Last in the region for interest/ Foreign investments reach a record value, but real investors don't "love" us

2024-03-19 19:40:00, Ekonomi CNA

Last in the region for interest/ Foreign investments reach a record value, but

In 2022, foreign direct investments reached 1.4 billion euros, marking a historical record.

Even for the 9th month of 2023, when the data published by the Bank of Albania are available, foreign investments have followed the upward trend, reaching 1.1 billion euros.

About a fifth of them belong to the real estate sector, which are mainly property purchases from foreigners, followed by the extractive industry and in third place are financial activities, which are mainly bank capital increases, as a result of the requirements regulators of the Bank of Albania.

Despite the high figure declared, the country seems to lack large and quality investments that bring added value and the opening of new jobs, as is happening, for example. in Serbia, or in North Macedonia.

In reality, Albania is not only less attractive for attracting real foreign investments, but also the interest in it has decreased significantly.

According to the "Global Opportunities Index 2024" (GOI), Albania is the last country in the region that foreign investors can see as a place to invest. Our country has deteriorated by 6 places compared to a year ago, ranking 73rd, far below the countries of the region.

Last in the region for interest/ Foreign investments reach a record value, but

In the index, 5 components were analyzed. Albania performs better in "Perception of Business", which is mainly related to measures and restrictions faced by business, as well as facilitating measures to resolve disputes, ranking 62nd.

It is in the same position as regards "Economic Basics", which are related to the macroeconomic forecast of the country, the qualification of the workforce and the potential for continuous innovative development, the improvement of the environment for the growth of investments. But compared to a year ago in both components there is a slight deterioration.

Ranked in 67th place, Albania suffered a deterioration of 7 places, in "International standards and policies", which are related to the fact how integrated a country is with the international community, patents and trademarks, taxes and regulations.

In the two components that clearly perform very poorly, are "Financial Services" (a country's access to such services) and "Institutional Framework" (the extent to which a country's institutions help or hinder business activity, investor rights , innovation), Albania ranks 93rd and 84th respectively.

"Among the 10 countries with the highest GOI scores in developing countries in Europe, Moldova and Albania are the only countries that fall below the average in two categories: Financial Services and Institutional Framework. In both countries, Institutional cadres are particularly hampered by their poor performance in the Public Governance subcategory, which falls two standard deviations below the standard," the index states.

REGION

Bulgaria is ranked 43rd, seen as a good place to invest, Montenegro 50th, Macedonia 52nd, and Serbia 59th, an unchanged position compared to a year ago. ./ Monitor.al