SETimes.comAlbania seeks Turkish investments
11/04/2012
Promising tax breaks, Albania's prime minister calls for Turkish companies to invest. Also in business news: Representatives of 50 countries gathered in Istanbul to attend the 15th Eurasian Economic Summit.
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha urged Turkish companies to invest in his country, promising them a tax exemption for a period of eight years. The call came on Friday (April 6th) at a Turkish-Albanian Business Forum held in Ankara. The event was attended by more than 100 businessmen from Turkey, and 60 representatives of Albanian companies.
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Ferry services to islands in Greece were halted for a 48-hour strike Tuesday (April 10th) in an organised protest against benefit cuts and unpaid salaries. The action comes days before the Orthodox Easter on Sunday, which is traditionally a high tourist period.
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The Cypriot church wants to invest in the island's energy sector and banks, Archbishop Chrysostomos II said on Monday (April 9th). The church is particularly looking into opportunities to produce solar panels and build a power production plan, Chrysostomos II added, explaining the aim is to help improve the economy and create jobs.
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Representatives of 50 countries gathered in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday (April 10th) for the 15th Eurasian Economic Summit. Participants included Albanian President Bamir Topi, Montenegro's Filip Vujanovic and Macedonia's Gjorge Ivanov.
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Petar Koteski from Bitolja won this year's best business idea award in Macedonia. He received the first place and a prize 10,000 euros for his project aimed to develop and sell video games on the world market. The competition, which attracted 104 business ideas from 23 cities, is held as part of the "Factory for Business Ideas" project.
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Rating agency Moody's Investors Service cut Bosnia and Herzegovina's speculative credit rating one notch from B2 to B3, citing a worsening financial situation and higher political risks in the country. The agency warned more downgrades may be ahead.
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Romania has decided to back out of a deal to sell its biggest copper mine, Cupru Min Abrud, to Canadian company Copper Corp., Economy Minister Lucian Bode announced on Saturday (April 7th). The two sides failed to agree on the deal, Bode explained. Roman Copper won a tender for the mine last month, offering 200.8m euros in competition with Australia's OZ Minerals Ltd., Dutch Dundee Holding, and Bulgaria's Ellatzite Med AD.
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Serbia's Central Bank announced on Friday (April 6th) it has sold 50m euros to slow the pace of decline of the local currency after it fell to its lowest level in weeks. The dinar has lost 4.27% of its value since the start of this year.
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German development bank Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau announced on April 4th that it is lending 17.5m euros to six Serbian cities to improve their water supplies and sewage systems. The bank is preparing another 90m euros for similar projects in 11 more municipalities.
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Turkey and China signed a series of agreements Monday (April 9th), including on co-operation in the use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The deals were inked in Beijing in the presence of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao.
(Various sources -- 04/04/12-11/04/12)