Exports up 7.2% y/y in January 2019
In January 2019, exports increased 7.2% y/y to US$ 238.8mn, imports fell by 1.1% y/y to US$ 588.0mn and the trade deficit decreased 6.1% y/y to US$ 349.2mn, according to Geostat.
In January 2019, copper (+24.5% y/y), cars (+66.9% y/y), ferro-alloys (-33.5% y/y), wine (+19.4% y/y) and tobacco (+276.8% y/y) were the top 5 exported commodities; A 25.0% of exports was directed to the EU (-7.0% y/y), 52.5% to the CIS (+55.2% y/y) and 22.5% to other countries (-30.9% y/y).
Petroleum (-19.2% y/y), gases (-4.3% y/y), cars (+4.4% y/y), copper (+24.1% y/y) and pharmaceuticals (-3.4% y/y) represented the top 5 imported commodities in January 2019.
Producer price index up 2.3% y/y in January 2019
Annual PPI for industrial goods was up 2.3% in January 2019, after increasing 3.8% in previous month. Change in prices in manufacturing (+3.1% y/y) and mining and quarrying (-4.2% y/y) categories contributed the most to the overall index change.
Fitch upgraded Georgia’s sovereign credit rating
On 22 February 2019, Fitch upgraded the sovereign credit rating of Georgia to BB from BB- with the stable outlook. Based on Fitch, the Georgian economy proved resilient to a severe economic shock in Turkey and heightened sanctions risk in Russia in 2018, thanks to a diversification of sources of current account inflows, the floating exchange rate and prudent fiscal and monetary policy settings, underpinned by steadfast adherence to its IMF programme.
M2 Commercial Assets has successfully completed an inaugural US$ 30mn offering of notes due December 2021. The annual coupon rate was set at 7.5%. The Notes are admitted for settlement in clearstream and are listed on the Georgian Stock Exchange. Galt & Taggart acted as the lead manager for the issuance, the biggest public placement on Georgian bond market.
