Economy grew 11.1% in January – Geostat

At the moment, 30 MFOs remain in the market, with about 3,500 staff. Rico employs about 900 staff, and Swiss Capital employs about 500.Rico is represented by the largest network, with 67 service centers (H1/2024 – 61). Swiss Capital is third with 35 branches (H1/2024 – 33). The second is "CreditService+" with 50 service centers.Retaining personnel cost the sector 100 million in 2024. Of this, 23.3 million are "Rico" expenses ((H1/2024 – 10.5 million).

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In January, the NBG’s foreign exchange sales, through internal government conversions in the banking system, reduced foreign exchange reserves by $168 million.According to the NBG’s “Monthly Review”, the NBG did not hold a foreign exchange auction in January and did not trade on BMatch.The NBG did not participate in interbank foreign exchange trading either. The trading volume decreased by $115 million in the month. The total GEL/USD turnover amounted to 86 million USD.The number of transactions decreased by -43.6%m.m (+10.9%Y.Y). Almost all (93.4%) are spot transactions. Trade amounted to $2.6 billion.The main part of spot transactions falls on residents, small, non-resident banks. The NBG did not intervene in the foreign exchange market in January.

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In January, according to the NBG's "Monthly Review", it decreased by 333 million GEL from 6.617 billion GEL to 6.284 billion GEL.According to NBG statistics, in January-February, refinancing loans increased by 250 million GEL and as of March, the balance is 4.656 billion GEL. The balance of overnight loans has increased to 2.23 billion GEL (in January - 349.5 million; in February +438 million)No transactions were made on treasury securities in the secondary market. The secondary capital market has been inactive since October 2023.

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According to the PM, the new US administration demonstrates different approaches, however, the European Union is not changing its stance, including regarding the war.“We should follow the development of events. Amid these developments, we should be concentrated on defending our national interests. This is the main priority and goal,” he said.Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze pays an official visit to Turkmenistan.

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The programme will commence shortly and end no later than the Company’s Annual General Meeting 2025 (expected to be in June 2025) and the shares will be purchased in the open market. The purpose of the buyback is to reduce the Group’s share capital, and the cancellation of the treasury shares repurchased will be executed on a monthly basis. The Programme will be conducted within certain pre-set parameters, and in accordance with the general authority to repurchase shares granted at the 2024 Annual General Meeting, Chapter 9 of the FCA UK Listing Rules, and the provisions of the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014/EU and of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 (as they form part of UK domestic law). The maximum number of shares that may be repurchased under the programme is 3,860,721. The Company has appointed Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (“Cavendish”) to manage the Programme. During any closed periods the Company and its directors have no power to invoke any changes to the Programme and it will be executed at the sole discretion of Cavendish.The Company will make further announcements in due course following the completion of any share repurchases.

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"January rapid economic growth estimate came in at 11.1%, once again rather higher than our expectations;Spending on consumer durables through TBC channels declined further in February, indicating that sentiments have not recovered yet;Similarly, net FX purchases and deposit conversions moderated in February, although normalization at relatively higher levels signals that the market remains wary;Combining net inflows, global USD dynamics, even before recent weakening, and sentiments, our short-run equilibrium USD/GEL estimate strengthened to 2.78 as of January 2025;In light of recent USD weakening, which, coupled with a strong EUR, provides an upside to the GEL outlook, we reiterate our recommendation to avoid short-term overreaction within the GEL/EUR/USD and the UZS strategy;In this regard, unlike previous episodes of procyclical behaviour, lately, when the EUR was weaker, the share of EUR in corporate FX loans has been declining, a welcome development per our framework considering our estimates of EUR misalignment, even when adjusted for the relative riskiness for Georgia;Last but not least, annual inflation without one-offs approached the 3% target in February, with price changes in monthly terms indicating relative acceleration, an important development to keep an eye on", - the document reads.

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At the face-to-face meeting, the PM and President of Turkmenistan reviewed friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries in different spheres, focusing on the positive dynamics of bilateral political and economic ties.Irakli Kobakhidze and Serdar Berdimuhamedov highlighted transport-logistics projects stressing the significance of the Middle Corridor development.Georgian PM thanked President of Turkmenistan for support of Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and invited Serdar Berdimuhamedov to Georgia.President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov hosted Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze at the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan.

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The parties discussed issues of strengthening regional cooperation in the field of monetary policy and central bank activities. The discussion touched upon the regional macroeconomic environment, the financial sector, and the impact of geopolitical factors on monetary policy.Speaking about Georgia's macroeconomic outlook and monetary policy, Natia Turnava noted that the Georgian economy remains resilient to shocks. Inflation is below the target and economic growth is high. Price stability has been achieved through prudent decisions of the NBG's monetary policy, including timely tightening and subsequent gradual easing. As the President of the National Bank of Georgia noted, inflation will remain below the target in the coming months. From a financial stability perspective, the Georgian banking sector maintains solid profitability and healthy credit growth, in which the contribution of business loans is of paramount importance.The meeting of the representatives of the central banks of the two countries focused on the opportunities for the development of financial services between the countries, including issues of improving the efficiency of cross-border payments. Currently, the National Bank of Georgia is working on the modernization of the payment infrastructure to make it faster and more efficient. These are two of the most important projects: upgrading the RTGS system and introducing an instant payment system. The parties agreed that within the framework of cooperation, they will explore the possibilities of cooperation in the field of payments in order to reduce transaction costs and increase efficiency.At the meeting, the parties also discussed regional cooperation in the field of fintech. It is worth noting that in recent years both countries have taken significant steps towards the development of innovations. As noted at the meeting, deepening cooperation between the central banks of the two countries will contribute to the transition to a new stage of development of financial services.After the meeting, Natia Turnava and Taleh Kazimov signed a memorandum of cooperation.The meeting at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Republic of Azerbaijan Zurab Pataradze.The meeting was also attended by Tamta Sopromadze, Head of the Macroeconomics and Statistics Department of the National Bank of Georgia, Vakhtang Sikharulishvili, Head of the Banking Supervision Department, Natalia Chkoidze, Head of the Payment Systems Department, and Giorgi Edilashvili, Head of the International Relations Department.

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