To Kutaisi... and Beyond
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Investor.A MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN GEORGIA ge ISSUE 28 AUG.-SEP. 2012 Iran Sanctions Hiring Local Tax Courts in Georgia? To Kutaisi... And Beyond Investor.ge Investor.ge CONTENT Investment/ 17 Q and A with… Nino Development Zambakhidze 6 Investments in Brief Investor.ge spoke with A brief synopsis of Nino Zambakhidze, a new investments and winner of the Mercury business news. Award in 2011, about innovations in 8 Ambassador John agriculture. Bass, Goodbye and Good luck! 18 Tax Court: An Easier A small tribute to Way to Regulate Tax Ambassador John Bass Claims as he ends his tour in Kakha Kokhreidze, the Georgia. Vice President of the Georgian Small and 10 Twenty Billion Lari Medium Enterprises in Four Years: The Association (GSMEA), 34 Get Away! Where to government’s new analyzes the tax economic program dispute resolution in Go on the Weekend A brief overview to the Georgia compared with new prime minister’s international practices. economic development plan. 21 Business Optimism and Resulting 12 Giorgi Pertaia: $4 Decision Making 25 Big Sports, Big 34 Get Away! Where to billion in FDI in Four Around the world, the Events, Big Profits? Go on the Weekend Years year 2012 started with Sports are big business, Whether you are short Newly appointed Giorgi businesses confidence and, so the logic on money or short Pertaia spoke with on a knife edge. goes, sporting events on time, Georgia has Investor.ge about his Now, six months into attract big business: plenty to see and do on plans for the Georgian the year, there is a countries and cities the weekend. Investment Agency. glimmer of hope for across the globe – not the global economy to mention businesses 38 Ten Things You 14 Iran Sanctions: A as business investment – invest billions in Didn’t Know About… Cheat Sheet for picks up. A report from sporting events and Aghmashenebeli Business GrantThorton. merchandise. But are Avenue A cheat sheet to the the sporting events In the race to see U.S. sanctions on 23 Georgia’s Workforce worth the cost? Georgia, there is a commercial relations Going Local tendency to forget with Iran. International Tourism Tbilisi. Like any small organizations are 30 Kutaisi Airport, the city, Tbilisi is full of 14 Georgian Banks phasing out foreign Tip of the Tourist colorful neighborhoods Flexing Lending hires, replacing them Boom? and, over the next Muscle with locals – a sign that Can the Kutaisi airport several issues, Investor. Georgian banks are Georgia’s local talent kick start tourism in the ge will (re)introduce you seeing high growth in pool is improving. regions? to their charms. loan portfolios, capping a two year growth spurt, reports bne.eu. .................... 42 AUG.-SEP. 2012 3 Investor.ge AmCham Georgia Patron Members: © The American Chamber of Investor.ge Commerce in Georgia, 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be re-printed, or reproduced or utilized in any form or by electronic, AmCham Executive Director George Welton mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying Editor in Chief Molly Corso and recording, or in any information Copy Editor Kate Davies storage or retrieval system without permission. Marketing & Promotion Salome Tkeshelashvili The opinions expressed in this magazine Promotional Design Levan Baratashvili do not refl ect the opinion of the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia nor its Magazine Design and Layout Giorgi Megrelishvili Board Members or staff, unless otherwise Writers Avtandil Chedia, Nick Clayton, Molly Corso, stated. AmCham Georgia neither endorses, Maia Edilashvili, Kakha Kokhreidze,Ernest nor can be held liable for any eventuality Petrosyan and Nelson Petrosyan arising from the use of any product or service advertised within the pages of this Photographs Molly Corso, Davit Khizanishvili, issue. Vladimir Valishvili Investor.ge is printed by CEZANNE AmCham Georgia Special thanks to the AmCham Editorial Board, and the AmCham staff. 36a Lado Asatiani Street, 3rd fl oor Tel: 2 22-69-07 [email protected] [email protected], www.amcham.ge www.investor.ge 4 AUG.-SEP. 2012 Investor.ge AUG.-SEP. 2012 5 Investor.ge of reforms targeting competitiveness and ski resort. The deal is part of an agreement Investment inclusive growth. between the Austrian government and the The program focuses on three areas: bank. “Goderdzi Pass” is slated to open by improving competitiveness in trade, market the end of 2012. in Brief exports, and education; increasing transpar- ency in public fi nance and accountability; Investments in Adjara Increase and strengthening health care and social 14 percent services. From January to June, $63.8 million was invested in Adjara, a 14 percent in- Georgian Railway $500 million crease over the same period last year, BPI. Bond Emission ge reported on July 2. AVTANDIL CHEDIA JSC “Georgian Railway” listed a $500 More than half of the investments million, ten year bond on the London Stock were in new construction projects; the rest, China Business Group