Investments prospects for 2011

Georgia’s hope for bringing more FDI into the country failed in 2010. While the exact figures for the last quarter are not known, it seems they will not be more than the 2009 figures. This is a frustration when the country claims to have a good business environment, attractive opportunities and investment paradise. However, the country’s leaders are still optimistic and hope that things will improve in 2011. Finance minister Kakha Baindurashvili stated that according to him, a lot was done in 2010 that will yield better results in 2011 from the FDI point of view. The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Vera Kobalia is even naming the sources of FDI for 2011. These are Azerbaijan and Turkey namely, she also named Israel and Iran, but stated that there are efforts to attract FDI from EU countries, USA and Canada.

In 2010, authorities were expecting more than 1 bln USD but less than half was actually invested. Independent analysts even argue that all incoming money in Georgia comes from investments. Some money is just payment for privatized real estate property, which does not mean establishing or developing any business and is mainly assets for some private businessmen. Of course this money was spent on different projects decided by the authorities and did not lead to building economic development whatsoever.