Crisis cuts number of new businesses in 2013

TIRANA, March 10 – Albania’s National Registration Centre says the economic slowdown reduced the number of new businesses in 2013 by 7 percent. Vasilika Vjera, the head of the National Registration Centre (NRC), a one-stop shop established in 2007 for the registration of enterprises in one business day, says the business climate, the shrink in lending and the increase in non-performing loans curbed economic development and slowed down the pace of Albanian and foreign businesses operating in Albania.
Data published by the NRC which makes possible the registration and incorporation of companies and their simultaneous registration with tax, labour authority and social and health contribution schemes show 2013 marked the lowest number of new business registrations in the past four years with only around 11,900 compared to an average of 12,750 in 2012 and 2011 and 16,500 in 2010.
Data shows almost 42 percent of companies operate in the region of Tirana, compared to 10 percent in Durres, 8.3 percent in Vlora. Most businesses, around 60 percent operate in the services sector (trade and hotels and restaurants).
The National Registration Centre expects 2014 to register an increase in the number of new businesses as the economy is expected to recover to around 2 percent, up from an expected 0.7 percent in 2013, which is also hinted by higher registrations in the first couple of months for 2014.
Doing business in Albania has become more difficult in the past three global crisis years, says the Doing Business 2014 report released by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. The report ranked Albania 90th in a 189 country-list, eight places worse compared to the revised 2013 ranking, and better only compared to Serbia among regional countries.
The report says Albania is among few economies which made the payment of taxes easier.” In Albania, corporate income taxes are now paid quarterly rather than monthly,” says the Doing Business report about the only reform singled out in Albania.
Albania’s worse ranking in the report is dealing with construction permits (189th) because of no practice in the procedures, time needed and cost. Getting electricity ranks Albania the world’s 158th because of an average of 177 days needs to have access. Albania still ranks poor in paying taxes (146th) despite cutting down the number of corporate income payments.