The Wine Palate: “Georgian Wines Enter the Global Arena”

TBC Georgia, the country’s leading financial services group, was crowned the Most Innovative Bank in Central and Eastern Europe, thanks to the range of first-of-its-kind products that it brought to market throughout 2025.  These innovations, which include instant retail and business banking onboarding, as well as the development of its internal AI assistant Genie, are powered by the Bank’s innovation engine. This engine brings together cross-functional teams to innovate at pace and launch new features quickly.TBC Georgia was also recognised as one of the winners in the Top Financial Innovation category for Central and Eastern Europe. This Award was given for the Bank’s development of its AI Mini & Micro Loan Issuance Assistant, which uses AI to automate the loan issuance process for small-scale lending, replacing a previously manual process and significantly decreasing time to loan disbursement.TBC Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s leading digital financial ecosystem, was also recognised as one of the winners in the Top Financial Innovation category for Asia-Pacific for developing Lola, Central Asia’s first AI banking assistant. Inspired by Generative AI chatbots and underpinned by TBC Uzbekistan’s proprietary Uzbek-language LLMs and Speech Tech, Lola functions as a text and later voice-based “private banker in your pocket”, transforming the customer experience through a new approach that brings conversational and relationship banking to a digital interface by giving customers transactional as well as informational support.“Across both our markets, we pride ourselves on our ability to bring new technological solutions that improve financial services and make our customers’ lives easier. This commitment to technological excellence has been part of our DNA for over 30 years. We continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in this market, as well as in Uzbekistan, where we launched our fast-growing digital banking ecosystem in 2020. This recognition by Global Finance stands as testament to our ongoing tech leadership across Eurasia, as we continue to shape the future of finance in the region”, - Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, CEO of TBC Group, commented.The Innovators Awards by Global Finance have been one of the industry’s key benchmarks for over a decade, highlighting the banks and financial institutions leading the way in technological development and bringing new solutions that shape the future of the global banking sector.

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According to the international methodology, all citizens of Georgia permanently residing in the country, as well as foreign citizens and stateless persons residing in the country, were subject to the census. The reference time for population enumeration (the critical moment of the census) was midnight (12:00 AM) between November 13 and 14, according to which the facts were registered.During the census, data were collected electronically, using modern technologies. The process was carried out in two stages: in the first stage (November 14-23, 2024), the self-enumeration method (computer-assisted web-interview - CAWI) was used, and in the second stage (November 29 - December 31) - the computer-assisted personal interview method (CAPI).Based on high demand from the population, data collection using CAWI method was additionally extended throughout December. Considering that in some mountainous, hard-to-reach municipalities and/or settlements the conduct of fieldwork would be complicated during November-December due to possible deterioration of the weather and difficult meteorological condition, the population census was conducted in September 2024 (namely, in the municipalities of Mestia, Kazbegi, Lentekhi, partially Akhmeta (Omalo administrative unit) and Dusheti (Gudamakari, Magharoskari, Ukanapshavi, Kvesheti, Shatili and Khevsureti administrative units and villages included in the Pasanauri administrative unit)).It should also be noted that the preliminary results of the census, covering the number of population by regions, self-governing units, type of settlement (urban/rural) and sex, were published at the end of June 2025.Based on the final results, the population of Georgia as of November 14, 2024, amounted to 3,929,581 persons, that is 0.4 percent higher compared to the figure published in June, 2025 (3,914,000 persons).52 percent of population (2,048,577 persons) are women, and 48 percent (1,881,004 persons) are men. The share of women is relatively high in Tbilisi and Kutaisi (54 percent), and relatively low in Keda, Khelvachauri, Kharagauli, Sagarejo and Marneuli municipalities (49 percent).According to the census data, as of November 14, 2024, 62 percent of population (2,442,231 persons) lives in urban settlements, and 38 percent (1,487,350 persons) - in rural settlements. The share of the population living in urban settlements, by regions (except Tbilisi) is high in the Adjara A.R. (67 percent), which is due to the high number of Batumi population. The share of the urban population is relatively low in the regions of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kakheti, and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, amounting to 24 percent.The largest share of the population in Georgia is 35-39 age group (7.6%), followed by 10-14 (7.4%), and 30-34 age groups (7.2%). It should also be noted that the share of women is particularly high in the population aged 85 and over. In this age group, the number of women is 2.6 times higher than the number of men.According to the census data, 1,331,485 persons live in c. Tbilisi that is 34 percent of the country's population. The second and third largest regions in terms of population are Imereti (510,741 persons) and Kvemo Kartli (441,630), with 13 and 11 percent of the population, respectively.

