PM discusses Pension Fund legislative initiatives with Investment Board members
The significance of “active work” between the country’s government and members of the Board was also noted during the meeting, the Government Administration said. Photo: Government Administration
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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.
The significance of “active work” between the country’s Government and members of the Board was also noted during the meeting, the Government Administration said.
The Pension Fund’s significance for the long-term investment capital of the national currency, for the implementation of long-term investment projects in the country, was also noted, along with the development of the capital market, and balancing the market interest rate on loans.
Up to 1.1 million people are engaged in the funded pension scheme as of today, with the total asset value amounting to 2.17 billion GEL ($675.1m/€614.7m) of which the accrued interest on investment activities is 309 million GEL ($96.1m/€87.5m).
The funds are fully invested in eight commercial banks in Georgian currency, with 62 percent of the assets in deposit certificates and 38 percent in current benefit accounts. The current annual effective profitability equals 11.6 percent, while the profitability since the day of the launch of the fund system is at 34 percent, the Government Administration said.
The accumulated pension system came into effect in Georgia in January 2019. It 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. It also applies to employees of both the public as well as private sectors.
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 National Bank of Georgia (NBG) offered 50 million USD at the foreign exchange auction on Wednesday of which 39.5 million USD was sold, the bank announced yesterday. In the first foreign exchange intervention this year, the NBG made the sale with an average weighted rate of 3.3947.
Macroeconomic parameters in Georgia are “very healthy and stable” and depreciation of the Georgian lari exchange rate is mainly caused by “emotional factors,” Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili said on Tuesday.
The Consumer Price Index in Georgia increased by 0.9 percent in February 2022 month-on-month, while the annual inflation rate totalled 13.7 percent, the latest inflation data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) shows.
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.
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.
Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili on Monday announced the conclusion of a state tender aimed at improving loan terms for pensioners in the country, revealing “significantly improved conditions” for the senior citizens would follow the move.
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.
Individuals’ access to their pension information has been restored across Georgia following a brief unavailability of services earlier on Monday due to a system update, the Pension Agency of Georgia said.
The net asset value of the pension fund of Georgia has been estimated at ₾2.67 billion ($960mln), with the pension agency revealing the figure on Tuesday.
The pension agency of Georgia has estimated the net asset value of the country’s pension fund at ₾2.78 billion ($1.03bln) in its latest report, with the update also showing the fund’s net return between 2019 and November 2022 at 38.8 percent ($145mln).