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Albanian Times, 96-05-09
Albanian Times
May 9, 1996
CONTENTS
[01] Nebex Mining Company Focuses on Albania
[02] Albania:All 14 Drown Victims Found
[03] Albanian Immigrants Help Boost Greek Economy
[04] Street Dealers Still Dominate Currency Market
[05] EDU Shows Support for Democrats Ahead of Polls
[06] More than $40 Million in Public Investment
[01] Nebex Mining Company Focuses on Albania
LONDON, May 8 - Canadian mineral exploration company Nebex Resources Ltd
<NBX.AL> is focusing its activities on Albania, leading other Western mining
companies in this country, company officials said. Nebex President and Chief
Executive Officer Brian Douglas said at a London presentation that the
approval of a favourable Albanian mining law in 1994 had encouraged this
trend. Nebex has some 20 properties under consideration. To develop these,
Nebex would look to do a joint-venture deal with a major mining company.
Already majors such as Teck Corp <TEKa.TO> and Phelps Dodge Corp <PD.N> have
expressed interest. Nebex's Albanian portfolio covers 11 copper deposits and
mineral concessions at Mirdita, Kukes, Kacinari and Radomira. The projects are
in partnership with Geoalba, the country's research body, and Nebex can earn
an 80 percent interest, geologist Mike Trapnell said. At Mirdita, which is
the first area being drilled and is Albania's main copper producing area,
there are copper, gold and zinc deposits.
There is an inventory of 180 million tonnes of copper ore. Kukes has copper,
nickel and platinum potential, while Kacinari and Radomira are gold targets.
Geophysical surveys will be carried out this summer to identify drilling
areas, he said. Trapnell said that Albania is stable politically, unlike some
of its Balkan neighbours. The mining laws were modelled on regulations in
Ireland and are thus beneficial for outside mineral exploration. In the last
month two other junior companies have applied for mineral concessions.
(Albanian Times/Reuters)
[02] Albania:All 14 Drown Victims Found
TIRANA, May 8 - Rescue Teams of Albania's Interior Ministry recovered all 14
bodies of Tuesday's incident in the Lake of Prespa, Pogradec District, where
13 local secondary school students and their teacher were drown after their
boat capsized in stormy weather. The privately owned boat was carrying 20
people, but only 6 could make it to safety. The victims 12 girls, 1 boy and
their teacher, were from the villages of Zervaska and Starova. President Sali
Berisha interrupted his campaign speaches and met with the victim families.
(Albanian Times)
[03] Albanian Immigrants Help Boost Greek Economy
ATHENS, May 8 - A recent study by a Greek private institute says that illegal
workers - mainly Albanians, add an extra 2,3 per cent to Greece's GDP by doing
jobs which would not otherwise exist. The study conducted by the Center for
Economic Policy Research, estimates that illegal labor adds an extra 3 per
cent yearly to farm output and also boosts construction activity by about 8
per cent yearly. The yearly cost of employing an Albanian immigrant is about
one-third that of a full-time worker. Thousands of Albanians have returned to
invest their savings in new homes and small businesses. Albanian migrants last
year took home around $300 million-equivalent to more than 60 per cent of
Albania's export earnings- according to the Greek Foreign Ministry. The funds
are fueling a construction boom in Albania, with building materials also being
imported by returning migrants. Most Albanians carry their earnings across
the border in cash, as Albania's rudimentary banking system cannot handle large
numbers of small remittances from abroad. Immigrants also open savings accounts at Greek
banks, where Albanian-held deposits are estimated at more than Dr20 billion
($82 million). (Albanian Times/Financial Times)
[04] Street Dealers Still Dominate Currency Market
Street dealers have dominated the foreign currency trade in Albania since the
former communist regime collapsed in 1991. They have also had a virtual
monopoly on bying and selling the privatisation vouchers the government began
to distribute last year. The voucher market has been weak, however, and fewer
than 20 per cent of 1 million Albanians awarded them invested in newly
privatised companies. The street traders say most voucher holders prefer to
sell the vouchers for quick cash, even though the current price is only 12 per
cent of the nominal value of the vouchers. Inevitably some of the street
dealers who have not been licenced for the stock market are fearful for their
futures and believe that the government will begin to crack down on their
activities. "The future will be in the stock market," says one of them,
referring to the newly opened bourse in downtown Tirana. "But for now there is
no way to stop this street trade where people come from all over Albania to
buy and sell. It will only be stopped when there is a private bank in every
city and village." (Albanian Times/Financial Times)
[05] EDU Shows Support for Democrats Ahead of Polls
The European Democratic Union an 18-year-old grouping of conservative parties
has expressed strong support for the Albanian Democratic Party ahead of May 26
elections. A message of EDU president Alois Mok to the Democratic Party
chairman Tritan Shehu, expressed hope that the Albanian electorate will deepen
the reforms started four years ago and will contribute to a healthy majority
win by the Democratic Party in the upcoming elections. The EDU presidency
discussed Albanian election in a recent meeting in Salonika. Albania was
admitted to EDU in its Paris meeting last March in an apparent show of support
from the West for Albania's ruling Democratic Party. (Albanian Times)
[06] More than $40 Million in Public Investment
TIRANA, May 8 - Public investments in Albania last year amounted to $41,6
million, the Institute of Statistics in Tirana said. Priority was given to
improvements in the telecommunications systems seen as a major factor to
attract foreign investments. Along with new telephone switchboards in the
major Albanian cities, a GSM cellular phone system is being introduced, first
in Tirana and gradually in the other districts. Improvements in infrastucture
are expected to be an investment priority in 1996 too focusing on the
rehabilitation of roads, ports, bridges, railroads and energy distribution
system. (Albanian Times)
This material was reprinted with permission of AlbAmerica Trade & Consulting
International. For more information on ATCI and the Albanian Times, please
write to AlbaTimes@aol.com
Copyright © ATCI, 1996
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