Investor.A MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN GEORGIA geISSUE 22 AUG.-SEP. 2011 Includes articles from the FT Sochi Prepares for Winter Games From Downtown to Out of Town Three Views on Trading with America Enrique Iglesias: The Key to Tourists? Investor.ge Investor.ge CONTENT Investment/ 19 Poaching on Development Business: Hunters 6 Investment in Brief track a new A brief synopsis of market and better new investments and regulations business news. Hunting tours, hunting farms, hunting 8 CNN: Eye on restaurants and hunting Georgia stores. Georgia has a CNN highlights long tradition – and Georgia’s reforms and potential for the hunting successes. market. AmCham Georgia’s 9 From Downtown to 22 Event tourism: key to Annual July Fourth Picnic Out of Town: A shift millions? 56 to the suburbs From MTV to folklore, A new suburb at Lisi wrestling to gourmet Lake might boost cooking, festivals, 36 Emerging Market 44 Success in broader interest in conventions and Investors Cast Wider Shaumiani: Funds suburban living concerts are an effective Net from Burns Supper way to attract tourists FT report on investors Finance IT Education 10 Building Georgia’s and their pocket books. looking to new markets. for IDPs Image Abroad The first large scale An interview with 26 Creating a Brand: Culture Tbilisi Charity Gala Redjeb Jordania, the Competition has 39 Georgia’s Quest for Burns Supper raised son of Georgia’s first sparked innovation Modern Hospitals, enough funds to equip president Noe Jordania. in marketing One Bed at a Time a small computer Facebook and other Private investment room, provide internet 12 Trading with types of social media in new hospitals connectivity and America: Three are transforming how is spurring the maintenance funding to Views Georgian companies government’s plans to get the IT education ball Better marketing and brand their products modernize the country’s rolling more organization and communicate with crumbling medical can help Georgian consumers. infrastructure. companies break into the US market. The Financial Times 42 Zviad Tsikolia: 30 The power of the Georgian industrial 14 Selling, Selling, Sold tried and tested designer crafts Online auctions are brand images for gaining traction in FT report on the market international brands Georgia value of established Georgian industrial brands. designer Zviad 16 Ancient Kvevri Wine Tsikolia has left his could bolster Wine 32 Sochi boosts mark on designs for Tourism and Exports infrastructure to Bugatti, Castel beer, The ancient – and dying prepare for the Khvanchkara wine and – technique of making games Georgia’s latest military wine in clay vessels FT report on Sochi’s hardware. could be Georgia’s key building before the to bolster wine tourism Winter Games. and exports. 35 Poland begins terms as EU president FT report on Poland’s turn at the EU helm. .................... 46 AUG.-SEP. 2011 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 Fiona Coxshall storage or retrieval system without permission. Marketing & Promotion Bella Makaridze, Diana Karibova 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 Molly Corso, Maia Edilashvili, Monica Ellena, stated. AmCham Georgia neither endorses, Eteri Maisuradze, Nino Patsuria, nor can be held liable for any eventuality Jefferson Sommers II arising from the use of any product or Photographs Molly Corso, Davit Khizanishvili, service advertised within the pages of this Kakha Chkhataraishvili, Peter Nasmyth issue. Intern Aleqsandre Bluashvili Investor.ge is printed by CEZANNE AmCham Georgia Cover www.enriqueiglesias.com 36a Lado Asatiani Street, 3rd fl oor Special thanks to the AmCham Editorial Board – Irakli Baidashvili, Betsy Haskell, Tel: 2 22-69-07 Badri Japaridze and Stephanie Komsa – the AmCham staff, Aleqsandre Bluashvili, [email protected] Peter Nasmyth for the generous use of his photograph on page 10, and The Financial Times (FT). [email protected], www.amcham.ge www.investor.ge 4 AUG.-SEP. 2011 Investor.ge AUG.