Swiss Embassy highlights concerns over FARA restrictions on freedom of expression, and civil society

“The anti-American Georgian Dream regime insults President Trump while exalting communist China. Just listen to their own words and look at their actions. They are selling the country to China and blocking America from all business and trade in the country and region. MEGOBARI badly needed!”, he said. The anti-American Georgian Dream regime insults President Trump while exalting communist China. Just listen to their own words and look at their actions. They are selling the country to China and blocking America from all business and trade in the country & region. MEGOBARI… https://t.co/SlJaKNdnam — Joe Wilson (@RepJoeWilson) June 5, 2025

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Minister of IDPs, Labor, Health, and Social Affairs Mikheil Sarjveladze introduced the new director to the NCDC staff, describing Irakli Purtseladze as a capable manager and an experienced professional.The Minister, along with the Deputy Director of NCDC and Irakli Purtseladze himself, inspected the centre during the visit.Since 2011, Irakli Purtseladze has worked in the private sector, holding managerial positions at Averi-Pharma. He also served as the head of Insurance Company Alpha from 2016 to 2018.

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The contribution of consumer loans has fallen below 4.8%. According to the NBG's interactive statistics, the consumer portfolio accounts for 4.6% of the annual growth.The annual growth of total lending as of May has reached 15.5% (01.05.2024 – 18.35%). This is a decrease of 2.9 percentage points. The contribution of consumer loans has decreased by only 0.3% points (01.05.2024 – 4.9%).However, the annual growth of consumer lending is still high, exceeding 20%. As of 1.05.2025, it is 24.7% (01.05.2024 + 27.8%).The NBG believes that there is no pressure from the demand side.However, the 2-week IMF mission has noted certain trends, as the head of the mission, Alejandro Hajdenberg, stated at the NBG, at a joint briefing following the mission.According to him, vigilance is needed so that it does not become a prerequisite for systemic risks.In addition, Hajdenberg noted the country's strong macro-resilience, GDP growth, due to which the forecast was revised and exceeded 7%.Several directions are worth considering, in terms of land resource management and investment in infrastructure. Regional partnerships need to be improved to strengthen anti-corruption movements; poverty has been reduced but not overcome; there is unemployment; there is pressure due to political processes.According to the Fund's recommendation, replenishing foreign exchange reserves to an adequate level should be the priority of the NBG. The vacant space in the Board should be filled, governance should be strengthened.The main recommendation for the government is to improve corporate governance by exiting state-owned enterprises.He noted that the country, like the global economy, exists in conditions of particularly high uncertainty. However, risks, along with challenges, also imply opportunities.The IMF will issue a conclusion on the Article 4 review at the end of August.

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During the reporting period, the largest share of the portfolio was accounted for by the social taxonomy defined by the NBG. Specifically, the taxonomy portfolio was GEL 574 million, with an annual growth of 184%.The second largest component in the portfolio was renewable energy lending, amounting to GEL 415 million, which is 14% less year-on-year.The third largest lending was accounted for by green loans defined by the NBG’s taxonomy. The portfolio amounted to GEL 221 million in 2024, which is an increase of 22%.According to the company, TBC is actively mobilising green funds from partner international financial institutions to promote sustainable economic growth, primarily by financing energy efficiency, resource efficiency, and renewable energy projects.These facilities will help local businesses and households to become more competitive by investing in high-performance technologies and adopting energy-efficient practices. In addition, financing is coupled with technical assistance programmes, providing know-how and technical expertise to borrowers and ensuring that their green investments are successfully implemented. Several green facilities have grant incentives in place as well.As of year-end 2024, TBC had various green facilities in place, totalling up to GEL 960 million, from which around GEL 460 million has been attracted within 2024 from long-standing international partners, such as EIB, EBRD, GGF, IFC and DEG.TBC Bank also has various guarantee mechanisms, which are particularly focused on startups, women entrepreneurs and regional entrepreneurs. These risk-sharing instruments partially replace collateral and allow the bank to expand access to financing for underrepresented target groups, thereby giving them more opportunities for growth and development. The social guarantee portfolio in 2024 was GEL 28 million (-12.5%), while the green guarantee portfolio was GEL 98 million, which was not there at all in 2023.

