Herczynski: We should expect sanctions on Monday

Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO LN) shares closed at GBP 46.00/share (- 1.71% w/w and -8.00% m/m). More than 95k shares traded in the range of GBP 45.50 - 47.10/share. Average daily traded volume was 67k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of BGEO shares traded was at 0.21% of its capitalization.TBC Bank Group (TBCG LN) closed the week at GBP 30.55/share (- 1.29% w/w and -3.32% m/m). More than 107k shares changed hands in the range of GBP 30.20 - 31.45/share. Average daily traded volume was 80k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of TBCG shares traded was at 0.19% of its capitalization.Georgia Capital (CGEO LN) shares closed at GBP 11.72/share (+3.53% w/w and -2.17% m/m). More than 110k shares traded in the range of GBP 11.06 - 11.82/share. Average daily traded volume was 111k in the last 4 weeks. The volume of CGEO shares traded was at 0.28% of its capitalization. 

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Kobakhidze claimed a “direct mention” of the case in a document by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control last week, sanctions against Ivanishvili, supported his allegation of the dispute being politically charged.“A few months ago, we were assured that the dispute with Credit Suisse was purely a commercial matter and had nothing to do with politics. However, we held completely different beliefs and assessments. The recent direct mention of the case in the sanctions document confirmed that the dispute with Credit Suisse is not a commercial issue, but rather a significant political matter”, the Prime Minister told a press conference earlier today.Kobakhidze traced the origins of the conflict back to 2008 and linked it to an alleged misappropriation of Ivanishvili's account that he said had begun after the businessman ceased communications with Georgia’s then-President Mikheil Saakashvili.Kobakhidze asserted the nature of the dispute had been “mischaracterised”, alleging “significant political influences” had “affected management decisions” at Credit Suisse.“The robbery of Ivanishvili's account began in 2008, following his decision to stop communicating with Saakashvili. This break in communication appears to have led to a long-standing case of account robbery that has persisted for many years. Of course, this is not merely a commercial dispute”, he added.Highlighting the devaluation of the bank's shares, Kobakhidze remarked that such a decline suggested a “lack of commercial interest in pursuing the matter”. Instead, he argued, the dispute reflected a “broader narrative of political engagement rather than legitimate business concerns”.“Credit Suisse has severely damaged its reputation due to this dispute. Since 2008, the value of its shares has fallen nearly 100 times, indicating a lack of commercial interest in the matter. From a business perspective, Credit Suisse was not genuinely interested in pursuing this dispute. Instead, it appeared to be driven by political influences affecting the management of the company, which ultimately shaped how the case was handled”, he said.He added “the public will come to their own conclusions about the rest of the matter” on the dispute being allegedly related to politics.

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While speaking with local media, Davitashvili stressed “there are very few countries in the world that have managed to maintain not nominal but real high economic growth for four years, which is expressed in almost double-digit figures”.“We have planned the economy for the next year conservatively, this is how we plan every year, as we live in a difficult region... We expect economic growth to be six percent in 2025”, the Minister said.In his comments regarding the current situation in the tourism sector, Davitashvili noted the ongoing protest rallies in several districts in Tbilisi against the Government's decision not to include accession talks with the European Union in its agenda until 2028 “have negatively affected” tourism, however, he added “tourist activities in Georgia as a whole have not slowed down”.

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In addition, total demand was 1.9x higher and the weighted average yield was fixed at 8.435%, up by 0.118ppts from previous auction held in Nov-24. 

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Kobakhidze emphasized that when a politician does not speak the truth, it has no effect on Georgian society."We often see that when such intensive statements are made by certain politicians or officials, there are usually signs of specific financial interests. I don’t know what the situation is in this case, but in any event, I wouldn’t pay much attention to it. The important thing is that the public has learned everything. First and foremost, the public has learned that no single politician should be followed blindly in their statements. You remember that the European Parliament passed 5 resolutions, but they couldn’t influence the public, because what matters to the public is what the truth is. When they see that a specific politician is not speaking the truth, these statements are no longer relevant to the public. Therefore, I would advise everyone to refrain from such fruitless campaigns. These cannot cause any special turmoil in Georgian society, and they won’t have an effect on the public. The only thing that influences Georgian society is the truth, and we have done a lot for that."The goal is this: "They activated the Republican politician because someone wants to create the perception of continued problems under Trump’s terms. We expect something different from the new administration. Our hand is extended. We offer the new administration a fresh start in strategic partnership, a qualitative renewal, and a rehabilitation of the relationship, which is not in a healthy state today. We hope that there will be reciprocal pragmatic steps from the new president’s administration. This is in the interest of both countries – Georgia and the United States,” Kobakhidze said.For reference, American Congressman and Helsinki Commission Chairman Joe Wilson stated that President Donald Trump made it very clear what his position is regarding America's self-declared enemies."If Bidzina Ivanishvili takes Georgia’s democracy to the point of destruction on December 29, he should expect a response he could never imagine," Wilson wrote.

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At IOSCO’s invitation, David Abesadze also joined a workshop on market development initiatives, where he shared Georgia’s recent successes in developing the corporate bond market with representatives of GEMC member organizations.In his presentation, David Abesadze highlighted the "Capital Market Support Program," implemented during 2022-2023. This program, co-initiated by the National Bank of Georgia and executed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with funding from the European Union, included both educational and financial components. Notably, within the financial component, issuers were supported by funding for transaction costs associated with the public issuance of securities. David Abesadze emphasized the importance of raising issuers’ awareness of capital market instruments and underlined how financial incentive mechanisms significantly contributed to the program’s success.The event also featured the inaugural meeting of the GEMC Sustainability Reporting Standards Implementation Network. This new network, which the National Bank of Georgia has joined, aims to assist member organizations in adopting the reporting framework developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).Since becoming a full IOSCO member in 2021, the National Bank of Georgia has actively participated in the organization’s activities. The NBG is represented on both the European Regional Committee and the Emerging and Developing Markets Committee. Additionally, as of November 2024, the NBG has been a member of GEMC, the largest IOSCO committee, which includes 91 jurisdictions, 10 of which are G20 members.

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Journalist Nizfa Arshba writes that restoration work began two weeks ago at the Vardnil HPP in the Gali district: “The power plant has been cleaned, new equipment has been installed, pontoons have been raised from the river.”People at the power plant say that restoration work at the facility was started two weeks ago by Rezo Zantaria, a member of the so-called parliament of occupied Abkhazia. They say that the facility is his property. However, the separatist authorities of occupied Abkhazia have not released information about the sale or lease of the facility.Journalists are demanding that the so-called Prosecutor’s Office investigate the corruption deal surrounding the facility.

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According to the statistics of the National Bank of Georgia, in November the net profit of banks increased by 260 million GEL (10/24 +279 million m-o-m; 09/24 +275 million m.m).The total profit for 11 months (of profitable banks) is up to 2.870 billion GEL. Among the 13 profitable banks is the sanctioned subsidiary of VTB.Silk Bank and digital banks that have not yet started full-fledged operational activities are at a loss (Hash, Paysera, Pave).The TOP-7 has changed: Cartu Bank with Georgian capital moves to 6th position, and the banking group of German capital - ProCredit Bank - to 7th.TOP-11 (+2) Of Profitable Banks 

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