Issue no: 1228/219 • FEBRUARY 18 - 20, 2020 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY PRICE: GEL 2.50 In this week’s issue... Weekly Entrepreneurial News @entrepreneur.ge NEWS PAGE 2 Real Estate Market Oct-Dec 2019 Market Highlights ISET PAGE 4 Re|Bank – New Retail Banking Service in Georgia aimed at Maximum Customer Comfort BUSINESS PAGE 5 FOCUS CENN Launches Green ON EURONEWS GEORGIA Scholarship for Young Check out our exclusive Climate Activists interview with Euronews BUSINESS PAGE 9 CEO, Michael Peters PAGE 13 Registered Crime up 9.8% in Georgia Georgia Ranks 18th among Best BUSINESS PAGE 11 Georgian PM Summarizes European Countries for Business 2020 Munich Security Conference POLITICS PAGE 14 BY TEA MARIAMIDZE Premiere of Gaetano eorgia has taken 18th place in the list of the best European Donizetti’s L'Elisir d'Amore Countries for Doing Business in 2020, the latest report of the European Chamber (EuCham) reads. – a Co-production of 3 The annual report includes 46 countries and is based on the average of two indicators: the Ease of Doing Business European Theaters G(EoDB) score of the World Bank (WB) and the Corruption Perception Index score of Transparency International (TI). CULTURE PAGE 15 Prepared for Georgia Today Business by Markets Asof14ͲFebͲ2020 Image source: expat.com STOCKS Price w/w m/m BONDS Price w/w m/m Despite the position in the Top 20 countries with the best business BankofGeorgia(BGEOLN) GBP17.93 +11,5% +10,0% GEOROG04/21 104.85(YTM2.57%) +0,3% +0,4% GeorgiaCapital(CGEOLN) GBP8.16 +5,7% Ͳ8,2% GEORG04/21 105.47(YTM2.02%) Ͳ0,1% Ͳ0,0% opportunities, Georgia’s score this year, 70, is a worsened indicator com- GHG(GHGLN) GBP1.28 +4,1% +2,8% GRAIL07/22 110.11(YTM3.32%) +0,1% +0,0% pared to the 2019 ranking, where Georgia had 71 points and was in 16th TBCBankGroup(TBCGLN) GBP13.32 +6,6% +5,7% GEBGG07/23 106.55(YTM3.94%) +0,3% +0,5% place. COMMODITIES Price w/w m/m CURRENCIES Price w/w m/m CrudeOil,Brent(US$/bbl) 57,32 +5,2% Ͳ11,1% GEL/USD 2,8645 +0,2% Ͳ0,3% However, Georgia has kept its position as leader in the region with its GoldSpot(US$/OZ) 1584,06 +0,9% +2,4% GEL/EUR 3,1031 Ͳ0,8% Ͳ3,1% economic environment. According to the report, Armenia takes 33rd GEL/GBP 3,7371 +1,5% Ͳ0,1% INDICES Price w/w m/m GEL/CHF 2,9175 Ͳ0,1% Ͳ1,9% place with 58 points, followed by Turkey in 35rd place and 58 points. FTSE100 7409,13 Ͳ0,8% Ͳ2,8% GEL/RUB 0,0449 +0,2% Ͳ4,1% Azerbaijan is ranked 41st with 53 points, and Russia showed the lowest FTSE250 21790,08 +1,4% +0,2% GEL/TRY 0,4730 Ͳ0,4% Ͳ3,2% DAX 13744,21 +1,7% +2,1% GEL/AZN 1,6894 +0,3% Ͳ0,1% rank in the region at 43rd with 53 points in total. DOWJONES 29398,08 +1,0% +1,6% GEL/AMD 0,0060 ͲͲ NASDAQ 9731,18 +2,2% +5,2% GEL/UAH 0,1171 +0,6% Ͳ3,4% Georgia left behind such countries as Portugal (19th place), Latvia (21st), MSCIEMEE 186,25 +0,6% Ͳ6,1% EUR/USD 0,9233 +1,1% +2,7% Poland (67th), Italy (63rd), Belarus (29th), Hungary (31st), Greece (34th), MSCIEM 1106,30 +1,3% Ͳ3,3% GBP/USD 0,7665 Ͳ1,2% Ͳ0,2% SP500 3380,16 +1,6% +3,0% CHF/USD 0,9823 +0,5% +1,5% Kazakhstan (39th) and Ukraine (50th). MSCIFM 2663,13 Ͳ1,2% Ͳ3,7% RUB/USD 63,5540 Ͳ0,9% +3,4% GTIndex(GEL) 1582,68 ͲͲTRY/USD 6,0587 +0,7% +3,0% Continued on page 5 GTIndex(USD) 1208,13 ͲͲAZN/USD 1,6980 ͲͲ GEORGIA TODAY 2 NEWS FEBRUARY 18 - 20, 2020 Acclaimed Filmmaker Giorgi Shengelaia @entrepreneur.ge Gamarjoba! I’m the Editor-in-Chief of the Georgian edition of Entrepreneur magazine and I’m here to share the top weekly Dies Aged 82 Entrepreneurial news with you: Cinematography Institute. From 1962 he Young Composer’ took part in the 36th BY ELENE DZEBISASHVILI worked at the Georgian Film Studio. Berlin International Film Festival, win- Emocia is a brand that offers beautiful Shengelaia comes from a family of fi lm- ning the Silver Bear for Best Director. accessories made from natural stone, wood makers. His older brother Eldar Shenge- Shengelaia has left us with some very and leather for women, men and children. eorgia’s cherished film laia directed some of the best classics of distinctive works- His fi rst fi lm ‘Alaver- Founder Tamar Abuladze recalls that when director and Rustaveli Prize Georgian comedy; their father, Nikoloz doba’ (1963) is an art drama that takes as she decided to start up her own business, Laureate Giorgi Shengelaia Shengelaia, was the father of Georgian its subject matter the novel of the same she spent nights making accessories. Emocia has been online for fi ve months has passed away at the age silent fi lm; their mother, Nato Vachnadze, name by Guram