ALBANIA: Investment in Albania set to boom because of 'one euro plan', according to Prime Minister Sali Berisha

Investment in Albania appears set to boom with the introduction of Prime Minister Sali Berisha's ambitious "One Euro" scheme. The programme has been dubbed "an investors' paradise" by its authors, with long-term land and utility leases being awarded for the nominal cost of one euro ($1.27 U.S. dollars). Berisha, who unveiled the scheme, last Thursday (September 14), says the programme could make the poor Balkan nation the most attractive investment destination worldwide. Speaking in his office in Tirana on Tuesday (September 19), the premier said land would be leased to investors for building factories, hospitals, hotels and schools for just one euro per contract. He said: "Investors will come to this country with one euro at the airport to enter the country, will register their business with one euro, will have the land and not the metre square (a square metre of land), but the whole contract, with one euro." It has yet to be decided whether the lease contracts will last 50 or 99 years, but the deal would cover both industrial land and agricultural land. Berisha said the "One Euro" scheme followed a successful period of economic management in Albania, in which taxes across the board had been slashed. "In less than one year we managed to cut by half small business taxes, to abolish any taxes for machines imported for businesses, to diminish by 31 per cent the social security contribution, 13 per cent income tax, and more we managed to decrease 33 up to 45 per cent the price for energy," the premier said. Existing foreign investors in Albania say the economic climate has changed dramatically over recent years. Vincenzo Pastoressa, who owns the Volalba brick factory in Lushnja, said: "The (business) climate has really changed in the last few years. We've been here for several years -- nearly 11 -- and I can really see that the country is improving. Bit by bit, it has exited from a whole range of problems linked to its infrastructure, to the rule of law and therefore to a whole range of prerequisites for security. They are a whole range of things that are going in the right direction." The financial authorities seem to agree. Adrian Fullani, governor of the National bank of Albania, enthused: "The Albanian lek has been stable. And I think the macro stability in the country has paved the way to domestic and foreign investors to invest in Albania." Not everyone is convinced by the Albanian economic revolution, though, with Ann Westin, the country's International Monetary Fund (IMF) representative, arguing that more needs to be done to attract overseas investors. She said: "(The) business climate today still remains very uninviting, unfortunately. Many factors still pose a challenge to foreign investment, such as weak public institutions, red tape, corruption - including in the judiciary, lacking infrastructure - roads, electricity supply, and lack in land registration." As president in the early 1990s, Berisha spoke of his vision of Albania as "a second Taiwan", bustling with trade and small businesses at the crossroads of western and eastern Europe. He backed free economic zones, which never took off. Regional conflicts, internal instability and a reputation for corruption also kept investors away. FOREIGN INVESTMENT GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS BANKS FINANCE

ITN Source | September 21, 2006

Tags:. .worldwide. .factors. .cent. .eastern. .destination