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Albanian Times, Vol. I, No. 5, November 12, 1995From: Albanian Times <AlbaTimes@aol.com>The Albanian Times (by AlbAmerica TRade & Consulting International) DirectoryIn this issue:CONTENTS[1] Albania Signs Deal with Britain's Burmah Oil[2] Albania Denies Airport Talks have Failed[3] Foreign Aid No More Crucial, Paper Says[4] Italian Envoy Outlines Investments in Elbasan[5] Albania Interested in Black Sea Economic Partnership[6] Albanian Parliament to Tackle Broadcasting Bill"[7] Albanian Journalist Faces Trial-Cites Economic Corruption[8] Malaysia Supports Albanian Hospitals[9] Kosova Leader: Sanctions On Belgrade Should Stay[10] Phase One of Albanian Privatization Ends[11] East Europe Currency Exchange Rates for November 13[1] Albania Signs Deal with Britain's Burmah OilAlbania's state-owned Albpetrol and Britain's Burmah Oil signed a five-year contract to renovate an Albanian lubricants refinery and produce oils under the Castrol name, the parties said on November 9. ``We will invest 350,000 German marks (about $246,000) in equipment alone to fully modernize the last part of the refinery, a filling line,'' said Ante Krvavac, representing Burmah Oil South Eastern Countries (SEC) section. The refinery will make lubricants at Ballsh refinery from basic oils that will be imported. Castrol owns 50 per cent of Burmah Oil Plc, based in Swindon, England. Burmah Oil, which will receive royalties on the sales, has granted an exclusivity for the deal to the Albanian Veve group. ``Our most approximate forecast is that Albpetrol shall have a profit of one million dollars a year,'' Sokol Bejleri, Albpetrol's general manager, told reporters. ``We plan to cover the country's needs. A careful estimate would put the changing Albanian market at 40,000 - 50,000 tones per year, and export another 20 per cent,'' Bejleri said. (Reuter)
[2] Albania Denies Airport Talks have FailedAlbania denied press reports that talks with Germany's Siemens AG on the modernization of its international airport had failed, state-run news agency ATA said on November 10. Siemens won a tender two years ago to reconstruct Rinas airport, 25 km north of Tirana, but reconstruction work has yet to start. ``The talks have been constructive and long and the Albanian side has shown its readiness to start work as soon as possible,'' ATA quoted a finance ministry spokesman. ``There have been no problems over the contract,'' he added. Albania's biggest daily Koha Jone reported a Siemens delegation discussed details of the deal for two days but the talks ended in deadlock. Albania passed a law last week exempting Siemens from paying import duties for machinery it will import during the first $30 million reconstruction stage. (Reuter)
[3] Foreign Aid No More Crucial, Paper SaysForeign aid remains an important source of income for Albania, but aid has not been predominant since 1993, newspaper Republika said on November 12, quoting a development report. Between 1992 and 1994, the country received a total of $640.8 million in aid, $233.5 million of which arrived in 1993 and $203.6 million in 1994. Ten percent of that was food aid. There was no food aid in 1995. Foreign aid in 1995 amounted to 20 percent of GNP. In terms of economic policy, the most worrying is the problem of direct investment and trade balance. Direct private foreign investment has been very low, at about $46 million for 1995 and the same for 1995. Comprehensive foreign investment legislation, lower regional tensu\ion, and improving infrastructure will change everything in the foreign investment field, the paper said.
[4] Italian Envoy Outlines Investments in ElbasanItaly's ambassador to Albania said the significance of Italian investments in Elbasan go beyond the region. Outlining these investments, Paolo Foresti said the Italian projects for this central Albanian region cover agriculture, road rehabilitation, forestry and communication. To upgrade the Albanian telecommunications firm, the Telecom, an East-West communications center will be set up in Elbasan. Two Italian firms will be responsible for the project, which will be completed in a few months. A submarine optical fiber cable between Italy and Albania will enable better communications with Macedonia via Elbasan center. Italy considers East-West road projects a priority, Foresti said. A planned road between Elbasan and Rrogozhina is ready to start. An Italian-Albanian company in Elbasan has recently been plagued by a strike and has suspended production. The troubled Ital-Druri, a $9 million investment, employs about 600 workers, a high figure in a region where unemployment is increasingly evident. (ATA, Nov 4)
[5] Albania Interested in Black Sea Economic PartnershipAlbania has expressed interest in promoting regional development projects in such fields as transportation, telecommunications, energy and science, officials said. Foreign Ministry official Viktor Kasimati who attended the conference of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization in Kishinev, Moldova, said Albania is in favor of accelerating cooperation among participating countries. He said Albania supports the idea to set up a regional bank in Thessaloniki, a proposal approved so far by the Albanian and Greek parliaments. Other member states are expected to ratify the proposal by December 31 this year.
