Од 2007 досега 5 години толку да се градеше и инвестираше, народот ќе видеше аир од стандард до се по список. Пак сме најдолу од животен стандард до безбедност, корумпираност. Овие листи кои некои луѓе ги сметаат за успех невиден, ме потсеќа на една изрека од Лет -не јебе леп него упоран.
За потсетување
Macedonia's foreign investment weakness
11.05.10 @ 09:46
In the World Bank's last report "Doing business," Macedonia is ranked third in the world in implementing reforms to improve the business climate.
Skopje:
where is the foreign money? (Photo: Martin Schroeder)
But the question remains
whether Macedonian citizens and its economy actually benefit from the ranking.
People are asking where is the foreign investment that would reduce the 35 percent rate of unemployment?
As Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski was in Washington last month to receive the regional reform award in the World Bank, the foreign business community in the country gave an answer as to why Macedonia is last among South East European countries when it comes to attracting foreign direct investments.
Legal uncertainty, an inefficient public administration, poor transport and energy infrastructure and corruption are the biggest obstacles preventing companies from investing and thus contributing to a recovery of the Macedonian economy.
Macedonia last year recorded €180 million of foreign direct investment (FDI),
only €81 per capita.
Croatia is doing much better with €1.8 billion
or €410 per capita, as are
Serbia (€1.9 billion/€
256 per capita),
Montenegro (€800 million/€
1,230 per capita ) and
Bosnia and Herzegovina (€452 million/€
122 per capita).
The global financial and economic crisis is named as a major reason for the foreign investment drought.
But apart from that, the business climate is simply not developed sufficiently for a serious foreign company to invest.
"When investors learn about the country and show initial interest, first they discuss with their colleagues already present in the market. If they get a positive signal of a good business environment, they don't need advertisement campaigns," said Dan Donchev, an economic analyst.
According to Mr Donchev, the experience of previous investors is mainly negative. This poor reputation spreads quickly.
The President of the European Business Association, Gunther Ofner, who is also chairman of the administrative board of EVN Macedonia, a company owned by Austria's energy company EVN, thinks that now is the time to implement reforms and move forward.
"A key factor for recovery of the Macedonian economy is the legal framework that allows companies to invest in a predictable and transparent way. It should not be an obstacle but an opportunity for strengthening the interaction between business and government," he said.
Corruption, lack of transparency at the conclusion of contracts, failure to ensure legal security and the poor work of the judiciary are also hampering FDI, non-governmental organisations working in the field warn.
Justice Minister Mihajlo Manevski said the government continues to work on providing security for economic operators and simplifying administrative procedures. "We are working on the red tape and we have already removed many regulations that were an obstacle for the economy," he said.
According to data from the National Bank of Macedonia, in the first month of 2010, Macedonia attracted only €24 million in foreign direct investment - a disaster for the right-of-centre government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
In 2006, the first year in office of the current ruling coalition, more investment flowed into the country than under the previous government.
But the high target figure of €1.2 billion was never achieved, despite expensive advertisements in influential international newspapers and television programmes.
They deflated as quickly as the huge red balloon with the inscription "Invest In Macedonia" that floated over the government buildings in Skopje.
Skopje: where is the foreign money? (Photo: Martin Schroeder)
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