As an active chess player, many of my Georgian acquaintances happen to be old men, and among them are several former Soviet scientists: physicists, mathematicians, statisticians, and engineers. Ever since I am living in Tbilisi, they like to pull my leg regarding my scientific achievements. “With a Ph.D.”, they enjoy saying, “in the Soviet Union you would have been not more than a ‘candidate of science’”.

On May 22, ISET hosted Mamuka Khazaradze, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TBC Bank, who talked about the story of his success in business, particularly the establishment of TBC (Tbilisi Business Center) Bank in Georgia.

In May, sale and rental prices for residential property in Tbilisi were lower by 4.0% and 3.3% resectively than in the same month a year earlier. The selling prices of residential property declined in May, both in monthly and annual terms. Despite this, the trend line on Chart 1 indicates a tendency towards an overall price increase since Feb. 2013.

One or two years ago, a Lavazza’s take-away coffee shop opened on the side of Georgia’s east-west highway in the area of Zestaponi. You always could find plenty of coffee shops in Tbilisi, but it was a novelty to have them next to the highway. Soon afterward, another coffee bar opened along the road, and surprisingly, it was again set up close to Zestaponi.

As I do every year since I arrived in Georgia back in 2009, this November I attended the Tbilisi International Fair for Agro, Food and Drink Products, Packaging, and Processing. This fair, although very small for international standards (some 60 stands) is actually one of the most important trade exhibitions in the country, and the only significant one with a focus on agriculture and food sectors.