Max Sahle

Can the Georgian Co-Investment Fund increase the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by reducing political risk? Max Sahle

Essay from the year 2014 in the subject Economics - Case Scenarios, grade: 78%, University College London (School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies), course: Trade and FDI Policy, language: English, abstract: Georgia has seen a constant inward flow of FDI over the last decade, contributing substantially to economic growth. However, growth has recently slowed while many investment opportunities remain unrealised. To increase FDI and revive economic growth, the former Georgian prime minister and several local and foreign investors have set up a $6 billion fund. The Georgian Co-Investment Fund (GCF) is meant to act as a private investor in FDI projects in Georgia. It can hold 25% to 75% of the equity in a project. Its main investors are former Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili as well as some of the biggest foreign investors in Georgia. Over the next five years it plans to invest $3 billion in the energy and infrastructure; $1.5 billion in the manufacturing; and $1 billion in the tourism sector, with smaller amounts for agriculture and other activities. This essay examines how the GCF can help increase FDI by mitigating political risk.