Additionally, a 20% supplement is provided for over 50,000 individuals in this category who reside in high-mountainous settlements;For 440,000 beneficiaries under the age of 70, the pension will increase by GEL 45, bringing it to GEL415. A 20% supplement is provided for 36,000 beneficiaries living in high-mountainous settlements;In line with indexation and pension increases, the social package for over 130,000 persons with disabilities is also being increased; an additional GEL81 million has been allocated for this purpose, bringing the total to GEL640 million;Funding for healthcare programs has increased by ₾244 million, exceeding GEL2.445 billion. This includes funding for the Universal Healthcare Program, which serves over 790,000 beneficiaries annually, amounting to 1.634 billion GEL. Within this allocation, provision is made for salary increases for emergency medical personnel, as well as for rural doctors and nurses;The budget for the Social Rehabilitation and Child Care Program has been increased by more than 34 million GEL, reaching a total of 159 million GEL;More than 147 million GEL has been allocated for supplements designated for residents of high-mountainous settlements. In total, over 175,000 beneficiaries receive various forms of these supplements;Funding for the co-financing of the funded pension scheme will increase by 60 million GEL next year. In 2027, the state budget contribution for 850,000 beneficiaries will amount to 600 million GEL.

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More than 300 million GEL allocated for salary increases for over 75,000 individuals employed in the defense and security sectors; Over 150 million GEL for salary increases for nearly 60,000 public school teachers; 60 million GEL for salary increases for over 40,000 kindergarten staff members; More than 40 million GEL for salary increases for approximately 35,000 individuals employed in the fields of culture and sports; Over 15 million GEL for salary increases for emergency medical personnel, as well as rural doctors and nurses, totaling more than 7,000 individuals; Up to 250 million GEL in total for salary increases for individuals employed in other state agencies and municipal services.

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Minister of Finance Lasha Khutsishvili announced this while presenting the draft 2027 state budget to Parliament.According to the draft budget, funding for the Ministry of Education and Science will increase by more than 298 million GEL compared to the current year, surpassing 3 billion GEL. Furthermore, taking into account the funding for educational infrastructure and student transportation, a total of 3.71 billion GEL will be allocated to programs in the fields of education, science, and youth.Of the total allocations for the Ministry of Education, more than 1.95 billion GEL will be directed toward school funding. Over 560,000 students receive school education services. Funding for schools is set to increase by more than 190 million GEL compared to the current year, which will allow for salary increases for over 70,000 teachers and administrative staff.Additionally, starting in September of next year, the supplement for more than 30,000 homeroom teachers in public schools is set to be doubled. Funding for other general education programs amounts to 284 million GEL.For vocational education, including planned construction and rehabilitation works - 263 million GEL has been allocated, which will provide 45,000 citizens with the opportunity to pursue vocational education. Funding for higher education is set at 267 million GEL, of which 105 million GEL will be allocated to the tuition-free program at state universities. This year, more than 20,000 students enrolled in their first year under this program. Funding for science amounts to 97 million GEL, while programs to support youth account for over 26 million GEL. As part of the latter, the construction of new youth camps will begin in Tskhvarichamia and Bakhmaro.Regarding funding for the healthcare and social sectors, the 2027 budget allocates more than 10 billion 907 million GEL to the Ministry, an increase of over 1 billion 238 million GEL compared to the current year's figure.Of this amount, 5 billion 700 million GEL will be directed toward pension provision, which is 685 million GEL more than the funding allocated for the current year. 1.994 billion GEL is allocated for various social programs, while funding for healthcare programs exceeds 2.462 billion GEL—an increase of 243 million GEL.145 million GEL is earmarked for the rehabilitation and equipping of medical facilities, which is 65 million GEL more than the figure for the current year. Next year, the construction of a hospital for the Center for Mental Health and Prevention of Drug Addiction will commence under this program. Furthermore, over 418 million GEL is allocated to support internally displaced persons (IDPs) and migrants.Capital Expenditures – Over 8.4 Billion GELMore than 8.4 billion GEL from the 2027 consolidated budget will be directed toward capital expenditures. The primary areas of funding include:Municipal infrastructure – over 2.8 billion GEL;Road infrastructure – over 1.38 billion GEL, including 773 million GEL for the construction of high-speed highways; Educational infrastructure – 830 million GEL;Water supply and sanitation – 350 million GEL. Additionally, 280 million GEL will be allocated to the United Water Supply Company this year, with the corresponding works to be carried out in 2027;Energy infrastructure – 230 million GEL, including for the construction of energy storage facilities. An additional 55 million GEL will be allocated this year to resume gasification efforts in the regions;Sports infrastructure – 310 million GEL;Tourism infrastructure – 100 million GEL. More than 80 million GEL will be allocated this year to fund development works for mountain resorts scheduled for 2027;Resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and migrants – 408 million GEL, an increase of 140 million GEL compared to the previous draft budget;Healthcare infrastructure – 140 million GEL;Land reclamation (irrigation and drainage) systems – 85 million GEL. Additionally, 70 million GEL will be allocated in 2026 for projects to be carried out in the following year;Solid waste management projects – over 110 million GEL;Police, state security, and defense – 882 million GEL;Increasing the capacity of Georgian Railways – 250 million GEL;Modernization of the Tbilisi Metro – 125 million GEL;Bringing internet access to villages – 107 million GEL for the construction of a fiber-optic network;Other capital expenditures – 303 million GEL.According to the Minister, additional funding has also been earmarked for a new government initiative aimed at providing housing for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Specifically, more than 100 million GEL will be directed toward this effort in the current year, while over 16,000 families are set to receive compensation between 2026 and 2027.Furthermore, to cover the work to be carried out in 2027 as part of the construction of the Anaklia Port an additional 125 million GEL will be allocated for financing this year.

