The national currencies of Georgia, Armenia and Tajikistan have become one of the leaders in terms of growth due to the influx of Russians into these countries after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, RBC reports.
Since the beginning of 2022, the Armenian dram has appreciated by more than 22% against the US dollar, becoming the growth leader among world currencies. The Georgian lari and the Tajik somoni strengthened against the dollar by more than 16% and 10%, respectively, writes Bloomberg.
According to the National Bank of Georgia, the volume of remittances to Georgia from Russia increased five times in 2022, amounting to more than 60% of all transfers and exceeding $1.75 billion. Remittances to Armenia in the first ten months amounted to $2.8 billion, which is almost four times more than in the same period last year. In October, their volume reached a maximum since at least 2004, the Central Bank of Armenia notes.
In Tajikistan, the flow of remittances increased by at least 50% in the first half of the year, said Natalya Lavrova, a specialist in the BCS financial group, citing balance of payments data.
The influx of Russians spurred the growth of the economies of these countries. According to the latest IMF forecasts, Georgia's GDP growth this year will be 10%. In October, the Central Bank of Armenia increased its GDP growth forecast by almost an order of magnitude, from 1.6% to 13%. According to Lavrova, the Tajik economy has grown by 7% this year (previously predicted growth was 4-5%).
CentralasianLIGHT.org
December 21, 2022