Georgia's corporate bond market growing at rapid pace - National Bank

TBILISI. Aug 20 (Interfax) - Issuance of corporate bonds in Georgia increased 1.8-fold year-on-year from the beginning of the year to mid-August, National Bank of Georgia (NBG) First Deputy Governor Ekaterine Mikabadze said.

"To date, seven issuers have placed 13 public corporate bonds on the market for a total amount of 570 million lari. This figure is approximately 80% higher than in the same period of the previous year," Mikabadze was quoted as saying by bm.ge. at the presentation of the bond issuance by Lopota.

Companies issued bonds worth 1.5 billion lari in Georgia last year, which is a record figure, she said.

In turn, the director of the investment company TBC Capital, Otar Sharikadze, said that the corporate bond market in Georgia currently exceeds 3.5 billion lari. "Despite geopolitical problems in the region, we see great interest in Georgian securities. The investment base is also constantly growing, and along with Georgian investors, the number of foreigners ready to invest in securities of Georgian companies is increasing," he said.

At the same time, the secondary market for corporate bonds in Georgia remains underdeveloped due to investor behavior, Sharikadze said. "There is a certain lack of interest in the secondary market, which is mainly explained by the fact that investors prefer to hold securities until maturity. Despite the fact that the secondary market exists and there is an opportunity to sell them, today demand significantly exceeds supply," he said.

Sharikadze believes that Georgian companies will conduct IPOs on the local market in the near future. "Georgia's market has the potential to develop not only debt securities but also equity issuances. There are already precedents for this in the region. I think Georgian companies will also be able to carry out similar transactions, and we are gradually approaching the stage when not only debt but also equity securities will be brought to the market," he said.

NBG Governor Natia Turnava previously said that public corporate bonds in circulation increased 33.3% in 2025 compared to the previous year, reaching 2.7 billion lari.

The official exchange rate on August 20 is 2.61 lari/$1.