Georgia plans to triple the share of the Chinese yuan in the country's reserves to 15%. This is what the President of NBG, Natya Tarnawa, said after a meeting with the head of the People's Bank of China Pan Gongsheng at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Thailand. With Georgia's current international reserves amounting to $8.17 billion (as of October 2026), the 15% share would be approximately $1.23 billion equivalent.
Currently, most of the country's reserves are still denominated in US dollars, due to the government's external debt structure. However, according to he turned around, the regulator pursues an active diversification policy. NBG notes that the capital markets in Asia demonstrate different dynamics from Europe and the USA, which makes it possible to balance risks. "Investing in the yuan and Asian assets makes our overall reserves more resilient to external shocks," Ternawa said. The switch to yuan is not just an official purchase of currency. As part of the agreements between the central banks of the two countries, signed in early 2025, Georgia received direct access to the Chinese Interbank Bond Market (CIBM).
This allows the regulator to invest directly in Chinese government securities, and receive interest income in yuan.