Georgian officials hope that the decision to transform the Black Sea port city of Poti into a tax haven will give a boost to President Mikheil Saakashvili’s much-touted war on poverty.Eleven companies responded to the port’s privatization tender and its transformation into a Free Industrial Zone, a move initially announced in October 2007. Although a final decision is not expected before mid-April, Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze has already announced the name of the frontrunner. Georgia seems likely to hand Poti’s Free Industrial Zone and a 51 percent stake in the Poti port itself to the United Arab Emirates’ RAK Investment Authority http://www.rak-ia.com, Gurgenidze indicated during a March 27 briefing. Full Story