Page 24 - GEORptJul19

5.2 FDI
Georgia - FDI 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Q1 2019
FDI ($ mn)
1,130.3 1,022.9 1,020.5 1,817.7 1,652.6 1,565.8 1,894.5 1,232.4 281.1
FDI (% of GDP)
7.51 5.25 5.93 10.84 11.89 11.27 11.88 7.5
Source: Geostat, CEIC
Ivanishvili remains among top foreign investors in Georgia: report
FDI in Georgia down 35% y/y in 2018
Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s richest individual and sometimes described as the country’s de facto leader, remained among the largest foreign investors in the nation in the first quarter of this year, BusinessPressNews has reported. Ivanishvili, an ex-PM and a Georgian-Russian dual national oligarch who leads the ruling Georgian Dream party, accounted for 6% of FDI in Georgia in 2018, the media outlet added.
Breaking down the data on Q1 of this year, the Georgian Tourism Development Fund—owned, according to BPN.ge by Ivanishvili—was ranked by the statistics office as among the 10 largest foreign investors. The company is located at the address of Ivanishvili’s Cartu Foundation. It is solely in the ownership of Panama-based Frankston International, which BPN.ge reported is also owned by Ivanishvili. The company was established on November 3, 2014.
Tourism Development Fund was on the 2018 list of the top 10 FDI investors in Georgia in 2018 as well, with $76mn (6% of the year's total FDI) invested.
According to preliminary data from Geostat, the volume of FDI in Georgia amounted to $281.1mn in the first quarter of 2019, 6.3% y/y down.
Ireland was the country's largest direct investor country. This is explained by Irish company Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) purchasing 51% in the largest player in Georgia’s gambling market, Adjarabet, for GBP101mn in February this year.
The company has said that through agreed option arrangements it expected to acquire the remaining 49% of Adjarabet after three years. Adjarabet is licensed to offer a range of online betting and gaming products in Georgia including casino, sports, poker and peer-to-peer games. It takes an estimated 40% share of total online gambling revenues in Georgia.
Gross foreign direct investments in Georgia decreased by 6.35 y/y to $281mn in the quarter, but equity investments increased by 28% y/y to $159mn. Re-invested earnings were smaller in the quarter, dragging down the headline FDI figure.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Georgia decreased by 35% y/y to to $1.232bn in 2018, statistics office Geostat has announced . The figure is 23% below the average FDI seen in the previous five-year period.
The FDI-to-GDP ratio remained, however, robust at some 7.5% in 2018.
The main reasons for the decline in FDI included the completion of a pipeline project, the transferring of ownership in some companies from non-resident to
24 GEORGIA Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com