Page 31 - GEORptOct21

again, which, among other factors, was due to changed expectations about international tourism as the opening of borders did not go according to the plan originally put forward by the government.
Since September, the GEL fluctuations have increased to an even greater extent with it becoming clear that a second wave of the coronavirus was imminent in the country, with another lockdown set to follow.
It was during this period that the NBG intensified its foreign exchange interventions. As a result, $500mn in FX auctions was sold in the fourth quarter.
In a report published in December, Tao Zhang, deputy executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), noted that the need for interventions in Georgia would continue into 2021. On January 6, the NBG held its first foreign exchange auction, selling $30mn.
5.2 FDI
Georgia - FDI 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Q1 Q2 2021* 2021*
FDI ($ mn)
1,039.2 1,837.0 1,728.8 1,654.0 1,980.8 1,317.1 1,335.8 572.0 132.2 234.2
FDI (% of GDP)
5.93 10.84 11.89 11.27 11.88 7.5 7
Source: Geostat, CEIC
Georgia Q2 FDI down by 2.6% y/y
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Georgia amounted to $234.2mn in the second quarter of 2021, marking a 2.6% y/y decrease, according to preliminary data released by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) on September 8.
The figure represented a recovery in relative terms from Q1, when FDI was down a whopping 28% y/y.
A reduction of the amount of equity, the transfer of several enterprises’ ownership from non-resident to resident, and several companies covering their debts were key drivers of the Q2 decline, Geostat reported.
The United Kingdom remained the largest investor with $77.1mn in FDI, followed by the Netherlands with $31.5 million and the Czech Republic with $30.5mn.
31 GEORGIA Country Report October 2021 www.intellinews.com