New investment from Greek cement factory TITAN

TIRANA, Nov. 6 – One of the largest cement producers in the region has noticed that the present construction boom in Albania has significantly enhanced the demand for cement. Greek company TITAN thus plans to open another cement plant in Albania with an investment of 220 million euro. Reporting its financial data for the last three months, officials from TITAN concluded that exploiting the present conditions of the Albanian market gives them an incentive for further investment in the country. TITAN Cement Company S.A. is a large cement producing company, based in Athens, Greece. It was founded in 1902 and listed on the Athens stock exchange ten years later. The company has an annual cement production capacity of six million tons and a market share of 40 percent in Greece. The Titan Group’s annual production capacity abroad is eight million tons. Among the assets are 11 cement production facilities, located in Greece, USA , Southeastern Europe and in the Middle East. One of the major policies for the last ten years has been international expansion, according to the company’s website. The Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) published data that confirm the expansion of the building industry as well as its future potential. The building index for the first quarter of 2006 reached a level of 123 percent (base level taken to be 1999). This translates into a 0.5 percent rise relative to the previous quarter and a 0.6 percent rise compared to the same period last year. Part of this increase was deeply mirrored in the increase of the price of building materials, such as cement, by 0.8 percent.