Levan Karumidze appointed Head of newly established National Gastronomy Agency

According to the head of government, there is great interest in the project both among Georgia's partners and neighboring countries, as well as in Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.Kobakhidze noted that the pace of work has been accelerated to the maximum after the contract was revised, reducing its cost by about $50 million. He thanked the Ministry of Economy and the minister personally for this result. According to the Prime Minister, the smooth progress of the work gives grounds for optimism that the port will receive its first ships by 2029.The Prime Minister’s statement was preceded by information from the Ministry of Economy, according to which the first dredging vessel (Tristao Da Cunha) entered the Anaklia sea area on August 1 to carry out dredging works. According to the ministry, the vessel will begin work on the construction of the breakwater channel after completing the procedures established by law.According to the project, the seabed in the Anaklia sea area will be deepened to 17.5 meters, and a 1,380-meter-long breakwater will be built at a later stage. The construction works in the sea area of ​​the future port are being carried out by the Belgian company, a member of the so-called “Big Four”, Jan De Nul N.V., together with Georgian partners. The Ministry of Economy announced the Belgian company’s victory in the tender on August 1, 2024.As announced in early July, the Georgian government is building the Anaklia deep-water port using the world-proven “landlord” model. This model will allow the state to develop the port not in partnership with one, but with several states and companies at once, which will create the best conditions for attracting cargo and its efficient operation. Along with the creation of port infrastructure, the government will also ensure the arrangement of road and rail access to the port.In addition, according to the state decision, the investor will have only a 49% share of the port, while the state will retain the controlling 51%. On May 29, 2024, the Georgian government announced that a Chinese-Singaporean consortium would acquire a 49% share of the Anaklia port.According to the original project, the first ship was to be received by the Anaklia port in 2020. That same year, the Georgian Dream government terminated the 2016 contract with the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC). The consortium included TBC Holding Anaklia (Georgia), Van Oord PPP International (Netherlands), Wondernet Express (UK), G-Star LLC (Bulgaria), Conti International (USA), and Dutch investor Bob Meyer.At the time, the government cited non-fulfillment of obligations as the official reason, while the consortium itself pointed to state interference. The state won two international arbitration disputes in this case, after which it promised to continue the construction of the port with its own funds.

1785761999

Notably, sales on the secondary market reached the highest monthly level after 2022. On the supply side, after 8 consecutive months of decline, the area of issued permits rebounded sharply and reached the highest monthly level after 2021. Primary market price continued to increase at a moderate pace, while secondary market price declined slightly, indicating stabilization after April’s sharp increase.

1785761239

According to the information available to us, these individuals offer citizens alleged assistance in settling loan obligations supposedly owed to the NBG, as well as in carrying out other similar financial operations. In one particular case, a citizen was informed that potential unauthorized access to their personal banking data and an attempted loan activation had been detected. To supposedly verify this, the individual was instructed to log in to their internet and/or mobile banking account using their credentials.During these communications, users are also asked to provide the login credentials required to access their internet and/or mobile banking accounts, including their username and password, as well as other personal and financial information.Please note that if such information is disclosed, fraudsters may gain access to your bank accounts, creating a risk of unauthorized transactions and resulting in financial loss or damage.The National Bank of Georgia urges citizens to exercise particular caution and vigilance. Do not disclose your personal or financial information, including the username and password required to access your internet and/or mobile banking accounts. Furthermore, do not enter such information into suspicious links sent by unknown individuals, and do not attempt to carry out banking or payment card transactions through them. If you encounter such a situation, please contact the relevant law enforcement authorities.We remind you that, as part of its efforts to protect the rights of financial sector consumers, the National Bank of Georgia periodically publishes warning and educational information on commonly used financial fraud schemes. Relevant materials are available on the official website of the National Bank of Georgia and its financial education website.

1785497162

The new platform aims to further enhance access to economic information, strengthen transparency, and expand data analysis capabilities.The Economic Data Portal brings together key statistical data on the Georgian economy in a single, integrated space. It enables users to easily find relevant time series, select the desired data frequency, level of aggregation, and rate of change, and download the results in a convenient format.The Interactive Analytical Report on CPI Inflation is a modern analytical tool that enables users to examine inflation dynamics, its main components, and price-change trends in depth. The report allows data to be displayed at the selected frequency and rate of change through interactive charts and tables.The new tools will significantly simplify the process of finding, processing, and interpreting economic data. They will also support the development of data-driven research and analysis and help the public make more informed decisions.The presentation of the Analytical Platform was attended by representatives from commercial banks, international financial institutions, research organizations, academia, and other interested stakeholders. During the event, participants were introduced to the functionality and capabilities of the new tools, as well as practical examples of their use.

