Foreign direct investment dropped 33% in 2018 Q1 to $279 million, National Statistics Office of Georgia reported Monday. The shrinkage is due, in part, to transfer of ownership from non-resident to resident units in some companies, GT reported. It can also be traced to the decrease in debt liabilities to non-resident direct investors. The transport and logistics and the energy sector were noted as being particularly affected. These sectors are vital to Georgia’s development and should, in fact, be the most developing and growing industries. The shrinking investment underscores the Georgian government not taking necessary steps to attract and surge an interest among investors. The largest share of FDI was allocated in the financial sector ($110 million), followed by construction ($69 million) and manufacturing ($40 million). The largest share of FDI by major direct investor countries is distributed among United Kingdom ($82 million), Azerbaijan ($51 million) and China ($41 million).
