![]() |
Compact version |
|
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
|
![]() |
Wednesday, 14 August 2024
![]() |
||
![]() |
![]() |
|
Albanian Times, Volume 1, Number 2, October 22, 1995From: Albanian Times <AlbaTimes@aol.com>The Albanian Times (by AlbAmerica TRade & Consulting International) DirectoryIn this issue:CONTENTS[1] Albanian Social Democrats and Democratic Alliances Start Joint Electoral Campaign[2] Bulgarian Air Carrier Suspends International Flights Rilindja Demokratike[3] Oil Smugglers Arrested at Albanian Montenegrin Border Koha Jone[4] Fountain Oil's Albanian Talks Wall Street Journal[5] Albania's Agriculure Facing New Challenge Voice of America[6] Albania looks Ahead at Privatization Voice of America[7] Restauranteur plans McDonalds franchise in Tirana Illyria[8] Albania Amends Budget to raise Workers' Salaries ATA[9] Albania's Unemployment Higher, Newspaper Says Koha Jone[10] Albania's Commercial Bank and other banks to be Privatized[11] Italian Officials Discuss Economic Aid with Albanian President[12] Albania - Arguably Europe's Fastest Transformin Economy Voice of America[13] Albania, in the midst of Economic Boom Voice of America[1] Albanian Social Democrats and Democratic Alliance Start Joint Electoral CampaignsThe leader of the Albanian Social Democrats Skender Gjinushi and the head of the Democratic Alliance Arben Imami began a joint electoral campaign in Kukes. Both parties declared that they do not intend to form a pre-election coalition, but want to cooperate in the election campaign under the name "Pole of the Center." They also intend to build up a joint juridical office, which has the aim to protect the two parties and their political representatives from expected political intrigues, Gazeta Shqiptare reports on 20 October. It also is to defend the interests of both parties in legal proceedings against the law on genocide at the European Court in Strasbourg. Fabian Schmidt OMRI
[2] Bulgarian Air Carrier Suspends International FlightsState-rum Balkan Airlines will suspend a number of international flights, RFE reported on 19 October, citing a statement by Transportation Minister Stamen Stamenov. He said that Balkan lost more than 800 million leva ($11.8 million) during the first nine months of 1995 "due to unprofitable flights." Some 39 out of Balkan's 59 international routes make losses, but not all of them will be suspended. Some will be retained due to the "political and economic importance" of the travel links, including the flight to New York. A procedure for privatizing Balkan was started in 1992, but it was suspended earlier this year, officially due to a lack of investors. In unrelated news, AFP on 19 October reported that Japan will grant Bulgaria a loan of about $80 million, citing a statement form the Bulgarian foreign ministry. Stefan Krause
[3] German Development Minister Visits AlbaniaOn Oct. 18, visiting German Development Minister Carl-Dieter Spranger assured Albanian President Sali Berisha of German support for political, legislative and economic reforms. He promised to support Albania's request to become an associate member of the EU. Spranger said he was impressed by the changes in Albania, since his last visit in 1992 and praised the country's economic growth, Rilindja Demokratike reports on October 19. (Rilindja Demokratike)
[4] Oil Smugglers Arrested at Albanian Montenegrin BorderAlbanian special police arrested 5 people at the northern Albanian seaside resort of Velipoja, who tried to smuggle oil to Montenegro in ten boats. Two policemen were injured when the smugglers hit them with a car, Albanian daily Koha Jone reported on Oct. 20.
