About Albania

General Facts

Total area: 28,748 sq. km, coastline 362 km
Coastline bordering the Adriatic and Ionian Seas
System of government: Parliamentary democracy
Head of State: President, elected by parliament every five years
Currency: Albanian Lek (ALL)
Official Language: Albanian
International telephone prefix: + 355
Population: 3.64M (est. July, 2009)
Median age ~ 30 years
Life expectancy at birth 78 years
Albanian capital: Tirana with 850K – 900K inhabitants

Additional Albanians in:

Kosova (88%) =>1.87M
Macedonia (25 %) => 0.52M
Total Albanians in the region ~ 6 million

Natural resources:

Mining: chromium, copper, iron ore, nickel, bauxite
Petroleum, natural gas, coal
Limestone, salt, timber
Water

Vision & Strategic Goals by the Government

"To be the most attractive country for foreign investment in the region"

Mr. Bamir Topi – President of Albania
Mr. Sali Berisha – Prime Minister of Albania:

Package of measures to encourage investments

"Move quickly towards a more open and liberal model"

Paving the way for European Integration

Parliamentary Democracy
Member NATO - April-2009
Albania to become a member of the EU by 2014-15
An agreement was signed in 2006 to enter into the EU Association process, and pending ratification from the 25 member states

Credit insurance rating:

Political Risk: 3 (1 = best; 7 = worst),
In global financial market: B1, Moody’s classified as a country of “stable outlook”, (Dec., 2009)
The enactment rule of law is foundation of free society
All new laws are in accordance with western standards
Next elections in June 2013

Albanian Hospitality and Culture

Albania is an incredibly hospitable culture and has its own particular traditions of courtesy. They are very closely related to the notion of hospitality, a notion similar to that of the sacred guest from Homer and classical literature. Many Albanian traditions of hospitality come from The Kanun, or "The Code", a 15th-century text written by the powerful Dukagjin clan, although many of the laws written in the code date from earlier times.

Currency

The Albanian monetary unit is called "Leke". The currency floats freely but is quite stable: at the time of writing exchange is about 130 lek to the euro, about 100 leke to the US dollar. Most boards exhibit the current exchange rate on the right side of the screen. On the rate boards in banks and exchange offices (kambim valuator) the initials ALL are sometimes used instead of the word “leke”. For today’s rate of exchange, please use the rate posted by the American Bank of Albania.

On Albanian History

The territories of present day Albania have been inhabited as early back as 100.000 years ago. It was at the turn of the third millennium BC that an Indo - European population settled there. As the result of the mixture, a population incorporating the unique cultural and linguistic characteristics of the whole Balkan Peninsula (pelages) was created.

Economic

Exchange rate (26 March, 2010)

EUR/ALL 139

USD/ALL 104

EUR/USD 1.34

The budget deficit is fund 87% by domestic financing (Treasury Bills, Bonds, Credit, Privatization receipts) and 13% foreign financing

Interest rates on BoA's Instruments ALL, REPO 5.25%

Annual yield for government bonds at the latest auctions are:

3 December 2009, 1 Y bond, 9.24%

17 November 2009, 2 Y bond, 9.60% (fix coupon)

1 October 2009, 3 Y bond, 9.90% (fix coupon)

Foreign Exchange Reserve at the end of 2008 marked the level of 1,695 million EUR, enough to cover 4.2 months of imports of goods and services

January-October 2009 the trade deficit is 266,427 million LEK (2,050 m EUR).

Flow of goods in foreign trade

Export (FOB): 103 b lek

Import (CIF): 431 b lek

Trade balance: -328 b lek, coverage indicator 23.9%

International Parameters

Ease of Doing Business rank: index climbed to 82

2009 rank - 86; 2008 rank – 135;

Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) score

2009: rank – 95, score 3.2;

2008: rank – 85, score 3.4

Why should invest in Albania?

Domestic economy & exports are expanding
Established trading patterns with the EU
Gateway to the Balkans Free Trade Area
Total labor costs are lower than comparable countries
Social security ‘on costs’ amount - 31% of gross wages
Adaptable and flexible skilled labor force
Extensive language skills, a lot of the younger generation are college graduates

About Albania

Albania Property Guide

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