NBG to Regulate Cashless Currency Exchange Operations in Georgia

The resolution calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Mzia Amaglobeli,  founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti online newspapers, and the dropping of all charges against her.It also urges the “immediate repeal of all repressive legislation”.“The European Parliament, having regard to its previous resolutions on Georgia, having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,A. whereas Mzia Amaglobeli, a journalist and co-founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti outlets, was arrested during pro-European protests on 12 January 2025 and faces four to seven years in prison for a provoked incident involving a police officer;B. whereas the adoption of draconian legislation – such as the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and amendments to the Law on Broadcasting, Code of Administrative Offences and Law on Grants – constitutes a dangerous acceleration of democratic backsliding and deliberate authoritarian strategy by Georgian Dream to silence critical voices in civil society and independent media and persecute the political opposition;C. whereas the authorities have virtually annihilated remaining independent media outlets in the country; whereas the public information space is fully dominated by pro-government media, spreading Russian-style propaganda and anti-European disinformation;D. whereas in Mzia Amaglobeli’s case, the authorities ignored procedural safeguards, imposed pre-trial detention without a clear legal basis, contested by the Public Defender, and assigned a presiding judge lacking qualifications in criminal law; whereas she is being punished for exposing corruption and reporting on election fraud during the 2024 elections;E. whereas she reportedly suffered inhumane treatment and undertook a 38-day hunger strike;F. whereas Estonia and Lithuania have imposed personal sanctions on Georgian judges and police officers linked to Mzia Amaglobeli’s case;1. Demands Mzia Amaglobeli’s immediate and unconditional release and the withdrawal of all charges against her, and denounces her politically motivated arrest and prosecution;2. Strongly condemns the Georgian Dream regime’s systemic assault on democratic institutions, political opposition, independent media, civil society and judicial independence;3. Expresses deep concern over arbitrary detentions and the harassment of, and violence against, journalists in Georgia, including smear campaigns, legal persecution, abuse and gender-based violence in detention; calls for independent investigations and urges the authorities to immediately end intimidation and ensure journalists’ safety and freedom;4. Urges the Georgian authorities to release all political prisoners and other illegally detained persons without delay, including activist Mate Devidze, opposition leaders Zurab Japaridze, Nika Melia and Nika Gvaramia, and former President Mikheil Saakashvili, and denounces the violent abduction of UNM Chair Tina Bokuchava’s husband and the reported threats to her children’s safety;5. Calls for the immediate repeal of all repressive legislation, the restoration of democracy, and full protection of media freedom and civil liberties;6. Calls for the EU to step up support for Georgia’s independent media and civil society following the entry into force of the FARA, and monitor ongoing trials;7. Regrets the persistent inaction of the Council, Member States and Commission and reiterates its repeated call on Member States to impose bilateral sanctions against Georgian Dream leaders and officials responsible for democratic backsliding;8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, President Zourabichvili, and the self-appointed authorities of Georgia”, - the document reads.

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Significant contributions to the real GDP growth in Q1 2025 are related to increase of valueadded of the following activities: Information and communication (28.6 percent), Education (27.7 percent), Real estate activities (12.9 percent), Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (6.1 percent), Public administration and defence; compulsory social security (11.0 percent), Human health and social work activities (17.9 percent), transportation and storage (9.5 percent), Financial and insurance activities (8.7 percent).A decrease in the real value-added occurred in Agriculture, forestry and fishing (-4.6 percent), Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (-5.1 percent).The largest share in GDP by activity is held by Trade (13.1 percent) and Real estate activities (10.6 percent), followed by Information and communication (9.5 percent), Manufacturing (8.3 percent), Public administration (7.5 percent), Education (7.2 percent), Construction (6.9 percent), Financial and insurance activities (5.7 percent), Transportation and storage (5.4 percent).

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In January-May 2025 the share of the top ten trading partners by exports in the total exports of Georgia amounted to 80.4%. The top partners were Kyrgyzstan (USD 567.4 million), Kazakhstan (USD 330.6 million) and Azerbaijan (USD 282.3 million).In January-May 2025 the share of the top ten trading partners by imports in the total imports of Georgia amounted to 72.2%. The top partners were USA (USD 1 billion 095.9 million), Türkiye (USD 1 billion 075.1 million) and Russia (USD 808.6 million).In January-May 2025 the share of the top ten trading partners in the total external trade turnover of Georgia amounted to 69.7%. The top trading partners were Türkiye (USD 1 211.2 million), USA (USD 1 132.8 million) and Russia (USD 1 055.6 million).In January-May 2025 motor cars claimed the first place in the list of top export items, equaling USD 974.7 million with 37.6 percent of total exports. The exports of precious metal ores and concentrates totaled USD 136.5 million and their share in the total exports amounted to 5.3 percent. The exports of spirituous beverages occupied the third place standing at USD 98.4 million and constituting 3.8 percent of the total exports.The top import commodities in January-May 2025 were motor cars, whose imports equaled USD 1 billion 298.8 million (18% of the total imports). The petroleum and petroleum oils followed in the list with USD 494.6 million (6.9 percent of imports). The paintings, drawings and pastels (executed entirely by hand) were third in the top import commodity list with USD 481.2 million (6.7% of imports).

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In January-May 2025 the share of the top ten trading partners by domestic exports in the total domestic exports of Georgia amounted to 70.0 percent. The top partners were Russia (USD 229.0 million), China (USD 121.1 million) and Türkiye (USD 120.0 million).In January-May 2025 Precious metal ores and concentrates reclaimed the first place in the list of top domestic export items, equaling USD 136.5 million, or 11.7% of total domestic exports. The domestic exports Wine of fresh grapes totaled USD 97.2 million and their share in the total domestic exports amounted to 8.3%. The domestic exports of Spirituous beverages occupied the third place, standing at USD 82.2 million and constituting 7% of the total domestic exports. 

