Albanian investments abroad reached high levels also in the first quarter of this year.

According to data from the Bank of Albania, the value of investments of Albanian companies abroad reached Euro 52 million, a million more compared to the same period a year ago. This is the highest value of Albanian investments abroad for the first quarter of the year, since 2008.

For the most part, Albanian investments have been channeled into direct contributions to the capital of companies controlled abroad.

These capital injections accounted for more than 69% of the new flow of Albanian investments abroad. The rest consists mainly of reinvested profits of companies operating abroad.

In recent years, foreign direct investments in Albania this year are marking record values, but, on the other hand, Albanian investments abroad show a similar trend.

However, the net balance of foreign direct investments for the 3rd month of 2024 was negative, for a total value of 302 million euros, increasing by 18% compared to the same period last year.

The negative balance in the foreign investment account means that foreign direct inward investments in Albania remain much higher compared to Albanian investments abroad.

The statistical data on the investments of Albanian enterprises abroad do not detail their geographical or sectoral distribution. For this reason, there is still no real "map" of Albanian investments abroad, or in which of the countries or sectors the growth has been concentrated in recent years.

Some of the important business groups in the country have established a presence in Kosovo, North Macedonia, Croatia, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, or the USA, with activity mainly in the real estate sector and financial services.

The data of the Central Bank of Kosovo provide information on Albanian investments in Kosovo, which is estimated to be the country with the largest concentration of our investments abroad. The Kosovo Bank figures show that by the end of 2023, the stock of Albanian investments in Kosovo had a value of Euro 371 million. With this figure, Albania is by far the sixth largest investor in Kosovo.

Meanwhile, new flows of Albanian investments in Kosovo for the first three months of this year had a value of Euro 21.7 million, an increase of 29% compared to the same period last year.