Emigrants remittances plunge
15/09/2011 00:00
Linda Rama: Between Family, Work and Albania’s Future 18/08 14:30
The Crisis of the two neighboring countries, Greece and Italy, continues to hit the Albanian economy. Recent data from Bank of Albania show that the emigrants’ remittances,
which mainly come from these two countries, decreased during the first
semester with 13.7%, compared to one year ago.
According to the Bank, in the first six months of the year, the total remittances were 342 million EUR, or 47 million EUR less than during the first semester of last year.
This is one of the biggest plunges in yearly terms, almost the same with 2009, when the crisis was at its peak. The remittances are decreasing each year more. In the period January-June 2011, the Albanian emigrants sent 149 million EUR less than the same period of 2007.
Experts say that chances are that the remittances will continue to plunge. For them, another cause is the emigrants’ integration in the countries they work. From workers that fed their families in Albania, they have turned into citizens of other countries.
However, the serious problems of the Greek economy which is facing high unemployment level and the Italian uncertainties are shrinking the financial capitals that feed the Albanian economy.
Experts fear that besides the remittances, the foreign direct investments could also be affected, the main sources of which have historicallybeen the Greek and Italian companies. In the first semester of this year, the direct foreign investments were 302 million EUR, with a decrease of 7.6%, compared to one year ago.
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