Page 52 - GEORptApr21

Leasing Company
This is the fifth issue for Georgian Leasing Company, which is said to show the stability of the company and the high degree of trust from investors. “Considering the events of the current year, the successful completion of this issue is a very positive sign for both the company and the Georgian securities market,” G&T’s press release stated.
The bonds have a fixed 7.5% annual coupon.
The securities will be admitted to the local stock exchange and, consequently, the accrued interest will be exempt from taxes.
The bond will be fully repaid on August 31, 2022.
"The demand for bonds has exceeded our expectations, which is very gratifying, especially considering what is happening in the world today. All this, of course, testifies to the very high credibility of our company and the high professionalism of Galt & Taggart," said Eldar Akhvlediani, general director of the Georgian Leasing Company.
9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
Georgia announces Black Sea offshore production sharing agreement to be signed by OMV Petrom
Azerbaijan’s 10 month oil exports via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline fall 11.2% y/y/
Georgia’s government has approved a production sharing agreement (PSA) for Black Sea oil and gas that it is to be signed by the Georgian Oil and Gas Agency and OMV Petrom in the nearest future, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava has announced. Romanian oil and gas company OMV Petrom, which won the tender for an offshore block in Georgia last summer, in October started negotiations with the country's authorities for the PSA.
“It was in fact very important that such a large company expressed a desire to participate in the tender and it won it in the summer of last year. During the [coronavirus] pandemic, this comes as especially important for the Georgian economy. OMV Petrom itself is quite famous for its activities in the Black Sea; in 2012 they discovered a large field in [territory of] Romania, we hope that their activities will be similarly successful in Georgia. Oil extraction is a promising field for us," Turnava said.
OMV Petrom was given a six-month negotiation period that started last October, during which time it was trying to reach the mutually beneficial agreement prior to making specific project commitments.
OMV’s upstream director Peter Zeilinger has said that the Georgian block would be part of the company's strategy to expand its upstream activities in the Black Sea region. "This is another milestone following the signing of a contract to enter the Han Asparuh exploration licence offshore Bulgaria," Zeilinger said last June.
Georgia is the only country in the Black Sea basin where oil and gas works are not under way on the shelf.
Azerbaijan’s oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline that runs via Georgia to Turkey declined by 11.2% y/y in the first 10 months to 23.2mn tonnes, according to the State Statistics Committee as cited by Reuters.
The BTC exports oil from the Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG) oilfields operated by BP.
52 GEORGIA Country Report April 2021 www.intellinews.com