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its sales. Anzor Kokoladze, founder of the company, was cited as saying that it had to close 4 stores.
Central bank president Koba Gvenetadze said in parliament on February 27 that it was too early to evaluate the impact of the regulations.
"The statistical information that we have today does not provide the basis for a profound analysis of this issue. We think that it is too early to talk about this issue until the first quarter figures will be presented,” he said.
The regulations, on the upside, were consolidating the country’s financial stability, Gvenetadze argued.
On February 22, Fitch upgraded Georgia's credit rating. Its press release mentioned the regulations as boosting financial stability.
Negotiations between Swiss global giant Nestle and the IDS Borjomi International mineral water producer and bottler that operates in Georgia, Ukraine and Russia, have failed after half a year of talks with the parties unable to agree on a price, BusinssPressNews has reported . At this stage, IDS Borjomi carries no negotiations.
Information about the possible sale of IDS Borjomi first emerged last October. Russian daily Kommersant wrote that Alfa Group, held by Mikhail Fridman and German Khan, was negotiating the sale not only with Nestle but also with Coca-Cola.
IDS Borjomi is a leading producer and bottler of fine mineral waters with production facilities in Georgia, Ukraine, and Russia. The company says it is a leader in the marketplace in the CIS and Baltics and has been exporting products to 40 countries since it was established in its present form in 2002. Alfa Group bought IDS Borjomi in 2013 from Boris Berezovsky's business partner, Badri Patarkatsishvili's foundation, owned by Salford Capital Partners Inc. Now, according to Forbes, Alfa Group owns 55.8% of IDS Borjomi and heirs of Patarkatsishvili 37.2%, with the rest belonging to small shareholders in Georgia, Russia and Ukraine.
9.1.8 Renewable energy sector news
The board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will discuss on November 28 a $30mn loan that the Turkish group Anadolu would use to develop a $88.7mn hydropower plant in Georgia, Kheledula HPP. The project was agreed in December 2016.
Anadolu in 2014 completed the largest hydropower plant built in Georgia for 40 years: a 85MW plant, at a cost of $200mn, located on Paravani river in the southern part of the country close to Turkey. The EBRD approved at that time a $52mn loan to support financing the power plant. The World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation contributed $40.5mn and another $23mn was raised from commercial banks.
Of relatively small size and using environmental-friendly technology, the new Kheledula HPP project was rated by the EBRD as Class A for its moderate environmental and social impact.
The EBRD’s loan would be part of a $60mn financing package with the remaining part mobilised from third parties.
The borrower is a special purpose vehicle established in Georgia to develop, construct and operate the project. It is majority-owned and controlled by the Anadolu Group, a large Turkish conglomerate partially listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
The power plant with a capacity of 51MW is to be developed on the Kheledula River located in the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti regions. Georgia,
41 GEORGIA Country Report April 2019 www.intellinews.com