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could very well be reflected in its capital market soon.
One recent development that could speed up the process is, according to Paresishvili, the fact that the GSE and the Central Securities Depository are working on a major upgrade of the trading platform, with the help of the central bank. "Once the upgrade is complete, it will provide much better access to non-resident investors to the local market. The upgrade will result in GSE using a state-of-the-art platform that will allow investors not only to trade stock, but also to lend, borrow and do all the operations that can be performed on developed stock exchanges ," he explains.
As for the EBRD, Paresishvili hopes that the bank will continue to support the development of Georgia's capital market by moving into buying corporate bonds directly and thus acting like an anchor investor for the local market. "We have seen more issuances of local corporate bonds recently. In 2016, they represented 40% of the securities traded on GSE," he says.
Georgian Stock Exchange GSE recorded a turnover value of GEL163,509.48 as of July 2017, a whooping increase from GEL38,932.77 a year ago. The highest turnover value of GEL4,163,201.12 was seen in May.
8.3.1 ECM news
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sold 30% of its shares in Georgia's largest lender, TBC Bank, on the London Stock Exchange on June 5, the multilateral lender said in a press statement. The EBRD, which purchased a 12.4% stake in the Georgian bank in 2009, said that its move was prompted by the lender's good performance on the stock exchange since it listed in 2014. The news comes after an eventful year for the bank which saw it acquire a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) last August, buy the fourth largest bank in Georgia - Bank Republic - and overtake the previous incumbent as the country's largest lender, post double-digit growth in assets, profitability and lending and secure almost $200mn in financing from several international financial institutions (IFIs). The sale was completed at "a small discount" compared to the price of the shares, which stood at GBP17 on June 5. The EBRD agreed to a 90-day lock-up period on the residual stake.
32 GEORGIA Country Report December 2017 www.intellinews.com