Weekly news report 26-30 September 2011- AlbanianEconomy.com
- Real Estate: Rental prices in shopping centers show big fall says Colliers
- PM CNN interview stirs unusual debate on EU integration
- President Topi new political party is likely
- Suspected Drugdealer killed in mafia style action
- Albania accepts Hong Kong as “Chinese territory”
- Albania performance estimated as average from the EBRD transition index
—————–
- Real Estate: Rental prices in shopping centers show big fall says Colliers
The rental prices in Tirana’s shopping centers saw 30-50 per cent drop this year due to increased economic difficulties and growing competition, the real estate agent Colliers announced in its report.
“The retail market in Tirana continues its dynamic activity – an additional 41,200 m2 is expected by end of 2011 – with the opening of Tirana East Gate, the city’s newest and largest shopping centre. The retail market experienced an increase in vacancy rates reaching 10.8% and a significant decrease in rental prices in some shopping centers in the range of 30-50%, in H1 2011. High street and secondary retail streets continue to report a drop of 20-30% in retail sales and a high turnover of shops,” Colliers underlined in the report.
Although a poor country with just 2700 euro GDP per capita, Albania is currently full with seven shopping centers while another one is expected to open soon.
The shopping center mania started back in 2005, when the first department store QTU opened 6 km outside Tirana. Several other projects followed soon. One of the shopping centers was taken over by the banks due to unpaid loans this year while others show difficulties to attract customers.
Furthermore, the retail sales this year showed an unusual decline of 6 per cent due to growing economic difficulties among Albanians.
- PM CNN interview open unusual debate on EU integration
The Prime Minister Sali Berisha was asked by a CNN journalist during an interview this week what he except to earn from EU integration of Albania, a question that stirred an unusual debate among Albanians on possible benefits and costs from the integration process. Berisha replied to CNN that for him, EU integration is a dream, without getting into details on cost/benefits.
Albania has no known euro-skeptics among politicians or among opinion makers and intellectuals. Some newspapers attempted unsuccessfully to debate on EU integration but dropped the topic almost immediately. Albania is currently under the Stabilization and Association Agreement with EU, which comes due in 2013. According to the MSA, in 2013 EU will decide whether to accept Albania’s membership or to postpone the MSA for another 5 years.
Panorama, Shqip
- President Topi new political party is likely
The President Bamir Topi announced on Thursday in an interview for Top Channel that he plans to stay in politics after his mandate comes due early next year and that he may create a new right wing party. Mr. Topi, 54, was elected president from the ruling Democratic Party of the Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Over the last few years, Berisha had often attacked Topi publicly and effectively closed the door for his return in the DP. Berisha had accused Topi as the man behind the nationalistic campaign “the Movement Black and Red” as a political party against the government. Black and Red are the national colors of Albania.
Top Channel, Shqip.
- Suspected Drugdealer killed in mafia style action
Armando Andoni, a known drugdealer and US Marshals fugitive was killed on Monday 25 Sept. in a mafia style action that left no traces behind. Andoni, also known as Arjan Selimi, escaped from US in 1998 while on bail for the transportation of 1000 kg of cannabis. He was arrested in 2004 in Albania after a multinational law enforcement operation to cut drug smuggling in Latin America, Europe and US.
There had been quite few mafia style killings in Albania this year, including Skerdelajd Konomi, a judge in Vlora, who was killed with a bomb in his car.
Leaked US cables, Shqip, Gazeta Shqiptare
- Albania accepts Hong Kong as “Chinese territory”
Albania removed visa requirements with Hong Kong this week and referred to the “special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China”. Albania had adhered to the one China policy and strictly follows it. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Edmond Haxhinasto used the sentence “the Chinese territory of Taiwan” while speaking in a television talk show.
Official law publication
- Albania performance estimated as average from the EBRD transition index
Albania’s road toward open market economy was evaluated as poor or average in a list of 14 indicators compiled by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in the Transition Index, a tool created by EBRD to follow the transition in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
As for 2010, Albania performed well in Small scale privatization, where it scored 4 out of 4.6 points, in price liberalization and trade liberalization. Albania underperformed in enterprise restructuring, scoring just 2.33 points, in competition policy, just 2 and in Securities markets & non-bank financial institutions.
“More private capital is needed to help finance infrastructure investment, especially in transport and electric power. The priority is to accelerate the preparation of investment projects while ensuring that tenders are carried out in an open and transparent manner.
The system of tariff-setting at the municipal level is often non-transparent and politicized and hinders restructuring and investment in this sector. Reforms in this area should be pushed forward as soon as possible. The level of development in the non-banking financial sector is still quite low by regional standards. A key priority in this regard is to come to a resolution on the sale of INSIG, which is scheduled for this year,” the report noted.
———
Disclaimer Notice
Weekly news report is a service of Albanianeconomy.com to offer a short review of the major events occurred during the week. It is published on Monday and includes the events occurred in the previous seven days. The main source of information is the local newspapers and televisions and AlbanianEconomy.com doesn’t verify the accuracy of the reports, so doesn’t bear responsibility on the veracity of the information reported.
You can send a request for this report by e-mail at gjerebara@albanianeconomy.com to receive it directly to your email address every Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment