Page 26 - GEORptApr20

fourth quarter of 2018. The UK ranked first at 36.1% of the volume, Turkey followed with 22.2% and the Netherlands was next with 13.9%.
6.0​ Public Sector 6.1​ Budget
Georgia’s government announces economic stimulus equivalent to 1.7% of GDP
Georgia’s government will support the economy to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by providing tax incentives for the tourism sector and deferring the payment of interest on bank loans made to entrepreneurs and individuals, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said on March 13.
He said that the funds would come from the state budget and private entities, particularly the Cartu Fund, privately owned by Georgia’s richest man Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream Party. Prior to the presidential elections in 2018, Ivanishvili controversially intervened to write off the debts of some 600,000 Georgians.
“In addition, negotiations with international financial institutions have already been started for soliciting financial resources from their special allocations,” Gakharia said.
Georgian, a country of 3.7mn, by March 15 had 33 cases of coronavirus-infected people, the highest number of any country in the South Caucasus region.
“We’ve drafted a plan, a list of measures, and their implementation is expected to create additional financial resources in the economy of GEL [Georgian lari] 1bn ($345mn, equivalent to around 1.7% of GDP),” Gakharia told a briefing. The PM said the further spread of coronavirus may threaten this year’s economic growth forecast of 4.5% but did not specify how far short gross domestic product might fall compared to the target.
According to Otar Nadaraia, chief economist of TBC Bank, taking into account
26​ GEORGIA Country Report ​April 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com