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Import dynamics and pricesAccording to Galt & Taggart’s electricity market review, the total value of imports increased by 30.9% in March to $5.9 million. In terms of volume, Russia was still the largest supplier, however, as Russian imports mainly included preferential supplies intended for the Abkhazian region, it took only second place in terms of value.The increase in Turkey’s share of commercial imports was driven by competitive pricing compared to Azerbaijan. In March, the average price of electricity imported from Turkey was 4.6 US cents per kWh, while the cost of Azerbaijani energy was 6 US cents.According to analysts, Turkey’s re-establishment among the main suppliers indicates a gradual change in the geography of imports, which is due to a combination of price and technical factors.Balancing marketIn March, the average price of balancing electricity decreased by 5.7% year-on-year and amounted to 5.7 US cents per kWh. At the same time, the balancing volume increased by 14.8% (0.4 TWh), which amounted to more than a third (33.4%) of the country’s total supply.

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Repressive Legislation and Police ImpunityThe annual report “The State of Human Rights in the World” states that peaceful protesters, journalists and opposition figures in Georgia were subjected to “arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment” in 2024.The organization assessed that the police systematically used unlawful force, including tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons, injuring hundreds of people.According to the report, the authorities used legislative changes to intensify the repression, including large fines for blocking the road or wearing masks. Amnesty International emphasizes that despite the facts of violence, no police officers were held accountable.The judicial system and political persecutionThe document describes in detail “unfair trials”, where defendants were denied bail without evidence. The report cites specific cases, including the cases of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli and activists Saba Skhvitaridze, Omar Okribelashvili and Saba Meparishvili, who were sentenced to prison on politically motivated charges.In addition, the organization draws attention to the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”, on the basis of which the authorities froze the accounts of independent NGOs and began to persecute their leaders. In October, the ruling party even filed a constitutional lawsuit demanding the banning of three leading opposition associations.Gender-based violence and harassmentAmnesty International is particularly concerned about the gender-based violence against female protesters. The report mentions the cases of opposition leader Elene Khoshtaria and activist Kristina Botkoveli, who were subjected to degrading treatment and forced undressing during detention.According to the organization, the “cleansing” of state institutions in Georgia has affected all spheres, and law enforcement and oversight bodies have become “instruments of political revenge” in the hands of the ruling team.The Georgian government has yet to officially comment on this Amnesty International report.

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March figures and import dependenceIn March, domestic consumption increased by 4.3% to 1.3 TWh. The growth was mainly driven by the retail sector (+8.7% y/y) and the Abkhaz region (+9.4% y/y). At the same time, an 11% decrease was recorded in the direct consumer category, which was caused by a decrease in demand from data processing companies.Due to hydrological conditions, hydropower generation in March decreased by 8.6% year-on-year. This is despite the fact that the output of Enguri-Vardnili increased by 49% (the latter was largely due to the effect of the low base last year). As a result, the combined share of thermal generation and imports increased from 34% (March 2025) to 42% (March 2026), indicating the growing import dependence of the system.Alternative energy and import competitionDespite the gradual addition of new capacities, the share of wind and solar plants in total supply is still small and amounted to only 1.2% in March. It is worth noting that the “Upper Wind Station” (18.7 MW) was launched in test mode in March.The investment bank’s review highlights Turkey’s re-emergence among the top importers, indicating increased competition and structural changes in the market. The choice between imports and thermal generation was determined by price: Gardabani 1: 4.3 US cents/kWh Import from Turkey: 4.6 US cents/kWh Gardabani 2: 5.5 US cents/kWh Import from Azerbaijan: 6.0 US cents/kWh G-Power / Mtkvari Energy: 6.2 – 6.4 US cents/kWh Due to the high tariff, G-Power and Mtkvari Energy were operating only at limited capacity, due to technical needs. In total, more than half (51.2%) of consumption in the first quarter was again met by heat generation and imports.

