Police in the former Soviet republic Georgia are hoping a cash reward will bring information about kidnapped Welsh banker Peter Shaw.

The Georgian State Security Ministry has pledged 15,000 lari, or �5,000, for information about his whereabouts.

The amount offered is more than four times the average worker's annual wage in the country.

Earlier this week, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze - a personal friend of Mr Shaw - hinted that the 57-year-old businessman could soon be free.

Mr Shaw, from Cowbridge in south Wales, was dragged from his car by an armed gang near his home in the capital Tbilisi on Tuesday - hours before he was due to return home to Cowbridge.

He is a very resilient character as anyone who knows him will verify

Former wife Mair Shaw

Mr Shaw, who was working as a project director for Abgrobiznesbank, had been based in Tiblisi for six years.

"He is a very resilient character as anyone who knows him will verify," said his ex-wife Mair Shaw.

"He is a great survivor and a fighter."

And his daughter Lisa Evans said he is more likely to be annoyed and frustrated.

"I think he'll be really cross - really cheesed off," she said.

"He was really looking forward to coming back and this is inconvenient."

Facts: Peter Shaw

Originally from: Maesteg Lives: Cowbridge Currently: EC Tacis project, Georgia Previously: Midland Bank manage Kidnapped: 18 June

The European Union has urged the former Soviet republic's government to step up efforts to trace his abductors.

Meanwhile, back at home in Cowbridge and Maesteg, Mr Shaw's three children, who are in contact with the UK Foreign Office, are anxiously awaiting news of his whereabouts.

Mr Shaw was helping to run the bank under a European Commission-sponsored development programme in the region and had just a day left on his contract.

He was kidnapped hours before he had planned to fly home to the UK on Thursday, family members said.

Snatched from street

An armed group dressed in fake security uniform demanded Mr Shaw follow their car, but genuine police officers turned up as he began to resist their moves.

President Eduard Shevardnadze demanded swift action

But then, a third car carrying men in camouflage pulled up and opened fire on the officers with automatic weapons, leaving the gang to snatch the key businessman off the street.

President Shevardnadze said there was "information warranting the expectation that Peter Shaw will be freed," according to Russia's Tass agency.

Georgian Interior Minister Koba Narchemashvili told a television channel in the country Thursday the former Midland Bank manager was alive.

He said he did not believe "physical elimination" was the kidnappers' goal.

And he claimed Mr Shaw was in "very difficult relations" with many Georgian and foreign businessman, but did not elaborate, according to Associated Press.

The kidnappers had not yet contacted authorities with any demands.

Kidnap danger

Twice divorced, Mr Shaw - originally from Maesteg - took early retirement as a Midland Bank manager six years ago, then worked in Azerbaijan and Hungary.

He has three children - Lisa, 30, Rhodri, 29, and Philip, 26.

He had been in Georgia since 1996 and was appointed team leader in 1999, said an EC spokeswoman for his Tacis programme, which gives loans to the agriculture sector.

Speaking on the Rustavi-2 television channel, state prosecutor-general Nugzar Gabrichidze speculated that Mr Shaw's kidnapping could be linked to a 1m euro Abgrobiznesbank deal discussed in Brussels this week.