Georgia faces $15.7 billion external debt

Georgia currently owes $15.7 billion in external debt, and this amount is growing, says the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).

During the firth quarter (Q1) of 2017, the gross external debt of Georgia increased by $188.9 million.

Despite owing more, Georgia still has attracted more Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).

In Q1 of 2017, Georgia attracted $403.3 million in FDIs, show preliminary data released by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

FDI’s this year were up 3.7 percent from the preliminary data of Q1 2016,

As for Georgia’s international investment position (IIP), the IPP amounted to -$20.8 billion for March31, 2016. Net IIP deteriorated by $1.2 billion compared to the previous quarter.

An IIP is a financial statement that explains the value and composition of a country’s external financial assets and liabilities. A positive IIP value indicates a nation is a creditor nation, while a negative value indicates it is a debtor nation, as is the case for Georgia.

Meanwhile other data from NBG on the country’s balance of payment indicated how much money entered and left the country. The NBG said Georgia’s current account deficit of balance of payment was $377million in Q1 of 2017. A negative balance of goods was the major contributor to the current account deficit, explained NBG.