UNMIK
on Air
“U.S.
Companies ready to invest in Kosovo”
September
2004
(Valon
A. Syla)
You
are listening to UNMIK on AIR,
Atmosphere:
Kosovo Welcomes You with applause:
Narration:
The United States Office in Pristina (USOP) organized a trade and investment
conference in late September with the aim of forging partnerships between U.S.
firms and Kosovo’s business sector. General Electric, Motorola from Israel, and
CISCO were among several major companies expressing interest. However, some
conference attendees say that investing in Kosovo is more complicated than they
expected.
Phillip
Goldberg, the U.S. office Head in Pristina opened the conference.
“For
our colleagues in Kosovo’s government and UN mission here you see around you a
self selecting group of interested investors, no one made them come here today,
they are here to see what Kosovo has to offer. In exchange they expect from you
and from us, every bit of assistance that we can get in helping their business
ventures to succeed.”
The
place were success is most likely, according to international companies
participating in the conference was in Energy, Mining and the Metal Processing
Sector. Agribusiness, Construction and the Hotel Industry also showed promise,
according to Ahmed Shala, co-manager of the Kosovo Trust Agency, the body
responsible for Kosovo’s privatization process.
During
the keynote speeches, Nicholas Lambsdorff the head of the European Union Pillar
explained to the investors the business environment in Kosovo.
“Kosovo is becoming a place that offers
great business opportunities, in many different economic sectors. With young a
premiere population, vast natural resources and a modern and continuously
improving business environment Kosovo is an excellent location for your
investment”
Despite
the advantages listed by Lambsdorff, international companies were not willing
to unveil concrete investment plans. They only expressed their fields of
interest, with the lone exception being the company - Services Group
International.
Shortly
after the conference, SGI signed an agreement with the Pristina municipality
called the “International Village,” which is described as a housing development
on 9 hectares of land near Pristina. The head of the company Skender Ghilaga,
an Albanian-American, says he plans to introduce a mortgage system there.
“Presently
Kosova has no mortgage system, we want to introduce a mortgage system similar
that we have in the states where by people who by homes will not have to pay
all cash. They will pay maybe 20 to 30 percent of a total amount and than the
balance will be paid over a period of a 15 years.”
Ghilaga
says his company will locate the best possible rates and give an opportunity
for more people to buy homes. He says
he hopes Kosovars will then use the remaining capital - not spent on the house
- to fuel other local business ventures.
According
to Pristina mayor Ismet Beqiri, the “international village” is the biggest real
estate deal the municipality has ever signed.
“This is the most serious project that has
begun to realize in municipality of Prishtina, and I hope that this is the
first step of which will lead to other projects which are foreseen on the urban
plan enforced by the assembly.”
As
Kosovo’s population has more than doubled since the end of the 1999 conflict,
the need for investment in urban affairs is even more relevant says Rob Gulick
the executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo. Gulick
was one of the conference organizers.
“I
think that is the first time that business community has got together in a same
place to talk about same issue. What we learned from this particular conference
is that there are companies…and they’re not small companies some fairly large
companies looking around very interested in Kosovo in various destinations, and
we hope to attract more in the future.”
Some
international companies who attended the conference said they plan to return
and begin marketing research – others said they would further develop the
business agreements that were signed with Kosovo’s business community. Still,
local businessman at the conference expressed a long-time hope that foreign
investment would slowly but gradually pick up the lagging Kosovo economy.
That was all for today’s edition of UNMIK on Air, thanks for listening and stay tuned for more business related news in upcoming editions.