Courts hampering foreign investments: ACC’s Crawford at “Argument”

Following the publication of the annual report of the Association of Foreign Investors and while the American Chamber of Commerce is expected to publish its report titled Doing Business in Albania, ACC Chair Mark Crawford addressed a series of problems that foreign companies face in the country.

While speaking at the show “Argument” hosted by journalist Enio Civici, Crawford confirmed that obstacles stemming as a result of court decisions are the main issues faced by businesses, and cited the judicial system in the country as the main factor producing negative conditions for foreign companies operating in Albania.

“I know some foreign investors who have had problems. They went to courts and they have waited a year, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years. Something happened at the end, but they had to wait 5 years. Of course they have their managers and investors who are outside Albania and who do not understand why you have to wait 5 years. When 2 years pass, it looks like a “red flag”, and one cannot invest in a country that will have problems, and will always have problems”.

This problem seems to have been conveyed even among foreign investors, mainly in the case when these companies are listed on international stock exchanges.

“Even those people who are not investing through companies, they are reading [in newspapers] about the problems and they see that the company is investing in a single country, in Albania. Where is Albania? It’s in Europe. Why are they frozen for two years without any activity? Because they are in court! They can be guilty, they can be innocent: we do not know that. They make their investment and managers will seek some support to understand what has happened. They will see what the US Ambassador said about the courts, namely that they are “corrupt”. This was told by EU ambassadors, that they are “corrupt”. We as managers are not to be blamed, this is something out of any prediction and this is a major force.”

It seems that business issues remain on the doorstep of courts, both for property issues and cases of financial penalties.

*Material i përgatitur nga portali SCAN. Ripublikimi mund të bëhet vetëm kundrejt citimit të autorësisë dhe burimit origjinal.