to Invest Exchange.The bond was priced at 99.998 tourism-related. $450 million in Tbilisi Projects percent to yield 7.75 percent, with the sale On July 8, Hualing Group presented the organized by Bank of America Merrill Georgia received € 500 Hualing Special Economic Zone at Tbilisi Lynch, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs. thousand for Ecotourism Sea, which will provide accommodation Development for the Tbilisi 2015 Summer Youth Olym- Chinese Grant for Georgian The World Tourism Association allo- pics. The project also includes a market, Agriculture Development cated € 500 thousand for new eco-tourism industrial and storage areas, customs, a The Chinese government will spend developments showcasing biodiversity commercial district, a residential complex, $9.5 million as part of an “Economic and in Lagodekhi, Vashlovani, Mtirala and and recreational and entertainment zones. Technical Cooperation” signed on July Kolkheti national parks. Hualing Group plans to invest $150 million 10 between the Chinese and Georgian The project budget is fi nanced by the in the fi rst stage, with investments increas- governments. federal ministries of the German environ- ing to $350 million over the next two years. The funds will be spent on agricultural mental protection, nature conservation and In addition, the Xinjiang-based Hualing development according to the Ministry of nuclear safety. Industry & Trade Group bought a 90 per- Agriculture. This is the second such grant cent stake in the “BasisBank” in June and from the Chinese government. New Hotel Kabadoni in plans to invest $100 million in the bank’s Sighnaghi Opens in August development. “Hualing Group” has been The United States and Georgia The boutique-style hotel will include an investor in the Georgian market since signed a grant a spa center, fi tness hall, swimming pool. 2006, with interests in the timber, mining, The United States and Georgia signed The hotel, a $5 million investment, is part and processing industries. a $2.7 million grant for the planning of of the “International Network of Hotels.” educational programs as part of Georgia’s World Bank allocated $60 bid for a second Millennium Compact. Israeli Investing in Georgian million to support economic Hotels growth in Georgia Austrian Bank to Finance New Israeli investors plan to build ART World Bank approved a $60 million Resort in Adjara region Hotel and Rixos Hotel, with a total of 500 Competitiveness and Growth Development Austrian bank “UniCredit Bank Aus- hotel rooms, according to an announcement Policy Operation (CG DPO) for Georgia in tria AG” will provide €10.93 million in by the Georgian National Tourism Agency July. The funds will be the fi rst in a series interest-free fi nancing for “Goderdzi Pass” on July 11. ADVERTISEMENT Investor.ge AUG.-SEP. 2012 7 Investor.ge 8 AUG.-SEP. 2012 Investor.ge Ambassador John Bass, Goodbye and Good luck! I want to thank US Ambassador John R. Bass for his support to AmCham and to the community. He has been a strong advocate for the principles of democracy and free-market economy that are essential to our collective success. We are sorry to see Ambassador Bass and his wife, Holly Holzer Bass, depart Georgia this summer and wish them the very best in all their future endeavors. Respectfully yours, AUG.-SEP. 2012 9 Investor.ge The voucher program is estimated Twenty Billion to cost 1.25 billion lari ($767 million), according to an interview with Minister Lari in Four of Finance Dimitri Gvindadze published Years: The by local media. government’s More Investment, More Jobs At the heart of the program is the new economic government’s strategy to tackle unem- ployment in Georgia. Offi cially, slightly program over 15 percent of the population is job- less; a recent survey published by the National Democratic Institute found that On June 4, Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili outlined the government’s new 36 percent of the population is actively four year economic program. Investor.ge is publishing an overview of the state’s spending plans and anticipated results. looking for work. When Merabishvili was appointed on June 30, a new state ministry for em- Billions for Development Georgian-grown goods overseas. ployment was also created – tasked with he government’s plan revolves The education program includes designing a plan to identify the country’s around four major issues: un- plans for a state-of-the-art technical uni- unemployed, and provide training and Temployment, rural development, versity in Batumi, as well as three new job placement programs. health care, and education. Prime Min- vocational schools in the country. There During his presentation to the par- ster Vano Merabishvili told parliament are also funds allocated for insurance for liament, Merabishvili predicted an ad- on July 4 that the government plans school children, and special internship ditional $4 billion in investment over to spend approximately 20 billion lari programs to help students obtain hands the next four years, money that will help ($12.2 billion) on all four sectors.