TIRANA, Oct. 6 – Two companies operating in Albania have made it to the top 100 biggest enterprises in the South East Europe region by total revenue, according to a report issued by SEE news agency.
This year’s new entry in the top 100 list includes Kastrati, an Albanian-owned oil and gas importer, distribution and retailer which controls more than half of the Albanian oil market.
The reports ranks Kastrati, a company trading petroleum and natural gas, 81st with total revenue of 478.4 million euros in 2014, up 5 percent compared to 2013.
Canada-based Bankers Petroleum, which operates the Patos-Marinza heavy oilfield and is the country’s biggest foreign investor, ranks among the top 100 SEE firms for the second year in a row, improving its position from 96th in 2013 to 86th in the 2014.
Although affected by a sharp cut in international oil prices in the second half of 2014, Bankers Petroleum, which is the country’s largest exporter, saw its income rise to 467 million euros, up from 413.5 million in 2013.
Romanian car maker Automobile Dacia, a unit of France’s Renault, took the lead in 2014.
The report also features rankings of the top 100 banks, insurers and the biggest listed companies registered in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.
Six lenders operating in Albania have also made it to the top 100.
Among the region’s top 100 banks, Turkish-owned Banka Kombetare Tregtare, BKT, (National Commercial Bank) and Raiffeisen’s unit in Albania rank 34th and 40th respectively. The Albanian unit of Italy-based Intesa Sanpaolo Bank ranks 62th, Albania-owned Banka Credin 75th and Greek subsidiaries Tirana Bank and Alpha Bank Albania 87th and 97th respectively.
Citing international financial institutions, the report says Albania’s GDP is expected to rise by between 2.5 percent and 3 percent in 2015. “The factors which will support the country’s economic growth include the start of the construction of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, part of which goes through Albania, growing domestic demand and reduction of the high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs),” says the report.
“The economic recovery of the eurozone countries, Albania’s main trading partners, will also support growth. The economic downturn in Greece, which accounted for a large share of the remittances to Albania, is among the key risk factors for the country’s economic development,” it adds.
