INVESTMENT CLIMATE REPORT: PART ONE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TIRANA 000053 SIPDIS STATE FOR EEB/IFD/OMA STATE FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EINV EFIN ETRD ELAB KTDB PGOV USTR OPIC SUBJECT: INVESTMENT CLIMATE REPORT: PART ONE TIRANA 00000053 001.6 OF 009 ¶A. OPENESS TO FOREIGN INVESTMENT Overview -------------- Albania is open to foreign investment and increasing FDI is a top priority for the Albanian government. Albania has put in place a liberal foreign investment regime, including a 10 percent flat corporate and income tax and has taken measures to improve the business climate by streamlining business procedures through e-government reforms. These improvements along with NATO membership and progress toward EU integration have contributed to the increase in investor interest during the last couple of years. Promising sectors for foreign investors and include: energy (including alternative energies),mining, transportation, telecommunications, and tourism. The country's geographic position places it at the crossroads of western and eastern Europe. A stable U.S. ally, Albania is a member of NATO, the WTO and is in the process of applying for candidate status in the European Union. Although FDI has increased during the last couple of years, it still remains among the lowest in the region with a significant part of it coming from privatizations. Despite progress in reforms the major factors hindering FDI seem to remain the same: widespread corruption, weak law enforcement, insufficiently defined property rights, lack of developed infrastructure, a sluggish government bureaucracy and frequent changes in the legal framework. Foreign companies continue to face significant challenges in entering the market, particularly in areas that touch on property rights. Despite advancements government bureaucracy and inefficiency greatly hampers the ability to hold successful, open and transparent government tenders. Legal Framework -------------- The legal framework to encourage investment is already in place. Law 7764 "On Foreign Investment," dated November 2, 1993, was designed to create a favorable investment climate for foreign investors in the country. The law offers considerable guarantees to all foreigners (either physical persons or legal entities) willing to invest in Albania. Such provisions include: -No prior government authorization is needed and no sector is closed to foreign investment. -There is no limitation on the percentage share of foreign participation in companies - 100 percent foreign ownership is possible. -Foreign investment may not be expropriated or nationalized directly or indirectly, except for designated special cases, in the interest of public use and defined by law. -Foreign investors have the right to expatriate all funds and contributions in kind of their investments. -Most favorable treatment for investors according to international agreements is also provided under Albanian law. There are limited exceptions to this liberal investment regime, most of which apply to broadcasting, health services and legal services. Restrictions on the purchase of real estate are also notable: agricultural land cannot be purchased by foreigners, but may be rented for up to 99 years; commercial property may be purchased, but only if the proposed investment is worth three times the price of the land. There are no restrictions on the purchase of private residential property. The key piece of legislation that addresses the activities of companies and establishes the type of legal structure under which companies may operate is the new law of 2008 "On Entrepreneurs and Commercial Companies," that replaced the law of 1992. The new law brings Albanian legislation in line with the EU's acquis communitaire and reflects amendments of other Albanian legislation like the Civil Code, the Law on National Business Registration Center, Labor Law, Law on Securities and other important laws. The most common type of organization for foreign investors is a limited liability company. Other forms of business entities allowed under the current law are joint stock companies, joint ventures, unlimited partnership, limited partnership and sole entrepreneur enterprises. Administrative and Judicial Overview -------------- The National Business Registration Center, functional since September 2007, serves as a one-stop-shop for business registration. Starting a business became easier with online publishing of forms and procedures, reduction of the registration cost, and the consolidation of tax, health insurance, and labor registration into a single application. Licensing for businesses has been streamlined TIRANA 00000053 002.6 OF 009 with the opening of the Business Licensing Center in July 2009. As a result, many licenses were abolished and a broad simplification of licensing procedures has been completed in many sectors including, mining, hydrocarbons, public works, health, agriculture and the environment. Albania's tax system does not discriminate against foreign investors and no distinction is made between foreign and domestic investors. The on-going reform in the sector aims at increasing the efficiency of the tax administration and reducing corruption. Albania has improved public procurement by approving a new law and introducing e-procurement. The