Foreign Investments, Italians Exceed in Number, Greeks in Capital

TIRANA, June 5

About 3.6 percent of businesses in Albania, or 5,600 companies, are owned by foreign investors. This was confirmed by the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) in a recent press release on the business register for 2016. According to the data, foreign capital has a major impact, especially on employment.
Currently, more than 120,000 Albanian citizens work in businesses launched by foreign investors, which accounts for 13 percent of employed people in the country. Enterprises from European Union countries represent 68.8 % of foreign and joint enterprises.
Moreover, the same data confirm that almost half of those investors come from Italy. There are 2,660 Italian businesses operating in Albanian mostly in the service sector.
They are followed by Greek investors while Albanians from Kosovo rank third. However, the number of companies doesn’t coincide with a number of investments. Despite the fact that Italians have launched more businesses in Albania, Greeks have invested more capital.
According to the Bank of Albania (BoA), foreign investments in the country account for Euro five billion and 25 percent arrived from Greece.
Meanwhile, the value of Italian businesses is not at the same level. This proves that Italian investors have mostly invested in small enterprises or companies that require little capital. Foreign and joint enterprises are mostly located in Tirana and Durres areas.

News Source: TCh