TBILISI, DFWatch–A Russian and a Georgian diplomat will meet on July 15 in Prague. The Abashidze-Karasin talks are an informal channel for discussing trade and other cooperation between the two countries, which don’t have diplomatic relations.
Economy
National Bank recommends reducing expenses
TBILISI, DFWatch–The National Bank of Georgia advises the government to cut expenses and revise its tax policy in order to avoid currency fluctuation.
The NBG sent parliament its recommendations letter over the adjusted state draft budget 2015, concluding
Economy minister sees no threat to flow of remittances from Greece
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s Economy Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said Sunday that a week of halted money transfers will not hamper the flow of money sent home by Georgian migrants in Greece.
Banks in Greece shut down last week after the Tsipras government’s
Rustavi smelter plant fires hundreds of employees due to lawsuit
TBILISI, DFWatch–Rustavi Poladi, a smelter plant in a town 20km away from the capital, has fired hundreds of employees because of a lawsuit.
Nugzar Kachukhashvili, Director of Rustavi Poladi Ltd, said at a press conference on Monday that the
Foreign investments in Q1 down 34% in 2015
TBILISI, DFWatch–There was 34 percent less direct foreign investment in Georgia in the first quarter of 2015 than in the same period last year.
According to preliminary figures from the Georgian National Statistics Department, GeoStat, the amount of foreign investments in the first quarter was
Georgia govt backtracks on budget cuts
TBILISI, DFWatch–After a period of depreciation, Georgia’s national currency, lari, has started to stablize. The government has cancelled plans to drastically cut the budget.
According to data from the National Bank, one USD is today worth 2.3234 laris. Due to the
IMF downgrades Georgia's economic growth forecast to 2%
TBILISI, DFWatch–The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has further reduced its economic growth outlook for Georgia.
According to the new IMF forecast for 2015 and 2016, Georgia will have 2 percent economic growth in 2015 and 3 percent in 2016, while
Georgian government preparing almost USD 300 million budget cuts
TBILISI, DFWatch–The government in Georgia is preparing to drastically cut the state budget to deal with a 30 percent reduction in value of the national currency.
Presenting the plans Monday, members of the ruling coalition said the budget will be cut by 500
Money transfers in April, 2015 24% lower than previous year
TBILISI, DFWatch–Money transfers to and from Georgia fell by 24.4 percent in April 2015, compared to same month in the year before.
According to the National Bank, the amount of money transfers last month was USD 91.1 million, which was USD 29.4 million less than
Georgia's foreign trade Jan-Apr was 13% lower than last year
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s foreign trade turnover in the first four months of 2014 was 13 percent less than in the same period last year, according to preliminary figures published by the National Statistics Department, GeoStat.
The turnover totaled USD 3,015