TIRANA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investments in Albania went downwards in the first half of this year, being far from the levels recorded in the second half of last year, the Bank of Albania (BoA) said Monday.
According to the balance of payments data released by BoA on Monday, foreign direct investments amounted to 380 million euros (455 million U.S. dollars) for the first six months of the year, down 7 percent compared to the same period a year earlier (180 million euros in the first and 200 million in the second).
In July-December 2016, foreign investment increased in value, because the investments for the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) hit the peak, reaching 534 million euros.
According to the Bank of Albania, the net inflow of foreign direct investments in the second quarter marked 200 million euros, of which 214 million euros come in the form of capital expansion and a negative inflow of 14 million euros deriving from debt relations between companies connected.
Foreign currency inflows in the form of FDIs are concentrated in the energy sector (about 35 percent), hydrocarbons (about 17 percent), and financial intermediation (about 13 percent). In annual terms, equity injection dropped by 13 percent, data showed.
The decline in foreign investment was expected, largely because the growth in the end of 2016 was related to the construction of the TAP project and the Devoll Hydro Power Plant, two main strategic investments being carried out in Albania.
But the concern is related to the fact that these two projects are short-term and so diversification is needed in the medium term.
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