-SEP. 2011 5 Investor.ge 15-16 hectares of plantations in Adjara. predominately of red wine (about 70 In Brief The company expects the fi rst harvest percent). in 2013-2014 and is planning to export the majority of the crop to Turkey and X-ray Installed at Poti Railway A brief synopsis of new investments and Europe. The company bought farm Junction business news compiled machinery in Turkey and saplings of 12 A new X-ray scanner will enable by Investor.ge’s Eteri high-yielding varieties of bilberry in the customs offi cials to check all incom- Masuradze. US. Subtropic Fructice was founded with ing cargo at the port without opening Georgian investments in 2010; to date containers. The Chinese government the company has invested 1 million lari fi nanced the system with a $30 million in the project. grant. Georgia Expects $1 billion FDI Israeli Investors to cultivate Clean Energy Invest AS to in 2011 Greenhouse in Kobuleti develop Hydro-power Project The Georgian government expects Israeli businessmen are planning to in Adjara foreign direct investment to double this use 23 000 Ha of land in Adjara to build lean Energy Invest AS, an Oslo- year, after falling 65 percent over the past a fruit greenhouse. They plan to cultivate based company, will invest two years, said Minister of Economy and 5 000 Ha in by the end of 2012. (National Cup to $385 million to develop Sustainable Development, Vera Kobalia. Investment Agency, July 2011) a hydro-power plant (HPP) cascade Georgia may receive more than $1 project on the Adjaristskali River in the billion of investment, mainly in hydro- Bananas from Kakheti Adjara Autonomous Republic. The proj- power projects. Tourism is also expected The fi rst batch of Kakhetian bananas, ect involves construction of a four-stage to lure investors after more than 2 million cultivated in a local village, will hit the cascade with a total capacity of over 257 people visited the former Soviet republic market soon. The bananas have been MW. The cascade includes the following last year. grown in Grujaani. plants: Zomleti HPP, Vaio HPP, Korom- Foreign direct investment fell to kheti HPP and Chorokhi HPP. $553.1 million last year from $658.4 Pernod Ricard Sells Shares in million in 2009 and $1.56 billion in 2008. Georgia’s GWS International Finance Pernod Ricard, the French drinks Corporation (IFC) Invests in Four Countries Consume 76% giant sold shares in Georgian Wine and Georgian Healthcare Group of Georgia’s Wine Exports Spirits LLC (GWS) to the Georgian unit IFC, a member of the World Bank Georgia’s exports to Ukraine (worth of Marussia Beverages BV, wine and Group, is investing $3 million in equity $18 million, or 46 percent of total), spirits group registered in the Nether- in Archimedes Health Developments, a Kazakhstan ($5.9 million, 15 percent), lands. The prices of the shares has not newly-created company established by Belarus ($3.9 million, 10 percent) and been disclosed. (Rustavi 2 July 28 2011) Archimedes Global, a Georgian-based Poland ($2 million, 5 percent) account medical insurance group to help expand for 76 percent of the country’s total wine Food Producers to be Fined for access to health insurance and health exports. Exports to the United States Violations services in Georgia and other emerging were worth $986,000 – three percent of The Parliament has adopted legisla- markets in Eastern Europe and Central the total wine exports. tive amendments, imposing fines on Asia. In total, Georgia exported $39.3 mil- food producer companies from July 1 lion of wine in 2010, an increase of 22.8 for violations. Bilberry to be Cultivated in percent compared to the previous year. Unauthorized production or distri- Adjara According to the Georgian Wine Asso- bution of food will be subject to a 300 According to Dato Khilaishvili, ciation, 80 percent of wine produced in lari fi ne. representative of Subtropic Fructice, Georgia is white, which is very popular Other companies will have until June the company will cultivate bilberry on in the local market, while exports are 1, 2012, to meet food safety standards. 6 AUG.-SEP. 2011 Investor.ge AUG.-SEP. 2011 7 Investor.ge A week of reports on the world’s largest news network put Georgia and its successes and obstacles in living rooms around the world. Now it is up to Tbilisi to hold viewers’ attention and turn exposure on CNN into tourism and investment. Eye on Georgia: CNN highlights reforms and traditions rom First Lady Sandra Roelofs’ try that had a revolution a while back,” Newton, an international correspon- second job as a delivery nurse commented the program’s presenter, dent who last visited Georgia in 1999, Fto new discoveries in Dmanisi, Paula Newton. stressed that the program ran live during CNN viewers had a front row seat on Ms. Newton also suggested that prime-time for European audiences and life in Georgia during a week-long pro- now is a good time to look back on the as a result it should bring Georgia to the fi le on the network’s Eye on Georgia changes that have happened since Geor- attention of a whole new audience. program. gia’s Rose Revolution. “We believe that our viewers are The profi le was the last in a string “.