INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS READ TO LEAD A SPACE MARKETING FEATURE THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 VERA KOBALIA| MINISTER OF ECONOMY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT An easy place to WELCOME TO GEORGIA am very pleased to have this opportunity to welcome distinguished readers of this publication. I consider this opportunity as a pleasure and a great privilege as it allows me to address a country that plays a big role in the global economy. do business IToday, I would like to share with you some key ideas regarding Strategically located East European nation presents opportunities in energy,realty and tourism the business opportunities that Georgia has to offer in different areas. But before that, I would like to give you a brief history of friendly reform process and competitive Georgian statehood. tax structure,Georgia presents ample op- We have only a short history of modern statehood. With the portunities across sectors like energy, downfall of the Russian empire in early 20th century, Georgia power generation & transmission,real enjoyed only three years of independence and democratic estate,tourism and agriculture. governance in 1918-1921. Then Soviet communist occupation and Though there are evidences of domination followed for 70 years. Only in 1991 have we restarted contact between India and Georgia dur- our efforts to build an independent and democratic country. The ing the time of the Old Silk Route, first 12 years of transition were very difficult with a lot of challenges present day trade relations were estab- ahead. However, real, deep-going changes started only in 2004 lished only after Georgia announced its after the Rose Revolution of independence in 1991. Georgia lies in a November 2003. And there was region of vast untapped oil and gas po- much to change. From the very tential. It plays an important part in outset the government had two transportation of oil and gas in the major challenges: Caspian Sea- Black Sea region. There is To defeat and eradicate an oil pipeline from Baku in Azerbaijan corruption to Ceyhan in Turkey via Tbilisi (Baku- And to create a functioning Tbilisi-Ceyhan or BTC pipeline) and a market economy, enabling parallel gas pipeline called South Cau- business, creating jobs and casus Pipeline. There are thus huge op- raising the standards of life for portunities for Indian energy all its citizens. companies in Georgia. In July 2008, Jin- Only in a few years the dal Petroleum—a Navin Jindal group government has managed to company—acquired four oil and gas Ex- overcome these challenges and ploration Blocks in Georgia. today, Georgian police is a role Subsequently,Jindal Petroleum also ac- model in the region. Public quired a Producing-cum-Exploration administration is fully reformed, Block with a 75% participating interest. red tape and bureaucracy are being eliminated constantly, services ■ ANINDYA SENGUPTA complete revamp of the income tax and sectors,Georgia’s GDP growth remained Jindal Petroleum is planning to acquire to citizens and businesses are provided with one-stop shop customs duty structure and a much-pro- in the range of 9 to 12% between 2005 and more exploration blocks and is also con- principle and many of them are already delivered online. ustavi,a Soviet-era steel town- claimed programme to minimise corrup- 2007.In 2006 and 2008,the World Bank sidering venturing into refining and mar- The key philosophy behind our economic policies was ship some 30 kilometres from tion have helped Georgian economy to named Georgia as the top reformer in the keting of various petroleum products. liberalisation and deregulation of economy. Our government did its the Georgian capital Tbilisi is post an impressive turnaround.Now world.Georgia has been ranked as the With a total planned investment of more best to make sure that Georgia transformed into one of the most an unlikely place to find a pres- Georgia is one of the fastest growing 12th easiest country to do business world- than $200 million,Jindal Petroleum is the business-friendly countries worldwide. We have removed and ence of India Inc.But it is here economies in East Europe.Spurred by wide,by the World Bank “Doing Business largest Indian investor in Georgia. simplified as much regulation as possible, in an attempt to make that one of the major foreign in- gains in the industrial and service 2011”survey.Apart from an investor- Turn to page 3 doing business in Georgia quick, cheap and therefore responsible. Rvestments by an Indian company in Eastern Eu- Our efforts have been well illustrated in a number of international rope has taken shape—GEO Steel,with a 49% rankings. Georgia was ranked 12th among 183 countries in the investment from JSW,has built a modern steel World Bank’s “2011 Ease of Doing Business” report and 7th among factory at Rustavi.The factory,built at the site of 183 countries in terms of dealing with construction permits. a Russian crane manufacturing facility, According to Transparency International, Georgia is one of the least converts metal scrap into rolled