- A Georgian company producing bacteriophages, Biochimpharm, has received a grant of $150,000 from the EU and FAO to support PowerPhage production, a natural, bacteriophage antimicrobial veterinary solution which reduces the use of antibiotics in meat production with a focus on poultry farms. The matching grant is a part of a total $1 million investment raised by the company aimed to allow for a 300% increase in PowerPhage’s production capacity. The investment is mainly destined to upgrade the manufacturing line and to ensure EU good manufacturing practice compliance;
- Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili claims that Georgia will be a country whose economy will recover one of the fastest in the post-pandemic period. “There are many factors that actually give us the opportunity to say that the process of economic recovery this year will be fundamentally different“, Khutsishvili said. Last week he said that the Georgian economy is expected to grow 6.5% in 2021, and 6.9% in 2022. He also said that in an optimistic scenario, economic growth in 2021 is projected at 10.2%. This scenario envisages a faster recovery of tourism this year, specifically at the level of 40-45% of 2019. It also means dynamic economic growth in other sectors of the economy. “We have clear signs of this in the April GDP growth data, where the economy grew by almost 45% and this growth was spread to virtually all sectors of the economy”, Khutsishvili said. According to the latest GDP dataof April 2021 the estimated real gross domestic product growth rate in April equaled 44.8% year-on-year and 8.1% in January-April of 2021 year-on-year;
- Georgia has been elected to the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for four years, announces the Ministry of Economy of Georgia. The election was held today at the 66th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Europe in Athens, Greece. Out of 35 member states of the executive board, 23 countries voted for Georgia. “Georgia will have the opportunity to be involved in setting the goals of the organisation and its further successful implementation, as well as to ensure its efficient and transparent functioning. Given its strategic location, Georgia will be able to protect the interests of both the Black Sea and Eastern European regions in terms of tourism development”, says the ministry.
- Grace Hopper Awards distinguish Georgian women, projects in tech – Some of the brightest and most inspiring women and projects involved in technology and innovation in Georgia were revealed at the Grace Hopper Award ceremony in Tbilisi, with six recipients distinguished at the event. Hosted by the USAID Economic Security Programme, TBC Bank, Mashav Center, the Embassy of Israel in Georgia, and UN Women, the awards were called “one of the most important tech events of the year” and sought to promote women involved in tech industry and startups, and working for diversity and gender equality in the fields. Three of the event’s awards went to individuals, with the Emerging Leader Award handed to Ana Robakidze, Head of Engineering at Clientela, a Georgian-based company working with brands including Cartier and Gucci. The ICT Champion Award, bestowed to women leaders in the industry who represent a role model for women in the wider public, was collected by Maka Makhatadze, Co-Founder and Director of IT Academy STEP Georgia Branch. In the third personal category, Mako Kurtiashvili – General Manager at Smart Academy, Managing Partner at Smart Web, Co-founder at Nikola Tesla School, and Strategic Advisor at hiro – was singled out for the Industry Award.
- 17 Maritime, IT companies have status of international companies in Georgia – There are 17 maritime and IT companies in Georgia that have obtained the status of an international company, meaning they are able to enjoy favourable terms of taxation in the country, announces the Ministry of Economy of Georgia. Fourteen of the 17 companies are involved in the IT sector, while the remaining three companies are maritime services providers. In order to be granted the status of an international company it is necessary for the company to be registered in Georgia and have at least two years of work experience in the country.
Summary of tax benefits:
- Low 5% Profit Tax (Corporate Income Tax – Normally 15% in Georgia). Tax is levied at the time of distribution only;
- 0% Dividends tax (Instead of 5%);
- 5% Tax withholding on employee income (reduced from 20%) plus the standard 2%+2% pension contributions for employees who are Georgian legal residents;
- 0% Property tax (except land) on property if this property is intended for, or used to, carry out the permitted activities of the international company.
Who can apply?
- The applying company must have at least two years of experience in the permitted activity;
- It may be a representative of a non-resident enterprise in Georgia, if this non-resident enterprise has at least two years of experience in the permitted activity;
- It may have a partner enterprise (s) with more than 50% share and this partner (s) has at least two years of experience in the permitted activity.
This programme is aimed at enticing foreign IT and maritime companies to base their operations in Georgia and it has been launched in October 2020.
