Foreign investments on the rise in Georgia, figures show

Georgia’s Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) took a sharp increase in the third quarter of the year, latest figures show.

State statistics office Geostat revealed FDIs rose by 99 percent in the third quarter of 2014 when compared to the same period in 2013.

The preliminary figures released today showed Georgia’s FDIs equalled $508 million USD (974 million GEL) in the reported period Based on the data, the sectors that gained the most offshore investments were construction, transport and communication, manufacturing, finance, energy, hotels and restaurants.

FDIs in these sectors amounted to $499 million in the third quarter of 2014, which was a 69 percent increase year-on-year (y/y).

The largest share of FDIs was allocated in the construction field, reaching $181 million in Q3 2014. This was followed by the transport and communication sector which saw $109 million in investments. The next industries to attract investments were real estate ($61 million), manufacturing ($48 million), financial ($38 million), energy ($36 million), hotels and restaurants ($10 million), and agriculture ($8 million).

China invested the most money in Georgia in the third quarter, with its investment of slightly less than $149 million, noted Geostat.

In the same period $95 million came from Azerbaijan and about $90 million came from the Netherlands.

In addition, Panama invested $44 million in Georgia and Malta spent $34 million here.

Below is the chart of major direct investor countries in Georgia in Q3 2014 (*per million USD).

* All currencies are in USD.