Organized by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), a two-day international conference titled "Development Prospects of the Georgian Financial Market – Indices and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)" was held in Tbilisi.

The conference focused on the practical application of Georgian Government Bond Indices and the prospects for developing index-based investment products.

The conference followed a significant milestone achieved in February 2026, when, for the first time in history, seven Georgian Government Bond Indices were published with the support of the NBG.

Developed by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), these indices became available through both Bloomberg (Bloomberg IND) and the ICE Index Portal (indices.ice.com). The conference was opened by Ekaterine Mikabadze, First Vice Governor of the NBG. In her welcoming remarks, she emphasized the importance of capital market development, the practical significance of market indices, and their role in the development of investment products.

According to Ekaterine Mikabadze, the publication of these indices marks a major step forward in the evolution of Georgia’s financial market: "Over the past few years, Georgia has made significant progress. Today, we have a well-developed government securities market, robust market infrastructure, a Delivery Versus Payment (DVP) settlement system, and a modern regulatory framework for investment funds and asset managers. In addition, the funded pension system is becoming an increasingly important long-term investor in the local economy. The ICE Georgian Government Bond Indices add a fundamental building block to this ecosystem. They serve as a globally recognized benchmark and cover the GEL-denominated sovereign yield curve with maturities of up to 10 years. Using the ICE indices enables portfolio management based on the risk-return characteristics of treasury bonds, facilitates the development of tailored investment mandates, and ultimately supports the creation of index-linked investment products tied to the Georgian government bond market".

During the conference, representatives of the NBG`s Financial Markets Department and Securities Market Supervision Department delivered presentations on the strategic vision for the development of Georgia`s financial market, as well as the regulatory and tax framework governing investment funds.

Panel discussions focused on the practical steps required to establish index-based investment funds in Georgia, international best practices in ETF development, and ways to strengthen the investment market ecosystem and further develop the supporting financial infrastructure.

The conference brought together representatives of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), as well as executives and professionals from local and international financial institutions, asset management companies, investment fund managers, and the banking sector. On the 2nd day, the event continued with bilateral meetings between local financial market participants and ICE representatives.