steel.In the true corrupt countries in Eastern Europe and according to Forbes Tax spirit of free market globalisation,Indian capi- Misery and Reform Index, the 4th best performer worldwide. tal has reached to such corners of the world But business friendly environment is not all that Georgia has to even before New Delhi could open a full-fledged offer. I believe our country has another important and very strong embassy there. competitive advantage. Situated at a strategic location between Any company considering Georgia as an investment destination Mediterranean and Caspian Sea,scenic Geor- should have in mind that on entering Georgia, it will automatically gia is an economic powerhouse today.Though a find an eco-system in place, since Georgia as a hub connects small country herself,Georgia enjoys a geo- several important economic regions of Europe and Central Asia. In strategic position and the opportunity to access addition, it has favourable trade regimes and free trade agreements neighbouring markets.During Soviet times with a number of countries. We have made sure that not only trade Georgia had the highest standard of living of all regimes but importantly physical infrastructure is also there to 15 Republics.But then it suffered a precipitous allow businesses to fully employ the benefits of location and fall post-1991.After the Rose Revolution of No- business environment. Turn to page 3 vember 2003,Georgia has carried out a number of drastic reforms to transform its economy.A ZURAB KATCHKATCHISHVILI | AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY OF GEORGIA LET US JOIN FORCES than one can think and it is essential that we, joining our forces, make these similarities a powerful tool for ever- increasing our friendly relationship. Georgia is a small state in the Cau- casus, but its geographical location makes it an important player in the re- gion, especially as a transit country for oil, gas and other commodities shipped from Azerbaijan, Central Asia states to the West. But this is not the only asset of Georgia: modern and liberal legisla- tion and a corruption-free environment make it today one of the most business-friendly countries: According to World Bank & IFC 'Do- ing Business' Index, our country has moved from 112th place in 2005 to 11th place in 2010. Georgia’s Tax System can be sum- marised as 'Fewer Taxes, Lower Rates.' The number of taxes, since 2004, has decreased from 21 to only 6 today.Personal income tax is a flat 20% while corporate income tax rates are a flat 15%.With well-diversified in- t is my immense pleasure to ad- famous Silk Route, bridging between vestment sectors in energy, dress you today,one year after East and West. healthcare, agriculture, telecommu- Embassy of Georgia has been es- As for present cooperation, it is con- nications, real estate & construction tablished in New Delhi. But this tinuously developing, but we definite- and infrastructure development, Idoes not mean relations between our ly cannot be satisfied with the existing Georgia is not simply another market- two countries count only one year.As situation. More can be done and this is place, it is a genuine opportunity. far back as in the 12th century,Shota exactly one of the major tasks of our World-famous for its legendary hos- Rustaveli, the most famous Georgian Embassy: to better present Georgia to pitality,Georgia is welcoming poet, in his immortal poem, 'The the business community of India, sup- businessmen, investors and, of Knight in Panther Skin', had an Indi- port and facilitate contacts between course, tourists from India and an Prince as one of the main charac- peoples of India and Georgia and in- expresses hope that relations between ters. But we can travel even further in crease cultural exchanges. Georgia our two countries will reach the high time, as Georgia was part of the and India have much more in common level it ought to have. INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL PROPERTIES ON THE BLOCK The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (MoESD) is pleased to announce the privatisation of six state-owned properties located in the very centre of Tbilisi city.Given the scarcity of real estate assets in the centre of Tbilisi, KETI BOCHORISHVILI, Director, Georgian National this privatisation provides unique investment opportunities in the Georgian real estate sector Investment Agency Watch out for privatisation opportunities ne of the priorities of the Georgian FORMER MINISTRY OF JUSTICE FORMER MINISTRY OF FINANCE FORMER TBILISI PUBLISHING CLINIC HOSPITAL OF IVANE Ogovernment is conduct- ing the privatisation process Building space: 8,516 sq.m Building space: 7,994 sq.m HOUSE JAVAKHISHVILI TILISI STATE effectively,and in this regard Land area: 3,302 sq.m Land area: 7,613 sq.m Building space: 21.770 sq.m UNIVERSITY (TSU) some concrete steps have been Floors: 3 Floors: 2 Land area: 9.447 sq.m taken,such as introducing a Built: 1920 State ownership: 100 % Floors: 5 Building space: 9,200 sq.m “One Stop Shop”approach for State ownership: 100 % Location: Centre of Tbilisi City, Abashidze St.