The Netherlands is leading foreign direct investments in Albania for the fifth year in a row.

2023-12-27 07:33:00, Ekonomi CNA

The Netherlands is leading foreign direct investments in Albania for the fifth

According to data from the Bank of Albania, Dutch direct investments in the third quarter of the year reached 87 million euros, an increase of 13% compared to the same period last year. While for the entire 9-month 2023 they touched the value of 212 million euros, 44% more compared to the same period last year.

The dominance of the Netherlands in the ranking of foreign investors is mainly related to the fact that this country is the preferred jurisdiction for the registration of offshore companies, for fiscal reasons, but also for issues of maintaining the confidentiality of shareholders. Some important corporations with foreign shareholders in Albania are controlled through holding companies registered in the Netherlands.

However, it is estimated that one of the few genuine Dutch investors, the extractive industry company Shell, which is making significant investments for oil exploration in the Shpirag area, could also have a growing influence.

In the third quarter, the Netherlands also became the country leading the stock of foreign direct investments, with a total value of almost 2.1 billion euros, an annual increase of 27%.

Data so far show that the second largest foreign investor this year is Italy.

For the 9-month Italian investments were worth 151 million euros. Italian investment flows have increased by 54% compared to the 9-month period of the previous year. While the stock of Italian investments has already reached 1.39 billion euros, increasing by 26% compared to a year ago.

But the most important change this year in the origin of foreign investments is the return of Turkish investments. For the 9th month of 2023, new Turkish investment flows were worth 126 million euros. In the same period of 2022, Turkish investment flows had a negative value of 3 million euros, mainly caused by the sale of shares of the company Albtelecom by the Turkish consortium CETEL.

But, this year, Turkish investment flows have increased significantly. After leaving the telecommunications sector, Turkish companies continue to play an important role in the financial sector, the energy sector, the extractive industry, etc. The stock of Turkish investments has reached the value of 968 million euros, increasing by 14% compared to a year ago.

The ranking of foreign investors for the 9-month follows with Austria. Enterprises with Austrian shareholders for the 9-month brought new investment flows in the amount of 88 million euros, an increase of 60% compared to the same period last year. Austrian investments in Albania are concentrated especially in the insurance market, in the energy sector, in hotel services, construction, etc. The stock of Austrian investments has reached 800 million euros, 20% more compared to the previous year.

This year, Kosovo is ranked fourth in the list of foreign investors, with a flow of new investments of 50 million euros for the 9-month period. Kosovar investments are mainly concentrated in the trade and construction sector. The stock of investments from Kosovo has increased to 277 million euros, with an annual increase of 46%.

The fifth largest investor so far for 2023 is the USA, with an investment flow of 47 million euros for the 9-month period. Investments from the US have increased by 17.5% compared to the same period a year ago. Their cumulative stock at the end of the third quarter reached 259 million euros, an annual increase of 29%./ Monitor magazine