Baku, Azerbaijan, August 15
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
The revised forecast for economic growth in Georgia in 2019 will be about 4.3 percent instead of the previous 5 percent, Trend reports referring to TBC Bank of Georgia.
Although Georgia’s tourism sector was not as strong as expected, exports and remittances will continue to grow significantly. In addition, due to a decrease in foreign direct investment, a rather small increase in imports is expected.
As for fiscal expenses and credit activity, since the previous forecast there has been no significant revision of these indicators. However, according to current estimates, growth in 2020 will improve, although it will remain below 5 percent.
“Nevertheless, interest rates on US government securities have dropped significantly, which traditionally increases the attractiveness of risks for countries such as Georgia,” the bank said in a research.
However, the bank estimates that the US dollar is holding a strong position against the euro and other major currencies.
Reportedly, at the international level, forecasts of economic growth are relatively weak, but on the whole it affected far less Georgian economic partners. As for the exchange rate, it is expected to strengthen to 2.8 lari in the coming months.
TBC Bank, together with its subsidiaries, is the leading universal banking group in Georgia, with a share of 38.5 percent of loans and 41 percent of non-bank deposits as of June 30, 2019.