USAID Support for Development of Albanian Capital Markets

Program Begins to Draft New Law on Investment Collective Funds & Regulation on Stock Exchange

TIRANA, JULY 14, 2008     A new law on investment funds, expected to pave the way for the development of capital and pensions markets in Albania, is currently being drafted with the support of USAID. In the coming weeks, USAID will also support other initiatives to pave the way for development of a private stock exchange in Albania by helping to write a regulation to govern the exchange.

USAID program, in partnership with the Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC), works to strengthen and enlarge Albania’s financial sector so that it is safer and sounder, better able to attract new sources of capital, and more efficient at deploying capital resources which already exist in the country. In the upcoming projects FSVC will utilize volunteers from to the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority who will provide expert analysis on the current legal and operating environment in Albania. The volunteers will also provide to Albanian counterparts recommendations throughout the process of drafting the investment fund law and the stock exchange regulation, as well as ensure that the legal documents comply with EU Directives.

This effort stems from a growing interest in the private sector for the development of the capital markets, desire for more investment opportunities in the country and the need for a functioning stock exchange.  In March 2008, the Securities Law was approved and the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) is working on regulations to liberalize investment opportunities in Albania.

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