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2nd Caucasus International Banking and Finance Conference and Showcase start in Tbilisi

17 May 2007 13:31 (UTC +04:00)

Georgiaâ€™s Finance Minister Aleksi Aleksishvili told the opening meeting that the country has made great progress and gained macroeconomic stability during the past three years. Gross Domestic Product â€“ the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the country reached 9.5% in 2005 and stood at 9.4% IN 2006.
Foreign investment inflow to Georgian economy was $1.5 billion, including foreign investment of $1.2 billion last year.
He added that Georgia created liberal tax climate and cut the number of taxes to 7 from 21.
Roman Gatpiridze, chair of the board of the National Bank of Georgia, said the state budget more than tripled during the last three years to $4.5 billion.
â€œForeign capital influx to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia has become more active. It has a negative impact too, that is the national currency has become too strong in these countries,â€ he added.
He also noted that investment in Georgiaâ€™s banking sector continues to increase.
â€œSeveral European banks will come to Georgia in the nearest future. Bank of Georgia intends to penetrate Azerbaijanâ€™s market,â€ he underlined.
He said that during the past three years Georgian banksâ€™ assets rose 148%, authorized capital 104%, deposit portfolio in national currency 144%, the number of ATMs 5 times and the currency reserves of the National Bank jumped to 1.605 billion. Supported by Iteca Caspian, a group of reporters, including APA representative attended the event. /APA-Economics/