Georgian Pension Agency to begin investing in int’l financial markets
With over $400 billion in market capitalisation, JP Morgan Chase is one of the global leaders in financial services. Photo: Pension Agency of Georgia
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One of the largest investment banks in the world, JP Morgan Chase, has been selected by the Pension Agency of Georgia to launch its investing in international financial markets, the Agency announced on Tuesday.
As the Agency's main broker-dealer in foreign investment, JP Morgan Chase will carry out trading transactions in foreign financial markets on the instructions of the state institution and in compliance with the Georgian law, the Agency said.
The body also noted the diversification of its investment portfolio had “entered an active phase” based on the decision of its Investment Council, adding it had already begun buying the United States Dollar currency, with 4.2 percent of its investment portfolio invested in Dollars as of March 31.
The Agency said the next step in the diversification of its investment portfolio would involve investing funds in global financial instruments.
With over $400 billion in market capitalisation, JP Morgan Chase is one of the global leaders in financial services.
A total of 1,265,000 people have been registered in the Georgian pension scheme as of April 6, with a net return since its inception in 2019 reaching ₾318 million ($103mln/€94mln) as a result of investment activities.
The Agency announced a total of 1,698 people had benefited from the accumulative pension system. It came into effect in Georgia in January 2019 and applies to Georgian citizens, foreign citizens living in Georgia with a permanent residency in the country, and stateless persons who are employed or self-employed and receive an income.
The role of the Pension Fund in the development of the economy, importance of long-term investment sources and legislative initiatives for the Fund were in the focus of a meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and members of the Pension Fund Investment Board on Tuesday.
Foreign direct investments (FDI) in Georgia totalled $1.152 billion in 2021, which is two times higher compared to the adjusted data of 2020, the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) reported in its latest data.
The net asset value of the pension fund in Georgia equals 2.23 billion GEL ($724mln/€664mln), the Pension Agency of Georgia has said in its March 2022 report.
The estimated real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Georgia increased by 14.6 percent in February 2022 year-on-year, while the average real GDP grew by 16.3 percent in January-February, the latest data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) shows.
Georgian citizens’ savings are “not in danger” and the decline in real returns during the current high inflation is a “temporary, short-term phenomenon” that will not lead to a reduction in citizen contributions, the Georgian Pension Agency said on Tuesday.
The foreign direct investments in Georgia amounted to $1.24 billion last year - up 2.1 times in 2020 and 7.7 percent on the preliminary data of the year - as seen in the adjusted data of FDIs, published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia today.
Georgia’s Pension Agency will invest savings from the pension system in shares of major international companies including Apple, Google and Toyota, Chief Investment Officer Goga Melikidze revealed on Friday.