After Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania is the least appealing country in the Western Balkans for foreign investors.
The country is placed 67th out of 124 nations in the Global Opportunities Index 2023. The country with the best position in the region is North Macedonia, which ranks 52nd, followed by Montenegro and Serbia.
According to the chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce, Zenel Hoxha, this bad score, which is even worse than last year, indicates that international investors are losing faith in the country’s institutions.
“As in many races, the winners are selected beforehand. In contrast to the region, this suppresses free competition. Foreign investors recognize that entry is tough, which is a significant issue.”
According to this year’s Global Opportunities Index, the legislative framework and institutional bureaucracies pose a threat to the country’s business climate.
“Because of this, we are requesting that Albania open up and make all existing paper legislation efficient.”
In spite of the continued difficulty of the economic climate, foreign investments achieved their greatest level in thirty years in 2017.
In the period from January to September, the Bank of Albania reports that the value of foreign investments reached 984 million euros, a substantial increase from prior years.