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From January through October, the portfolios recorded the following returns: Conservative Portfolio: 8.60% (real return: 2.85%) Balanced Portfolio: 8.11% (real return: 2.38%) Dynamic Portfolio: 7.41% (real return: 1.72%) October brought mixed monthly results as concerns over the financing of AI investment weighed on international equity markets. Domestic fixed-income instruments contributed positively, while the Georgian lari’s 0.23% appreciation against the US dollar reduced returns on foreign currency-denominated assets.Consequently, the Conservative portfolio led October performance with a 0.14% gain. The Balanced and Dynamic portfolios, with higher allocations to international equities, declined by 0.59% and 1.34%, respectively.Despite the weak result in October, the Dynamic portfolio continues to lead in since-inception annualized return with nominal 12.86% (real annualized return: 8.42%), compared with 12.21% (real: 7.80%) for the Balanced portfolio and 10.16% (real: 4.25%) for the Conservative portfolio.As of the end of October, total assets of the Pension Fund of Georgia exceeded GEL 10.2 billion, with cumulative investment returns approaching GEL 3.0 billion.The number of participants enrolled in the pension scheme is 1 million 787 thousand people.As of October 31, 2026, 38,186 people benefited from the accumulative pension, and 201,645,743.53 GEL was issued to them as pensions.

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During the meeting, the parties discussed Georgia's economic development trends, inflation dynamics, monetary policy, the state of the external sector, and financial sector stability. Particular attention was paid to the global economic environment and the impact of geopolitical developments on the Georgian economy.Natia Turnava briefed the mission members on the country's macroeconomic situation and key economic indicators. She highlighted the growth in international reserves, which have reached a historic high of USD 8.25 billion. The positive dynamics in the external sector were also discussed. In 2025, the current account deficit declined to a historic low of 2.9% of GDP, while in the first half of 2026, according to preliminary data, it stood at 2.5% of GDP.Natia Turnava also discussed the latest inflation trends. She noted that annual inflation stood at 5.9% in October 2026. The increase in inflation is primarily driven by geopolitical factors, particularly higher energy prices, which continue to make a significant contribution to inflation. The NBG maintains a tight monetary policy stance and stands ready to take appropriate action, if necessary, in light of inflationary risks.As part of the IMF mission, the macroeconomic situation in Georgia, the country's fiscal and monetary policies, and its economic development prospects will be assessed.The meeting with the IMF delegation was also attended by Vice Governors of the National Bank of Georgia Ekaterine Mikabadze and Nino Jeladze, Executive Director Beka Dotchviri, IMF Resident Representative in Georgia Andrew Jewell and heads of departments of the NBG.

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She explained that the rate of deposit "larization" is improving rapidly, showing an increase of 8.3 percentage points compared to December 2024, a clear reflection of the heightened confidence in the Lari.Natia Turnava noted that the National Bank continues to actively implement measures to promote larization, which serve to strengthen the monetary policy transmission mechanism and reduce the financial system's vulnerability to exchange rate risks. This trend toward de-dollarization is also reflected in the credit portfolio. As of September 2026, 58.5% of the total credit portfolio is denominated in the national currency, a result of measures implemented to promote "larization" (dedollarization).Furthermore, according to the Governor of the National Bank, the exchange rate remains stable. As of September, the real effective exchange rate had appreciated by 4% year-on-year, driven largely by the appreciation of the nominal effective exchange rate.In the view of Natia Turnava, amid heightened global inflationary pressures and geopolitical shocks, the appreciation of the exchange rate helps to mitigate pressure stemming from imported inflation.

