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When there was an aggressive attitude towards businessmen and then it was probably justified.
- Has the attitude changed?
- I think it has changed because the business itself has managed to eventually heal itself, following the process that was developing in the country. Agree, this is no longer the country it was 20 years ago. The business has learned to pay taxes, take on social responsibility, and it has first set itself the task of being close to the community. Customer care is the beginning of business and I think at the moment business and society are very close.
- That is, you say that business has grown and the attitude of the society has changed. I wonder if a person who has more opportunities than anyone else is perceived today by the citizens as receiving it deservedly, through their own work, Or is there still a water separator left?
- To some extent, this will probably always be the case no matter how developed the country is. There will be people who will have some envy for those who have more income and have achieved a lot. But I can not feel it in my example, because I try my best to be close to people, our business to be transparent and always feel the heartbeat of people. I recently read an article where the founder of Ikea says that before I buy something, I will think about whether my employee would be able to buy it. This is Sweden, where socially oriented business and the environment are a great tradition, but I think Georgia can do business too, Think about it and look at its activities in this light - how much does its income exceed the income of the middle class and what can it do to keep this threshold to a minimum.
- Does the government, which is elected and creates an environment for business, matter in creating public sentiments? Is the attitude of the government contagious to the society? The Prime Minister said that the current government has created the most comfortable environment for business. Would you agree with his statement?
- I can tell you that it is a comfortable environment. It could have been better, though I think there is now a good and comfortable environment in the country in terms of doing business. I am glad that the conditions for doing business in Georgia are changing for the better in accordance with the changes. For example, during the Mkhedrioni period, the then government managed to protect the business from Mkhedrioni and disorder. Then new challenges arose and the next government managed to protect the business from daily racketeering by all levels of controllers. We now have other types of changes when the relationship between government and business becomes easier. However I can not say from the example of our business that there were any problems in previous years.
- What creates comfort for a businessman? Anzor Kokoladze, who was the guest of this program before you, said that he is comfortable when they do not interfere ...
- Of course, at least, this is necessary for business. But for the time we live in and when Georgia is a developing country, it is especially important for the government to support business. There are plenty of agencies, Lots of money is spent, which is good. It is simply desirable that it be more effective. It is possible to open a certain enterprise with the support of the government, but it will not be effective. When a business starts or is already operating, it has some connection to municipal problems (gas, roads, electricity) where, if we compare it to any government agency for which it is a very easily paved road. In the case of business, however, this cannot be regulated because the funds are not provided in a specific budget. I would like to see more attention to business in this regard and to have some channels of communication. It may be easy for large businesses that are affiliated with certain associations, but there are plenty of medium and small businesses that have a problem with this and cannot solve these types of difficulties. When I say 'state', By this I mean not only the central government but also the middle and lower level officials, all the people who have some contact with the business and can influence them.
- You briefly reviewed the improvements during the various government periods. Can you tell us how Saakashvili and the current government ...
- probably more like Ivanishvili than Gharibashvili
- differ in their attitude towards business?
- In general, if we evaluate, I can only tell you about the example of our company. In principle, many beneficial changes took place during that period. Compared to the older period, a lot of energy was spent fighting the state and every day was self-defense, there were a lot of controllers and the business was forced to play by the rules of the game that it was then.
- Do you mean corruption?
- Yes, And it was a very uncomfortable process. That was the worst part about business - when you do something that does not fit into the law but has no other solution. After that, doing business was simplified, the number of taxes was reduced, customs and tax structures were improved. We were a small business back then and it was quite a relief. Add to this the fact that a lot of investment has been made, which has affected all businesses and increased business incomes and employment levels. Until 2004, our company employed about 30 people. Three years ago we were 90, now we are more than 100. Accordingly, we built a new factory, opened new branches, and so on. And not just us. There were problems, fortunately we did not touch it, but that does not mean it was not. There were mistakes, Whatever we hear and watch now and there were lots of businessmen and companies towards whom there was an unfair attitude. Hopefully, they will manage and restore their rights, of course, in appropriate ways. As for the current conditions, again and again on the example of our company, I believe that there is an opportunity to develop even more. "Produce in Georgia" is a very good program and I think we should take advantage of these conditions. 2013 was less economically active, it affected business, 2014 was relatively better and we hoped 2015 would be even better, but unfortunately currency devaluation slowed economic growth and this had a negative impact on too many businesses. While there has been no interference from the state, this is a reality that is plaguing too many businesses at the moment.
- You mentioned the problems that the business had - as you said, you did not touch them. But have you heard about it - have you heard of such problems today?
- No, if it is not covered by television ... - It was not covered by television even then ...
- True, but there were other televisions that covered it. Now I have not really heard from anyone that there is any kind of pressure from the state or its individual representatives. - You talked that in 2015 there were expectations of improvement and progress. Businesses also had these expectations, but currency devaluation pushed everything back and greatly hampered economic growth. Do you think that the Georgian government did everything possible to prevent such a dose from reflecting the crisis on the Georgian national currency?
