Page 46 - GEORptSep22

Georgian appointed head of Uzbekistan’s stock exchange
Georgia’s central bank successful in de-dollarisation, responsible lending, says World Bank
Currently, the system is available in 36 countries, including 27 EU member states plus the UK, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra and Vatican City.
Citizen of Georgia Georgy Paresishvili has been appointed head of Uzbekistan’s Tashkent Stock Exchange.
Paresishvili served as head of the Georgian stock exchange from 2014.
"The decision to attract a highly qualified foreign top manager with 27 years of experience in the banking sector and in the capital market was made in connection with the implementation of the capital market development strategy of Uzbekistan. The main tasks of Paresishvili will be the integration of the local stock market into the international infrastructure of the capital market, as well as assistance in conducting IPOs and SPOs of domestic joint-stock companies," the Uzbek finance ministry said.
Founded in 1994, Tashkent Stock Exchange is the major securities trading platform and the only corporate securities exchange in Uzbekistan.
A decree signed by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev last year was expected to give the country’s capital market a breath of fresh air. According to the document, UzAuto Motors, UzAuto Motors Powertrain, Uzbekgeofizika and Uztemiryulcontainer were to conduct IPOs, while pharmaceutical company Dori-Darmon, Uzpost and insurance companies Universal Sug’urta and Alskom would carry out SPOs.
The World Bank, within the framework of the Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) has given a positive assessment to the work of the National bank of Georgia (NBG) under the FSA Assessment Report.
Successes in de-dollarisation and more responsible lending are highlighted, while the development of capital markets is seen as a target to be pursued in the future.
According to the document, there has been a strong focus on the development of the capital markets in Georgia in the last few years already.
Well-developed domestic capital markets could contribute to Georgia’s sustainable economic growth, the WB argues. In the context of bank dominance in the financial sector and still high dollarization, capital market development could also contribute to more effective mobilization of domestic savings, diversification in the sources of financing for the corporate and household sector, including access to debt in longer tenors.
According to the World Bank report, significant progress has been made since 2017 towards implementing a risk-based supervisory framework, supported by the issuance of a Code of Corporate Governance and the introduction of a General Risk Assessment Programme (GRAPE) assessment.
NBG has taken positive steps to respond to promote fintech development, including establishing a fintech directorate to monitor market developments, track potential risks, and initiate several fintech-related initiatives.
46 GEORGIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com