Regional Conference in South East Europe

SESSION IV – Attracting Private Investment: The Importance of Business Environment Reform for Competitiveness

Investing in the Western Balkans: Foreign Investor Perceptions and Strategic Investment Decision Making (view presentation)
Predrag Mitrović
President, Montenegrin Employers Federation

The Role of the Private Sector in Business Environment Reform: Croatia's Experience with HITROREZ (view presentation)
Vedran Antoljak
Managing Director, Sense Consulting

Regulatory Reform in the Western Balkans: Improving the Quality of Regulations Affecting the Business Environment (view presentation)
Cesar Cordova-Novion, Director, Jacobs and Associates

Albania’s Economic Growth and Competitiveness: Strategy for Business Environment Reform (view video)
Suzana Guxholli
Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, Albania

Discussants:
Slobodanka Dubravac, Assistant to Minister, Ministry for Economic Affairs and Coordination, Republic of Srpska Government, BiH; Deputy Prime Minister, Government of the Republic of Srpska, BiH
Pavle Radovanović, Secretary General, Montenegrin Chamber of Commerce (view presentation)
Miroljub Krunić, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Finance and Treasury of BiH, BiH
Goran Salihović, President, Municipal Court of Sarajevo, BiH

Moderator
Camille Nuamah
Country Manager, World Bank, Albania

The ongoing financial crisis, whose consequences and scope have yet to be fully seen, poses a unique challenge for national and local economies seeking to attract and maintain a high level of private investments. Ms. Guxholli shared the experience of Albania, which was named one of top 10 reformers globally by the 2009 Doing Business report, and emphasized the importance of regional cooperation and learning in view of present challenges.
The presentation of results of the South East Europe Investor Perceptions Survey provided a closer look at how the region fares among investors. A key finding of the survey is the investors’ lack of awareness of business conditions in South East Europe, showing the region’s struggle for attention of investors. However, overall prospects are solid, as the same survey reports investors’ optimism about the region’s future attractiveness. Both existing and potential investors rank political stability and transport and communication infrastructure among top priorities for improving attractiveness of SEE, as well as placing EU economic and regulatory harmonization in the prominent second place of priorities.

The panel concluded that the importance of involving business in reform cannot be overstated, as the private sector is the beneficiary of reforms, and its evolving needs and expectations should act as a driving force for public sector reform.