Rcheulishvili; Shenge- now, but because of the increasing demand of 82. performed leading roles in many of laia’s ‘Pirosmani’ (1969) is a biographical and Tamar’s wish to develop her business, GBorn on May 11, 1937, Shengelaia gradu- Nikoloz’s fi lms. art-drama fi lm about cherished Georgian the team behind Emocia is planning to go ated from the Directing Faculty of the Union Shengelaia’s fi lm ‘The Journey of A primitivist painter Niko Pirosmani. beyond the online platform. HOUSER is a legal expertise center offering consulting services to those looking to become property owners. The founder of the company is Tazo Chakhunashvili. Clients tell the company’s Former Georgian President qualifi ed personnel which property they are interested in and an active investigation is begun into the background of the building, its safety architecturally and its legal status. Alerting clients to any risks, and giving out Returns to Active Politics recommendations and advice, is what HOUSER The former president explained that candidate in May 2013 and he won the is there for. BY ANA DUMBADZE "Georgia is currently under threat of October 2013 presidential election with Women in Wine Expo losing the support of Western partners 62% of votes. (WIWE) works to unite and being governed by Russian author- With Margvelashvili's election, a new winemaking women ormer Georgian President ities." constitution came into effect, signifi cantly worldwide, aiming to Giorgi Margvelashvili has Margvelashvili, who became President curtailing the president's powers in favor break through the gender decided to return to active of Georgia with the support of GD, also of the Prime Minister and the Parliament. stereotypes in the industry. politics. added that he is not interested in the Shortly thereafter, Margvelashvili's rela- Women from different "By choosing authoritarian- reactions of his former team members tions with Ivanishvili and the ruling continents will meet at Fism, Georgian Dream crossed red lines. regarding his return to active politics, Georgian Dream party leadership sig- Lopota Lake in May to No democracy, no national unity, no as "it does not matter what moves they nifi cantly spoiled. help create a future in which gender difference western path,” he wrote on Twitter, add- make, they can't stop me." During his tenure, Margvelashvili was won’t play a role in the ing that he “will serve the mission of Georgian academic and politician Giorgi critical of the Georgian Dream's con- winemaking industry. Many more will join via the web. In Georgia, the biggest Georgia’s western choice with his friends Margvelashvili was the fourth President solidation of power. He was the fi rst speaker will be Karen MacNeil, author of the book “The Wine Bible.” WIWE is and the Georgian people.” of Georgia, in offi ce from 17 November president in Georgia's history not to seek the fi rst initiative of its kind in Europe, with participants from the USA, Canada, As he has claimed recently, he "had no 2013 to 16 December 2018. reelection for a second term. the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Lebanon, South moral right to watch the recent develop- In October 2012, he became a member As Bidzina Ivanishvili claimed, the Africa, Nigeria, and Georgia. ments remotely anymore, as his former of the newly formed cabinet of Bidzina former president "showed different char- Follow the Entrepreneur Georgia Instagram page to get the latest updates from team members, the ruling party Georgian Ivanishvili, the leader of the Georgian acteristics and attitudes," which alleg- Georgian Entrepreneurs. For doing business with Georgian Entrepreneurs, write us on Dream representatives, created an Dream party. Margvelashvili was named edly laid the foundation for the confron- [email protected] unprecedented danger for the country." by the GD coalition as its presidential tation and disagreement between them. GEORGIA TODAY FEBRUARY 18 - 20, 2020 NEWS 3 Mike Pompeo: Russia Has Seized Crimea, Parts of Eastern Ukraine, Georgia BY ANA DUMBADZE uring his speech at the Munich Security Confer- ence, US Secretary of State Economy Minister on Georgia Mike Pompeo spotlighted the Russian occupation of Being ITB Berlin Host Country DGeorgia along with other important issues. and at the same time very old-fashioned BY ANA DUMBADZE "More than 30 years since the fall of tourist markets, where we have reached the wall, countries that don’t respect and exceeded 9,300,000 visitors in last sovereignty still threaten us. Some nations few years, which is three times more still desire empire.