Georgia’s Economy Minister highlights de-dolarisation progress

Georgia’s Economy Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili says that as of April 2018 the use of the US dollar in Georgia’s economy has "reduced significantly”.

In his words the share of the US dollar in deposits has declined from 70 percent to 62 percent, while the share of the US dollar in total loans fell from 65 percent to 55 percent.

Kumsishvili stated that the use of the domestic currency, the lari, in Georgia’s economy is increasing thanks to efforts taken by the government to strengthen lari-denominated economic activity.

"The high dolarisation indicators that we had in 2015-2016 had a negative impact on the population’s poverty level. I remember how painful the devaluation of the lari for society was”, said Kumsishvili.

"Due to the fact that loans were issued in the US dollar our society received a very heavy financial strikle, which reduced their disposable income. Consequently, it reflected on the level of poverty, on the quality of life. We must continue to work and make all efforts to make our population less dependent on currency rate and fluctuations”, he added.