## IMF Executive Board Approves US$280 million Stand-By Arrangement for Georgia _IMF News, June 15, 2022_ ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [IMF Executive Board Approves US$280 million Stand-By Arrangement for Georgia](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/06/15/pr22203-georgia-imf-executive-board-approves-us-280-million-sba) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2022/06/15/pr22203-georgia-imf-executive-board-approves-us-280-million-sba/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2022/06/15/pr22203-georgia-imf-executive-board-approves-us-280-million-sba/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2022/06/15/pr22203-georgia-imf-executive-board-approves-us-280-million-sba/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Published: June 15, 2022 --- ### Program overview and access - The Executive Board approved a three-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Georgia of US$280 million. - The arrangement equals "100 percent of quota and SDR 210.4 million." - About US$40 million (SDR 30 million or 14.3 percent of Georgia’s quota) is immediately available. - The Georgian authorities intend to treat the arrangement as precautionary. ### Program objectives and focus - The program focuses on: - rebuilding fiscal buffers, - strengthening fiscal frameworks, - reducing external vulnerabilities and inflation, - maintaining financial sector resilience, - fostering stronger and more inclusive growth. - The program seeks to "further entrench macroeconomic stability, build resilience, and strengthen medium-term growth" as Georgia emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and contends with spillovers from the war in Ukraine. ### Key policy priorities and recommendations (from Deputy Managing Director Bo Li) - Fiscal policy and public finances: - Rebuild fiscal buffers while reducing debt and protecting the vulnerable. - Adhere to the fiscal rule and target "full compliance with the fiscal rule’s deficit ceiling by 2023." - Important measures: saving revenue overperformance, strengthening tax administration, streamlining tax expenditures, developing a medium-term revenue strategy. - Strengthen public financial management and reform state-owned enterprises to mitigate fiscal risks. - Monetary and exchange rate policy: - Maintain a monetary policy stance focused on bringing down high inflation. - Maintain exchange rate flexibility, strengthen reserves, and enhance the central bank’s communication strategy. - The central bank required banks to adhere to international sanctions, which "has limited risks." - Financial sector: - Continue enhancing financial sector regulation and supervision to support resilience. - Next steps: enhance financial safety nets, foster capital market development, and strengthen the AML/CFT framework. - A sound financial sector and sustained macroeconomic policy implementation will help reduce dollarization and related vulnerabilities. - Structural reforms and growth: - Reinvigorate the structural reform agenda to support stronger and more inclusive growth. - Strengthen the business environment and enhance governance to improve competitiveness. - Tackle entrenched high unemployment by advancing education reform and strengthening active labor market policies. - Increase investment in information technology infrastructure and accelerate digitalization. ### Selected economic and financial indicators, 2019–23 (actual, preliminary, projections) - National accounts and prices (annual percentage change; unless otherwise indicated) - Real GDP: 2019 = 5.0; 2020 = -6.8; 2021 = 10.4; 2022 = 3.2; 2023 = 5.8 - Nominal GDP (in billions of laris): 2019 = 49.3; 2020 = 60.2; 2021 = 69.0; 2022 = 77.0 - Nominal GDP (in billions of U.S. dollars): 2019 = 