Page 5 - GEORptJun22

1.0 Executive summary
Georgia’s economy expanded by 2.6% y/y in April, according to the national statistics office Geostat. GDP growth was observed in transportation and storage, hotels and restaurants, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, financial and insurance activities, arts, entertainment and recreation and mining and quarrying. Declines were seen in construction, manufacturing, professional services, scientific and technical activities and trade.
Geostat also stated that 6,894 new businesses were registered in April, up 41.4% y/y, while exports of goods in January-April were valued at $1.5bn, up 32.8% y/y.
Georgia's real GDP grew by 10.4% in 2021, according to Geostat on March 21. Last year, GDP at current prices amounted to GEL60.2bn ($18.7bn), which is 22.3% higher than the corresponding figure for 2020.
The World Bank is to up its economic growth forecast for Georgia to 5.5% from 2.5% (forecast issued in April), Sebastian Molineus, the World Bank’s regional director for the South Caucasus, was cited as saying by bm.ge. The Georgian economy was showing an “amazing resistance and firmness”, Molineus was quoted as saying.
In its previous spring economic outlook for Georgia, the World Bank has cut its 2022 growth forecast for Georgia to 2.5% from the 5.5% it projected pre-Ukraine war, while cautioning that there is considerable scope for further downgrades if the war continues for much longer.
Georgian external trade turnover amounted to $5.25bn in January-April 2022, posting a 33.4% increase y/y according to Geostat. Georgia's top trading partners by exports in January-April were China ($290.4mn), Azerbaijan ($168.4mn) and Russia ($156.4mn), while the top trading partners by imports were Turkey ($637.8mn), Russia ($403.3mn) and China ($324.3mn)
Georgia’s current account deficit fell by 6.4% y/y to 9.8% of GDP in 2021, according to NBG. The improvement in the balance was supported by strong growth in transfers and a recovery in the service balance following a gradual rebound in tourism revenues.
Foreign direct investment in Georgia reached $411.3mn in Q4 2021, a rise from $303.8mn last quarter and a decline of $134.2 a year ago, according to new data released by Geostat. The United Kingdom was the top contributor to FDI.
Georgian inflation hit 12.8% in April, according to the data of the National Statistical Service of Georgia, which was published on May 3. Annual inflation rate stood at 13.7% in February. Compared to the previous month, consumer prices rose by 1.8%. Georgian experts forecast the inflation rate in Georgia to begin to “decline significantly” from March to April this year.
The Monetary Policy Committee of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) at
5 GEORGIA Country Report June 2022 www.intellinews.com