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According to the PM, in general, there is no such practice of inviting the OSCE/ODIHR to monitor local elections.“There are some exceptions, like in 2022, because these elections were related to the topic of parliamentary elections. There are cases when the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission is invited to monitor local elections as an exception. According to the standard practice, the mission is invited to observe the parliamentary elections.Therefore, we believe that it is not worth overloading them with local elections. Municipal elections will be held in a healthy form. The OSCE/ODIHR observed parliamentary elections, prepared its opinion, but nobody got interested in the report. Today, these people urge us to invite the mission,” he said.The British Embassy in Georgia called on the Georgian government to extend an invitation to ODIHR/OSCE to observe October’s municipal elections and take forward all recommendations in ODIHR’s final report on the 2024 parliamentary election.

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Inflation in Georgia remains close to the target level of 3%. In May 2025, the overall price level increased by 3.5% year-on-year, while core inflation, which excludes highly volatile items such as food, energy, and tobacco prices from the consumer basket, declined slightly to 2.0%. Notably, long-term inflation expectations remain stable. Service sector inflation, which tends to be stickier and reflects long-term inflation expectations, stood at 2.2% in May.Overall, upward pressures on inflation are primarily driven by food prices, partly reflecting developments in global food markets. On the other hand, deflation in imported goods, primarily driven by lower fuel prices year over year, serves to counterbalance rising food inflation.According to the NBG’s central scenario, as previously projected, inflation is expected to temporarily exceed the target in 2025, averaging 3.8 percent, driven by base effects and global tendencies. Over the medium term, it is expected to stabilize around the 3 percent target.Alongside stable inflation, economic activity remains robust. According to the preliminary data, average  economic growth for the first four months of the year stood at 8.8%. As expected, the pace of economic growth is showing signs of gradually converging toward its long-term trend. Meanwhile, credit activity growth has aligned more closely with its equilibrium level.Global economic uncertainty remains elevated amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and persistent trade barriers. As a result, inflation is subject to considerable risks on both the upside and downside. Accordingly, the Monetary Policy Committee considered both high-inflation and low-inflation risk scenarios. On the one hand, military actions in the Middle East have led to an increase in oil prices.At the same time, risks of economic fragmentation at the international level have intensified. This, in turn, raises concerns over the deterioration of supply chains and the emergence of a globally inflationary environment. If these risks materialize and persist, a high-inflation scenario could unfold, one that would require a higher interest rate path than assumed under the central scenario.On the other hand, the Monetary Policy Committee has considered a low-inflation risk scenario, where the realization of fundamental factors would require a lower trajectory for the monetary policy rate compared to the central scenario. Specifically, amid ongoing uncertainty, the U.S. dollar index (DXY) remains weakened.At the same time, international food commodity prices have seen a moderate decline. If these tendencies persist, a strengthened exchange rate combined with stable international food commodity prices is expected to exert downward pressure on headline inflation through lower imported inflation.As a result of macroeconomic analysis and the assessment of existing risks, the Monetary Policy Committee has considered it optimal to adopt a cautious approach toward further normalizing the monetary policy rate, keeping it unchanged at 8%. Upcoming decisions on the monetary policy rate will depend on updated macroeconomic forecast scenarios and risk assessments.The NBG will use all available instruments to maintain price stability. This means keeping the overall price level increase close to the 3% target over the medium term.The next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee will be held on July 30, 2025.

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According to the statement, this commitment is set out in the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which both Governments signed in 2019.“Article 4 of the Agreement commits the parties to cooperation on increasing the stability and effectiveness of democratic institutions and the rule of law; on ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; on making further progress on judicial and legal reform. Article 341 of the Agreement also commits both sides to ensure the involvement of civil society in UK-Georgia relations and to facilitate an enabling environment for the development of civil society.It is on this basis that for many years the UK has supported civil society in Georgia, including voter education activities, funding for local election observation groups working to internationally approved standards and contributed to successive ODIHR/OSCE monitoring missions in Georgia.The Georgian government itself previously supported this activity and we reject its current description as funding ‘propaganda and extremism’. Nothing could be further from the truth. Georgian legislation makes provision for citizen monitoring, which is an important part of professional and transparent scrutiny of elections.We encourage the Georgian Government to extend an invitation to ODIHR/OSCE to observe October’s municipal elections and take forward all recommendations in ODIHR’s final report on the 2024 parliamentary election.The hopes and aspirations of the Georgian people are for democracy and freedom, and we hope that UK-Georgia co-operation, as well as Georgia’s co-operation with European institutions, will further contribute to those goals,” reads the statement.

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The dividend distribution of 32,816,826 shares was supported by 100% of investors.Lion Finance Group PLC (the “Company”) disclosed in its Preliminary Results for Full Year 2024 that the Board of Directors intended to recommend for shareholder approval a final dividend for financial year 2024 of GEL 5.62 per ordinary share payable in Pounds Sterling at the prevailing rate.The Company confirms that the dividend will be put to shareholder approval at the AGM on 16 June 2025. If the final dividend of GEL 5.62 per ordinary share is approved by shareholders at the AGM, the following dividend timetable will apply:Ex-Dividend Date: 3 July 2025Record Date: 4 July 2025Currency Conversion Date: 4 July 2025Payment Date: 18 July 2025The National Bank of Georgia Georgian Lari/Pounds Sterling average exchange rate for the period 30 June to 4 July 2025 will be used as the exchange rate on the Currency Conversion Date.

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