Page 11 - GEORptDec20

US State Department issues largely favourable report on Georgia investment climate
The US State Department has released its 2020​ ​Investment Climate Statement​ o​ n Georgia, which includes a largely favourable assessment. The only significant criticism relates to confidence in the impartiality of the Georgian judicial system and rule of law, which the statement describes as undermined by “disputes over property rights at times”.
“While reforms have improved the independence of the judiciary, politically sensitive cases are still vulnerable to political pressure,” the report reads.
The report includes a neutral assessment of developments related to Anaklia deep sea port project on the Black Sea coast, stating: “The government terminated its contract with the Anaklia Development Consortium in 2020, asserting the consortium did not mobilize the capital necessary to implement the project. However, the government said it remained committed to the construction of a deep sea port in Anaklia and planned to retender the project.
No remarks are included in relation to two other controversial cases involving foreign investors, namely: Texas-based oil company Frontera (which has seen its concession contract terminated) and Azerbaijani group NEQSOL (which risks losing its 49% stake in Caucasus Online on the basis that the deal was supposedly not satisfactorily reported to relevant national authorities).
Overall, the US State Department assesses Georgia as “a small but open market,” that has “made sweeping economic reforms since 1991 that have
11​ GEORGIA Country Report ​December 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com