In the annual report of 2014, KURUM considered the company in Albania as
their most strategic foreign investment. Eight months after this
declaration, the company handed over a request for declaring bankruptcy.
The decision was unexpected not only for employees, but also for
authorities.
Kurum was one of the biggest companies in Albania, with 195 million EUR of revenues for 2014, the biggest steel producer in Balkan and one of the biggest exporters in Albania. But in the second half of 2015, Kurum started cutting the staff to 200, from 700 in total.
The bankruptcy request will affect the financing sector, not only the steel industry and exports. The company says they have more than 110 million EUR of loans, mainly from EBRD and IFC, but plenty come from local banks.
The Court of Tirana started reviewing the request for bankruptcy. The decision will be given in the days to come, but Albania will not be any longer the main producer of steel in the region, mostly due to the fierce competition from China, which sells it at a lower price.
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