Georgia seeks international credit rating

Kavkasia-Press news agency
10 Jun 05

TBILISI

Georgia has started making arrangements to obtain a sovereign credit
rating. Finance Minister Valeri Chechelashvili said at a news
conference today that for the first time in its history Georgia had an
ambition to satisfy the required parameters and obtain the
internationally recognized rating.

A sovereign credit rating is an indicator of a country’s financial and
political stability used as a risk assessment tool by foreign
investors. Currently Azerbaijan has its sovereign credit rating while
Armenia and Georgia do not.

Chechelashvili said that the Georgian government decided to hire a
consulting firm to develop a strategy for obtaining the
rating. “Hiring a consulting firm is an expensive luxury. It will cost
about 140,000 dollars for three months’ services. However, we will get
help from the British Department for [International] Development
[DFID] which is ready to allocate this amount. Once it is allocated,
we will announce an international tender to select a consultant,” the
minister said.

There are three major international credit rating companies: Fitch,
Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. The tender winner will be determined in
about two months after its announcement, and the consulting period
will continue for three months. Chechelashvili did not rule out that
Georgia might obtain a “WB” credit rating [as received] before the end
of this year.