Page 11 - GEORptSep18

central importance and get a substantial share of the funding.
"Unfortunately, Tbilisi and Tbilisians have painfully accepted the results of the incorrect — and I would say offensive — environmental policy witnessed in recent years. This is absolutely unacceptable,” the prime minister commented. He talked of the inefficient public transport system in the capital — specifically mentioning the yellow buses that are only slowly being replaced by eco-friendly blue buses — and said that a “significant volume of financial resources” would be disbursed from the central budget.
3.2 Macro outlook
ADB notes unexpected recovery in Central Asia and South Caucasus, raises forecasts
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has noted a “broadly positive” outlook for Central Asia and the South Caucasus as the economies of the region have performed ”unexpectedly” well, according to the July update of the Asian Development Outlook.
Other international observers, such as the World Bank, have previously projected a slight slowdown for 2018, following the modest recoveries seen in 2017, due to waning returns on benefits that pushed expansion last year. These benefits include the knock-on effects of economic stabilisation in Russia, the region’s leading trade partner, as well as improving performances from the region’s hydrocarbons sector - mainly where Kazakhstan is concerned. The ADB’s latest outlook seems more optimistic, however.
“In Kazakhstan, Central Asia’s largest economy, growth picked up to 4.1% in Q1 of 2018 from 3.6% a year earlier. Growth was supported by an unexpectedly strong recovery in industry, with improvements in mining driven by rising prices and volumes for oil and metals, and in manufacturing by a government industrialization program,” the ADB noted. “In the first 5 months of 2018, industry expanded by 5.4%.”
The bank also mentioned that real income rebounded by 1.2% in January-April 2018 after a prolonged downward trend observed since mid-2016. As such, the ADB expects growth in Kazakhstan to reach 3.7% in 2018 and 3.9% in 2019, above the earlier forecasts of 3.2% and 3.5%, respectively.
“Growth prospects are further improved by a government plan to introduce a
11 GEORGIA Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com