2021 Index of Economic Freedom: Georgia 12th in world and 7th in Europe

Georgia’s economic freedom score is 77.2, making its economy the 12th freest in the 2021 Index of Economic Freedom by the Heritage Foundation.

Its overall score has increased by 0.1 point, primarily because of an improvement in the government spending score. Georgia is ranked 7th among 45 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is above the regional and world averages”, reads the index.

The index also reads that the Georgian economy suffered only a small setback this year in its long progression to the upper ranks of the mostly free category.

Multi-year reforms to reduce corruption, cut regulation, and simplify taxes have led to upward movement in all aspects of economic freedom. Achieving a top-10 ranking, however, will require even more intensive efforts to improve perceptions of government integrity and judicial effectiveness”, says the index.

A snapshot of Georgia’s economic freedom in 2021:

• Property rights – 66.9
• Government integrity – 64.6
• Judicial effectiveness – 59.3
• Business freedom – 84.9
• Labour freedom – 76.7
• Monetary freedom – 76.7
• Government spending – 76.9
• Tax burden – 89.1
• Fiscal health – 94.9
• Trade freedom – 86
• Investment freedom – 80
• Financial freedom – 70

The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution whose mission it is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom and a strong national defence.

The survey divided nations into five major categories: free (80-100), mostly free (70- 79.9), moderately free (60-69.9), mostly unfree (50-59.9) and repressed (0-49.9).

Georgia becomes member of World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies

Georgia has become a member of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) through the application of Invest in Georgia, which is run by the country’s export support agency Enterprise Georgia.

Enterprise Georgia will benefit from various opportunities including the ability to share in best practices, explore opportunities of new partnerships, and participate in various forums and seminars to further comprehend the newest tendencies in terms of global FDI”, reads the press release published by the agency.

The World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) is an international organisation established in 1995 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which acts as a forum for investment promotion agencies, provides networking and promotes experience sharing in investment promotion.

Currently WAIPA unites more than 170 members worldwide from 130 countries.

GEORGIA RANKS SECOND AMONG 50 COUNTRIES, FROM WHICH WORKING REMOTELY IS MOST ADVANTAGEOUS

Georgia is ranked 2nd among the best countries in the world, from where foreign citizens can work remotely. The relevant survey was conducted by the site bigseventravel.com and revealed 50 countries where working remotely is most convenient and comfortable.

Speaking about the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, it is emphasized that the city can offer many things, both in terms of culture and diverse cuisine. “Something will be found for everyone here,” the submission said. It is also said that the country is surrounded by the Caucasus Mountains to the north and the Black Sea to the west. However, while talking about Tbilisi, the website mentions that there are many cafes and common workspaces in the capital, including Impact Hub and Lokal. It is also mentioned that people who work remotely will have to pay up to 300-400 dollars for an apartment.

The first place in the list is occupied by the capital of Estonia, Tallinn. The top ten includes cities such as Belgrade, Berlin, Singapore, Buenos Aires, Ljubljana, etc.

 We would like to remind you that the program “Work from Georgia” was launched in Georgia at the end of August and its goal is to attract foreign visitors to the country. As a result, the government of Georgia offers citizens of 95 countries to remotely fulfill their work responsibilities for at least 180 days. Within the framework of the program, 1,415 applications were submitted to Georgia and up to 1000 permits were issued for the entry of a foreign citizen into the country. However, how many people actually entered the country, the latest data is not known.

Georgia third in Transparency International’s Government Defence Integrity index for Central, Eastern Europe

Transparency International has released its Government Defence Integrity Index (GDI) for 2020, the world’s leading assessment of corruption in government defence institutions, in which Georgia placed third in Central and Eastern Europe after Latvia and North Macedonia, with some of the least corruption risk in the region.

The GDI is designed to measure corruption risk in defence and security institutions. It assesses the existence, effectiveness, and enforcement of institutional safeguards to corruption across five key risk areas: financial, operational, personnel, political, and procurement. Georgia ranked third in politics, sixth in finance, and second in personnel, second in the operational category while it took six place in terms of procurement.

