Albania on sale
1. Austrians Buy Albania’s Largest Bank
2. Albania Approves Trans-Balkan Pipeline
=== 1 ===
http://www.balkantimes.com/
default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22554
Austrians Buy Albania’s Largest Bank
By Ardi Pulaj for Southeast European Times in Tirana - 30/12/03
With the sale of the country's largest bank to an Austrian buyer,
Albania has taken an important step in its attempts to privatise
strategic sectors of the economy. On 17 December, the Savings Bank of
Albania was sold to Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG for $126m
(almost 102m euros).
The government approved the sale several days later in an extraordinary
meeting. Prime Minister Fatos Nano hailed the move and said it would
enrich the country, the state budget and development programmes.
The Savings Bank is now under reconstruction. Its position in the
financial market is around 75 per cent; it has the largest expansion in
the country and 400,000 clients. Official sources from the Albanian
government have indicated that the amount offered by the Austrian bank
was higher than expected.
Raiffeisen was one of two candidates in the privatisation process for
the Savings Bank. The other was the Hungarian bank OTP, which has since
accused Albanian authorities of irregularities. According to OTP, the
finance ministry was biased in favour of the Austrian bank and did not
give fair consideration to OTP's offer.
Currently, Raiffeisen covers 25.5 per cent of the Austrian banking
market. It owns 28.2 per cent of deposits, 22.1 per cent of loans and
28.9 per cent of managed funds. In June, its capital reached 50.453m
euros. It has made several important purchases over the past few years.
In 2000, it bought Market Banka of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2001 HPB
and Banca Agricola and in 2002, the Bank of Kosovo.
Albanian authorities are also trying to find investors for the
privatisation of other state companies, such as the telecommunications
giant Albtelekom. Authorities have yet to deal with the privatisation
of the Albanian Power Corporation, the railway system, the main port in
Durres, the coal industry, water supplies and the state transportation
company, Albtransport.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.
=== 2 ===
> http://www.balkantimes.com/
> default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22411
Albania Approves Trans-Balkan Pipeline
By Ardi Pulaj for Southeast European Times in Tirana -
18/12/03
Albanian authorities have approved construction of the AMBO
trans-Balkan pipeline, which will start in Bulgaria's Bourgas port,
pass through Macedonia and end in the Albanian port of Vlora.
The approval came from the Council of Regulation of Territory in
Albania, headed by Prime Minister Fatos Nano.
"The oil passing through the AMBO pipelines will give to Albania nearly
41m euros per year as a profit … This port will be a very important
place for the international market," Nano said.
Experts from each of the three countries involved in the project, as
well as from the companies AMBO and Brown & Root, have selected the
route, avoiding inhabited areas. An environmental impact study is being
conducted, Nano added.
According to Besim Islami, head of the National Power Agency, the
pipeline will enter Albania at the checkpoint of Qafe-Thana on the
border with Macedonia. The cities of Perrenjas, Librazhd, Elbasan,
Cerrik, Lushnje and Fier will be along the route to the southern port
of Vlora.
The ministry of industry and power and local authorities in the cities
involved would be responsible for the implementation of the project,
Islami said.
The IMF, the World Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of
the United States (OPIC), the Washington-based Ex/Im Bank and the EBRD
have expressed interest in providing financial support to the
construction of the pipeline.
The oil will come from Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
with European and North American markets as the final destination.
The cost for the construction of AMBO pipeline is estimated at $1.13
billion. The pipeline will become part of the infrastructure for the
east-west Corridor 8, which includes highways, railways, pipelines and
telecommunications.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.
1. Austrians Buy Albania’s Largest Bank
2. Albania Approves Trans-Balkan Pipeline
=== 1 ===
http://www.balkantimes.com/
default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22554
Austrians Buy Albania’s Largest Bank
By Ardi Pulaj for Southeast European Times in Tirana - 30/12/03
With the sale of the country's largest bank to an Austrian buyer,
Albania has taken an important step in its attempts to privatise
strategic sectors of the economy. On 17 December, the Savings Bank of
Albania was sold to Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG for $126m
(almost 102m euros).
The government approved the sale several days later in an extraordinary
meeting. Prime Minister Fatos Nano hailed the move and said it would
enrich the country, the state budget and development programmes.
The Savings Bank is now under reconstruction. Its position in the
financial market is around 75 per cent; it has the largest expansion in
the country and 400,000 clients. Official sources from the Albanian
government have indicated that the amount offered by the Austrian bank
was higher than expected.
Raiffeisen was one of two candidates in the privatisation process for
the Savings Bank. The other was the Hungarian bank OTP, which has since
accused Albanian authorities of irregularities. According to OTP, the
finance ministry was biased in favour of the Austrian bank and did not
give fair consideration to OTP's offer.
Currently, Raiffeisen covers 25.5 per cent of the Austrian banking
market. It owns 28.2 per cent of deposits, 22.1 per cent of loans and
28.9 per cent of managed funds. In June, its capital reached 50.453m
euros. It has made several important purchases over the past few years.
In 2000, it bought Market Banka of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2001 HPB
and Banca Agricola and in 2002, the Bank of Kosovo.
Albanian authorities are also trying to find investors for the
privatisation of other state companies, such as the telecommunications
giant Albtelekom. Authorities have yet to deal with the privatisation
of the Albanian Power Corporation, the railway system, the main port in
Durres, the coal industry, water supplies and the state transportation
company, Albtransport.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.
=== 2 ===
> http://www.balkantimes.com/
> default3.asp?lang=english&page=process_print&article_id=22411
Albania Approves Trans-Balkan Pipeline
By Ardi Pulaj for Southeast European Times in Tirana -
18/12/03
Albanian authorities have approved construction of the AMBO
trans-Balkan pipeline, which will start in Bulgaria's Bourgas port,
pass through Macedonia and end in the Albanian port of Vlora.
The approval came from the Council of Regulation of Territory in
Albania, headed by Prime Minister Fatos Nano.
"The oil passing through the AMBO pipelines will give to Albania nearly
41m euros per year as a profit … This port will be a very important
place for the international market," Nano said.
Experts from each of the three countries involved in the project, as
well as from the companies AMBO and Brown & Root, have selected the
route, avoiding inhabited areas. An environmental impact study is being
conducted, Nano added.
According to Besim Islami, head of the National Power Agency, the
pipeline will enter Albania at the checkpoint of Qafe-Thana on the
border with Macedonia. The cities of Perrenjas, Librazhd, Elbasan,
Cerrik, Lushnje and Fier will be along the route to the southern port
of Vlora.
The ministry of industry and power and local authorities in the cities
involved would be responsible for the implementation of the project,
Islami said.
The IMF, the World Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of
the United States (OPIC), the Washington-based Ex/Im Bank and the EBRD
have expressed interest in providing financial support to the
construction of the pipeline.
The oil will come from Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
with European and North American markets as the final destination.
The cost for the construction of AMBO pipeline is estimated at $1.13
billion. The pipeline will become part of the infrastructure for the
east-west Corridor 8, which includes highways, railways, pipelines and
telecommunications.
© 1999 - 2003 Southeast European Times. All Rights Reserved.