Page 59 - GEORptFeb21

US software developer EPAM sets up office in Georgia
US embassy in Georgia ‘terminating cooperation with local companies using Chinese telecoms equipment or services’
Patarkatsishvili, who founded the Imedi TV channel in 2003.
The family regained control over Imedi TV – which it previously lost in late 2007 – when the owners, who had close links to the outgoing United National Movement (UNM) government, returned the station a few days after the 2012 parliamentary election that brought the Georgian Dream coalition to power. According to the latest data, the value of the channel’s assets is Georgian lari (GEL) 24.6mn ($7.45mn).
American software development company EPAM has arrived on the Georgian market, Georgia’s economy minister Natia Turnava has announced.
Turnava said EPAM was attracted by state incentives for foreign investors in the IT and maritime services sectors.
"The government has introduced a special regime for IT companies. We already have the first positive feedback. This major US IT company has entered Georgia, and it has decided to open an office and locate part of its business to this country. The company's plans include creating at least 1,000 high-paying jobs in Georgia," Turnava added.
EPAM has operations in more than 30 countries and a workforce of more than 35,000.
Companies that offer IT and maritime services—namely shipping, logistics and trading enterprises—will enjoy favourable terms of taxation in Georgia if they are recorded as having an international status, Georgian finance minister Vano Matchavariani said back on October 8.
To be granted that status in Georgia, it is necessary for a company offering IT or maritime services to be registered in Georgia and to operate for at least two years in the country.
After obtaining the status, the company will enjoy reduced property (but not land), profit and income taxes, with profit and income taxes reduced to 5%. They will also be entitled to full exemption from dividend taxes.
The US Embassy in Georgia is terminating or reducing cooperation with Georgian companies that use telecommunications equipment or services provided by Chinese companies Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera or their affiliates, Radio Liberty has reported.
The embassy lately sent out a questionnaire to Georgian companies it works with to determine whether their partner companies use video surveillance equipment or other equipment of Chinese companies on the list. The move indicates that the embassy will terminate or reduce cooperation with companies that use such technologies.
Business Media Group has reported that Silknet, the largest telecommunications company in Georgia and the entire Caucasus region, is a corporate partner of the embassy and is implementing a number of projects with China’s Huawei—which the US views as a security threat, claiming suspect connections with the Chinese military—including the introduction of high-speed internet.
Communicom, the Motorola reseller in Georgia, has said that its customers are already asking about replacing Chinese equipment. Communicom’s head Giorgi Shvangiradze said that both private and state agencies have made in inquiries.
"The companies we work with have informed us and asked if it is possible to replace these products with, for example, Motorola products. As far as I am aware, these products should be replaced by 2022," said Shvangiradze.
59​ GEORGIA Country Report​ February 2021 ​ ​www.intellinews.com