Albania-run businesses third biggest in Italy

TIRANA, March 5 – Albanian-owned businesses are the third biggest among foreign-run companies in neighbouring Italy, where around half a million Albanians live and work. The successful entrepreneurship by Albanians is confirmed by data published by the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce, Unioncamere, which shows that the number of enterprises run by Albanians in Italy reached 30,475 ranking the third biggest after Morocco and Chine-led companies.
The report shows the number of foreign-run enterprises, mostly engaged in commerce, construction and restaurants in Italy grew by 5.8 percent in 2012 at a time when the number of Italian-run enterprises is reported to have decreases by 20,000.
“The geography of territory development and the country as a whole passes through the assessment of these entrepreneurial forces which choose the labour market to better integrate into our society,” says Ferruccio Dardanello, the President of Unioncamere.
A strategic partner and key contributor to Albania’s development, Italy is also Albania’s top trade partner. More than 400,000 Albanian migrants live and work in Italy.
Albanians are one of the ten most numerous groups of foreign citizens resident in EU member states, accounting for 3.2 percent of the EU total foreign population, a report issued by Eurostat has shown. The EU’s statistical office ranked Albania as the sixth biggest foreign community resident in the EU 27 with around 1 million people. Among the citizens of countries outside the EU27, the largest groups were from Turkey (2.4 million or 8% of the total number of foreign citizens in the EU27), Morocco (1.8 million or 6%) and Albania (1.0 million or 3%).
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union estimates that some 412,400 Albanians lived in Italy at the end of 2011, representing the second biggest foreign-born community after Romania with 904,000.
Italy is Albania’s top trade partner with 50 percent of total exports and 30 percent of imports. More than 80 percent of footwear and garment products manufactured in Albania, which are the country’s main exports, go to Italy.