Anaklia Port or Tbilisi Stock Exchange

2026-05-08

"A commercial business should have a commercial basis. Nobody remembers economics anymore, we almost followed this policy!" - David Sarajishvili, Georgian industrialist and philanthropist.

Connecting different realities requires courage. And moving with bold steps requires knowledge of economics.

Modern ports do not work because of well-arranged concrete structures and/or railways.

The port is burdened by the economy!

But what kind of economy?

Ports, railways, pipelines, digital systems, low or high taxes are not a guarantee of the country's prosperity. North Korea also has ports and railways, as well as Iran.

With whose resources should the Anaklia port be built and how should its revenues be increased?

The main investors in the construction of the port should be Georgian citizens. The shares of the port should be placed on an exchange independent of the state, which citizens will purchase transparently, freely and at an affordable price (conditionally the nominal value of one share is 100 GEL).

The investment capital received from the sale of port shares should finance the construction of the port and its technical equipment.

Along with the stock exchange, a commodity exchange should also be established. Trade transactions between European and Asian companies (buyers and sellers) should be concluded on the commodity exchange. These will be free trading platforms for fair transactions between manufacturers and traders. The fairest prices are formed precisely on such trading platforms - exchanges. For example, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange was established in 1602.

The organizational form of the exchanges themselves should be a joint-stock company. Obviously, the state should have a regulatory function for the activities of the exchanges, and this should be paid Securities Commission, which will be completely independent in making decisions. High standards of business law are achieved precisely through such an order. Exchanges register trade and investment transactions, the Securities Commission sets norms, limits and standards for them to service such transactions. It is allowed for the state to own a small number of shares of the port as a block package (this means the right to veto decisions).

To fulfill the agreements made on the exchange, commercial banks will then provide monetary settlements.

Under equal conditions, the functioning of independent banks and independent exchanges is forming a market economy, which Georgia has not had even a single day since its independence.

On the stock exchange, securities - shares of not only ports, but also various sectoral enterprises - railway, aviation, financial, industrial, logistics and others And bonds should be traded preferentially for Georgian citizens, and only then for foreign companies. Citizens and companies are rewarded over time with returns on investments in securities - dividends on shares, and annual interest rates on bonds.

The prosperity of the Baltic countries after the collapse of the USSR was determined precisely by the introduction of a market economy. Today, the Baltics are successfully creating wealth in the free trade area of ​​​​the European Union. And the securities of many successful companies are quoted on the Tallinn Stock Exchange.

After gaining independence, voucherization was carried out in Georgia, but the economic result for the population was zero. Because there was no functioning stock exchange in the country, where citizens would exchange vouchers received from the state for shares of a specific factory/factory and become co-participants in economic power. Capital Without a free market, even the privatization process cannot tangibly increase the country's welfare index in international rankings.

A free civil society and a welfare state are formed where there is a market economy. This is confirmed by the words of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher: "Without economic freedom, no freedom is achievable."

Author: Zurab Maghradze