City Tbilisi Financial News

Online platform Ixigo reported an 80-100% year-on-year (YoY) increase in bookings to destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam, Bali, and London. Agoda supported this trend, noting a 53% surge in international accommodation searches. Cleartrip observed a 1.2x jump in international leisure travel, with Southeast Asia and the Middle East emerging as key regions. Emerging destinations are a highlight this year. MakeMyTrip recorded 248% growth in searches for Azerbaijan and 100% growth for Malaysia. Similarly, Cleartrip observed spikes in bookings for Manila (2.5x) and Tbilisi (1.7x), alongside strong growth for Bali (2.6x) and Phuket (2.3x).

carbon monoxide poisoning, local media reported, citing police. The Indian mission in Tbilisi said that all 12 victims were Indian nationals. However, Georgia's internal affairs ministry statement said 11 were foreigners while one victim was its citizen. It added that the bodies of all victims, employees in the same Indian restaurant, were found in bedrooms on the second floor of the facility.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has completed the acquisition of Norwegian firm Equinor's stake in an Azerbaijan oilfield and an associated pipeline for USD 60 million, the firm said in a statement. OVL «has completed the acquisition of 0.615 per cent participating interest (PI) in offshore Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) field in Azerbaijan from Equinor. This also includes the acquisition of 0.737 per cent shares of Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline company through its wholly-owned subsidiary ONGC BTC Limited», a company statement said. The firm had signed a sale purchase agreement (SPA) for the stake buy in July and the deal was completed on November 29.

Viktor Orban made his loyalties clear when he landed in Georgia this week. As protesters disputed an election victory for its pro-Russian leadership, Hungary’s prime minister congratulated the country for choosing not to become the next Ukraine. The trip to Tbilisi was a bold move, even for a leader who has made no secret of his coziness with Russia and disregard for the European Union. But with all eyes now on voting in the US, the timing was as important as the optics. A win for his ally Donald Trump on Tuesday could make Orban the go-to person in Europe for the next US president, according to a person familiar with the thinking in Budapest. And with Russia’s war in Ukraine, Europe’s security and trade relations with China all in flux, Orban is relishing that prospect.

Georgia's president on Monday urged the West to support opposition protests of the official results of a weekend parliamentary election in which the governing party was declared victorious amid voting irregularities and allegations of Russian meddling. President Salome Zourabichvili, who refused to recognize the official results, told AP that the South Caucasus nation has fallen victim to Russian pressure aimed at derailing Georgia's plans to join the European Union. «We've seen that Russian propaganda was directly used,» said Zourabichvili, a fierce critic of Georgian Dream, the governing party. She said the government has been «working hand-in-hand with Russia,» and «probably» received help from Moscow's security services.

ONGC Videsh Limited, a schedule «A» Navaratna Central Public Sector Enterprise, has announced the signing of a definitive Sale Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire a stake in Azerbaijan's prestigious Offshore Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) oil field from Equinor ASA. According to a press release, the agreement encompasses the acquisition of a 0.615 per cent participating interest (PI) in the ACG field and a 0.737 per cent shareholding in the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline company through its wholly-owned subsidiary, ONGC BTC Limited. The total investment for these acquisitions is projected to be up to USD 60 million, with the deals expected to be finalized in the forthcoming months.

Ripple, a major cryptocurrency firm, is strengthening its collaboration with the Republic of Georgia by exploring ways to digitize the local economy in partnership with the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).

Albert Park said, citing the successful experience of other developed economies. India should also commit to remain an open economy and review import tariffs that may be making inputs costlier for sectors where it has an advantage, Park said on the sidelines of ADB’s annual meeting in Tbilisi last week. Park said that if ADB were to do an economic diagnosis of the country, education would be among the priority areas where it should really improve the quality since becoming a middle-income country means moving up the technology ladder.

Georgia’s security service has claimed overseas actors are using crypto to fund a spate of protests that have divided the country.

Ayodhya grew 585 per cent in 2023 as compared to 2022. It was followed by a 359 per cent jump for Ujjain and 343 per cent rise in searches for Badrinath. It also highlighted that from Delhi, the top searched destinations were Rishikesh and Amritsar.

NEW DELHI : Baku. Khinaliq. Batumi.

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India market share is one of the highest for any airline in a domestic market across the world. But its larger strategy now is becoming a more global airline from a purely domestic one, Pieter Elbers, who was brought in as chief executive last year from Air France-KLM, tells Arindam Majumder. Edited excerpts:Q. It has been a year of aggressive expansion adding international destinations where Indians hardly travelled before. Are those yielding money? A: It is a strategy that we launched a year ago — that we build our own network, develop partnership, and expand connectivity.

IndiGo, India's leading airline on Wednesday is celebrating its 17th anniversary by announcing its three-day sale for all customers starting August 2, 2023 to August 4, 2023. The offers are a part of its anniversary celebrations ‘HappyIndiGoDay.' The airline is offering a 12 per cent discount on all tickets booked from its website and mobile app till August 3 while seven per cent discount will be given on August 4, said the company in its statement.

Protesters at the Georgia-Russia border are calling on Tbilisi to stop the influx of Russians. 

Who would have thought that a small country in the Caucasus Mountains could become one of the world’s leaders in cryptocurrency mining?