Vučić: Serbia Studies Georgia’s “Unprecedented” Economic Growth in Europe

The relevant decision was made by the Financial Stability Committee of the National Bank of Georgia in May, which was officially confirmed by the order of the President of the National Bank of Georgia on June 15. The aforementioned change invalidates the order of July 2025, which set the mandatory larization limit at 750,000 GEL. With the new regulation, this mark increases to 1 million GEL.According to the new rule, citizens and companies whose income is in GEL will no longer be able to take out loans of up to 1 million GEL in foreign currency. In addition, the National Bank specifies that any credit that is in any way tied to or indexed to a foreign currency will not be considered issued in GEL. The regulation also applies to guarantees of an individual, and in certain cases, to obligations arising from bank guarantees and letters of credit.According to the National Bank, the restriction will not apply to several exceptional cases, namely: If, as a result of the issuance of a loan, the borrower’s total liabilities to a specific bank or microfinance organization exceed GEL 1 million; If the borrower is not a citizen of Georgia or is a legal entity not registered in Georgia; If the loan is fully secured by a deposit/cash in the same foreign currency; If the borrower receives sufficient income in the relevant foreign currency to service the loan; If an existing loan is refinanced or restructured in the same currency and the amount of the obligation does not increase. The change will enter into force on July 1, 2026 and its purpose is to reduce currency risks in the financial sector and support the process of larization of the economy.

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The largest amount - $64 million - was transferred from the USA, with an annual increase of 8%. For the same period last year, the annual increase in cash flows from the USA exceeded 23%.There is also a decrease from the European Union, the annual increase is up to 6% (L/Y + 17.3%Y.Y). In May 2025, the growth was more than 17%.As of 01.06.2026, the USA is still leading the donor countries ranking with a 19% share, although with a yearly trend of +3.038%Y.Y. China is ahead by a large margin, whose share in total remittances is still modest - 0.7%.

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Kobakhidze also paid special attention to the trade and economic potential and welcomed the active work on the free trade agreement between the two countries.“We have made great progress in this process, only a few issues remain to be agreed upon, after which both sides will be ready to sign the free trade agreement. This agreement will create new opportunities for business, contribute to the growth of trade turnover and attraction of investments,” the Prime Minister noted.The Head of Government also stressed the need to develop transport and logistics ties. According to him, Georgia, as an integral part of the “middle corridor”, is ready to deepen its partnership with Serbia in order to fully utilize the transit potential between Europe and Asia.In addition to the economic agenda, the parties discussed regional security and the principles of sovereignty. Irakli Kobakhidze thanked Aleksandar Vučić for his firm support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and reaffirmed that Georgia also unwaveringly supports the sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia.The Prime Minister called Serbia’s decision to open an embassy in Tbilisi an extremely important step, adding that this diplomatic mission will further strengthen the political dialogue between the two countries.

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According to economic activity, the highest monthly earnings were observed in the following sectors: Financial and insurance activities – 5 952.5 GEL (increased by 7.9 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year); Information and communication – 4 290.7 GEL (increased by 3.1 per cent); Mining and quarrying – 3 230.4 GEL (increased by 11.8 per cent); Professional, scientific and technical activities – 3 186.0 GEL (increased by 7.1 per cent). In the first quarter of 2026, the average earnings for women equalled 1 901.8 GEL, while for men, they were 2 836.0 GEL. The annual earnings growth amounted to 157.7 GEL (9.0%) for women and 234.7 GEL (9.0%) for men. In almost all sectors, men’s average monthly earnings exceeded those of women.In the I quarter of 2026, the average monthly earnings of employees in the business sector increased by 166.3 GEL (7.7%) and equalled 2 335.9 GEL. According to the economic activity, the highest monthly earnings were observed in Information and communication (4 358.6 GEL, increased by 2.4 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year) and Professional, scientific and technical activities (3 632.7 GEL, increased by 6.8 per cent).In the first quarter of 2026, compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the average monthly earnings of employees in the non-business and financial sector increased by 242.8 GEL (11.2%) and amounted to 2 413.7 GEL. According to the economic activity, the highest monthly earnings were observed in the Financial and insurance activities.Tbilisi and the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region lead in terms of average monthly earnings.

