The FINANCIAL — Last week the Galt & Taggart Index (GTI) declined 0.93% in GEL terms on a trading volume of GEL 260. One blue chip stock traded on the Georgian Stock Exchange: People’s Bank (AMB, down 50%). Blue chips accounted for 100% of the total weekly trading volume.
Bank of Georgia’s global depositary receipts (GDRs) rose by 14.1% last week on the London Stock Exchange (BGEO LI) to US$ 2.1. A total of 2,211,078 GDRs traded on the LSE last week.
Economy
Ex-minister cuts GDP growth expectations to negative. Georgia’s former Minister of Economic Development Kakha Bendukidze signaled the country’s GDP will likely shrink in 2009 due to repercussions from last summer’s conflict with Russia, compounded by the global economic slowdown, Bloomberg News reported. The National Bank of Georgia earlier placed FY09 GDP growth expectations at 2%, roughly equal to 2008’s increase. The war with Russia is estimated to have cost the Georgian economy US$ 1bn in damages. Bendukidze, a former general manager of Russia’s largest heavy machinery producer OMZ Gruppa Uralmash-Izhora, currently holds no official Georgian government position.
CPI climbs 1.4% m/m. January CPI grew 1.4% m/m, a 1ppt increase from December’s 0.4% growth, according to the Georgian statistics committee. 12M e-o-p CPI as of January 31 declined 1.1ppts m/m to 4.4%, significantly lower than in neighboring states, including Ukraine (22.3%), Kyrgyzstan (18.3%), Russia (13.4%), Azerbaijan (11.8%), Latvia (9.8%), Lithuania (9.6%), and Kazakhstan (8.7%).
Foreign debt
Total government debt at US$ 2.6bn. Georgia’s total foreign debt and state-guaranteed loans amounted to US$ 2.6bn as of January 31, according to the Ministry of Finance. Georgia currently has 16 countries-bilateral creditors, including Germany (US$ 158.68mn), Russia (US$ 119.43mn), Japan (US$ 58.26mn), Turkey (US$ 41.77mn), and the US (US$ 38.31mn), as well as Azerbaijan, Iran, Armenia, Kazakhstan, China, Kuwait, and the Netherlands, at less than US$ 30mn each.
Georgia also owes US$ 1.59bn to international financial institutions and organizations, including the IMF (US$ 446.74mn), World Bank (US$ 959.17mn), International Fund of Agricultural Development (US$ 13.5mn), Asian Development Bank (US$ 70.85mn), EBRD (US$ 28.28mn), and EU (US$ 74.17mn).
Company News
CEI 4Q operating profit grows 478% q/q. Caucasus Energy & Infrastructure (NRGY GG) reported FY08 revenues of GEL 14.7mn (US$ 8.7mn) and operating profit of GEL 13.6mn (US$ 8.0mn), with the lion’s share of the company’s revenues generated by non-operating activities. CEI showed GEL 11.5mn (US$ 6.8mn) in FY08 net income.
FX Market
Last week the GEL appreciated 1% against the US$. The weekly turnover on the Tbilisi Interbank Currency Exchange (TICEX) was US$ 16.4mn, US$ 21mn less than the previous week. The National Bank of Georgia ’s (NBG) net purchases were US$ 11.7mn.
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