Business: Albanian banking a success in 2006
27/04/2007
An annual economic report finds Albania's banking system performed well, but notes a lack of improvement in construction and agriculture. Also this week: Bulgaria prepays 230m euros to the IMF.
 Albanian Central Bank Governor Ardian Fullani. [Getty Images] |
The governor of Albania's Central Bank, Ardian Fullani, presented a report on economic development in 2006. It said the domestic banking system had performed well and provided strong support to economic activities. Fullani noted, however, that no substantial improvement took place in the construction and agriculture sectors last year.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) attracted around 475m euros in foreign investment during the first four months of this year, according to the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency. It added that the figure might rise by another 630m euros when the payment for Telekom Srpske arrives.
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The Macedonian steel producer Makstil announced a new 22.5m-euro investment programme, aimed at upgrading production facilities and introducing new, environmentally friendly technologies. The funds will be secured through a credit provided by the local Stopanska Banka and its owner, Greece's National Bank.
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Bulgaria prepaid around 230m euros of outstanding debt to the IMF, completing its liabilities to the Fund. Following the repayment, Bulgaria's external public debt will decrease by almost one percentage point to 15.8% of GDP, while the entire public debt will be around 21.5% of GDP.
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Croatia's government has agreed not to sell any companies from the state-run Croatian Railways without the explicit approval of trade unions, announced Minister of Maritime, Tourism, Economy and Development Bozidar Kalmeta. He said no further steps would be made in the denationalisation of non-core divisions of the railway company unless union demands are addressed.
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The Greek Parliament ratified the agreement on the construction of the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline on April 25th. The document, sealed by Bulgaria, Greece and Russia on March 15th in Athens, provides for the pipeline to have a capacity of between 35m and 50m tonnes per year, with construction costs expected to range between 700m euros and 1 billion euros.
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Romania's cabinet decided to amend legislation on a controversial first car registration fee, following requests from the EU to harmonise domestic laws with the Union's. The earlier legislation had envisioned taxes from 140 to 7,000 euros for an older vehicle, aimed at keeping pre-owned cars out of the country.
(Various sources – 20/04/07-27/04/07)
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