[6] Albanian Parliament to Tackle Broadcasting Bill"Albanian parliament is debating a broadcasting bill, which may pave the way for private ownership on radio and television, the daily Gazeta Shqiptare said on November 7. The bill "On Public and Private Radio and Television", to be discussed by a parliament committee, sets the guidelines for operating private broadcasting, including the granting of licences, advertising, distributing local and national Radio and TV programs. The bill prohibits any government interference in terms of programing contents, except in cases where law is violated. Broacasting operations would be supervised by a 5 member committee. The bill also lays down regulations for campaign advertising and publicity during elections and referenda. Licences for establishing radio and TV stations would be granted to applicants who meet certain conditions. To start a national TV station, an applicant must own about $1 million in capital guarantee. For a radio station a $200,000 warranty is required.
[7] Albanian Journalist Faces Trial-Cites Economic CorruptionAn Albanian journalist is facing trial for allegedly wrongfully reporting the involvement of high officials in corruption. Blendi Fevziu, chief editor of Aleanca -- the opposition Democratic Alliance's weekly -- will face trial charges together with former Defense Minister Perikli Teta -- a parliament member of the Democratic Alliance. The head of the anti-corruption agency, Blerim Cela has charged Fevziu and Teta with wrongfully reporting his involvement in the oil-import firm EPIDAMN's illegal activities. Fevziu had reported earlier this year that the state had lost about $1,6 million in the firm's illegal activities. Teta is charged for publishing a list of leading politicians whom he claims had been involved in arms- and oil-smuggling. (Gazeta Shqiptare, Nov 7, 1995)
[8] Malaysia Supports Albanian HospitalsMalaysia has donated Albania medical equipment worth $780,000, news agencies reported on November 7. The donation was presented to the Albanian ambassador by Health Minister Chua Jui Meng. Malaysia has offered training for Albanians in diplomacy, banking, finance and business.
[9] Kosova Leader: Sanctions On Belgrade Should StayA leader of the Albanian majority in Serbia's Kosova region urged the United States not to ease sanctions on Belgrade until a solution to tension in Kosova has been negotiated, Reuter reported on November 8. Bujar Bukoshi was addressing a news conference in Washington before travelling to Dayton, Ohio, where U.S. officials are mediating talks on a Bosnia peace settlement. ``The Government of the Republic of Kosova urges Secretary Holbrooke to keep economic sanctions off the bargain table until the Kosovo issue is settled,'' he said. U.S. officials led by Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke are using an offer of phased lifting of sanctions as leverage on Serbia in the Dayton talks. They envisage suspending some sanctions once an agreement is reached and lifting most of them once it is implemented. But they plan to retain a few sanctions to compel Serbian good behaviour on other issues, including Kosova.
[10] Phase One of Albanian Privatization EndsAlbania has completed the first stage of privatization which includes public services, trade, construction and agriculture, officials said. Niko Glozheni, head of National Privatization Agency said 20 medium and large sized state enterprises have been privatized since October through a voucher program. The first stage involved 4,100 people, who mostly became shareholders of the companies where they worked. The second phase will involve industries, according to the privatization official. The agency aims to privatize about 350 companies by the end of 1996. Meanwhile, 4.4 billion Lek (about $48 million) have been paid out to former political persecuted in the form of privatization bonds. Also, the Albanian parliament scrapped all customs duties on imported grain and maize to prevent a rise in bread prices during winter.
[11] East Europe Currency Exchange Rates for November 13ALBANIA LEK 92.86 BULGARIA LEV 68.841 C'WEALTH IND. STATES 4522 CROATIA KUNA 5.3898 CZECH KORUNA 26.218 ESTONIA KROON 11.3908 HUNGARY FORINT 135.66 LATVIA LAT 0.54 LITHUANIA LITAS 4.00 POLAND ZLOTY 2.471 ROMANIA LEU 2309.00 SLOVAK KORUNA 30.37 SLOVENIA TOLAR 122.270 UKRAINE KARBOVANET 181207.0 YUGOSLAVIA NEW DINAR 1.4115For more information please send E-Mail with requests to Editor-in-Chief ofAlbanian Times.This site is owned and maintained by AlbAmerica Trade & ConsultingInternational. The material of these pages is copyrighted by ATCI unlessotherwise stated. Albanian Times is a registered Trademark of AlbAmerica Trade& Consulting International.Copyright ) 1995 ATCIBack to Albanian Times ||Back to Main Menu ||Subscribe to Albanian Times |
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