Albania is a hard country to do business, State Department report concludes

Albania is a hard country to do business, State Department report concludes

 A US State Department report on the Investment Climate notes that foreign investors perceive Albania as a difficult place to do business.

According to the report, investors cite corruption, especially in the judiciary, lack of transparency in public procurement and poor contract enforcement as ongoing problems, adding that reports of corruption in government procurement are common.

The report raises concerns about the "increasing use of public-private partnership (PPP) contracts which have reduced competition opportunities, including for foreign investors, in infrastructure and other sectors", noting that "poor cost-benefit analysis" and the lack of technical expertise in drafting and monitoring PPP contracts are ongoing concerns, VOA reports.

According to the report, "American investors are challenged by corruption and the continuation of informal business practices", while it is known that "some American investors have faced controversial commercial disputes with both public and private entities, including some that went to international arbitration."

The report mentions the chronic problem of property titles and their overlapping, calling it "a serious and widespread issue", noting that there have been cases where individuals are suspected of manipulating the judicial system to obtain illegal property titles”.

The report also recalls that Albania experienced a sharp decline in the World Bank's ranking in the Doing Business survey and dropped seven places in the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index, compiled by Transparency International. Consequently, according to the report, "Albania and North Macedonia are now perceived as the most corrupt countries in the Western Balkans."
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