Hopes delayed for second half

At the end of 2008 the Georgian leadership made big promises about direct foreign investment in the Georgian economy. But only around USD 125 million entered the country in the first quarter of this year, of which the United Arab Emirates invested 50 million, Great Britain 24.5 and the Czech Republic 24 million dollars.

This situation is not very encouraging, particularly when you look at previous figures. In 2006 around USD 1.2 billion entered Georgia, in 2007 the figure increased to USD 2 billion and in the first half of 2008 the country received more than USD 1 billion. The Russian invasion and the overall economic crisis however have seen the figures deteriorate.

The Georgian Government is hoping that the second half of the year will prove more prosperous. However many analysts challenge this confidence. The world economic crisis is still here, the threat of a Russian invasion continues and there are serious domestic problems in the country so problems are still on the horizon.