External Merchandise Trade Down By 6,5% in 1Q - Geostat

As of the document, the number of visits by international visitors from above-mentioned figure amounted to 1.2 million, 8.6 percent higher compared to the same period of 2023.In the I quarter of 2024 the number of international visitors equaled 957.8 thousand, which is 9.7% higher compared to the same period of the previous year.In the reporting period, international visitors made 938.6 thousand tourist-type visits, which is 11% higher compared to the same period of the previous year.In 1Q2024 the largest number of visitors (187.1 thousand visitors) was from Turkey, which amounted to 19.5 percent of the total number of visitors. On the second place is Russian Federation with 19.2% share and on the third place – Armenia with 14.5% share.Correspondingly, the largest number of visits were made by the citizens of Turkey (254.6 thousand), Russian Federation (215.5 thousand) and Armenia (191.8 thousand).The majority of visitors (49.7 percent) belonged to the age group of 31-50. The number of women equaled to 35.9 percent of the total number of visitors.In the I quarter of 2024 the purpose of the majority of inbound visits (44.8 percent) was holiday, leisure and recreation.The majority of visits comes on Tbilisi and Adjara A/R, 608.1 thousand and 363.0 thousand respectively. The chart below illustrates the distribution of visits by the visited regions.In the I quarter of 2024 the average number of nights spent during the visits equaled 5.5 nights, which is 8.6 percent lower than the same figure of the I quarter of 2023 (6.0 nights). 81.3 percent of visits was repeating visit.The expenditures during the visits made in the I quarter of 2024 equaled 2.2 billion GEL. The indicator is 6.9 percent higher compared to the same period of the previous year. Average expenditure on the visit decreased by 1.6 percent compared to the I quarter of 2023 and amounted to 1 869.1 GEL.It should be noted that in January-March, 2024, permissions were issued for the construction of multifunctional residential complexes, trade facilities, hotels, industrial enterprises, objects for agricultural purposes and other buildings.841 objects (22.1 percent more compared to the previous year) with total area of 805.1 thousand square meters (49.2 percent more compared to the previous year) were completed in January – March, 2024.More than half of the completed constructions are distributed among four regions of the country, namely: 39.0 percent is located in Tbilisi, 14.6 percent - in Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, 11.7 percent - in Kakheti region and 9.3 percent - in Imereti region.

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Note that 74.3 percent of the all permits have been issued in four regions of the country, namely: 48.0 percent in Tbilisi, 10.8 percent in Kvemo Kartli region, 7.9 percent in Mtskheta-Mtianeti region and 7.6 percent in kakheti region.

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In March 2024, compared to the same period of the previous year, the estimated real growth in following activities contributed significantly: Manufacturing, Information and communication, Professional scientific and technical activities, Real estate activities.Declines were registered in Construction, Energy, Transportation and storage.

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Among the NBG's statistical report, Paysera Bank, with assets of up to 5.6 million GEL, is already participating along with Payway. There is no "Hash" in the system yet. However, all three are still in testing mode.As of Q1/2024, the capital of the banking sector is 12.1 billion GEL, which is 15 percent of the total assets of commercial banks.

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On 30 April, Mr Koopman will visit Armenia. His visit comes as a follow-up to the high-level EU-US-Armenia meeting on 5 April and the announcement of a Resilience and Growth Plan for Armenia.  During the mission, the Director General will discuss the next steps for the strengthening of EU-Armenia relations, including stepping up sectoral cooperation and EU investments in the country, as well as EU support to reforms and to the integration of displaced people. He will meet Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, as well as members of the government, including Deputy Prime Ministers Mher Grigoryan and Tigran Khachatryan, Members of the National Assembly, business and civil society representatives. Mr Koopman will also launch a joint EU-German project to improve access to energy efficiency and sustainable energy solutions in rural communities in Armenia.On 1 and 2 May, Mr Koopman will be in Georgia to discuss EU-Georgia cooperation, including the work on the 9 steps linked to Georgia's EU candidate status. He will meet President Salome Zourabichvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, as well as members of the government including First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili and Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili. He will also meet representatives of parliamentary parties and civil society, as well as investment partners. Mr Koopman will launch several EU funded projects to help rehabilitate Georgia's irrigation network, to foster investments in renewable energy generation capacities and to support local currency lending for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.On 3 May and 4 May, Mr. Koopman will visit Azerbaijan to discuss EU-Azerbaijan cooperation, including regional connectivity and renewable energy in the run-up to the COP29 climate change conference, which Azerbaijan will host in November.  He will meet with Government officials, including the Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev.  The Director General will launch – together with representatives of EU Member States – a Team Europe initiative on mine action in Azerbaijan to help address issues such as capacity building, mine risk education, and victim support building. Together with the EIB, the Director General will also launch –EU support to improve the financial inclusion of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

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Lasha Papashvili took the post of Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Digital Hash Bank, which was held by Nana Keburia, the sole director of Whitebit, until April 20.The digital Hash Bank licensed in November of last year, whose capital is 16.6 million GEL, has not yet submitted its report to the NBG. Accordingly, it does not participate in the Q1/2024 consolidated reporting of the banking sector.According to Gocha Matsaberidze, the changes of board members is not related to essential changes. The positions of Papashvili and Keburia will not be changed even by NBG's recommendation. It is a legal procedure only.Lasha Papashvili, together with Volodymyr Nosov, with equal participation (50%/50%) has also founded a crypto exchange, a digital wallet, the same virtual asset service provider (VASP) WhiteBIT, which was registered by the NBG in April. WhiteBeat also holds VASP licenses in various EU countries. Among them, in Spain and Lithuania.In Georgia, there were some questions about the announced version, as if the founders of the crypto exchange were hiding in Russia, to which the regulator explained in detail that Georgian market entities are under strict supervision, which ensures full protection of depositors in case of possible materialization of risks.

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The IMF estimated unemployment in Georgia would decrease by 11 percentage points and equal to 15.7 percent by 2024, compared to the levels in 2012.According to the IMF, the unemployment rate in the country was the highest in 2010, 2011 and 2012 at the level of about 27 percent.The IMF said unemployment had increased in Georgia by the highest percentage point in the world in the period up to 2012. The increase in unemployment in that 12-year period exceeded 16 percentage points.

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During the meeting, the Ambassador officially handed over a note to the Georgian side, indicating that China has completed the procedures for the entry into force of the bilateral agreement between the Governments of Georgia and China on visa requirements for holders of ordinary passports.As a result, Georgian citizens will be able to travel to China without a visa and stay there for up to 30 consecutive days starting from May 28, 2024.“The visa-free regime introduced between Georgia and China is another expression of the strategic partnership established between the two countries last year and represents another important tangible result of cooperation.During the meeting, the parties discussed current issues on the agenda of bilateral and multilateral relations between Georgia and China, including opportunities for cooperation development in political, economic, tourist, and cultural-humanitarian directions.The importance of fully utilizing the new opportunities created by the strategic partnership established between the two countries last year was emphasized,” stated the Georgian MFA.The visa-free regime for Chinese citizens travelling to Georgia has been in effect since September 11, 2023. On February 26 of this year, China announced the establishment of visa-free travel for Georgian citizens.

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