5 hours agoWhy does Kosovo's economy need more investors like Yildirim Group, which bought Ferrnikli
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)For years Kosovo suffers from the need for foreign investors, who are seen as the only hope of changing Kosovo's economy, which has a highly distorted report between imports and exports. Increasing exports of local products and services remain one of the only real opportunities and more [...]
By 2021, things seem to have started to move smoothly despite the pandemic and energy crisis that began to emerge in the beginning. According to Kosovo Central Bank data published in January 2022, out of 31.1m euros in January 2021, the value of foreign direct investments had reached 67.1m euros, doubling.
In the second half of 2022, a large investor comes to Kosovo. The Istanbul-based international conglomerate Yildirim Group announced on June 7th that it has acquired all shares of the metallural giant in Kosovo “NewCo Ferronicli”, which was under the ownership of the investment group from Albania, Balfin.
The Yildirim Group's investment is one of the biggest investments this year, though details of the agreement between the two companies, which have agreed on the smooth transition of ownership, have not yet been made public.
“Y group ILDIRIM, an international conglomerate based in Turkey, has signed agreements on the purchase of the company “NewCo Ferrnikli”, one of the biggest Ferronikli producers in Europe.
All shares of the “All necessary measures have been taken for a smooth transition”, the company's announcement said.
Meanwhile, the company “NewCo Ferronikli”, located in Drenas, is one of the most important exporters, producers and employers for the state. Over the years, it has represented most of Kosovo's exports, reaching 30% of the country's overall exports. By employing about 900 employees directly and about 1,000 others indirectly, the company is the largest private investment in Kosovo's heavy industry. Also, Ferronikli is the second largest payment of the mining rent after KEK and one of the main assets of Kosovo's economy. Ferronikli, as one of the most successful companies in heavy metallurgy, presents the only opportunity to enable and employ various engineering frameworks at local universities, with which there is co-operation agreement, including Pristina University (UP).
However, the pandemic crisis and that of energy prices that came at the end of 2021 has hit the company as a high electricity consumer in international stock exchanges, forcing it to cut production for nearly seven months as a result of its inability to cope with the sixfold cost of electricity. This crisis required great management energy to keep workers in working relations up to better days.
The Yildirim Group comes with clear intentions to launch a new era for the Kosovo company, which was founded in 1984 as state-owned companies. In the advertising communiqué, it was said that the objective is for Ferronikli to turn into one of the most successful companies in Europe.
While the new owners have failed to reveal much detail about the plans, the possibilities are that through investments, the plant will launch commitment to activate the second line of production. The release of the second production line would result in increased number of workers. That would mean hundreds and possibly thousands of other jobs on the actual number of employees in the company.
Besides employment, increased production capacities would also contribute local production and exports, much needed for Kosovo's economy. Of course, the influence of investor Yildirim on the company itself “NewCo Ferrnikli”, as in the country's overall economy, will feel positive. It remains to be seen whether other investors, like Yildirim Group, will be headed by Kosovo over the following months.
