Re: Sistemi bankar ne Shqiperi
Ja nje koment i te huajve per ekonomine dhe sistemin bankar ne Shqiperi. Se sa realist apo i sakte ne te dhena e shifra eshte, kete e ka ne dore ta gjykoje secili lexues.
Albania's economy shakes off its shackles
BBC, 23 January 2003
By Kieran Cooke
Tirana, Albania
Albania has battled with Stalinist-style
rule, near anarchy and floods, but now the
economy is finding its feet.
Emmanuel Decamps, a foreign banker working
in Albania, says he's had to adapt to a very
different way of working since arriving in this
country of 3.5 million people two years ago.
"The usual banking rules do not apply here,"
says Mr Decamps, a Frenchman who is general
manager of Fefad Bank, one of 12 foreign
financial institutions operating in Albania.
"When someone comes for a loan I have to be
like a detective, judge their appearance, go
and see their home, meet their family.
"There's very little bookkeeping - Albania still
has a very informal, cash-based financial
system.
"People are using banks
more but still only 10% have
accounts - cheque books or
credit cards are very rarely
used."
There are other oddities
in the Albanian economy.
Estimates vary but it's believed that up to 50%
of GDP is generated from various illegal
activities - ranging from people and drug
trafficking to the smuggling of cars and
cigarettes.
The construction industry has boomed in the
last two years - the government admits that
large amounts of illegally earned money has
been laundered through the construction of
hotels and apartment blocks.
Back from the brink
In 1991 Albania emerged from more than 40
years of Stalinist style communism under the
dictator, Enver Hoxha.
There followed a decade of
political and economic
chaos.
In 1997 the country
teetered on the edge
of anarchy as a large
number of its people
lost money in a
fraudulent
pyramid-selling
scheme.
"We still face big
problems but the
foundations for economic stability and growth
are being laid," says Kastriot Islami, Albania's
finance minister, in an interview.
"Reducing corruption in the system and
reforming the administration of tax and
customs is our top priority."
European aspirations
Another priority for Albania is to gain entry to
the European Union.
Romani Prodi, the EU Commissioner, is due in
Tirana next month to sign a "Stabilisation and
Association Agreement", regarded as the first
step towards eventual EU membership.
But Brussels insists
Albania has to tackle
serious problems before
any progress can be
made up the EU ladder.
These include putting
a stop to criminal
activities and showing
evidence of solid
economic progress.
Growth - albeit from a
very low base - has
been impressive in
recent years.
GDP has expanded by about 7% in each of the
last three years but bad floods last year and
continuing infrastructure problems are likely to
reduce growth in 2002 to around 4%.
With black-outs common and water supplies
turned off - often on a daily basis - foreign
investors have not been rushing to Albania.
Absence of proper legal procedures, including
clearly defined laws on property, is another
obstacle to inward investment.
New confidence
Over the past decade nearly one million
Albanians have left the country - at least
600,000 now work across the border in Greece.
Remittances from abroad - estimated to run at
between $750m and $1bn - are one of the
mainstays of the economy.
"Yes, we have our problems but it's certainly
not all doom and gloom," says Edi Rama, the
flamboyant mayor of Tirana, Albania's capital.
Since coming to office two years ago, Mr Rama
has transformed the once dowdy rundown city,
painting buildings in bold colours and greening
public spaces.
"We Albanians are a very entrepreneurial
people," says Mr Rama. "For a generation we
were suppressed under communism.
"Then there was a decade of near anarchy.
Now people are gaining self-confidence.
"Shops and new businesses are opening every
day. Albanians who went abroad are returning.
"Albania is a small country. It will not take
much to turn our economic fortunes around."