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In her speech, Ekaterine Mikabadze highlighted the importance of capital market development, noting that the emergence of new issuers demonstrates the growing role of the capital market in enabling companies to attract long-term financing. She noted that this trend, on the one hand, creates additional funding opportunities for businesses, while on the other hand, provides investors with a wider range of investment instruments.She also emphasized the expansion of sectoral representation in the local bond market, noting that Nutrimax is the first company from the animal feed production sector to issue public bonds. According to her, it is important that the capital market is increasingly contributing to the development of local production and various sectors of the economy.Ekaterine Mikabadze also reviewed developments in the corporate bond market, noting that 2025 was a record year in terms of issuance volume. Furthermore, during the January–May period of the current year, including the Nutrimax issuance, the total volume of corporate bonds publicly issued by five issuers amounted to GEL 330 million, representing a significantly higher level compared to the same period last year.“The entry of new companies into the market demonstrates the growing importance of the capital market in helping companies attract financial resources. At the same time, it contributes to the creation of more diverse investment opportunities for investors,” said Ekaterine Mikabadze.The bonds issued by Nutrimax, with a total value of USD 10 million, have a two-year maturity. The proceeds from the issuance will be used by the company to refinance existing liabilities and finance capital expenditures. The securities will be admitted to trading and listing on the trading system of JSC Tbilisi Stock Exchange.Nutrimax has been operating in the Georgian market since 2009 and is one of the leading producers of feed for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture. The company operates in both local and international markets.

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In 2025 in the slaughterhouses were slaughtered 511.1 thousand units of livestock, 32.0 percent of which were cattle and 68.0 percent were sheeps, goats, pigs, etc. In addition, the number of poultry slaughtered in slaughterhouses during the reporting period amounted to 12 351.6 thousand.65 279.8 tons of meat (i.e. slaughtered weight, including poultry meat) were produced by slaughterhouses in 2025 and 30.0 percent of this amount was beef, 33.4 percent was poultry meat, 35.9 percent – pork, 0.6 percent – mutton and goat meat, and the share of other meat was negligible.9 436.9 tons of meat produced in slaughterhouses were purchased by slaughterhouses themselves in 2025. Out of this amount, 29.9 percent was cattle, 6.9 percent was poultry meat, and 62.6 percent – pork meat.In 2025 the service was provided to 29.0 thousand persons, 51.3 percent of which were households. The monthly average number of people employed in slaughterhouses equaled 1 094 persons.The average costs of the service of slaughtering per unit of livestock were respectively: cattle – 40.2 GEL, sheep or goat – 13.6 GEL, and pig – 33.8 GEL. Almost half (47.0 percent) of slaughterhouses are fully equipped with modern equipment, 45.5 percent are partially equipped, and 7.6 percent are not equipped with modern equipment at all. 65.9 percent of slaughterhouses do not use loans, while 34.1 percent have taken loans for various purposes. Of those who have loans, 57.8 percent took it for purchasing fixed capital, 28.9 percent for financing the working capital, and 13.3 percent got loans to finance both, fixed and working capital simultaneously.445 cold storage facilities operated in Georgia in 2025. Most of them were located in Shida Kartli region (60.7 percent), while the rest were spread across Tbilisi (10.1 percent), Kakheti (7.9 percent), Kvemo Kartli (4.9 percent), Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region (4.5 percent), Imereti region (4.5 percent), Adjara AR (3.1 percent), Samtskhe-Javakheti region (1.8 percent), Guria (1.3 percent), Mtskheta-Mtianeti (0.9 percent), and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti (0.2 percent).In 2025 service was provided to 533 customers. The number of producers and resellers, from whom the product was purchased for resale, totaled to 1 531, while the annual average number of employed persons in cold storage facilities equaled 2 168.In 2025, in cold storage facilities were stored 381.7 thousand tons of products. 34.6 percent of those products was chicken meat (including frozen meat), 21.2 percent were meat and meat products (including semi-finished products), 16.2 percent – fish, 15.6 percent – fruits and vegetables, 6.9 percent – milk products, while the remaining 5.5 percent were other types of products.

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According to the official conditions, 25% of the shares will vest in each of the second, third, fourth and fifth years following the work year, subject to the terms of his service agreementAs a reminder, on January 6 of this year, Irakli Gilauri received another 190,907 free options for work performed in 2025 within the framework of the same program.According to the statement made by the Chairman of the GCAP Compensation Committee, Neil Janini, last summer, according to their call, after Gilauri sells his shares and grants the 2025 salary shares, he should have approximately 2.7 million shares.

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Exports totaled USD 3.11 billion, up 19.8% year-on-year, while imports stood at USD 7.33 billion, representing a 1.9% decrease.According to Geostat, the country’s negative trade balance reached USD 4.22 billion during the first five months of 2026, accounting for 40.4% of the total foreign trade turnover.

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