Georgian Business Association president says domestic business climate index at “all-time high”

The Georgian business climate index is at an “all-time high” according to the third quarter data of the BAG Index, a joint product of the Business Association of Georgia, PMC Research Centre and the IFO Institute for Economic Research, Association president Soso Pkhakadze said on Tuesday.

Pkhakadze said the domestic business community had presented the latest index to prime minister Irakli Garibashvili at their meeting on Tuesday.

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"The business climate index for the third quarter of this year stands at the benchmark of 43 - this indicator was within 40 [...] in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 [...]”, he noted.

“Employment barometer is also at a historically high level of 28 points in the third quarter - this indicator was exactly 26 points in the fourth quarter of 2019. The investment research is also very interesting, with 63 percent of the surveyed companies saying they will make additional investments by the end of 2022", Pkhakadze said.

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Pkhakadze also pointed out the “main challenges” in the country were stability of the national currency, shortage of professional staff and bureaucracy. He added that even though these problems were being solved, joint work on them between the business and the government was “still needed”.