Georgia has received a score of 60 out of 100, placing it in the category of having ‘moderate risk of corruption in the field of defense’.

In the ranking, 100 points indicate the lowest risk of corruption, while 0 indicates the highest risk.

Five other countries from the Central and Eastern Europe region which also have a moderate risk of corruption are Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Macedonia.

Latvia received the highest score – 67 (low risk) and Azerbaijan the lowest – 15 (critical risk) in the region.

The Government Defence Integrity Index (GDI) finds more than half of the 15 countries assessed in the region face a high risk of corruption in their defence and security sectors,” says Transparency International Defence and Security.

The 15 countries which were involved in the report are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia and Ukraine.

FDI Grant: new state programme to support foreign investment projects in Georgia

The government of Georgia has announced a new state programme, FDI Grant, under the auspices of Enterprise Georgia which will promote the growth of foreign direct investments, the inflow of technologies and the creation of new jobs in Georgia, announces Enterprise Georgia agency.

The FDI Grant incentive applies to the following economic sectors:

• Production of electrical and electronic engineering products
• Manufacturing of aircraft parts and components
• Manufacture of vehicles and equipment, as well as their parts
• Export of business services/ business process outsourcing (BPO)
• Developing warehouses and logistic centers
• Aircraft repair and maintenance (MRO)

The eligibility criteria include:

• An international company participating in the programme will have the obligation of investing at least 10 million GEL (about €3 mln) and create a minimum of 150 jobs.
• For companies operating in the field of business process outsourcing (BPO), the minimum amount of investment is 5 million GEL (about €1.5 mln), with the creation of at least 200 new jobs.

Upon fulfillment of the investment obligation, companies will get cashback of up to 1 million GEL (about €300,000).

Companies interested in applying to the programme have to send an application to Enterprise Georgia, the export promoting agency that is implementing the new programme, along with their investment project business strategy.

Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index: Georgia ranks 37th among 180 countries

Georgia has ranked 37th among 180 countries in the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index.

The Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index measures the sustainable competitiveness of countries by calculating 116 measurable, quantitative indicators derived from sources such as the World Bank, the IMF, and various UN agencies.

The 127 indicators are grouped into five sub-indexes, in which Georgia scored:

• Natural Capital – 52.6
• Resource Efficiency and Intensity – 49.6
• Intellectual Capital – 47.3
• Governance Efficiency – 59.3
• Social Cohesion – 35.7

Georgia is ahead of leading economies such as China, Singapore, Australia, Israel, Greece, Malta, Chile, Cyprus, etc. Georgia is ahead of all neighbouring countries in the ranking, and in the post-Soviet space it lags behind only the Baltic countries”, announces the Ministry of Economy of Georgia.

Compared to 2012, Georgia ranks first in the world in terms of improving its rating position, said Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava.

BAG: TRACE INTERNATIONAL AND SOLABILITY RATINGS A POSITIVE MESSAGE FOR POTENTIAL INVESTORS

The Georgian Business Association responds to surveys by Trace International and the transnational organization SolAbility and rates the ratings as a positive message for potential investors.

According to the Trace International Index of Freedom from Corruption Risk, Georgia ranks 28th in the world and 19th in Europe, and Georgia ranks 37th out of 180 countries in the SolAbility Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index.

According to the President of the Business Association, this is a positive message for both investors and the international community, as the pursuit of democratic values ​​and sustainable development of the country contributes to competitiveness and, naturally, these figures are welcome.

“The published new ratings are an important message for potential investors. Today, as never before, it is important for investors to have more positive messages about the current and future business environment in the country, investment opportunities. The Kovid Pandemic will end soon in the world and with it in Georgia, there are clear signs of this and we must start preparing for the post-pandemic economic reality, new investment and economic policies in order to recover the damaged economy and achieve a new, much faster pace of growth. At the same time, transparency, the level of corruption, the relationship between business and government – these are the areas that must be worked on, because it is a constant process of improvement,
(NS)