new law takes into account the principles of non-discrimination and equal treatment, transparency, and legal protection of interests of bidders on public contracts. Direct tendering has been abolished and criteria to identify abnormally low bids have been introduced. The Public Procurement Advocate was established as an independent institution reporting to parliament. However, it has no particular executive powers and its functions duplicate the monitoring tasks of the PPA. Decisions on appeals are taken by the same unit of the PPA that is responsible for interpreting the law and giving advice to contracting authorities. Current procedures for handling complaints still do not meet recognized international standards. Despite progress, its application is hampered by technical problems, the insufficient IT capacity of many contracting authorities and corruption in drafting tender documents. Companies continue to experience issues with transparency in specifications and communication in competing for public tenders. Overall, the improvements in the public procurement legislation are advancing while the proper enforcement of the law is still a work in progress. Privatizations & Concessions Overview -------------- The law "On Concessions," No. 9663, dated December 18, 2006, established the necessary framework for promoting and facilitating the implementation of privately financed concessionary projects enhancing transparency, fairness, efficiency and long-term sustainability in the development of infrastructure and public service projects. One of its major amendments includes a better regulation for unsolicited proposals and of public-private partnerships in general. The law applies to a wide range of sectors, including: a) transport (railway system, rail transport, ports, airports, roads, tunnels, bridges,parking facilities, public transport); b) generation and distribution of electricity and heating; c) production and distribution of water, treatment, collection distribution and administration of waste water, irrigation, drainage, cleaning of canals, dams; d) collection, transfer, processing and administration of solid waste; e) telecommunication; f) education and sport; g) health; h) tourism and culture; i) prison infrastructure; j) recycling projects, rehabilitation of land and forests, in industrial parks, housing,governmental buildings, service of maintenance of IT and data base infrastructure; k) natural gas distribution; l) management contracts or provision of public services including those related tosectors specified above. In order to promote investments in priority sectors the GOA may offer concessions to local or international investors for the symbolic price of one euro. The GOA, with the approval of the Minister of Economy, authorizes concessions in other sectors besides the ones listed above. The law does not apply to concessions that require a separate operating license unless that is included in the framework of the concession agreement. The privatization process of the past 19 years has almost come to an end with only a few large privatizations remaining. Privatization forms include public auctions and public tenders. Following some large privatizations which were finalized in 2009, the GOA will most likely start the procedures for the privatization of 100 percent of the state-owned insurer INSIG (following the failure of negotiations with the winner in early 2009 for the sale of 61 percent of the shares, EBRD and IFC exercised the put option for their 39 percent and GOA became the owner of 100 percent of the INSIG shares.) In addition, the GOA has announced its intention to fully privatize Albpetrol, the state-owned company that manages and administers all the existing gas and oil fields in Albania. The TIRANA 00000053 003.4 OF 009 company also has the right to sign petroleum agreements with interested parties for the existing gas and oil fields. In addition, the GOA will also privatize through an auction the 16 percent of state owned shares of the fixed line monopoly Albtelecom. The GOA does not screen foreign investments and the United States enjoys a popular image in Albania. Both the business community and public generally welcome American firms and their products. Companies interested in entering the Albanian market should contact Albanian Business and Investment Agency Albinvest. Albinvest provides direct assistance to investors, promotes SMEs, Albanian exports and FDI. Albanian Business and Investment Agency (ALBINVEST) Blv. "Gjergj Fishta", Pall. Shallvareve, Tirana, Albania tel: +355 4 252 886; fax: +355 4 222 341 e-mail: info@albinvest.gov.al [www.albinvest.gov.al] International Indicators -------------- "Doing Business 2010," a report of the World Bank and IFC that evaluates the regulations affecting ten areas of everyday business and assesses ease and equal opportunity for businesses in 183 economies. Albania has continuously moved up in their rankings as highlight below. Albania has also improved its ranking on its MCC scorecard and for the first time passed the median score for control of corruption for its class. However, there has been a slight decrease in Transparency International's corruption index for Albania. In June 2007, Moody's Investors Service assigned Albania its first-ever sovereign rating of 'Ba1' for foreign-currency bonds