Albania offers a very friendly legislation as regards to foreign investors. The Law “On Foreign Investments” is based on the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and protection of the foreign investments. According to the Law:
According to this law:
There is no need for prior authorization from the government for the foreigners that want to establish a business in Albania
There are no limitations in the share of foreign participation in Albanian companies and 100% foreign ownership is possible
Foreign investors have the right to expatriate all funds and contributions of their investment, in kind
They are permitted and treated based on conditions not less favorable than those afforded to domestic investments in similar circumstances, except land ownership, which is regulated by special law
In any case, foreign investments are not treated any less favourably than foreseen by generally accepted norms of international law
A company with foreign investment participation has the right to employ foreign citizens as well
Foreign investments are protected by law from direct or indirect expropriation or nationalization measures, except for special cases defined by law in the interest of public use
In all cases and at any time, investments are treated equally and impartially, and enjoy complete protection and security.
Referring to data from the Bank of Albania, the FDI trend in terms of flow is as follows:
For the period January – March 2024 (T1), the flow indicator stands at €354 million, the highest historical level for this period of the year. Compared to the same period of the previous year, when the flow was € 307 million, an increase of 15.3%, or € 47 million, is observed.
For Q1 2024, the flow of foreign investments in the country has been dominated by Turkey which has contributed about 19.5% to the total flow, followed by Italy and Austria which have contributed 11.6% and 9.6% to the total and then by the Netherlands , Kosovo and Germany with respectively 7%, 5.6% and 5%.
For Q1 2024, the main source of FDI inflow inflows was from Real Estate Activities which represented 23.7% of the total inflow.
Other economic sectors with a high contribution to FDI are the sector of financial and insurance activities with 20.9%, as well as extractive industry, processing industry and professional, scientific and technical activities with respectively 14.4%, 11.8% and 7.3% of the total .
Referring to data from the Bank of Albania, the FDI trend in terms of flow is as follows:
For the period January – March 2024 (T1), the stock indicator marks the value of €13.7 billion. Compared to the end of the Q4 period of 2023, when the stock was around € 13.3 billion, an increase of 3.2%, or € 431 million, is observed.
At the end of the period January – March 2024, the stock of foreign investments in the country was dominated by the Netherlands, which contributed with about 16.6% to the total stock, followed by Switzerland, Canada, Italy and Turkey with respectively 15.4%, 12.6%, 11.1% and 7.7% of the total.
At the end of the period January – March 2024, the main source of FDI inflows in terms of stock was Electricity, gas, and air conditioning supply representing 24.5% of the total stock.
Other economic sectors with a high contribution are the Extractive Industry sector with 16.4%, Real Estate Activities with 12%, Financial and Insurance Activities with 11.7% and Information and Communication with 10.1% of the total.
