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finance the project, which is estimated to cost $40mn. Countries in the South Caucasus, including Georgia, have been seeking to develop their value-added sectors, such as information technology, in recent years. Armenia is a leader in this sector in the region, with IT and technology accounting for 5% of GDP, and a sizable qualified workforce that has attracted the likes of Microsoft to open up innovation centres in the country. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has been working on digitising its public services and installing fibre-optic Internet connections across the country. Following in their footsteps, Georgia is also working on Internet connectivity and promoting tech start-ups. The project will comprise four parts, namely the development of an innovation infrastructure through the creation of a network of innovation hubs in selected cities and town; the provision of innovation services; ensuring financing through technical assistance and matching grants; and project implementation support.
9.1.8 Retail sector news
Georgia’s largest retailer Nikora Trade successfully placed 2mn new ordinary shares under a public placement carried out from July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2019, Nikoga group informed on April 3. The share offering brought the company GEL40.2mn ($15mn).
Nikora Trade is one of the country's most successful and large supermarket chains. It is a subsidiary of JSC Nikora group, specialising in meat production and trade. The retail chain holds a 19% share in the organised retail market of Georgia (still dominated by bazaar-like commerce, which covers 70% of the total market). Carrefour is the largest player in the organised market, with a 22% share—but it is not a direct competitor for Nikora since it operates only hypermarkets in the country.
The funds generated by the share issue added to the company’s own resources and were directed towards the development of the retail network. More than 90 supermarkets have been opened in Tbilisi and other regions of Georgia and by the end of the year an additional 60 more facilities will be opened. According to the Nikora Trade Development Plan, by the end of 2020 the company should have up to 450 shopping units across the country. As of today it has 285 stores.
9.1.9 Renewable energy sector news
Over 89,000 people have signed a petition urging international development banks not to finance the Nenskra hydropower plant project in Svaneti, Georgia, said a statement from NGO Bankwatch.
Plans to build a 280 MW hydropower plant with a 125m high dam in a river valley in Svaneti have met with strong resistance from environmental groups both in Georgia and outside. Similar campaigns have been mounted elsewhere in the South Caucasus and Southeast Europe as efforts to develop hydropower resources in the two regions are stepped up.
Georgia is developing the Nenskra plant under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement with private investor Korea Water Resources Corporation, with financing from international development banks.
Representatives from the Stop Nenskra campaign delivered the petition to banks at the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) annual meeting on July 12. They appealed specifically to the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which have approved approved loans for the Nenskra project worth $150mn and $214mn, though the final loan contracts have not been signed yet.
46 GEORGIA Country Report August 2019 www.intellinews.com