and an issuer rating of 'B1' for debt obligations of the government. Despite the fact that Albania was rated below its neighbors Macedonia and Montenegro, an international sovereign credit rating was considered as a recognized benchmark for international financial institutions that Albania could be judged by internationally accepted standards. In December 2009, despite the global financial crises, Moody maintained its rating of GOA debt at B1 and forecasted a stable outlook for the future. TI Corruption Index:2009=3.20, 2008=3.40, 2007=2.90 Heritage Economic Freedom:2009=63.70, 2008=63.30, 2007=61.38 World Bank - Ease of Doing Business(rank):2010=82.00, 2009=86.0, 2008=135.00, 2007=120.00 (All MCC are ranked as above/below median of zero and are for fiscal year noted) MCC Government Effectiveness: 2010= 0.08, 2009=0.00, 2008=-0.15, 2007=-0.33 MCC Rule of Law: 2010=-0.24, 2009=-0.22, 2008=-0.20,2007=-0.47 MCC Control of Corruption: 2010=0.09, 2009=-0.12, 2008=-0.30, 2007=-0.34 MCC Fiscal Policy: 2010=-4.20, 2009=-3.60, 2008=-3.98, 2007=-4.41 MCC Trade Policy: 2010=85.80, 2009=75.80, 2008=63.20, 2007=57.40 MCC Regulatory Quality: 2010=0.60, 2009=0.24, 2008=0.01, 2007=-0.01 MCC Business Start Up: 2010=0.98, 2009=0.97, 2008=0.97, 2007=0.39 MCC Lands Rights Access: 2010=0.87, 2009=0.81, 2008=0.73, 2007=n/a MCC Natural Resource Management: 2010= 97.29, 2009=79.65, 2008=79.43 2007=n/a ¶B. CONVERSION AND TRANSFER POLICIES The Bank of Albania (BOA) formulates, adopts and implements the foreign exchange policy of Albania and maintains a supervisory role in foreign exchange activities in accordance with the Law On the Bank of Albania No. 8269 dating 1997 amended in July 2002, the Banking Law No. 9662 dating December 206 which regulates the operation of commercial banks, and the Regulation on Foreign Exchange Activities (FX Regulation). Currency -------------- The Albanian currency, the lek, is freely convertible at banks and exchange bureaus. The Albanian foreign investment law guarantees the right to transfer and repatriate profits from Albania into freely usable currency and at a market-clearing rate. Foreign exchange is easily found at a legal market-clearing rate. Most transactions are carried out in cash and both the dollar and euro are legally and commonly used. The lek follows a floating free regime. After remaining quite stable versus the Euro and appreciating against the US dollar, in 2009 it lost ground on both. It has depreciated almost TIRANA 00000053 004.4 OF 009 13% against the Euro from January to the end of 2009 and to a lesser degree against the US dollar due to the U.S. currency fluctuations in the international market. The average exchange rate for the U.S. dollar in 2008 was $1= 90.1 while in 2009 it was $1= 95.1. For the euro the average exchange rate in 2008 was 1=122.5 lek and in 2009 1=131.4. Foreign Exchange Regulations -------------- As a general rule, the Banking Law does not impose any restrictions on the purchase, sale, holding, or transfer of monetary foreign exchanges. However, the Law on the BOA authorizes it to temporarily restrict the purchase, sale, holding, or transfer of foreign exchanges if the BOA so decides, in order to preserve the foreign exchange rate or its official reserves. In practice, the BOA has not used such measures in an overly restrictive manner and aims to achieve European standards for banking systems. In 2009, BOA tightened supervision rules over liquidity transfers by domestic banks to their foreign mother banks due to the financial global crisis, the widespread lack of liquidity in the international banking sector and its negative effects over the domestic market. Under the FX Regulation, foreign exchange transactions are those involving the exchange, purchase or sale of foreign currency in cash through a personal account or that of a third party, including the repayment of a loan in a currency different from the one in which the loan was granted or accepted. Foreign exchange transfers abroad can only be carried out by licensed entities (domestic banks, foreign bank branches and foreign exchange offices) that are required to report their foreign exchange activities to the BOA regularly. These entities are also obliged to complete and keep all documentation required for transfers abroad Although the FX Regulation provides that residents and non-residents may transfer capital within and into Albania without any restrictions, capital transfers out of the territory of Albania are subject to certain documentation requirements. Physical persons must submit a request indicating the reasons for the capital transfer, the amount of capital transferred outside the territory of Albania, and the address to which the capital is to be transferred. Such persons must also submit a declaration on the source of the funds to be transferred. Legal entities must submit a request setting forth the reason for the capital transfer, the source of the funds, the amount to be transferred, and the address to which the capital is to be transferred; a document from the foreign entity explaining this transfer (if such a document exists); the decision by the legal entities' relevant decision-making body on carrying out the capital transfer; the legal entities' registration decision; and, a certificate issued by the tax office certifying that the legal