- In my opinion, other types of actions could be taken, to have less of an impact on this business. I always ask how this process is going in different countries. The Polish guests were with me yesterday as well, and their currency did not fluctuate so much even though the dollar generally strengthened. I think because we have an independent currency, we pursue an independent monetary policy. Consequently, we are dependent on external factors and the fact that our currency was devalued is due to the fact that we had less foreign currency. The reason for this was mainly remittances from our compatriots, who, as it turned out, were the main investors in our country. I thank all of them for this, though I could not replace this amount with an alternative. That is, through foreign direct investment.
- When the government explains to the public the reasons for the depreciation of the lari, This list is mainly external factors and there are no factors that would contain elements of self-criticism that "we could not do something." Do you see an additional internal problem that is not being addressed?
- There is no internal factor. If money cannot come in from outside, if we lack that money, for example $ 1 billion, we have to earn that money somewhere, because it will definitely affect the population and the exchange rate. An additional 500, 600 or 700 million additional resources were needed and this had to be found somewhere.
- Was there a resource for that? The National Bank had ...
- These resources can not be spent
- Did the National Bank act correctly?
- Yes, this is our common wealth. Every healthy family will definitely save money for the most extreme time. This was not the most extreme time to stand. Accordingly, in my opinion, More activity was needed to attract foreign investment. If there had been more activity, an additional $ 500-600 million would have helped keep the rate somewhat. If the exchange rate had been maintained between 2.0 and 2.1, prices would not have risen at all and this would have been redistributed to the companies' profits, although this would not have been dramatic for the companies. The companies kept the prices down for some time, but when that could not be done, the prices went up.
- Has your company suffered from a change in the exchange rate?
- of course. Increase prices. In the first stage, the price increase failed and here was the biggest loss: you wait for stability for some time, this time your income decreases due to rising costs, meanwhile hope is lost, then you are forced to raise prices. Increased prices even reduce demand and sales.
- What is your impression, what happened and what prevention should be done to avoid such a financial shock again, does anyone do? Do you understand the analysis from the competent circles of the government?
- Unfortunately, I do not hear such unequivocal and reconciled opinions, some representatives come out with one opinion, others have another opinion. I think they lack foresight for certain events. This is what every company does. When something changes in the country. For example, after the elections and the arrival of the new government, we realized that it was possible that the government had a different spending policy that year in terms of budget. We quickly took action and shifted our focus to the more private sector. We realized that the government would move to a more social direction, Because there were such promises. Our prediction came true. In the first year, budget expenditures on infrastructure were reduced. Consequently, we would have suffered greatly if we had not acted in this way. Now we have to calculate what is needed for the course to stabilize next year.
- The country has been ruled for some time after 2012 and now the businessman is involved in some processes, who is the richest person in the country, who understands the finances and business environment better, even the GEL exchange rate, than an ordinary politician can handle and analyze. Do you feel that this type of person was in power?
- If his presence had continued, it would probably have been better. A person who has so much business, I am sure, would have managed to figure it out. Unfortunately this has happened and he is not in active management. Accordingly, He is not required to answer this. True, as an investor you incur certain costs. However, I think the main thing is to attract healthy investors. There should be no demand from us that because he is rich, one person should take it and spend that money. After all, it can be done by someone else, for whom this country may be interesting. So I think if his participation had been more active and had more authority, it would probably have been a better case.
- What would you recommend to start-up businessmen?
- I advised them to try. To tell them to abstain, to start a job first, and so on. No. They have to try. Business is a risky business and if he is killed by this genius, he wants to do this business, no one should stop him from doing so. Too many businesses have been created by such people. However if you have more experience and are not in a hurry, obviously it is better.
- There are elections in a year. It is very important who will come up with what idea. Perhaps you will observe, especially the financial and economic direction of who will develop how. What is your order towards political parties as a citizen and as a businessman?
- My wish would be for the budget to be balanced. My wish would be for political parties to give people less promises that are less confusing.
- For example, what kind?
- A lot of promises have been made. For example, mortgages would do something. This is very risky because we are talking about budget money, our total money that should be spent on certain types of people who have taken some risks. It was said that large sums of money would be spent on agriculture and all the people employed in this field would be waiting for help, which would be perceived in cash. That, I think, is not right. We need to explain to the population that the coming years are the years of labor. A able-bodied person should try to get a job. He must have the conditions to do so, and he must be able to meet his own needs. This is the main task. If we tell people that the state is the doer of everything and they look at the state as a supplier of something, it will be very bad for them. More attention needs to be paid to the development of business and the economy. As many enterprises as possible should be opened primarily in industry. Our country is a country of tourism and agro-industry, but without industrial enterprises, innovations we will not be successful. After that there will be more employment.
