This policy brief addresses risks tied to Russian business ownership in Georgia. The concentration of this ownership in critical sectors such as electricity and communications makes Georgia vulnerable to risks of political influence, corruption, economic manipulation, espionage, sabotage, and sanctions evasion. To minimize these risks, it is recommended to establish a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening mechanism for Russia-originating investments, acknowledge the risks in national security documents, and implement a critical infrastructure reform.

Geostat has released its rapid estimate of real GDP growth for September 2023. The estimated growth stands at 5.1%, while the average real GDP growth for January-September 2023 reached 6.8%.

Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is a process of evidence-based policymaking, which helps in designing better regulations. This process creates evidence for political decision-makers on the advantages and disadvantages of proposed policies by assessing their potential impacts. The results are summarized and presented in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) report.

In November 2023, the average cost of preparing a standard portion of Imeretian Khachapuri continued its upward climb, reaching 6.47 GEL. This represents a 5.5% increase from the previous month (October 2023) and a 6.9% decrease compared to the same period last year (November 2022).

In October 2023, the cost of preparing one standard Imeretian khachapuri increased monthly and reached 6.13 GEL. The latest average price is 4.2% higher month-on-month (compared to September 2023) and 6.8% lower year-on-year (compared to October 2022).