entities has settled its tax obligations toward the tax authorities. In May 2008, Parliament passed a new law "On Money Laundering and Terror Financing," which lowers the threshold for reporting financial transactions to the FIU from the current $20,000 to $15,000 for cash transactions (thereby ensuring compliance with EU standards). Both Albanian and foreign citizens entering or leaving the country must declare assets in excess of Lek 1, 000,000 (approx USD 10,000) in hard currency and/or precious items. Failure to declare such assets is considered a criminal act and punishable by confiscation of the assets and detention. ¶C. EXPROPRIATION AND COMPENSATION In the post-communist period, expropriation has been limited to land needed for infrastructure projects, such as roads and airports. However, compensation has generally been below market value and some owners have complained publically about the slow compensation process and low payments. The restitution process of properties confiscated during the communist regime started in 1993 and is heading towards its completion after multiple postponements. Critics charge that the process and several cases have been mishandled due to corruption and the process has been stalled due to lack of political will. Several U.S. citizens and residents have long-running disputes with the government regarding restitution for property. Many property cases end up in the courts and drag on for years without a final decision. In 2006 the Albanian Parliament amended the July 2004 law on property compensation and restitution. The law aimed to give a new impetus to the process that was stalled for some time and to resolve any competing land ownership claims resulting from communist-era expropriation of land. Since 2006, GOA has twice extended the TIRANA 00000053 005.4 OF 009 deadline for filing property claims. The final deadline was July 2009 and currently the only way to file a claim is through a court decision. In December 2009, Parliament approved a new law which extended the deadline for claims review from the National Agency for Restitution and Compensation to December 2011. This should mark the end of the restitution process for the entire process but is not expected to be fully over to 2014. The GOA has presented three methods of compensation for expropriation claims: 1) restitution, 2) compensation of property with similarly valued land in a different location, and 3) cash settlement/financial compensation. In 2007 and 2008, the GOA distributed a total of $10 million in financial compensation. In 2009, the amount increased to $13 million but it is still considered inadequate given the large number of compensation requests. The Restitution and Compensation Agency has completed the property valuation mapping for the entire country in order to move forward with the compensation process. Physical compensation has not started yet despite GOA claims that it has identified public assets to be used for this purpose. ¶D. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT The Government of Albania has made efforts to handle investment disputes in an appropriate manner but issues continue to hamper effective resolution of disputes. The judicial system is viewed by the business community to be slow and inefficient in its handling of investment disputes. Albania has signed major arbitration agreements and is legally obligated to enforce international and domestic arbitration agreements. Legal System -------------- Albania has a civil law system similar to that of most other European countries. The Albanian Constitution provides for a clear separation of legislative, executive and judicial branches, thus sanctioning the independence of the judiciary. Civil Procedure in Albania is governed by the Civil Procedure Code enacted in 1996. The civil court system consists of District Courts as the first instance courts, appellate courts as the second instance courts, and the Supreme Court, as the third instance court. Outside of the court system, there is another special court, namely the Constitutional Court which, upon request, reviews whether laws or subsidiary legislation are in compliance with the Constitution and also protects and enforces constitutional rights of citizens and legal entities. The District Courts are organized in special sections for adjudication; family disputes, commercial disputes and the section for administrative disputes. Parties may appeal the judgment of the first instance courts within 15 days while the Appellate Court judgments might be appealed within 30 days to the Supreme Court. Albania does not have a commercial code, legislation is encapsulated in a series of commercial laws. Relevant laws include; Foreign Investment Act, Commercial Companies Law, Bankruptcy Law, Environmental Law, Corporate and Municipal Bonds, Transport Law, Maritime Law, Secured Transactions Law, Employment Law, Taxation Procedures Law, and of specific industries Banking Law, Insurance and Reinsurance Law, Concessions Law, Mining Law, Energy Law, Water Resources Law, Waste Management Law, Excise Law, Oil and Gas Law, Gambling Law, Telecommunications Law, Value Added Law, Sports Law, etc Albanian have enacted and introduced laws and subsidiary legislation in respect to property rights and contract rights. The courts and the court bailiffs are the