Page 10 - GEORptDec17

While organised crime has been a problem in Georgia for decades, terrorism is rare and generally confined to pockets of Muslim minorities living in the Pankisi Gorge region. Police raids against terrorists in the capital city are highly unusual. The Georgian security service has not revealed the identity of the suspects, but stated that "according to preliminary information, these persons are not Georgian citizens and are members of a terrorist organisation", which is rumoured to be Islamic State (IS). Only one of the initial suspects has been captured alive. At the site of the raid, law enforcement found explosive materials, ammunitions and firearms, according to the security service.
Eleven Georgian citizens were among 26 people arrested in Paris on charges of burglary, extortion and belonging to a criminal group, the Georgian interior ministry said in a statement on November 17. The 26 detained, all of whom hail from former Soviet republics, were reportedly part of a criminal group active in France and were arrested as a result of the joint efforts of French police and the Georgian embassy in Paris. During raids, law enforcement confiscated large amounts of cash, weapons, masks, stolen vehicles and forged documents, the statement added. The eleven arrested Georgian citizens comprised of five gang bosses and six women, who, according to the statement, had participated in break-ins in shops and apartments in Paris and nearby towns.
3.0 Macro Economy
Georgia - Main Macro 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 1Q17 2Q17 Indicators
GDP real growth (y/y, %)
7.2 6.4 3.4 4.6 2.9 2.7 5.1 4.7
GDP (per capita, $) 3,230.7 3,523.4 3,599.6 3,676.2 3,766.6 3,852.5 859.5 1,008.1
GDP: Final consumption expenditure, (local currency)
22,487.3 23,733.2 23,671.8 25,570.7 27,318.7 28,228.8 7,366.8
GDP: Gross capital formation, (local currency)
6,368.0 7,575.4 6,652.9 8,688.8 10,004.3 10,999.8 2,208.7
GDP: Exports, (local currency)
8,822.8 9,982.9 11,997.9 12,518.3 14,206.8 14,749.6 3,880.9
GDP: Imports, (local currency)
13,334.2 15,124.2 15,475.2 17,627.3 19,774.3 20,056.6 5,138.4
Source: bne IntelliNews, CEIC
3.1 Macroeconomic overview
Georgian economy grows 5% y/y in Sept, 4.7% in 9M
Georgia's annual GDP growth in September was 5%, national statistics agency Geostat reported on October 30.
Following a few years of depressed growth as a result of the wider economic slowdown in Central Asia, the Georgian economy grew by 4.9% y/y in the first half of 2017 and is expected to grow at rates exceeding 4% in the next two years, according to recent W orld Bank forecasts. The main factors behind the
10 GEORGIA Country Report December 2017 www.intellinews.com