Prof. Assoc. Dr. Blerta Dragusha1
Prof. Dr. Ted Oelfke2
M.Sc. Ilirjana Gjergji3
Authors country of origin: 1/3Albania, 2United States of America
Institutional affiliation: 1Professor at the Faculty of Economy, University of Shkodra “Luigj Gurakuqi”, 2Adjunct Professor at Sandhills Community College, 3Student at University of Shkodra “Luigj Gurakuqi”.
Abstract
Albania has adapted a liberal legal framework designed to create a favorable investment climate for foreign investors. It ranks among the countries with the highest level of foreign direct investments in the region after Serbia, but on the other hand has the lowest percentage of FDI-s in factories. According to data from the Regional Cooperation Council in 2016, only 10 percent of foreign investments in Albania were in factories, while in other countries of the region this number is higher. In FYROM, about 58 percent of FDI-s are concentrated in factories, in Serbia 35.2% and in Bosnia and Hercegovina 27.1%.
The six countries of the Western Balkans (Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, FYROM, Serbia, Bosnia and Hercegovina) make up a market of no more than 20 million people, but their structure is much different because of their specific investment policies. In Montenegro, FDI-s are concentrated in the tourism sector, while in Albania the net inflows of FDI-s are related to major investment projects. In Serbia and FYROM investment inflows are in factories and mainly in the automotive industry, as well as in Bosnia and Hercegovina. The Regional Coordination Council (RCC) has drafted a joint plan for attracting direct investments in the region. Infrastructure investments will be a pilot project to attract investments, but this will also be the basis for attracting future investments to other sectors of the economy, such as tourism and industry. In a detailed analysis of this issue, the RCC shows that some sectors of economy will be of interest to all the region economies, while some sectors may have less interest. The paper focuses on six economies of Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYROM, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia, giving an overview of FDI in each country in the region and making a comparison between them.
Key words: Foreign Direct Investments, regional cooperation, country of origin, sectors of economy.
Volume 4.No.2(2021): April (Social Sciences Session)
ISSN 2661-2666 (Online) International Scientific Journal Monte (ISJM)
ISSN 2661-264X (Print)
DOI : 10.33807/monte.20211877
DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.33807/monte.20211877
Full Text: PDF
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)