authorities empowered by law to (i) issue the writ of execution and (ii) enforce in practice the claims of parties described in the writ of execution. According to the Albanian Civil Procedure Code foreign court judgments are recognized and enforced by the Court of Appeal in a summary proceeding. Bankruptcy -------------- Bankruptcy is governed by Law 8901, dated May 23, 2002, "On Bankruptcy" amended in May 2008. It is similar in organization to German bankruptcy law. The Bankruptcy Law, as amended, aims at finding a proper solution through the reorganization or liquidation of insolvent businesses. It sets out non-discriminatory and mandatory rules for the repayment of the obligations by a debtor in a bankruptcy procedure. The new insolvency law established time limits during insolvency, professional qualifications for insolvency administrators, and an Agency of Insolvency Supervision to regulate insolvency administrators. A simplified insolvency procedure for small businesses was introduced as well. In reality, the law on the bankruptcy has reportedly never been utilized and there have been no TIRANA 00000053 006.4 OF 009 bankruptcy procedures so far. Generally, there exists only a voluntary liquidation procedure. Arbitration -------------- The Government of Albania accepts binding international arbitration clauses in specific investment agreements, and in many cases it has been a party to arbitration disputes in foreign or international arbitration tribunals, as agreed in the investment agreements. Albanian has signed and ratified the New York Convention. In order to have a settlement recognized a case must be brought before the Court of Appeals in order to have the order to enforce directed to the court bailiffs. This is necessary because winning parties cannot directly communicate with bailiffs to enforce settlements/awards. A new law on commercial arbitration is still in draft form and aims at regulating all domestic and international arbitration procedures and transposes the provisions of UNCITRAL Model law, which in its turn incorporates comprehensively the New York Convention provisions. This means that to date international proceedings arbitration can be conducted based on the aforementioned ratified international conventions. Domestic arbitration continues to be governed by the provisions on the Civil Code Procedure which is more or less in line with UNCITRAL arbitration. There is a private arbitration centre (MEDART),a service center established under a World Bank funded legal and judicial reform project in 2001. An alternative to the dispute settlement via the courts in Albania is private arbitration or mediation. Parties can engage in arbitration when they have agreed to arbitrate according to a Dispute Resolution clause integrated in the original agreement, or through a separate Arbitration Agreement or by mutual agreement at any time when the dispute is evidenced. Legislation distinguishes arbitration of international disputes from arbitration of domestic disputes in that the parties involved in an international dispute may agree to settle through either a domestic or foreign arbitration tribunal. Under the Albanian Constitution, ratified international agreements prevail over the domestic legislation. Albania has signed and ratified the 1966 Convention "On the Settlement of Investment Disputes" between States and Nationals of Other States (Washington Convention) as well as the Convention of 1958 "On the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards" (New York Convention). It has also ratified the 1927 Convention and the European Convention on Arbitration (Geneva Convention). ¶E. Performance Requirements and Incentives Albanian law generally does not establish performance requirements or detailed incentives for foreign investors. One important exception concerning performance requirements is the investment requirement relating to the purchase of commercial property by foreigners. Such a purchase can be made only if the investor plans to improve the value of the property by three times the purchase price. Legal incentives include: - Equal treatment of foreign and domestic investors - Full profit and dividend repatriation (after taxation) - Funds from the liquidation of a company may be repatriated - Bilateral agreements on the promotion and protection of reciprocal investments - Double taxation treaties In order to attract FDI, the GOA has applied a set of liberal fiscal policies and has developed incentives for investors that include: - Reduction of corporate tax from 20 to 10 percent as of January 2008; - Reduction of the fiscal burden of social security contributions payable by employers from percent to 15 percent as of May 2009 - Tax exemption of dividends designated for investments. - Importers of machinery and equipment are eligible for VAT deferral if the machinery and equipment will solely serve its taxable economic activity (Instruction of the Minister of Finances No.3, dated 30.01.2006.) - Apparel producers are exempt from VAT on raw materials as long as the finished product is exported. This is based on Law 7928, dated April 27, 1995, "On Value Added Tax," Article 25/6. - Subsidized leases of state-owned premises: Investors are eligible to lease state-owned property such as land or buildings at rents below market rates. In the case of