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According to the bank, transactions in any currency on international platforms have become profitable for Silk users.Silk Bank card (debit) purchases are returned 1% (Apple Pay) and 0.5% (Google Pay).According to TBC and the Bank of Georgia, TBC, Bank of Georgia and Liberty have imposed a commission on payments in GEL (GEL) with a debit card in international channels (from April 15).Liberty's new owner, Basisbank, is not increasing the commission for Basis's clients, but it is not canceling Liberty's customers either.As you know, the Chinese Hualing Group acquired Liberty's assets with a secured loan (according to widespread information, TBC credited it). However, the merger process has not yet begun.When paying with a debit card through international e-commerce or/at a POS terminal, a 1.5% commission applies only to GEL (max: GEL 10). When choosing a foreign currency for payment (USD, EUR, GBP ...), the commission is 0%. The change applies to the most popular sites (Pinduoduo; Temu; Shein ...), including WizzAirIn the case of a refund, the commission is not refundable.

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In 1Q26, the share of the EU countries in the revenue from international travel was determined by 17% and amounted to $140.7 million - an increase of 36.4% compared to the same period of the previous year.According to the NBG’s statistics, revenues from Turkey and Ukraine increased by 12.2% and 34.2% annually and, respectively, amounted to $120.1 and $45.3 million. Amid the war in the Middle East, travel revenues from Israel have decreased by 13.4% year-on-year to $98.9 million.Revenues from Russia are characterized by a downward trend - in 1Q26, travel revenues from Russia to Georgia decreased by 12.3%.Georgia's travel revenues by country in 1Q26 are distributed as follows:

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To accelerate the growth of unsecured consumer lending, we renewed the end-to-end digital journey across all unsecured products, reducing time-to-cash from 5 minutes to less than 2 minutes and cutting drop-off rates from 7% to 4%.In addition, for FCLs, we introduced dynamic credit limits, which automatically update customers’ available limits based on their latest profiles, which resulted in generating on average GEL 13 million in incremental disbursements per month. We also implemented an NPV-based loan pricing model, ensuring more disciplined pricing decisions and optimised risk-adjusted returns. As a result, the share of FCLs, our major product in this category, issued digitally increased by 2pp and reached 70% by the end of the year.TBC also fully digitalised its credit card offering in 4Q 2025, which had previously been available exclusively through physical channels. Consequently, the digitalisation rate of credit cards reached 42% by the end of the year. At the same time, the digitalisation rate for buy now, pay later (BNPL) and Installments products stood at 95%. The demand for BNPL/Installments increased by 96% year-on-year, accounting for almost 50% of all digital loan applications on the market, becoming a powerful customer acquisition tool.Overall, our unsecured-lending customer base grew by 9% in 2025, amounting to 465,000 customers with 83% of all loans issued digitally.As part of its multi-licence strategy, TBC Uzbekistan also advanced its microfinance capabilities. TBC Credit received its microfinance licence earlier in 2025, completed the development of its lending platform, and began issuing loans in August 2025. TBC Uzbekistan also completed the setup of TBC BNPL, a dedicated company that will accelerate the expansion of the buy-now-pay-later business from 2026 onwards.

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