Georgia

Georgia’s reform trajectory has been nothing short of remarkable. In less than two decades, successive structural, regulatory and economic reforms have propelled Georgia from one of the poorest post-Soviet states to an upper-middle income economy. Georgia ranks among the best performers in the world according to international indices on doing business and openness to foreign investment – achievements many countries look to for inspiration. Yet in recent years, the Georgian government has reflected on why these reforms have not facilitated more broad-based economic growth. FDI attraction has been strong relative to the size of the Georgian economy, but the positive benefits of investment have not been fully realised. Mobilising investment in sectors that can enhance job creation, exports and productivity will be key for Georgia’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This Investment Policy Review takes stock of recent achievements in improving the investment climate and assesses areas for the government to consider in strengthening its reform efforts to attract FDI that can have a positive impact on inclusive, sustainable growth.

The COVID-19 crisis has had a profound impact on SME access to finance. In particular, the sudden drop in revenues created acute liquidity shortages, threatening the survival of many viable businesses. The report documents an increase in demand for bank lending in the first half of 2020, and a steady supply of credit thanks to government interventions. On the other hand, other sources of finance declined, in particular early-stage equity. This paper, a special edition of Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs, focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on SME access to finance, along with government policy responses. It reveals that the pre-crisis financing environment was broadly favourable for SMEs and entrepreneurs, who benefited from low interest rates, loose credit standards and an increasingly diverse offer of financing instruments. It documents the unprecedented scope and scale of the policy responses undertaken by governments world-wide, and details their key characteristics, and outlines the principal issues and policy challenges for the next phases of the pandemic, such as the over-indebtedness of SMEs and the need to continue to foster a diverse range of financing instruments for SMEs.

An overview of the prevailing institutional framework related to bioenergy and associated policies opens this roadmap, followed by a description of the wider context of bioenergy supply and consumption in Georgia. The body of the roadmap focuses on: Ensuring sustainable biomass supplies Modernising the consumption of biomass. Current Georgian practices are summarised for these two areas, and examples of international best practices in bioenergy from IEA member countries are offered. The roadmap then outlines the policies, technologies and management practices needed for Georgia to harness its biomass potential securely and sustainably. These are presented as a set of overarching policy actions, underpinned by detailed biomass supply and consumption recommendations. The recommended actions are compiled as a co-ordinated package of measures to be implemented during 2020-25 to modernise Georgia’s bioenergy industry and make it sustainable by 2030. The social, economic and environmental benefits for the country are summarised as a vision of Georgia’s modern bioenergy industry in 2030.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) conducts in-depth peer reviews of the energy policies of its members and non-member countries. This process supports a holistic approach to energy policy development and encourages the exchange of international best practices and experiences. This report is the first in-depth review conducted by the EU4Energy programme (implemented by the IEA and the European Union) in the 2019-2021 cycle. It updates and extends the analysis of energy policies in the countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia that the IEA conducted in 2015. Since the 2015 review, Georgia has made solid progress in improving both the security and sustainability of its energy supply. The country entered into the EU-Georgia Association Agreement in 2016 and become a Contracting party of the Energy Community Treaty in 2017. Since then, it has made significant legal and institutional reforms demonstrating the government’s commitment to align its energy sector with EU regulations for electricity and gas markets, security of supply, renewable energy, energy efficiency and statistics. The energy sector has been instrumental in establishing Georgia’s overall economic policy focused on creating a liberalised environment through minimal state interference, deregulation, privatisation, reduced and simplified licensing and taxation, and free trade, earning the country the reputation of a 'star reformer'. Taking advantage of its favourable geographical situation, Georgia plays an important role in the regional trade of electricity, oil and natural gas. Nevertheless, Georgia is still confronted with many challenges in its transition to a more secure, sustainable and affordable energy future. The government recognises most of them and is considering various measures to address them. There is room for the further strengthening of the country’s long-term energy strategy, raising institutional capacity and improving coordination between stakeholders to develop policies based on solid analysis of supply-demand trends and alternative scenario models. More efforts could be made to develop effective secondary legislation to accelerate the implementation of the EU energy acquis, and to gradually phase out implicit subsidies and cross-subsidies in the electricity and gas sectors. In this report, the IEA provides recommendations for further improvements of Georgia’s policies to help the country guide the transformation of its energy sector.