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According to her, the National Bank’s updated central scenario, assuming all other conditions remain constant, indicates that inflation will begin to decline next year, approaching the 3% target from the second half of 2027 onwards.Natia Turnava noted that the expected trajectory of inflation will depend significantly on global developments, particularly the prices of energy resources on international markets. Accordingly, the forecast is based on the assumption that the situation in the Middle East will stabilize and that the inflationary pressure stemming from the conflict will gradually dissipate. At the same time, the Governor of the National Bank noted that uncertainty in this regard remains high and inflationary risks persist.The Governor of the National Bank stated that if the impact of external shocks affects inflationary expectations and the risk of "second-round effects" intensifies, the National Bank is prepared to further tighten its monetary policy. "Our goal is for inflation to return rapidly to the target level once the impact of external shocks has subsided," noted Natia Turnava.She further explained that once a clear trend emerges for inflation to return to its target level, the National Bank will have the opportunity to gradually reduce the monetary policy rate, bringing it down to a neutral level.

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Lion Finance Group (BGEO LN) shares closed at GBP 127.90/share (+6.32% w/w and -3.98% m/m). More than 468k shares traded in the range of GBP 117.50 - 131.10/share. Average daily traded volume was 69k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of BGEO shares traded was at 1.09% of its capitalization.TBC Bank Group (TBCG LN) closed the week at GBP 48.56/share (+6.77% w/w and -4.78% m/m). More than 497k shares changed hands in the range of GBP 43.92 - 52.35/share. Average daily traded volume was 67k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of TBCG shares traded was at 0.89% of its capitalization.Georgia Capital (CGEO LN) shares closed at GBP 45.85/share (+5.16% w/w and +3.27% m/m). More than 242k shares traded in the range of GBP 43.10 - 48.55/share. Average daily traded volume was 42k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of CGEO shares traded was at 0.74% of its capitalization.

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“In Uzbekistan, loan growth is gradually recovering as we continue to adjust our loan book in line with regulatory requirements. Overall, loans increased 3% quarter-on-quarter, with non-instant cash loans growing by 13%. As we have seen growth in our loan book and have been proactive in managing the cost of deposits, our NIM recovered in the third quarter to above 20%”, - Butskhrikidze said.According to Butskhrikidze, payments’ volumes driven by the market-leading Payme franchise also remain very strong, rising 54% year-on-year in USD terms for the quarter. TBC will continue to actively manage asset quality and prepare for the implementation of new regulations on auto-collections, which are now expected to come into effect in early 2027.Butskhrikidze, notes that TBC is launching new products and further connecting millions of consumers with an increasing number of businesses. This includes the launch of Novvot, the cross-ecosystem loyalty programme, while issuance of the daily banking Salom card now tops 1.5 million.The Group’s consistent profit generation and the strong capital position of our banks in both Georgia and Uzbekistan (CET1 ratios of 17.0% and 21.4% as of 30 September 2026, respectively, both well above the regulatory minimums) enable us to continue returning capital to TBC shareholders. As such, the Board has declared a quarterly dividend of GEL 1.75 per share for the third quarter (GEL 5.25 for the nine months ended 30 September 2026, up 5% year-on-year). I am also pleased to announce the launch of a GEL 50 million share buyback programme.

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“The National Bank first initiated investments in monetary gold in 2024. Diversifying reserve assets and managing them effectively remains one of the NBG’s strategic priorities. Investing in monetary gold aims to diversify international reserves and safeguard them against volatility across global financial markets,” the statement read.Alongside the expanding gold portfolio, Georgia’s gross international reserves hit an all-time high of USD 8.25bn in October 2026. This represents a 47.2 per cent increase year-on-year and a month-on-month rise of USD 82.6m.Reserve adequacy metrics have also strengthened significantly. Under the International Monetary Fund’s Assessing Reserve Adequacy (ARA) metric, Georgia’s reserves stand at 130 per cent, comfortably surpassing the IMF’s recommended benchmark of 100 per cent.The central bank reiterated its long-term policy of accumulating international reserves while maintaining efficient asset management and diversification. The NBG actively replenishes foreign exchange reserves when market conditions are favourable, reporting net market purchases of USD 3,370.7m over the first nine months of 2026 (January–September).The NBG is scheduled to publish its next updated reserve figures on 7 December 2026.

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