addiction new draft law that amends Georgia’s to smoking. Health warnings must also cover 65 Tobacco Control will fully or partially percent of the average cigarette packet. restrict smoking in all public places The tobacco companies and their local distribu- from July 1, 2017. tors will be required to provide carbon emission According to the adopted amend- details at their expense. Aments, a minimum of 50 percent of hotel rooms must be smoke-free, while cafes, bars, restaurants, casinos and beauty salons will be allowed to provide an absolute maximum of 20 percent of their total space to those who smoke. Thee area must also be isolated,d, enclosed and include eitherer a window or an alternativeve form of ventilation. From January 1, 2018, aallll offi ces, factories, warehouses,es, terminals and other similarilar buildings must also designatenate less than 20 percent of their totalotal area for smoking. Stadiums and other sports venven-- ues will also be subject to a minmin-- imum 50 percent ban on smoking.oking. The new law also prohibits ototherher forms of use or demonstrationtion of tobacco- in mass media, printrint or electronic media, and in ttheaterheater performances (unless the action takes place in open air andd has no live broadcasting). The new law will also strictlytlyprohibitsmok prohibit smok-- ing on public transport, as well as tobacco adver- Smoking will be restricted fully or partly in public tisements and promotional campaigns that condone places in Georgia from July 1, 2017. the use of tobacco or nicotine-related products. Photo: David Sillitoe / Guardian GEORGIA TODAY JUNE 28 - 30, 2016 BUSINESS 3 Enticing Hollywood to Film in Georgia Burns, who trained over a decade in BY MERI TALIASHVILI & Hollywood on feature fi lms, television TAMAR SVANIDZE and commercials and who opened his own post-production studio Spectra Post in Tbilisi in December (see Georgia Today n the framework of the Georgian interview with him, April 7, 2016) accom- government program ‘Produce in panied the Hollywood delegation to advise Georgia,’ top Hollywood produc- American producers on what they can ers, who have worked on such expect in Georgia and how to make the famous fi lms as The Hangover, most of their shooting schedule here. ITransformers, Captain America, The “Foreign productions will use Georgian Town, Sicario, and Mission: Impossible, crews and equipment in their projects visited Georgia to discover its potential and this is an incredible opportunity for fi lm locations. Georgian fi lmmakers to receive training, During a week the group visited Geor- expand their networks, and stay current gia’s most popular and ancient sites with the latest work practices. While including Tbilisi, Rustavi, Kakheti, fi lmmaking has existed in Georgia for Mtskheta, the remote mountainous Kaz- 100 years, Georgia is only now emerging begi and Mestia, cave-city Uplistsikhe, as a 21st-century fi lm industry, and that’s Tsqaltubo, Zugdidi, and Black Sea resort exactly what is necessary to support town, Anaklia. robust development in this sector. Film- Additionally, American fi lmmakers met making in Georgia can’t exist on state their Georgian counterparts and various subsidies alone––there must be private production company representatives to investment,” Burns said. share their experiences, as well as to Interest in the Film in Georgia program learn about Georgian cinema and the is high and the Enterprise Development existing infrastructure, which offers an Agency, which is carrying out the pro- excellent opportunity for Georgia to gram, has seen three applications already become the Eastern European center for submitted. As a result, 5,700.000 million fi lm sets. GEL is set to be spent in Georgia. “The world is only now starting to The Hollywood delegation was hosted appreciate what Georgia has to offer, by the Enterprise Development Agency and bringing a delegation of top location and the Georgian National Film Center. scouts from Hollywood was a very smart On their return to the US, the experts move,” American fi lmmaker Thomas will offer location recommendations to US and presented the new government- The program offers benefi ts to local anism, major international fi lm compa- Burns told GEORGIA TODAY. “The other US fi lm directors and producers. funded ‘Film in Georgia’ program, to and foreign companies who want to use nies will be enticed to move their on- team behind the ‘Film in Georgia’ cam- Georgia started cooperating with the encourage foreign fi lm-makers in an Georgia as a production site for their location operations to Georgia if they paign has done a phenomenal job attract- US fi lm industry earlier this year after attempt to attract small and big budget fi lms.
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