Agency that will control the whole economy

Last week it was finally specified that the companies that, as compared with their rivals, enjoy preferences or make cartel agreement with one another, will be revealed not by opposed-to-them antimonopoly service, but by a competition agency.

Partnership Fund of Georgia that handles the state assets of strategic importance and is aimed at attracting and supporting investments in the projects of the similar importance, is to be rebranded into the Sovereign one to make it more effective.

Georgian land market needs more transparency and secured property rights to boost agricultural development in the country, Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC), a non-governmental watchdog, reported lately, based on its land market research.

Georgian market has been and remains heavily monopolized, which hinders the development of smaller business and entire economy. If ex-power boosted creation of monopolies in private business, the incumbent authority encourages the state monopolies both plighting business climate of the country, Georgian economic analysts worry. Although one of the key pre-election promises of Georgian Dream Coalition, the ruling power of Georgia that shifted the ex-ruling National Movements just around 6 months ago, was to discharge Georgian market off monopolies through creation of a proper anti-trust service and competition legislation the problem aggravated rather than diminished lately.

Georgia expects Ukrainian business to take bigger interest in Georgia and invest more in agriculture, high technologies, energy and logistics. Georgian-Ukrainian business forum held on April 26, 2013, which attracted 50 Ukrainian companies, made Georgian authority that hopeful.

The increasing Russian-Turkish trade prospects unfold new vista of economic development for Georgian conflicting regions of Abkhazia and South Osetia, offering best direct on-land connections to Russia and Turkey.

Strange as it seems, in 2004-2007, over USD 6 million worth of real estate or movable property was handed by private business and individuals to Georgian state, while bigger part of population lives below the poverty level. Ex-administration described this sudden gush of charity on the part of Georgian citizens, as gifts. Legal experts call it the state racket.

The problem of fake lubricants that are pervading Georgian market since 2005, remains persistant; it affects consumers’ rights and the state budget alike. To overcome the problem, the Union of Oil Product Importers and Consumers of car oil importers held a confermec on April 17, 2013 summoning all interested sides including governmnet. All of them agreed on partnership.

Cell service tariffs increased indirectly by about 4% after all three cell operators of Georgia stopped paying commissions to express-pay terminals and banks for prompt recharging of consumer’s balance.
Since April 1, 2013 subscribers of Magti, Geocell and Beeline, three cell companies operating in Georgia, have to pay commissions if they want to recharge their cell call balance instantly through express-pay terminals or banking on-line payment system. This commission was paid by cell operators up to this April to subsidize the developing express-pay system and raise awareness of consumers in alternative balance recharging tools.