production activities, the level of rent reduction will be made according to the level of investment made and the number of new jobs created. This is based on the decree of the Council of Ministers, No. 315, dated April 24, 2006 TIRANA 00000053 007.6 OF 009 "On the leasing of state enterprises and institution's property." - Incentives are regulated by Law 9374, dated April 21, 2005, "On State Aid," for the implementation of important projects, to facilitate the development of specific economic activities, and to promote national culture and heritage conservation. "On State Aid" applies to all sectors of manufacturing and services and all measures undertaken by central and local government, as well as other entities acting on behalf of the state, that confer benefits to particular enterprises, except those acting in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. Energy Sector Incentives -------------- Investors establishing new, or rehabilitating existing power generation plants with an installed power capacity of more than 5 MW using liquid or solid combustibles, are entitled to an exemption of custom duties on imported machinery and equipment used in the capital investment. They can also be reimbursed for the customs and excise duties paid on the import of liquid or solid combustibles used in the production of electric energy. This is based on Law 8987, dated December 24, 2002, "For the creation of facilitated conditions, concerning the establishment of new plants for the production of electric energy." The law on concessions established the necessary framework for promoting and facilitating the implementation of privately financed concessionary projects enhancing transparency, fairness, efficiency and long-term sustainability in the development of infrastructure and public service projects. It aims to better regulate unsolicited proposals and the public-private partnership in general. The law applies to a wide-range of sectors. There are not excessively onerous visa, residence, or work permit requirements, or any similar requirements inhibiting foreign investors' mobility. There are no discriminatory or preferential export policies and import policies affecting foreign investors. There are no requirements in Albania for foreign investors to purchase from local sources or to export a certain percentage of the output. One of the non-tariff barriers which reportedly is one of the major concerns of the business community are the reference prices (alternately called market p `Q Qermits p may be purchased, but onlyie land. There are no restrictions on the purchase of private residential property. Both foreign and domestic investors continue to experience significant issues in resolving property disputes arising from unclear or incomplete documentation. Foreigners can acquire concession rights on natural resources and on resources of the common interest, as defined by the law on concessions. For some business operations licenses are needed. The National Licensing Center (NLC) became functional on July 2009 and the center serves as a one stop shop for business licenses. More information on the types of licenses and application procedures can be found at www.qkl.gov.al Based on the Law No. 9723, dated 03.05.2007 "National Registration Center" and following the opening of the National Registration Center for Businesses (NRC) on September 2007, business entities can be registered in a single place and in one day for one euro. More information on NCR can be found at www.qkr.gov.al . Both NLC and NRC were established with assistance from the Millennium Challenge Corporation Albania Threshold Program, as e-government initiatives, and save investors valuable time in establishing and carrying out business operations, while also increasing transparency and reducing tunities for corruption. Business Types -------------- The foreign and domestic investors have numerous options available for organizing business operations in Albania. According to the new Law No. 9901, dated April 14, 2008 "On Entrepreneurs and Commercial TIRANA 00000053 008.4 OF 009 Companies" ("Commercial Law") and Law No. 9723, dated 03.05.2007 "On National Registration Center", the legal types of business entities that can be registered with NRC are as follows: Entrepreneur The Sole Entrepreneur trades under his own name and such trade must be registered as a business name. Individuals interested in establishing this type of business should file an application and an identification document with the NRC in the district where the business will be conducted. The application form includes the identification data, address, type of business and exemplar of the sole proprietor's signature. Unlimited Partnership All partners are unlimitedly and jointly liable for the debts of the entity. Creditors can claim against a partner for the debts of the partnership, only if they have failed in their claims against the partnership as a whole. In unlimited partnerships, the partners are all considered administrators of the partnership, unless the contrary is stipulated in the bylaws. Each partner represents the partnership with third parties. An unlimited partnership should issue annual financial reports. The rights, duties and obligations of partners are governed by written bylaws, which should be filed with the National Registration