Tag Archives: Georgia

Georgia elects new prime minister

JUNE 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Politics in Georgia can often be messy and spill out on to the streets.

That, possibly, is part of the reason why President Mikheil Saakashvili appointed long-time ally Vano Merabishvili as prime minister.

Mr Merabishvili has a reputation as a tough operator willing to take difficult decisions. He had been interior minister since 2004 and is credited with reforming the police and stamping out corruption — a popular move that has earned him respect and a reputation as a man of action.

Installing Mr Merabishvili as PM will boost the appeal of Mr Saakashvili’s party, the United National Movement.

It’s going to be a busy election season with a parliamentary election in October and a presidential election in January. Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili is a tough opponent. He has already proved that he can galvanise Georgia’s opposition and pulled thousands of supporters on to the streets.

Mr Saakashvili may have played one of his ace cards already by installing the popular Mr Merabishvili as prime minister.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 095, published on July 6 2012)

Georgian authorities seize opposition assets

JUNE 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in Georgia seized several stakes in financial companies belonging to opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili because they said he has refused to pay a multi-million dollar fine imposed earlier this month. The move will raise political tension ahead of a parliamentary election later this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 094, published on June 29 2012)

Georgia battles to fight consumer prices

JUNE 20 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Battling to fight falling consumer prices, Georgia’s central bank cut interest rates to 5.75% from 6%. This was the third monthly interest rate cut and reflects a regional trend. Countries in the South Caucasus and Central Asia are trying to stem deflation, or slowing inflation, with interest rate cuts.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 093, published on June 22 2012)

Georgia makes gold mine deal

JUNE 19 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Capital Group Company, owned by Russians Dmitri Korzhev and Dmirtri Troitsky, has bought a copper ore and gold mine in Georgia from GeoProMining for $120m, media reported. Capital Group Company already owns a mine in Armenia. Despite political animosity, Georgia and Russia have close business links.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 093, published on June 22 2012)

Azerbaijan-Georgia gas pipeline explodes

MAY 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – An explosion damaged a major pipeline pumping gas from Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea coast to Erzurum in eastern Turkey, knocking it out of action for 10 days, news agencies quoted sources as saying. It is unclear what triggered the explosion on the pipeline, an important export route for Azerbaijan’s gas.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 090, published on June 1 2012)

Azerbaijan announces joint bid with Georgia for Euro soccer

MAY 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Hours after hearing that its bid to host the 2020 summer Olympic Games had been rejected, Azerbaijan announced that it would prepare a joint bid with Georgia to host the 2020 European soccer championship. The soccer tournament is one of the biggest in the world and would involve major investment in infrastructure.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 090, published on June 1 2012)

Thousands of people protest against Georgian president

MAY 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tens of thousands of people protesting against Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili rallied in Tbilisi. This was the largest anti-government demonstration in Georgia since 2009 and showed the depth of support that billionaire opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili has generated.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 090, published on June 1 2012)

Georgian railway IPO drops

MAY 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s government delayed plans to list its national railway company on the London Stock Exchange because of poor market conditions. Concerns over the Eurozone and a disappointing stock market debut for Facebook have unnerved investors. Georgian PM Nika Gilauri said the government still planned to list the railway company when the market improves.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 089, published on May 25 2012)

Christian activists attack gay parade in Georgia

MAY 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A group of around 20 people attempted a rare gay pride march through the centre of Tbilisi until Christian activists and priests blocked their path and smashed their placards, media reported. The incident highlights Georgia’s deeply conservative society. Homosexuality is still a taboo subject.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 089, published on May 25 2012)

Interest rate drops in Georgia

MAY 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Georgian Central Bank cut interest rates to 6% from 6.25%, its second interest rate cut in two months, to try and counter the country’s slowing economy. Consumer prices in April were 2.1% lower than a year earlier, the third consecutive month of deflation.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 089, published on May 25 2012)