Foreign direct investments (FDI) in Georgia fell to USD 226.1 million in the first half of 2009, down from USD 1.143 billion in the same period of 2008, according to the Georgian Statistics Department.

2009 second quarter FDI was also down to USD 92.18 million, against USD 133.9 million in the first quarter of this year. (Initial figures for Q1 FDI released by the Statistic Department in June showed USD 124.7 million, instead of now released figure - USD 133.9 mln).

The bulk of the second quarter FDI – USD 73.6 million – came from the United Arab Emirates.

Like in the first quarter, transport and communications suffered most with outflows of USD 16.4 million in the second quarter of the year; followed by the energy and agriculture sectors – USD 4.8 million and USD 4.4 million, respectively.

Real estate saw the most foreign investment, at USD 57.7 in the second quarter, reaching total of USD 81.3 million in the first half of 2009. Construction sector attracted USD 3.6 million in the second quarter, down from USD 4.3 million in the first quarter of 2009.