Bruno Balvanera of EBRD:
“Investors are really interested in Georgia”
Tweet 
Share
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Director for the Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus, Bruno Balvanera, believes that investors are "really interested” in Georgia.
Balvanera shared his opinion about the increased volume of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Georgia after opening a seminar on Building SME Business Compliance and Integrity yesterday in Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi.
The amount of investments has really increased and investors are really interested in Georgia, but the point is that these are big investment projects, such as gas pipelines, railways, hydro power plants, and therefore it is a long-term aim that will make itself felt in the long run, but we really want to say that there is a real interest in Georgia”, Balvanera said.
Foreign investors have been demonstrating growing interest in various fields of Georgia's economy, especially in transport and communications and the financial and construction sectors, show the latest preliminary data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).
These are the top three sectors that enjoyed 60.5 percent of all foreign direct investments (FDIs) that Georgia attracted in 2017.
Overall, Georgia attracted $1.86 billion in FDI in 2017 – a 16.2 percent increase compared to the adjusted data of the same period of the previous year.
Georgia is striving to fortify energy security in the country and improve its economy by building the largest hydro power plant in the recent history of independent Georgia - the Nenskra Hydro-Electric Power Plant (HPP).
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is offering €28 million to help Georgia rehabilitate Enguri Hydro Power Plant (HPP).
“Georgia: Leader of Europe’s second wave reforms”
Georgia is leading the second wave of countries in eastern and central Europe, with its progressive reforms, believes the Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Alain Pilloux.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has revised its 2017 economic growth forecast for Georgia and said that the country’s economy in 2017 as well as in 2018 will experience a faster growth than previously expected.
An investment business holding company, Georgia Capital of BGEO Group will invest $500 million "over the next few years” in Georgia, of which Eurobonds worth of $300 million has already been listed and traded on the Irish Stock Exchange.
The EBRD and the EU are extending their support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to the total of almost €1.1 billion in credit lines and trade finance and €58.3 million in EU grants.
Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi is hosting the 2018 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Trade Finance Forum and 200 participants from 40 countries.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is offering €15 million to finance the improvement of the solid waste collection and management system in Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) increasingly trusts the government of Georgia and its economic policy, says new Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Matteo Patrone.