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The Regions This Week
February 23, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Southeast Europe
Four of the six aspiring EU members from the Western Balkans fell multiple places on Trans- parency International’s latest Corruption Per- ceptions Index. Macedonia — now ranked 16 places below its nearest neighbours — was the region’s worst performer after slumping 17 places from 90th on the 2016 index to 107th in 2017.
A former soldier named Dalibor Jaukovic threw
a grenade at the US embassy in Montenegro be- fore blowing himself up with a second device. The motive for the attack is not known.
Romania’s natural gas transport grid opera-
tor Transgaz bid to take over Greece’s DESFA
in partnership with Regasificadora Del Noroeste (Reganosa) and the EBRD. It has one rival, a con- sortium of Snam (Italy), Enagas (Spain) and Fluxys (Belgium), for the 66% stake in the Greek natural gas transmission system operator.
The European Commission will recommend launching launch EU accession negotiations with Albania and Macedonia, EU Enlargement Com- missioner Johannes Hahn said. Hahn said he believed both countries were qualified for the step after making reforms.
Serbia successfully completed its three-year IMF programme. The €1.2bn three-year precau- tionary stand-by arrangement was an important driver of Serbia’s economic progress and the thorny issue of public finances stabilisation.
Czech energy company CEZ approved the sale of its Bulgarian assets to local family-owned Iner- com Bulgaria. CEZ has been considering exiting Bulgaria for some time as it has endured long- lasting disputes with the authorities.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama caused a furore when he proposed a joint president for Albania and Kosovo at some point in the future. Rama’s controversial comment was criticised by the US and the European Commission.
Profits of Romanian banks reached a post-crisis record in 2017. The banking system realised ag- gregated net profits worth RON5.3bn or €1.16bn, which is close to the €1.17bn profit in 2008.
Slovenia’s biggest telco Telekom Slovenije abused its market position, the administra-
tive court said, ruling on a damages lawsuit filed by local competitor T-2. T-2 claimed Telekom Slovenije’s actions prevented it from successfully entering the internet services market.
International oil major Shell will invest $42.5mn in exploration in southern Albania over the next seven years. It is estimated that Albania has oil reserves of 220mn barrels and natural gas re- serves of 5.7bn cubic metres.
Companies in Croatia’s booming tourist sector started recruiting seasonal workers from near- by countries such as Bosnia and Kosovo ahead of this year’s summer season. Croatia’s tourism sector has been going from strength to strength recently, with tourist arrivals increasing by 13% in 2017.
Moldova reported strong industrial production growth in H2 2017. The industrial production index increased by 3.5% y/y in 2017 on average, according to data from Moldova’s statistics bureau BNS.
The IMF raised its forecast for Bulgaria’s eco- nomic growth this year to 3.8% from the previ- ously expected 3.6%. The fund said the main challenge the Bulgarian government faces is to translate economic recovery into sustained and inclusive growth and convergence with other EU countries.
Serbia deferred the start of RTB Bor’s privatisa- tion until the end of June. The copper mining and smelting complex is due to be sold off under an agreement with the IMF.