Georgia has joined a limited group of central banks that are allowed to operate in this market.
As Newsgeorgia notes with reference to the press service of the NBG, the National Bank will now be able to buy Chinese securities, diversifying its international reserves.
New investment opportunities
Access to CIBM was provided by a memorandum with the Central Bank of China. According to this agreement, the Chinese central bank provides the Georgian side with the basic services necessary to operate in the market, including trading, settlement and custody of bonds. In February 2026, accounts were opened for the National Bank of Georgia both with the Central Bank of China and the CIBM custody infrastructure.
“China’s interbank bond market is one of the main channels for foreign institutional investors, including central banks, to directly access China’s bond market. Access to this market will improve the investment opportunities of the National Bank of Georgia and will contribute to the diversification of the international reserves portfolio and increase the efficiency of the risk management process,” said NBG Governor Natia Turnava.
According to her, the National Bank will gradually master the new market by assessing the operational environment, settlement mechanisms, legal framework and risks. In the future, as Turnava says, the experience of the National Bank will be used by private investors from Georgia.
Diversification, not a “step to the side”
The reserves of the National Bank of Georgia now amount to about $6.2 billion. Most of it is held in US dollars, the rest in euros, gold, SDRs and Canadian dollars. So far, not a single dollar from these reserves has been invested in Chinese bonds.
Newsgeorgia adds that the National Bank’s decision has drawn criticism. Economist and former head of the National Bank Roman Gotsiridze believes that transferring part of the reserves to Chinese assets is a step towards distancing Georgia from the West.
The National Bank, however, responds to the criticism calmly: investments in Chinese bonds are needed to improve the efficiency of risk management.