[5] Fountain Oil's Albanian TalksHouston - Fountain Oil Co. said it's in final talks with the Albanian State Oil Co. (Albpetrol) to form a joint venture that would develop an oil field near the Adriatic port of Vlora. The Gorisht-Kocul field, which currently produces about 1,200 barrels of oil a day, has proven reserves of more than 22 million barrels, the company said. Under terms of the proposed venture, Fountain Oil will spend $20 million over four to five years. (Wall Street Journal, October 19, 1995)
[6] Albania's Agriculture Facing a New ChallengeAlbania's agricultural transformation is regarded as perhaps the most successful in all of post-communist Europe, Voice of America's Barry Wood reports from Tirana on October 18. About 95 percent of all land has been privatized and farm output is rising. The size of farm units in Albania is small, less than one hectare on average. Land ownership is now being registered and peasants given deeds. Farm incomes average about 20 dollars per month. More than half of national output comes from agriculture.Forrest Walters, a consultant employed by the U-S Agency for International Development, says there has been remarkable progress during his three years in Albania, substantial improvement in the condition of the animals, improvement in the condition of the land, and the crops themselves. Mr. Walters attributes the success both to privatization and the freeing of agricultural prices. Because price controls have ended, there has been a substantial shift away from wheat and corn into higher value added products like fruits, vegetables, and pork. There are still immense problems in the Albanian farm sector. The infrastructure is undeveloped. The 45 years of neglect under communism have left rural areas without adequate health care, education, water, and electricity. and yet the progress is visible. The World Bank is offering low interest loans to farmers. Seeds and fertilizers are available. (Voice of America via Internet)
[7] Albania Looks Ahead at PrivatizationAlbania, like at least three other post-communist economies -- Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, is in the midst of transferring state-owned companies to citizens at large, Voice of America's Barry Wood reports on Oct. 18 from Tirana.The manager of Albania's privatization program, Niko Gliozheni credits the Czech government with providing a model for distributing vouchers to the people and then letting citizens choose the former state enterprises in which they would like to be part owners. Gliozheni says, considering the low financial status of the population, the government decided to distribute vouchers free to them and the government compensated (?) for only a small part of what the citizens deserved. But the companies designed for privatization are still alive, there is still value in them. The vouchers were distributed beginning last June. They could be bought for a nominal fee equivalent to half a U-S dollar. Each voucher certificate has a declared value of at least 105 dollars. The list of the first 20 companies available in exchange for vouchers was published last month. Right now, citizens are choosing where to invest. Mr. Gliozheni is not distressed that the vouchers are trading at a 75 percent discount to their face value. The privatization director frequently appears on television in an educational role, urging citizens to regard the voucher as cash and exchange it for ownership shares in Albanian companies. Albania's privatization program will be speeded up in the next few months and is scheduled to be completed by June of next year. (Voice of America via Internet)
[7] Restauranteur plans McDonald's franchise in TiranaAn Albanian-American businessman has won permission from McDonald's headquarters in Vienna to establish the chain's first franchise in Albania. Ekrem Bardha says starting a franchise in Tirana will require an investment of at least $1 million. The first outlet will be located next to the Hotel Dajti in downtown Tirana, and could be opened by mid-1997, grossing $2 million in sales in the first year alone. The restauranteur says a Big Mac would cost about $1,75, French fries 65 cents, and a cup of coffee 50 cents. Wages for the restaurant's 100 or so employees would be much better than the average, he adds.Bardha and his daughter already own La Piazza, an elegant Italian restaurant in Tirana, which they opened in March 1994 after spending about $700,000 in renovation costs. Bardha's 13 McDonald's restaurants in the Detroit area gross a yearly $25 million. (Illyria) (Careful)
[8] Albania Amends Budget to Raise Workers SalariesAlbanian Parliament amended its budged law on October 4 to allow a 10 per cent increase in public sector salaries and pensions. The raise takes effect on October 1 (?) this year. The amendment also envisages an increase in investments and credits by the government fund. The opposition Socialists had proposed a 20 per cent wage increase. (ATA)
[9] Albania's unemployment higher, newspaper says.Albania's unemployment increased with 4,000 to 5,000 this year, the daily Koha Jone says. The unemployment figure for April 1995 was 264,000, the paper says referring to the Albanian Institute of Statistics. Tirana leads with 40,134 unemployed, followed by Elbasan with 27,765, according to Koha Jone.
[10] Albania's Commercial Bank and other banks to be privatizedAlbania's state run Commercial Bank will soon be privatized as part of a larger scheme turning the whole banking system into private hands, newspaper Gazeta Shqiptare said on Oct. 10. The cabinet is expected to present its privatization scheme to the Parliament soon. A plan to be drafted jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Albania will lay down the detailed privatization procedures. The bill makes clear that the banks will be subject to auditing by qualified foreign firms.
