
The flow of Foreign Direct Investments in our country for the past year is fixed at 1.5 billion euros, while the profits of foreign investors in Albania have reached the historical record touching the value of 1 billion euros. According to the data published in the balance sheet of the Bank of Albania, it turns out that foreign investors earned 14.6% more than a year ago and 72% more than during the year of the global pandemic.
"Scan Intel" has analyzed the data to understand how much investors have withdrawn from portfolio investments (this amount can be distributed in the form of dividend or yield). To calculate the amount withdrawn, it is enough to subtract the reinvested profits from the total investment income. After calculations, we conclude that only in 2023 foreign investors attracted more than 211 million euros, or 37% more than last year.
In contrast, the income of the Albanian economy from investments made abroad in 2023 reached 200 million euros, or 60 million euros more than in 2022. While the net balance of investment income turns out to be with a deficit of 813 million euros. This happens because the weight of Albania's investments abroad is much smaller compared to the investments made by foreigners in our country.
What is the origin of the main investors in Albania and in which sectors are the most investments being made?
If we analyze the Foreign Direct Investment data by country, it turns out that the Netherlands and Italy continue to be in first place in terms of flows during 2023. Compared to the previous year, the figures show that the Netherlands has increased its presence in the Albanian market with 10%, while Italy with 49%. Concretely, the investments from the Netherlands are registered near 241 million euros and those from Italy near 203 million euros. The ranking continues with Germany with around 179 million and Austria with around 119 million euros. Other countries of origin of foreign investments in our country follow with large differences with the first countries of the list.
While in terms of sectors, foreign investors are mainly focused on real estate activities, extractive industry and financial and insurance activities. During 2023, 325 million euros were invested in the construction sector, while in industry and financial activities, foreign investors invested 270 million euros and 239 million euros, respectively.