Page 69 - GEORptSep21

She said that the Georgian tourism sector is ready to host international visitors while maintaining coronavirus regulations.
“The pandemic has affected this sector most. Today we have an opportunity to help revive this sector with proper marketing, targeted programmes and mass vaccination,” she added.
9.2.3 TMT corporate news
Georgia among first pilot countries ‘considered for SpaceX’s satellite internet’
DataArt announces expansion into Kazakhstan and Georgia
According to Georgia’s Innovation & Technology Agency (GITA), Elon Musk’s company SpaceX is considering making Georgia one of the first pilot countries to which it will provide satellite internet.
Recently, Deputy Minister of Economy Irakli Nadareishvili, chairman of GITA Avtandil Kasradze and Consul General of Georgia in San Francisco Levan Beridze held a meeting with several SpaceX representatives on future cooperation. On SpaceX's side, the meeting was attended by CFO Bret Johnsen, senior director of finance David Finlay and one investor, Bill Reichert. “SpaceX has expressed interest to be involved in Georgia’s internetization process, therefore from their side Georgia is considered among the first pilot countries, where SpaceX will provide satellite internet to its population,” read ITA’s statement. According to GITA, in the near future SpaceX will start an official procedure to get an internet provider’s licence in Georgia.
SpaceX’s project Starlink is a global satellite system, which aims to provide high-speed internet to places where internet connection is unstable, expensive or inaccessible. SpaceX believes that Starlink will be able to provide stable internet connections worldwide starting from September.
Global software engineering firm DataArt on August 24 announced that it has expanded global operations in Europe and Central Asia, launching new offices in largest Kazakh city Almaty as well as Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, while also expanding in existing locations with new R&D centres in Poland, Bulgaria and Russia.
This expansion comes as a response to rapidly growing demand for IT services, the firm said. DataArt experienced particularly rapid growth over the past year with its employees now numbering at over 5,000 professionals. The R&D centre in Almaty is DataArt’s first location in Central Asia. By relying on Kazakhstan’s geographic position, DataArt hopes to “effectively” serve clients in Europe, the Middle East, and in Asia. The firm plans to hire a core team in 2021 and integrate them into distributed development teams with colleagues from other countries.
Mikhail Zavileysky, head of organisational development at DataArt, said: "We hope to replicate the success of DataArt in Voronezh, Kharkov, Buenos Aires, Sofia, and other cities, where many of our first employees joined the ranks of DataArt’s top management a few years later."
9.2.4 Metal and mining corporate news
Georgian Manganese invests another $2mn in expanding production
Georgian Manganese has invested another $2mn in expanding its production, according to a July 20 announcement.
The company has recently faced numerous strikes from workers at its mines. In the 4th workshop of the Georgian Manganese Ferroalloy Plant, the overhaul of the 26th furnace has been completed and put into operation.
The furnace will produce 70 tonnes of additional products per day, which will increase the existing production volume to at least 25,000 tonnes, or 10%. The new furnace is to produce $43mn worth of products a year. It took five
69 GEORGIA Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com