[11] Italian officials discuss economic aid with Albanian PresidentItalian Prime Minister Lamberto Dini told visiting Albanian President Sali Berisha that he would ask the investment insurance agency SACI to include Albania in its warranties, Albanian state television said on Oct. 14. Speaking with reporters in Rome, Berisha demanded a greater commitment by Italian business community in reconstructing Albanian infrastructures. Berisha said his government had asked Italian officials to approve an agreement on seasonal employment for Albanian workers. Earlier, Italian Foreign Minister Susana Agneli had assured Berisha that Albania is a priority country in terms of aid Italy provides to other states.
[12] Albania is Arguably Post Communist Europe's Fastest Transforming EconomyVoice of America's Barry Wood in Tirana reports the Albanian government is boosting its growth forecast for 1995. The economic adviser to President Sali Berisha says her projections show gross domestic product expanding by 15-percent this year. The International Monetary Fund projects a more modest seven to eight-percent. Nonetheless that would be the fastest growth anywhere in Europe.The advisor, former university professor Mimoza Vokshi, says the free market transformation is gathering momentum. She says per capita income has more than tripled since 1992 to 700 dollars per year. The economic growth figures have to be put in context. Albania is growing in part because of foreign assistance which since 1992 totals about two-billion dollars, and because of remittances from Albanians living outside the country. But the small business sector is vibrant and there is no doubt the economy is growing rapidly. There are two ways to look at Albania. It is equally Europe's poorest economy and its newest. During the 50-years of communist dictatorship, Albania was essentially sealed off from the outside world. Miss Vokshi says Albania cannot afford to waste time. Growth is not the only achievement. Inflation is down to under five-percent annually. The currency is stable against the dollar and has been for more than a year. Nonetheless, the economic condition of Albania is fragile, and with the general instability of the Balkans and parliamentary elections next year, the long-term future is difficult to predict. Albania will continue to need foreign assistance for many more years. but the government has been successfully attracting small amounts of foreign direct investment, something it feels is far more useful than aid. Foreign investment was forbidden by law until the collapse of communism. Now Albania encourages investors allowing foreign firms to have complete ownership of local enterprises. The first successful foreign investment was Coca Cola whose ten-million dollar bottling plant outside the capital is already a local landmark. Coca Cola is continuing to expand and more investments are in the works. There is also foreign interest in oil exploration and mining. In the under developed tourism industry, Austria's Rogner hotel chain in a pioneer. Rogner recently opened a new hotel in Tirana and plans to develop a tourist resort on the southern Albania coast. Rogner has invested more than 20-million dollars in its Tirana hotel. It was assisted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the EBRD, which has a majority holding in the venture. The marketing and sales manager for the hotel, Venera Cocoli, says it has been a challenge to train Albanians in the exacting standards of the western travel industry. Business people repeatedly say that the most difficult challenge in doing business in Albania is changing the mentality of the people. (??????)They are, say several foreign managers, not used to working a regular eight-hour shift. There is little concept of service and the idea of the customer being the boss is difficult to understand. And yet, the foreign businesses have considerable praise for the Albanians. They says Albanians are quick to learn and responsive to increased responsibility and respectable wages.
[13] Albania -- Europe's poorest country -- is in the midst of an economic boom, albeit one from a low base. VOA's Barry Wood in Tirana reports that building roads is a major priority in an economy with almost no modern infrastructure.In the early part of this century, Henry Ford was asked why the automobile was such a success. Puzzled, Mr. Ford replied, because people want to get up off the ground and ride. In Albania where private cars were against the law until 1990, people are putting their bicycles and horse carts aside and getting into automobiles. In the past three years, the number of cars in Albania has tripled. More than 50-thousand vehicles -- most of them used -- are being imported each year. Outside the capital, horse carts and bicycles are still more numerous than cars. But in Tirana, motorized traffic has quickly emerged as a serious problem. Approaching Tirana from the air, it is noticeable most of the roads in this mountainous land are not paved. Only one-third of Albania's eight-thousand kilometers of primary and secondary highways are paved. Health, telecommunications, education, water, power, and highways are the principle development priorities in this country. In the transportation sector, modernizing the main north-south road from Greece to Tirana and the east-west highway from Macedonia to the Adriatic sea are top priorities. Meanwhile, in the capital, traffic control, driver education, and vehicle maintenance are major concerns. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |