Foreign investors focus on the property market - Real estate, finance and energy top the list of most funded sectors

Compared to the first quarter of 2025, Albania has managed to attract more foreign investment even in early 2026. The latest data from the Bank of Albania show that the flow of foreign direct investment reached a figure of 404 million euros in the first quarter of 2026, up from 361 million euros in the same period a year earlier.
This shows that the country is becoming an attractive "pole" for foreign investments from year to year. However, if we make a calculation between quarters, the investment flow decreased by about 5.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, when it reached 427 million euros.
But which sectors have absorbed the most investment?
Real estate continues to hold the "throne" of investments. In the first quarter of 2026, this sector absorbed 172 million euros of foreign investments, followed by the financial and insurance activities sector with 68 million euros, the electricity, gas and water supply sector with 38 million euros, and the processing industry with 30 million euros.
Despite remaining among the sectors with the highest value of foreign investments, financial and insurance activities have seen a decrease in flow compared to the same period a year ago, from 75 to 68 million euros. Meanwhile, the wholesale and retail trade, repair of vehicles and motorcycles sector has fallen from 31 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 26 million euros in the first quarter of 2026.
Even in the first quarter of 2026, education, other service activities, agriculture, forestry and fishing result without foreign investment, while transport and storage, health and social work activities, as well as arts, entertainment and recreation, continue to attract very low levels of investment.
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