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New General Manager of Radisson Blu Iveria: hospitability is Georgia’s key asset
Q&A with Michael Jacobi
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Author: By Tamar Khurtsia
In April of this year, Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel appointed Michael Jacobi as the new General Manager. A German national, Jacobi has extensive experience working in the hospitality industry. He studied Hotel Management in Germany and has worked in various management positions for several international hotel companies throughout his career. Jacobi has held positions in Germany, Ireland, the US, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, and joins the Radisson Blu Iveria team in Tbilisi from the Radisson Blu Hotel in Muscat, Oman where he held the same position. Prior to his arrival in Tbilisi he lived and worked in the Middle East with his wife and three children for 6 Ѕ years.
Speaking about his newly appointed position at the Radisson Blu Iveria in Tbilisi, he touched on the prospects of the hotel, describing it as belonging to the premium-class of hotels on the Georgian market. Even though he did not know very much about Georgia prior to his arrival, accepting the move to take over the post of general manager at the Radisson Blu Iveria was an easy decision for him. He says that the Radisson Blu Iveria is recognized in the Rezidor Hotel Group as a top performing hotel in regards to guest satisfaction and he expects that Tbilisi will be an enjoyable and safe place for his family to live.
In an interview with Georgia Today, Jacobi talked about what makes the Radisson Blu Iveria so competitive today, as well as the hotel’s assets
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Alazani I HPP rehabilitation completed, Alazani II HPP construction due to start
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Author: By Nino Edilashvili
The Georgian International Energy Corporation, (GIEC) a member of the Georgian Industrial Group (GIG), has completed rehabilitation works on Alazani I HIPP, the first phase of its two-stage project.
The Alazani HPP located on the Alazani River near the village of Vejini, in the Kakheti region, had an annual generation of only 3 GW, while after the rehabilitation its capacity will double. Equipped with highly effective turbines, modern security and automatic/self-acting systems, the rehabilitated Alazani I HPP will generate 40 mln KW/H annually.
“Before beginning to implement this project, we studied the Alazani River, including its behavior in different seasons; and whether it had enough intensive water in winter or not,” Natia Turnava, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the GIG, one of the largest business holding in Georgia, said. According to her, the research showed that the river has never frozen and generates enough electricity in winter time.
The interest of various businesses to come to Georgia’s energy generation market coincides with the government’s intention to increase electricity generation. In particular, the development of Georgia’s hydro resources is expected to help the country reduce dependence on imported fuels in the winter months and provide the opportunity to export electricity abroad.
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TBC Bank unveils mobile banking for iPhone and Android customers
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Author: By Tamar Khurtsia
To keep customers in touch with their money, wherever they are, TBC Bank, the second largest bank by assets in Georgia, introduced mobile banking for iPhone and Android customers. TBC is the first bank in Georgia that offers its clients the most comfortable distance banking service for most smart phones.
“TBC’s clients have an opportunity to access the most popular Internet banking functions from most smart phones wherever they are, whenever they want for secure banking 24/7,” said Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, the General Manager of TBC Bank at the official presentation of the service at the newly opened branch on Vazha Pshavela Avenue in the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi.
“Whether you are on a holiday or just out and about, our banking apps are for the customers’ convenience; they are free, secure and easy to use,” he noted, adding that the extension of this convenience and functionality to iPhone customers is further delivery on their commitment to their customers.
The mobile banking on AT&T application is now available as a free download from Apple’s app store beginning on May 7. The new generation mobile banking will be available for other types of phone, like Android in a week.
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Goodwill – the Georgian Investor of the Year
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Goodwill is the best Georgian investor company. This was the conclusion at the most large-scale and prestigious business awards ceremony “Mercury 2012” held at the exhibition center Expo Georgia. This year up to 250 companies competed for 18 nominations during the Georgian national business awards. In order to ensure maximum objectivity and transparency of nominee evaluation, representatives of the influential U.S. publication Forbes Magazine and the BCG Research Institute were involved in the project.
Mikheil Charkviani, General Manager of Goodwill:
“Receiving the award for the best investor company from a large-scale and prestigious competition like Mercury is very important for Goodwill. The best Georgian and foreign specialists participated in the selection of nominees; their evaluation gives us great stimulus to continue working according to the chosen strategy and offer even bigger-scale and more innovative projects to Georgia.
Goodwill has been on the Georgian market for 8 years and has made many large investments during the period to expose customers to the culture of modern sales; to show that in Georgia it is possible to receive high-quality controlled products, high-quality service and have a wide choice at the same time.
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MobiPay suspends operation in Georgia
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Author: By Tamar Khurtsia
MobiPay, Georgia’s first fully-fledged mobile payment system, backed by Open Revolution, a US-based company, has suspended their operations in Georgia, said Allen Gilstrap, CEO and Director of JSC Open Revolution Georgia confirmed to Georgia Today over the telephone.
The call center operator at MobiPay, responded to Georgia Today, by stating that the company will be halting their operations beginning May 20, and those subscribers who have money on their MobiPay accounts can either spend it using the company’s services or they can withdraw the cash by visiting MobiPay’s office.
Asked about what was the reason was behind closing the business in Georgia, the operator explained that this was the investor’s decision. “We were told that the business was unprofitable and that became the basis for suspending the operation,”
Gilstrap did not refuse to provide Georgia Today with further details about fact but he did say that he has been waiting for the confirmation from the head office to release additional information. “I will manage to give you the comments by Friday morning,” he stated.
MobiPay, Georgia’s first multi-national payment network for mobile financial services, including bill payment, merchant payments, person to person money transfers, and airtime top-up, entered into Georgia in early 2011 with an aggressive marketing campaign.
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Mercury 2012 names best businesses in Georgia
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Author: By Tea Gelashvili
Peri, a company specializing in the construction of hydropower plants has announced the winner of Mercury 2012, Georgia’s national business award. Last year this award went to Silknet, a telecommunication company.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili attended the ceremony and personally congratulated Lasha Iordanishvili, the Director of Peri LTD on the victory. In his overview of the business environment in the country, he said that an enormous amount of construction work has taken place throughout the country in recent years, which is very positive in terms of reducing unemployment, improving infrastructure and attracting foreign investment.
Iordanishvili, whose company is currently developing 5 HPP across Georgia, said that the award was a “great stimulus” for him to reach another successful milestone. “I have a very positive emotion,” He told Georgia Today. Set up in 1991, the company has invested $150 million and thinks that the first one will become operational by the end of this year, while the construction work for the last HPP will be completed by the end 2014.
Mercury 2012 was organized by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development together with the Georgian National Investment Agency (GNIA) and the Georgian Chamber of Commerce. According to Vera Kobalia, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, the goal of this business competition was and is to discover new business faces and show people that new businesses are being established in Georgia.
Before the competition began, the government promised that the competition would be fair and transparent. A number of experts nominated businesses for the awards. Like last year, this year’s jury was composed of four groups of seven experts.
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