Center Limited Partnership A limited partnership, which is seldom used in practice, consists of one or more general partners (unlimited) with unlimited liability and one or more limited partners whose liability is limited to the amount of their agreed contributions of the initial capital. A limited partner may not take part in the management of the partnership even if he is given a proxy, otherwise he incurs unlimited liability. The Articles of Incorporation of the limited partnership should contain: - The total amount or value of the contributions of all partners; - The amount or value of the contribution made by each general or unlimited partner; - The percentage of the participation of all general partners and of each limited partner in the partnership's profits and in the remaining value after its dissolution. - All decisions are made in conformity with the Articles of Incorporation. Limited Liability Company (Shpk) This is the most common legal form of conducting business in Albania. Its members enjoy limited liability and, unless the articles of the bylaws provide otherwise, members have the right to transfer their shares to other persons, upon decision of three fourths of the shareholders. It can be established by one or more partners, legal or natural persons, who are responsible for losses only to the extent of their contribution to the capital of the company. The minimum required capital for this form of company is approximately $1 USD. The capital is divided into shares and there are no mandatory requirements for their nominal value. The contributions to capital can be in cash or in any asset, tangible or intangible. The law does not permit contributions in services. Administrators nominated through the General Assembly of the shareholders manage the limited liability company. Extraordinary decisions, increases or decreases in the share capital, mergers and acquisitions are to be approved by at least three quarters of the capital shareholders. The law requires annual financial statements to be prepared by the company. The transformation of this form of business into unlimited and limited partnership is subject to decision of general assembly of the shareholders that takes valid decisions upon majority vote of 3/4 of shareholders and after approval of financial statements for the last two years. Joint Stock Company Its capital is divided into shares, with shareholders held responsible for losses only to the extent of their contribution to the capital. The minimum initial capital required is ALL 2 million for companies with no public offering, and ALL 10 million for public offerings. The Commercial Law provides for the adoption by joint stock companies of a flexible administration system. This type of companies may choose to adopt either the "monistic" system (with a board of directors/administrators conducting both management and supervising functions) or the "dualistic" system (with board of directors/administrators and supervisory board conducting supervising functions). The supervisory council exercises control over the board of director's performance. This council should have not less than 3 and not more than 21 members. The capital is fully subscribed when the partners have promised to bring assets to the TIRANA 00000053 009.4 OF 009 company in cash or in kind for an amount equaling the capital. In the moment of the subscription, at least one quarter of the nominal value of the shares representing contributions in cash must be paid in. Payment of the remaining value shall be made in installments upon the decision of the management bodies of the company. Shares of contributions in kind must be fully paid in at the moment of subscribing. The law does not permit contributions in services. The shares of a joint stock company may be ordinary or privileged Branches and Representative Offices Under the Commercial Law, a foreign investor can also operate in Albania through a branch or representative office. The branch or representative office should be registered in the National Registration Center and should have a legal representative empowered by the head office to administer the office. For tax purposes, the branch is treated in the same manner as an Albanian entity. Joint Ventures Albanian legislation recognizes the joint ventures under the term of simple company, since it is based on an agreement only and no legal personality is granted to this partnership. Joint ventures are foreseen by the provisions of the Civil Code (articles 1074 -1112) and may be concluded by two or more persons, whether individuals or legal entities, foreign or national, agreeing to engage in an economic activity in order to share profits deriving there from. There is no minimum capital requirement. Partners are liable to perform the contributions provided in the contract. Unless otherwise agreed, every partner may take part in the management of the partnership and has full power to carry out any acts which are within the scope of the partnership. Every partner is entitled to receive its share of the profits after the accounts have been approved, unless otherwise agreed. Partners are jointly responsible for fulfilling the obligations imposed upon them by law and by the partnership agreement; unless they prove they were not at fault. PLEASE SEE FOLLOW-ON CABLE FOR PART 2 WITHERS