TIRANA, Oct. 25 – The newly established Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA) will start operating within few weeks, Economy Minister Ilir Meta announced during a recent meeting with Patrick Pascal, the President of Foreign Investors Association of Albania (FIAA).
“The Investment agency whose board of will have representatives of foreign investors in Albania, representatives of ministries and main investment promotion agencies will focus on the efficiency of granting foreign investors all permits to start implementing their projects as soon as possible,” said Meta, appreciating foreign direct investment contribution to the country’s development and modernization.
The improvement of the business climate and the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI), which has recently been granted special legal protection, remains a priority for the Albanian government in its road to EU integration.
“Government will continue its ambitions about increasing FDI in Albania not only though the privatization of strategic sectors, but also by further continuing public-private partnership programmes and developing economic zones and industrial parks,” added Meta.
Patrick Pascal, the president of FIAA, an association representing most of the FDI stock in Albania from different nationalities, welcomed the launch of the new investment agency, as an institution helping foreign investors operating in Albania.
FIAA mainly represents stock from Italy, Greece, France, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Egypt, UK, US, and a range of economic sectors such as banking and finance, construction, consulting, telecommunication, trading, hospitality industry.
Last June, FIAA celebrated its 10 Anniversary, a special moment for the achievements of the association. Currently, it numbers 100 active members and others are joining it each month. Its services and activities have grown as well and now it is a well known organization in the country, active part of business roundtables and cooperation with national and international governmental bodies.
Albanian Investment Development Agency
Government has approved a draft law establishing the Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA) in a reform aimed at improving private, domestic and foreign investments.
The new agency will replace Albinvest, the Albanian foreign investment promotion agency, becoming a one-stop shop center.
The Albanian government has assigned the new agency three strategic goals including assisting and accelerating the inflow of foreign investment into the Albanian economy, improving the competitiveness of Albanian exporters, and providing professional services to assist the growth of Albanian SMEs.
Former AlbInvest agency provided investors with up-to-date information on the investment climate, investment incentives, and the legal framework relating to the investment process in Albania. It also assists investors to obtain the permits and licenses required by national and local authorities, speeding and facilitating their investment projects.
FDI in Albania
Foreign direct investment (FDI) and remittances, two of the country’s main sources of economic growth, continued dropping even in the second quarter of this year.
Foreign direct investment registered a considerable drop in the second quarter of this year dropping to 171 million, down from 293 million euros during the same period last year, according to central bank statistics.
However, the Albanian government is not worried about the 21 percent drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) registered in the first half of this year compared to the first 6 months of 2009 when 150 million euros collected in privatization revenues were calculated as FDI. Speaking to reporters after presenting the findings of a European Commission report on candidate and pre-accession EU countries, deputy Economy Minister Enno Bozdo said FDI in the first half of 2009 was influenced by the strategic privatizations of the electricity distribution operator (previously known as OSSH and now as CEZ distribution after the Czech company), and the remaining state owned minority stake of AMC, both worth 150 million euros.
“If FDI collected from strategic privatizations is not taken into account, we will notice that FDI in the first six months of this year increased by 18.7 percent compared to the same period in 2009 which is a really positive figure,” said Bozgo.
Asked if the EC report considered the ongoing political stalemate between the majority and the opposition over last year’s general elections a barrier to the economy, Bozgo said “Albania’s economy continues performing well, differently from other regional countries, which means that what the media describes as political deadlock has a very limited impact.”
