September 22, 1997 Stuart Subotnick, Margo Sherwin, John Kluge, Manana Shevardnadze, Richard Sherwin, Gia Jokhtaberidze

More than 140 years have passed since the first telephone appeared in Georgia. As a new means of communication, it quickly became an indispensable attribute of life. As time passed by, demand for constant connection continued to grow and, as a result, mobile communication was developed. It also appeared in Georgia. However, eight years ago it was difficult to imagine that mobile communication would acquire such a large scale, although experts had a different opinion. At the beginning of 1997, when two mobile operators were already working in the Georgian market, a new name, MAGTICOM, emerged in Georgia's mobile communications industry. That was 5 years ago.
 

Levan Buchukuri General Director MagtiCom

   The history of MagtiCom's foundation is not limited to a 5-year period. Work to set up the new company started much earlier and faced serious difficulties in the course of its development. Other mobile companies were already functioning in Georgia and initially many potential investors were sceptical about the project. In spite of this, Magti Group, the Georgian founder of MagtiCom, applied to almost all prominent companies with the project to establish a new mobile operator in Georgia. They visited many countries to find a partner to begin a multimillion project in our country. The social and economic situation in Georgia was grave and the caution of the companies involved in the communications business was only natural. There was a real risk that the investments would be lost, because of the instability of the situation.
   Those obstacles are things of the past today, but they had to be overcome to have a company like MagtiCom now. Many, who refused to become MagtiCom's partners, now say that they regret it.
   MagtiCom is an excellent example of a successful company set up with foreign investment. For future investors, it sets a precedent of a Georgian company of European standard staffed with highly-skilled local professionals.
   It should be mentioned also that MagtiCom became the third mobile operator among more than ten other companies in Georgia, who had received the GSM license. Several new companies started operating, but were unable to continue. MagtiCom, however, managed both to consolidate its position in the market and remain the unchallenged leader.
   The mobile industry is expanding rapidly. The number of mobile phone users worldwide has reached 900 million, about one seventh of the world's total population. The permanent growth of the number of users is not impeded by various unsubstantiated publications or information periodically appearing in the media concerning the harmfulness of mobile phones or base stations.
   From the very beginning the relationship of the investors and MagtiCom has been based on the full observance of strict but fair rules of business. MagtiCom has been fully realizing its responsibility to duly cover the credits, which is a matter of prestige not only for an individual company, but also for the whole country. MagtiCom has even covered its credits in advance: a rare case even with foreign companies.
   After 5 years in operation, we can safely say that the idea of establishing a successful company has justified itself. During the past years MagtiCom has been one of the biggest companies in Georgia. MagtiCom was the implementer of many innovations in the country, having become the symbol of stability and reliability for companies operating here.

MagtiCom Management
 

Sitting: Natia Kakhidze, Eliso Tsiklauri, Levan Buchukuri, Eka Lomidze,  Ani Rekhviashvili and Gia Jokhtaberidze Standing: Nika Tsereteli, Dato Nasaridze, Archil Kavtaradze,  Jaba Dikhaminjia, Tato Makharadze, Zurab Gurgenidze, Zurab Gochitashvili,  Gia Koshoridze and Gigisha Tsuladze

   We are proud of MagtiCom's contribution to the growth of the Georgian economy. We declare the figures openly, repeatedly confirming one of the main principles of our operation:

MagtiCom activities are fully transparent.

   We would also like to mention what we do after we fulfill our obligations to the state. It is a generous charity and public work carried out voluntarily by the Company in order to built a better state. The amounts granted for charity, assistance and sponsorship totaled 1,727,145 GEL during the past year. The Company takes an active part in the public and cultural life of the country.
   There is one more thing we would like to mention: the MagtiCom of today is not thought of as a company of its founders and owners only. This is a company belonging to all those people who have an everyday connection with its activity, and whose incomes depend on the successful operation of the Company. These, in the first place, are MagtiCom employees, the 450 persons (150 of them working in the regions), who have guaranteed salaries, which are quite high for Georgia. Since the beginning of the year their salaries have increased by 15% following the decision of MagtiCom founders.
   Of no less importance is the successful work of MagtiCom for hundreds of small and medium scale entrepreneurs directly connected with the distribution of MagtiCom prepaid MONO cards. The number of dealers grows together with the expanding of MagtiCom activities. The same goes for the volume of commission paid monthly by the Company to its dealers, which accounts for a significant part of the income of their families. The commission paid by MagtiCom during July 2000 to June 2002 totaled 3,19 million GEL.
   In addition, many Georgian companies are connected with the operation of MagtiCom - their main, and sometimes only customer. These companies employ hundreds of people. MagtiCom's strategy is to seek local companies to undertake the necessary work, which, in addition to providing job opportunuties, contributes to the settling of the problem of the leakage of monetary resources.
   We are happy to have participated in the creation of additional workplaces, giving the chance to people both in Tbilisi and in the regions to find a supplementary legal source of income.
   We did not want to overload the summary of our five-year operation with too much detail. We have deliberately skipped many significant events, which took place during this period. We indeed faced difficulties, but coped with them together with our subscribers.
   We hope our customers and we will stay together in the future. Our magazine, The World of Constant Connection, will help us to do so. This small gift is a token of our appreciation for all those interested in our activities.