The Georgian Business Confidence Index (BCI)* has decreased slightly, reaching 27.0 index points, which is a -2.0 index point loss over the previous quarter. The third-quarter drop in the BCI was mostly driven by the notable decline of the Expectations Index, which judging from the previous quarter's findings, may be explained by private sector realignment with reality rather than by worsened economic conditions.

For the first time in history, the price of Bitcoin broke its highest record (Figure 1) rising above 2,900 USD during the last week of June, 2017. One of the reasons why the market unexpectedly became optimistic about Bitcoin could be the fact that in April, the Japanese government formally accepted1 the cryptocurrency as a mean of exchange, which gave it more validity in Asia’s richest economy.

With 6.3 million tourists visiting the country in 2016, Georgia has become a popular tourist destination. In May, the number of international visitors (those who stayed in the country 24 hours or more) increased annually by 19% (compared to the same month in the previous year). While Tbilisi Airport is the main border-crossing point, in May, Batumi Airport overshot Kutaisi Airport, famous for its low costs flights, and experienced a 20% annual increase in the number of arrivals.

The Georgian Business Confidence Index (BCI)* has improved quite substantially, reaching 29.0 index points, which is an 11.5 index points improvement over the last quarter. The second-quarter increase in the BCI was mostly driven by strong performance in the last quarter and quite a significant improvement in expectations.

American and Western European visitors to Georgia are fascinated by the fact that middle-aged Georgian taxi drivers often brandish a couple of engineering degrees, while young hotel receptionists and shop assistants frequently come with law, business, and international relations education. Having spent a couple of days in Tbilisi, visitors may come to imagine that Georgia is so abundant in human capital that entry into these fairly undemanding occupations is extremely competitive.