Georgian PM announces China to introduce visa-free travel for Georgian citizens

As of January 1, 2024, the male population equaled 1 774.5 thousand persons, and the female population was 1 920.1 thousand persons. In Georgia, 48 percent are male and 52 percent are female population.The sex ratio, i.e. number of men per 100 women, equals 92. It is worth mentioning, that under the age of 40 the number of men exceeds that of women, while the opposite situation is observed for the age group of 40 and over, which could be explained by females’ higher life expectancy.Compared to previous year, in 2023 the life expectancy at birth has increased by 1.3 units and equals 75.0 years, including 70.6 years for males and 79.4 years for females.As of January 1, 2024, the median age of population equals 38 years.In 2023, the number of emigrants totals 245 064 persons increasing by 95.6 percent compared to the previous year. The number of immigrants increased by 14.5 percent, amounting to 205 857 persons.In the same time period, 75.9 percent of immigrants and 62.2 percent of emigrants represent the working-age population (15-64 year age group).In 2023, 44.6 percent of immigrants and 66.7 percent of emigrants are citizens of Georgia.

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A new counter-cyclical buffer has been launched for the sector since March.According to the NBG, banks, including microbanks, are required to have an excess reserve of 0.25%. A digital bank (Paysera, Pave Bank) is exempt from these and other capital regulations.With the newly implemented buffer, the system will not lack more than $125 million in resources.The 0.25% is the first phase of the 1% capital requirement distributed over 4 years and will be effective until March 15, 2025.Then it will be doubled and the 0.5% rate will apply until 2026. It will equal 1% on March 15, 2027. TOP 6 Banks with Supervisory Capital.

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In the same period, the volume of loans issued in national currency increased by 562.23 million GEL (or 1.93%), while the volume of loans issued in foreign currency increased by 974.63 million GEL (or 4.22%) (without the exchange rate effect, it increased by 2.99%).By the end of March 2024, commercial banks issued loans in the amount of 8.84 billion GEL in national currency (2.27% more compared to the previous month) for resident legal entities and 15.21 billion GEL in foreign currency (5.19% more compared to the previous month) (3.95% more without the exchange rate effect).In March 2024, retail lending to residents increased by 2.00%, or 548 million GEL, to 28 billion GEL.Larization ratio of total loans was 55.2% for Q1/2024, it decreased by 0.55 percentage points compared to the end of the previous month.

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In March, term-deposits increased by 706.91 million GEL (+3.35%m.m), demand-deposits by 607 million GEL (+2.07%m.m).Larization ratio of deposit by 0.17 percentage points to 50.33% in March.In March, the average weighted annual interest rate of term deposits was 7.25%, including 9.56% for national currency deposits and 1.97% - for foreign currency deposits.The share of the USD in foreign currency deposits was 78.67%, and the share of the EUR was 19.60%.

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Compared to the 2020 average, the index change amounted to 41.3 percent.The RPPI covers the market of new residential property in Tbilisi, both flats and detached houses segments.The following table shows percentage changes of the RPPI compared to the previous quarter, the corresponding quarter of the previous year and to 2020 average.In the first quarter of 2024 a price increase compared to the previous quarter was registered both in flats (1.2 percent) and detached houses (0.7 percent) segments.Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the prices increased in both segments, for flats by 12.9 percent and for detached houses by 13.3 percent.The following graph represents the dynamics of the total RPPI and its sub-indices, as well as the Consumer Price Index

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According to the rule approved by the NBG President's order (No. 16/04), each fact is sanctioned with 2,000 GEL. Also, a fine of 2,000 GEL is imposed on the business entity, for the financial monitoring service, for hiding information on the transaction. The supervisor revealed 5 cases, i.e. 10,000 GEL, which was added to 6,000 GEL.MFO was fined with 4,000 GEL in the case of two high-risk clients. Also, 20,000 GEL for a faulty software (electronic) system, the purpose of which is to detect suspicious clients, persons related to them and transactions.

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"Silk Bank" ended Q1 with a loss of 1.3 million GEL.The management explains the negative trend of recent years with the withdrawal of BTA Bank (Kazakhstan) from the shareholders' structure. The bank has been making losses for several years, and if it continues like this, it will be forced to raise more resources to meet regulatory capital requirements. This is mentioned in the emission prospectus.The bank will direct the resources raised by the issue of 10 million to secondary capital. Before that, the shareholders increased the authorized capital by 9.8 million GEL by issuing 98,000 shares.As of Q1/2024, Silk Bank's deposit portfolio is up to 114 million GEL. From this, foreign currency deposits are equivalent to 91 million GEL.

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Panex specializes in manufacturing wall and roof sandwich panels, accessories, and refrigerator doors. Polyurethane sandwich panels are a cutting-edge construction material suitable for various commercial and public buildings. They are known for their exceptional thermal insulation properties, ease of installation, and long-term durability.The partnership between Basisbank and Panex has been instrumental in Panex's success. Basisbank's support enabled Panex to acquire the latest Italian equipment, enhancing the quality of its sandwich panels and ensuring compliance with European standards."We have seen significant growth in the number of infrastructure projects in the region over the past year. With a 70% increase in our sandwich panel production, we are confident in our ability to achieve our ambitious goals. Basisbank has been a constant supporter of our development and progress, and we look forward to continuing our successful partnership to further expand our business. Our aim is to establish a strong presence in the local market with high-quality products, ensure consistent supply to meet local demand, reduce reliance on imports, and ultimately increase our export capabilities." - Giorgi Levidze, CEO of Panex."Basisbank stands as a committed supporter of businesses, consistently championing local production and bolstering Georgian business and economic development. With Basisbank's financial backing and our fruitful partnership with Panex, we are confident that the business will seize even greater opportunities for expansion. Together with Panex, we take pride in our role as co-architects of yet another successful Georgian business." – Gigi Gabunia, Commercial Director of Basisbank.Video story of partnership between Basisbank and Panex:

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