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| Sahit Muja: Kosovo |
Kosovo fully integrated in the regional cooperation initiatives and ultimately into the European Union. Despite all the difficulties.
Kosovo has made astonishing progress.
The business environment in Kosovo is in many respects becoming the most competitive in the region.
For instance, Kosovo's tax system is excellent in both the simplicity of compliance and the low level of burden on enterprises.
Few countries in the world can outperform Kosovo's ability to register new businesses in only a couple of days.
Another advantage is a high degree of macroeconomic stability: inflation is close to zero, budgets legally must be balanced, the financial sector is strong, and there are no monetary policy uncertainties, as the Euro is the official currency in Kosovo.
The time is right to invest in Kosovo.
Whether through privatisation or new Greenfield investment, there are numerous investment opportunities in Kosovo. The business friendly environment and a very entrepreneurial people will highly contribute to any of your endeavours.
Kosovo is one of the wealthiest lands in natural resources per square mile in Europe.
With amazing mountains, rivers, forests, and rich soil.
Kosovo's economy has shown significant progress in transitioning to a market-based system and maintaining macroeconomic stability, but it is still highly dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. Privatization of the distribution and supply divisions of Kosovo Energy Corporation is also planned.
The official currency of Kosovo is the euro, but the Serbian dinar is also used in Serb enclaves. Kosovo's tie to the euro has helped keep core inflation low.
Kosovo has one of the most open economies in the region, and continues to work with the international community on measures to improve the business environment and attract foreign investment.
Kosovo has maintained a budget surplus as a result of efficient value added tax (VAT) collection at the borders and inefficient budget execution. In order to help integrate Kosovo into regional economic structures, UNMIK signed (on behalf of Kosovo) its accession to the Central Europe Free Trade Area (CEFTA) in 2006.
Kosovo has one of the largest coal reserves in the world, it also has huge reserves of bauxite, copper, zinc, lead, gold, aluminum, chrome ore, magnesium and other minerals worth at least one trillion dollars.
Lignite is of outstanding importance in Kosovo. It contributes 97% of the total electricity generation, with just 3% being based on hydropower. At 14,700 Mt, Kosovo possesses the world’s fifth-largest proven reserves of lignite.
The lignite is distributed across the Kosovo, Dukagjin and Drenica Basins, although mining has so far been restricted to the Kosovo Basin. The first systematic records of lignite exploitation date from 1922, when small-scale, shallow underground room-and-pillar mining commenced in the Kosovo Basin. Large-scale winning of lignite began with the first production from the Mirash (1958) and Bardh (1969) open-pit mines, using bucketwheel excavators.
Sahit Muja
President and CEO
Albanian Minerals
New York