1785496846

GeoStat reported that significant positive contributions to growth in June 2026, compared to the same period last year, were made by sectors including manufacturing, transportation and storage, construction, information and communication, and financial and insurance activities.Conversely, a declining trend was observed in the mining and quarrying and energy sectors.

1785496765

According to the GeoStat, in the II quarter of 2026, the number of international visitors equaled 1.3 million, which is 5.2 percent lower compared to the same period of the previous year. In the reporting period, international visitors made 1.2 million tourist-type visits, which is 2.7 percent lower compared to the same period of the previous year.81.5 percent of international visitors were only tourists. The share of only excursionists amounted to 14.8 percent, while 3.8 percent of visitors were both tourists and same-day visitors.In the II quarter of 2026, the largest number of visitors (328.9 thousand visitors), amounting to 25.1 percent of the total number of visitors, was from Russian Federation. Turkey was in second place with 16.9% share and Armenia was in third place with 10.8% share. The largest number of visits were made by the citizens of the Russian Federation (380.1 thousand), Turkey (287.0 thousand) and Armenia (199.6 thousand).The majority of visitors (45.6 percent) belonged to the age group of 31-50 and women accounted for 42.9 percent of the total number of visitors.In the II quarter of 2026, the purpose of the majority of inbound visits (49.6 percent) was holiday, leisure and recreation.The majority of visits were made in Tbilisi and Adjara A/R, 875.5 thousand and 621.3 thousand, respectively.In the II quarter of 2026, the average number of nights spent during the visits equaled 5.48, which is 3.5 percent higher than the same figure of the II quarter of 2025 (5.30 nights). 81.8 percent of visits was repeating visit.The expenditures during the visits made in the II quarter of 2026 equaled 3.0 billion GEL. The indicator is 13.3 percent lower compared to the same period of the previous year. Average expenditure per visit decreased by 9.2 percent compared to the II quarter of 2025 and amounted to 1 922.1 GEL.

1785496699

In particular, according to them, certificates of deposit remained one of the largest sources of returns in pension assets, which reflects both their high share in the total portfolio and the stable profitability of the local banking sector.According to them, Georgian government securities, which remain one of the main strategic asset classes of the Pension Fund, also retained an important role in annual returns. In addition, during the year, the Fund further deepened its involvement in the local capital market and maintained its role as a leading institutional investor in the Georgian corporate bond market.Investment officers note that the Fund’s investment approach is based on strategic asset allocation, which they say is the main determinant of profitability in the long term. “In the future, our main priority remains unchanged: maximizing positive real returns in the long term, prudent risk management, and playing a significant role in the Georgian capital markets and international markets.”It should be noted that during 2025, the volume of pension assets increased by 37% and reached GEL 8.2 billion by the end of the year. The investment profit generated in 2025 amounted to GEL 796 million, which is the highest annual figure in the history of the fund, and the total investment income since its establishment has exceeded GEL 2.2 billion.In 2025, all three investment portfolios showed double-digit nominal profitability. The dynamic portfolio recorded the highest result - 15.2%, the profitability of the balanced portfolio amounted to 13.3%, and the conservative portfolio, in which the largest part of the assets is placed, showed a return of 11.8% during the year.In 2025, international equities were the fund's highest-yielding asset class. Accordingly, the dynamic portfolio, in which the share of stocks is the highest, retained its leadership among investment portfolios in 2025.During the year, the share of international stocks in pension assets increased from 16.5% to 19.2%, and the profit received amounted to GEL 239 million, which is equivalent to an annualized return of 20.7%.The local economic environment remains one of the main determinants of the fund’s results, as more than 80% of pension assets are invested in Georgia. According to the fund, the macroeconomic background was generally favorable during the year: economic growth continued at a high pace, inflationary pressures remained at a manageable level, and the lari strengthened against the US dollar.

1785495535

As of July 30, the volume of lari exceeded 7.5 billion.The balance on refinancing loans fell to 300 million. On one-month loans, it almost disappeared (3.1 million).According to the NBG's July review, the NBG showed the highest activity in foreign exchange trading. In May, almost all (99.5%) of buying and selling activities in the foreign exchange market were carried out through spot transactions ($4.212 billion; +$793 million Y.Y; +$711 million m.m).The NBG's share in total trading is 15%. On the Bmatch platform, it has purchased up to 633 million GEL (net purchases).

1785424201