Page 57 - GEORptJun20

plan in place, Haywood concluded that Block Energy was “well-positioned” to weather the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
9.2.2 ​Transport corporate news
A 940-metre-long freight train—the longest train to have ever operated on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway (BTK)—departed Turkey for Central Asia at the weekend, partly helping to overcome present hurdles to exporting goods to and via Iran, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu said.
The locomotive is pulling 82 containers carrying various Turkish products. During a journey of nine days, it was due to stop in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the terminus.
The BTK was launched in October 2017. One of its roles is to serve as a vital link in a new freight and passenger route connecting Europe and China.
A significant amount of cargo is now being carried via railroad, the minister said.
“There are many items in the train, from cleaning materials to automotive industry products,” Karaismailoglu added.
Turkey’s trucked exports to Iran and via Iran to Central Asian countries were completely suspended amid the emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Much of that trade has been shifted to the BTK line, according to Turkish officials.
9.2.3 ​TMT corporate news
Diversified Azerbaijani group Neqsol Holding controlled by businessman Nasib Hasanov has entered the Georgian telecommunications market by purchasing a 49% stake in Georgia’s largest internet service provider focused on the wholesale segment, Caucasus Online, Business Media reported​.
Neqsol Holding founder Hasanov has become the specific owner of the Caucasus Online shares, according to ​a document​ published on the website of the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC).
Before the change of ownership, Khvicha Makatsaria, a Georgian businessman, owned 100% of Caucasus Online. Currently, his share is 51%. Caucasus Online’s main asset is Georgia’s main channel for access to the internet.
In addition to being for a long time the largest ISP in Georgia, Caucasus Online has owned since 2008 a 1,200-km submarine fibre-optic cable laid across the bottom of the Black Sea between Georgia and Bulgaria to provide a direct, high-quality fibre-optic internet connection from Europe to Caucasus Region and the Middle East. In September 2016, Caucasus Online sold its retail business to Magticom and it is now a major wholesale operator in the region.
Caucasus Online was formed by the unification of several major Georgian ISPs in 2006 and in 2008 it merged with Telenet, the main provider of wireless and fibre-optic internet in Georgia.
According to the audit report of Caucasus Online in 2018, the company's assets amounted to Georgian lari (GEL) 150mn ($55mn). In the same year, the company's operating earnings were GEL50mn and its operating profit was GEL6.3mn.
The Georgian company was fined for not announcing the change in its ownership structure.
57​ GEORGIA Country Report ​June 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com