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The synthetic three-year bond, denominated in Uzbek sum (settled in U.S. dollars), carries a 22% Uzbek sum coupon, and will be issued in several tranches. The first tranche will unlock an initial $140 million in funding, with the remaining $60 million available to be tapped over the coming 12-18 months. Strong demand for the notes, listed on the Vienna Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF), reflects ongoing investor confidence in the Group’s strategy, as well as increasing interest in Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s largest country by population and a rapidly-growing economy with vast untapped potential.The proceeds from this debt issuance will be used to leverage TBC Uzbekistan’s growth momentum and further expand the ecosystem’s product suite, as the digital banking powerhouse continues to diversify its market-leading offering and enter new high-growth segments, including SME banking and lending.The new investment will enable the Group to move even faster in Uzbekistan, where its digital banking ecosystem continues to deliver rapid growth, doubling its loan book and revenue year-on-year in 1Q 25 and accounting for 21% of total Group revenue. As its core business continues to scale rapidly and profitably, TBC Uzbekistan has been making significant investments into business development, key infrastructure and talent acquisition, with these efforts set to be accelerated and supported by the new funding.TBC Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s leading digital banking ecosystem with 19.7 million registered users, encompasses three high-growth fintech businesses: TBC UZ, the country’s largest digital bank; Payme, a digital payments app for individuals and small businesses; and Payme Nasiya (Payme Instalments), a fast-growing instalment credit business.“We are pleased to announce this bond issuance, unlocking further investment into our fast-growing Uzbekistan business. The strong demand for the notes underscores investor continued confidence in our profitable growth strategy and in the vast opportunities Uzbekistan presents. It also showcases synergies within the publicly listed Group, which help accelerate our continued progress and momentum in Uzbekistan. I’m confident that TBC Uzbekistan will continue to grow profitably and make an increasingly significant contribution to the Group’s performance, as the ecosystem remains fully on track to meet its targets for the year”, - Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, CEO of TBC PLC, commented. “We have been growing rapidly in Uzbekistan, reaching 19.7 million registered users and doubling our revenue and loan book year-on-year in 1Q25. With strong profitability underpinning our operations, TBC Uzbekistan is focused on expanding its product range and leveraging new synergies to drive customer engagement and revenue growth. This new funding will allow us to accelerate our efforts in this direction, including by bringing best-in-class products for SMEs to the market and maintaining our leading position in Uzbekistan’s digital banking sector”, - Oliver Hughes, Head of International Business, TBC PLC, commented.

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In order to reduce the share capital, the Group increased its $25 million share buyback and cancellation program by an additional $25 million on March 11, 2020.As a result of the cancellation, the total number of ordinary shares amounted to 37,223,619, of which 37,193,619 had voting rights at the time of cancellation, and within a few days 30,000 shares were added to the 30,000 shares in the treasury awaiting cancellation.The program is consistent with the intention announced by the Supervisory Board on May 17, 2024  - to allocate at least GEL 300 million for capital return by the end of 2026. The additional $25 million for the existing share buyback and cancellation program brought the total amount to GEL 251 million, which is intended for share buybacks within the framework of the aforementioned GEL 300 million capital return package. Of this, GEL176 million had already been used as of March 11.

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“I believe it’s essential to remind everyone that Georgians are not schoolchildren taking exams. The Georgian people have already passed numerous tests in their pursuit of independence and sovereignty. Let me also remind our European colleagues, including some European Commissioners, that one of the fundamental European values is the ability to accept and respond to constructive criticism.There is a growing tendency to dismiss criticism by labelling certain arguments as anti-European. However, we base our statements on facts. For example, we possess documented evidence that extremist groups and propaganda efforts are being financed through the EU budget. These are serious issues, and we expect clear, transparent answers,” he emphasized.

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The mission notes the need for structural reforms to maintain high growth.“No risks have been systematically assessed at this stage, but continued monitoring is necessary, the release states.The IMF mission, led by Alejandro Hajdenberg, was in Tbilisi from May 21 to June 4 as part of the 2025 Article IV consultation.

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