Finest office launched to attract more Italian investors

TIRANA, March 18 – Northeastern Italian companies seeking to invest in Albania will be assisted by the newly opened Finest office in Tirana. “The Finest office in Tirana will support all Italian enterprises seeking new market spaces and interested in cooperating with Albanian partners without suspending their production activity in Italy,” said Elio De Anna, president of the Province of Pordenone (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) region.
Renato Pujatti, President of Finest S.p.A. appealed for what he called the internationalization and not delocalization of enterprises. Finest is present in Albania with the Salus medical clinic in Tirana, a Euro 14.5 million investment targeting to bring international health standards to Albania.
Finest has already signed cooperation deals with the Italian-Albanian Chamber of Commerce and the Albanian Konfindustria business association.
The visit of the delegation of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region concluded with the inauguration of three projects in tourism development, a virtual museum for the late 19th century Marubi photo collection and the Agronet EU-funded agriculture project.
Renewable energy, mining and tourism are some of the sectors Italian investors travelling to Albania are offered as priority sectors during meetings with Albanian officials.
Government officials say Albania offers investment opportunities not only because of the flexibility of its labour market and one of the world’s lowest fiscal regimes, but also because of the tangible assistance to domestic and foreign investors.
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. According to Italy’s Confindustria lobby group, some 300 Italian companies operate in Albania, mainly in the footwear and garment manufacturing.
Italy is the second biggest foreign direct investor in Albania with 401 million Euros of FDI until the end of 2010. FDI inflows from Italy have been on a rising trend climbing from Euro 213 million in 2007 to Euro 401 million in 2010, according to Bank of Albania data.
Exports to top trade partner Italy, the destination of more than half of Albanian exports, have also been affected by the crisis there, with their growth rate slowing down. In 2012, Albania exported around 108 billion Lek of goods to Italy, up only 3.6 percent compared 2011, when exports grew by 28 percent year-on-year.