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ABD plans more investments to support energy, SME sectors in Georgia
environmental, social and economic challenges.
The GCF support will complement the EBRD’s financing through concessional lending, investment grants and providing technical assistance to cities in the nine target countries.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to expand its $1.5bn investment portfolio in Georgia, Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Giorgi Kobulia said on September 26 at a meeting with ADB resident mission country director Yesim Elhan-Kayalar, according to a Georgia Today report .
“In fact, this sum [the investment portfolio] makes up 10% of our GDP. The ADB is still planning to expand this portfolio—we discussed the possibility of increasing the ADB participation in our energy sector as well as its support in the pension reform and PPP [Public Private partnership] Law implementation,” Kobulia stated.
ADB’s investments over time in Georgia have amounted to some €3bn while the investment portfolio stands at $1.5bn at this very moment, he added. Sovereign loans extended to the country reached $2.42bn while non-sovereign loans total $330 million, according to ADB’s website.
New investments are envisaged in the energy sector, in supporting the government’s reform of its pension system and to finance PPP projects under a newly endorsed law. ADB and Georgia have also worked together to expand renewable energy resources and upgrade the country’s power transmission network.
4.4 Labour and income
4.4.1 Unemployment, income dynamics
Georgia’s unemployment rate inched down in 2017
Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.1 of a percentage point (pp) to 13.9% in 2017, continuing the downtrend of the last eight years, data from the state statistics office Geostat shows. Unemployment remained highest among young people, reaching as high as 29.6% for 20-24 year olds, even though it declined by 3.2pp for this age group compared to 2016.
The unemployment rate declines steadily as ages increase though, as Geostat points out, the low level for the 65+ age group is due to the high inactivity rate in this age group.
By region, Geostat reports an increase in the unemployment rate in the capital Tbilisi (by 1.6pp), and in regions Shida Kartli (2.0pp), Kvemo Kartli (3.5pp) and Imereti (1.2pp). The largest declines were in Adjara and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, where unemployment fell by 5.8pp and 3.4pp respectively.
Georgia’s unemployment rate is higher than the rates of most EU countries, though below the rates of crisis-hit Spain and Greece, most of the Western Balkan countries, and neighbouring Armenia.
Geostat made fundamental changes to how it compiles its labour force statistics in 2017, after new data in the population dynamics and the population’s geographic distribution in the country were revealed by the 2014
15 GEORGIA Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com