Albanian investments abroad fall in the first half of the year

Albanian investments abroad fell for the second consecutive quarter.

According to data from the Bank of Albania, in the second quarter of the year Albanian investments abroad fell to €80 million, 12% less than the same period of 2025.

Meanwhile, cumulative data for the first half of 2026 show that the value of Albanian companies’ investments abroad dropped to €143 million, 18.3% less than the same period a year earlier.

For the most part, Albanian investments are direct contributions to the capital of controlled companies abroad. These capital injections accounted for more than 42% of the new flow of Albanian investments abroad in the first half of 2026.

The rest consists of reinvested earnings of Albanian companies in their subsidiaries located abroad or loans by Albanian shareholders to them.

The net balance of foreign direct investment for the first half of 2026 was negative, for a total value of €1 billion. A negative balance in the foreign investment account means that incoming foreign direct investment into Albania remains much higher compared to Albanian investments abroad.

This negative balance widened by 71% compared to the same period a year earlier. This happened because this year foreign investment in Albania has grown at high rates, especially in the second quarter, against the decline of Albanian investments abroad.

Statistical data on Albanian enterprises’ investments abroad are not detailed for their geographical or sectoral distribution.

However, it is a known fact that several of the most important Albanian business groups have been diversifying their geographical presence for years, making considerable investments abroad.

Until a few years ago, investments went mainly to neighboring regional markets. But in recent years Albanian businesses are also investing considerable sums in Western European and U.S. markets.

Data from the Central Bank of Kosovo (BQK) provide information on Albanian investments in Kosovo, which is estimated to be the country with the highest concentration of our investments abroad.

BQK figures show that by the end of March 2026, the stock of Albanian investments in Kosovo was worth €605 million, up 23.5% year-on-year. With this figure, Albania is the fifth-largest investor in Kosovo. The investments are concentrated mainly in the real estate sector, the financial sector and the extractive industry.