OECD releases investment policy assessment document for Georgia
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, December 17
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has prepared an investment policy assessment document for Georgia, which includes information on the investment climate in the country and recommendations for reforms. One of the main challenges that the OECD emphasizes is the need to strengthen the independence of the judiciary in Georgia.
The document reads that the reforms implemented in Georgia during the last 3 decades have improved the defining framework of the country's investment environment. Georgia is now open to investment in most sectors, and restrictions remain largely on agriculture. The legislation establishes fair play rules for both local and foreign investors and sets transparent rules for property rights.
“However, despite these achievements, several important challenges remain, including the importance of judicial independence, accountability and efficiency,” says the report. According to the review, efforts need to be made to systematically reform the judiciary so that it can enjoy investor confidence. It is also important to strengthen intellectual property rights and ensure their effective enforcement. The unified registration of lands must be improved and the institutional infrastructure for alternative dispute resolution should be built.
Even though the return on investment is not fully realized in terms of employment and export development, the report holds that the volume of foreign direct investment attracted in recent years is still high for the scale of the economy. The OECD indicates that the reason for this is that a significant portion of investments is made in sectors that do not increase Georgia's export opportunities, such as the real estate and construction sectors.
In the first 9 months of this year, $719 million were transferred to Georgia in the form of foreign direct investments, which is 24% or $228 million less than in 2019.
