Jako zanimljiv tekst.
Albanska ljubav prema SAD je neuzvraćena ljubav.
http://www.qualityjournalism.com.al...ot-helping-albania-gain-more-u-s-investments/
Friendly sentiments are not helping Albania gain more U.S. investments
In 1998 Genti Daci saw opportunity in Albania–or at least the lack of internet access in the post-communist country. Less than a decade after he co-founded ABCom with some friends, the telecommunications company not only provided internet and cable to businesses in and around Tirana, Daci says ABCom provided internet service to U.S. President George W. Bush and his staff on the first official state visit of the world leader to the Western Balkan country.
That 2007 visit provided the Albanian entrepreneur with the opportunity to meet with a representative from Southeast Europe Equity Fund II, a U.S. equity fund, Daci says. With an initial investment of over 1 billion leke (around $9,3 million) from them, ABCom has quintupled its revenue, he says, making it the second largest telecommunication company in the country of roughly three million people. He describes having had a lot of optimism about Albania’s development.
“It is quite an excellent experience,” he says. “I wish this experience for many other companies because what this country lacks, what this country needs, is this kind of investment.”
Figures dating from April 2018 on the Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA) website indicate the type of investment Daci is referring to, foreign direct investment (FDI), increased by more than 43 billion leke (around $400 million), between 2011 and 2016. While AIDA stated that “the focus for the future development of the Albanian economy will remain on attracting FDIs,” and while the Albanian government has implemented a new “strategic investment” incentives program to do so, investors from one country in particular have not been taking the bait.
Despite pro-U.S. sentiments in the Balkan country, where statues of U.S. presidents and presidential candidates grace public squares, U.S. companies appear to be favoring Albania’s neighbors. That’s the conclusion of a two-month investigation by the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism and the U.S.-based New England Center for Investigative Reporting.
While
AIDA counted U.S. name brands like Coca Cola and KFC among 25 “success stories” of U.S. investment in Albania in a post dated 16 August 2017, investors from the world’s largest economy are few and far between in Albania and some have closed shop in recent years, including the Albanian Sun Petroleum franchise (licensed by Gulf Oil International).
U.S. investment in Albania represented about one percent of total FDI stock–or the accumulated invested capital of one country into another–in 2017 and the investment seems to be declining in recent years, dropping from 11.1 billion leke($103 million) in 2014 to 8.9 billion leke (around $83 million) in 2017,
according to data from the Bank of Albania.
On the other hand, there are more American companies elsewhere in the Balkan region than there is in Albania.
The U.S. Embassy in Serbia confirmed in an email that U.S. investment there were $4 billion since 2000 and that U.S.-owned companies and franchises have employed more than 19,000 people in the former Yugoslav state.