17.5; 2020 = 15.8; 2021 = 18.7; 2022 = 22.3; 2023 = 24.2 - GDP per capita (in thousands of U.S. dollars): 2019 = 4.7; 2020 = 4.3; 2021 = 6.0; 2022 = 6.5 - GDP deflator, period average: 2019 = 4.9; 2020 = 7.3; 2021 = 10.6; 2022 = 11.3; 2023 = 5.3 - CPI, Period average: 2019 = 5.2; 2020 = 9.6; 2021 = 10.9; 2022 = 5.1 - CPI, End-of-period: 2019 = 7.0; 2020 = 2.4; 2021 = 13.9; 2022 = 8.1; 2023 = 3.4 - Consolidated government operations (in percent of GDP) - Revenue and grants: 2019 = 27.1; 2020 = 25.2; 2021 = 25.4; 2022 = 25.3 - o.w. Tax revenue: 2019 = 23.7; 2020 = 22.5; 2021 = 22.8; 2022 = 23.1 - Expenditures: 2019 = 28.9; 2020 = 34.5; 2021 = 31.4; 2022 = 29.1; 2023 = 28.0 - Expense: 2019 = 21.4; 2020 = 26.3; 2021 = 24.5; 2022 = 21.7; 2023 = 21.9 - Net acquisition of non-financial assets: 2019 = 7.6; 2020 = 8.2; 2021 = 6.9; 2022 = 7.4; 2023 = 6.1 - Capital spending: 2019 = 8.0; 2020 = 8.6; 2021 = 6.4 - Privatization proceeds: 2019 = -0.4; 2020 = -0.7; 2021 = -0.3 - Net lending / borrowing after adjustment: 2019 = -1.8; 2020 = -9.3; 2021 = -6.0; 2022 = -3.9; 2023 = -2.6 - Net budget lending: 2019 = 0.2; 2020 = 0.1 - Augmented Net lending / borrowing (program definition) 1/: 2019 = -2.1; 2020 = -9.4; 2021 = -6.1; 2022 = -4.0; 2023 = -2.8 - General government debt 2/: 2019 = 40.4; 2020 = 49.5; 2021 = 47.1; 2022 = 45.8 - o.w. Foreign-currency denominated: 2019 = 32.0; 2020 = 47.6; 2021 = 39.8; 2022 = 37.5; 2023 = 35.5 - Money and credit - Credit to the private sector: 2019 = 20.7; 2020 = 22.4; 2021 = 12.4; 2022 = 20.9; 2023 = 11.6 - In constant exchange rate: 2019 = 16.1; 2020 = 9.0; 2021 = 18.2; 2022 = 21.2; 2023 = 9.9 - Broad money: 2019 = 17.6; 2020 = 24.6; 2021 = 19.9; 2022 = 14.0 - In constant exchange rate (estimate): 2019 = 14.3; 2020 = 14.4; 2021 = 15.4; 2022 = 20.4; 2023 = 11.8 - Broad money (excl. fx deposits): 2019 = 18.8; 2020 = 17.8; 2021 = 16.8; 2022 = 14.6 - External sector (in percent of GDP; unless otherwise indicated) - Current account balance: 2019 = -5.5; 2020 = -12.4; 2021 = -9.8; 2022 = -10.9; 2023 = -7.5 - Trade balance: 2019 = -21.4; 2020 = -20.0; 2021 = -20.1; 2022 = -20.3; 2023 = -19.6 - Terms of trade, goods (percent change): 2019 = -0.6; 2020 = 4.1; 2021 = -14.0; 2022 = -8.9; 2023 = 1.4 - Gross international reserves (in billions of US$) 3/: 2019 = 3.5; 2020 = 3.9; 2021 = 3.3 - In percent of IMF Composite measure (floating): 2019 = 101.1; 2020 = 108.1; 2021 = 107.7; 2022 = 79.4; 2023 = 74.9 - Gross external debt: 2019 = 87.7; 2020 = 109.6; 2021 = 98.2; 2022 = 85.8; 2023 = 80.6 ### Notes and definitions (as presented) - Augmented Net lending / borrowing (program definition) = Net lending / borrowing - Budget lending. - General government debt excludes domestic legacy debt amounting to 1.2 percent of GDP. - Gross international reserves use current exchange rates; includes SDR allocations (SDR 144 million before 2021 and SDR 346 million since 2021). *IMF Communications Department; Press Release No. 22/203; June 15, 2022.* --- ## Content in this bundle - **PR22/203** - [PR22/203 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/miscellaneous/geo-rp-sba-approval.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [PR22/203 (PDF)](/-/media/files/miscellaneous/geo-rp-sba-approval.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} --- ## References - [Georgia and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/GEO/index.htm) - [Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/special-drawing-rights-sdr) - [Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews) - [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/) - [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home) _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/06/15/pr22203-georgia-imf-executive-board-approves-us-280-million-sba_