BALFIN Group (Balkan Finance Investment Group) is an Albanian private investment group and one of the largest private investment groups in Western Balkans and some countries of the European Union. It owns some of the largest companies in Albania.[3]
BALFIN is a diversified group active in real estate, wholesale and retail, banking, asset management, tourism, education, and logistics. The Group employs approximately 5,000 people, and is a major player[4] in the Albanian[5] and international markets operating in ten countries.
History
The beginnings of Balfin Investment Group started in 1993 in Vienna, where Samir Mane founded Alba-Trade. Having started with the trade of electronic devices, soon the BALFIN Group, created by Mane managed to create the largest network of electronics stores in Albania, Neptun and then extending the network in the neighboring countries of Kosovo and Macedonia. Neptun's chain of stores was positioned from the beginning in 1993 as the main electronics player in the Albanian market supplying the demand with the best brands and latest technology. Today this business created by Mane counts 28 stores in Albania and more than 27 in Kosovo and North Macedonia.[6]
In 2005, Balfin Group built QTU, the first shopping center, revolutionizing the way that Albanians used to shop. In 2011, Balfin Group built a second shopping center TEG, the most modern and biggest shopping center in Albania and the region. In the same year, Jumbo Albania, the largest toy store in the Balkans became part of BALFIN Group.
From 2005 until 2011, several companies were created or became part of BALFIN Group such as: Fashion Group ALBANIA, ACREM, FoodWay, Elektro-Servis.
In 2012, Balfin Group started building Tirana Logistic Park, designed to provide services not only to Albanian businesses, but primarily offering an international standard service. Immediately after starting the construction of this important project, Balfin Group concluded one of the most important investments of the group abroad, Skopje City Mall, which was sold a few years later.
In 2013, Balfin Group acquired 100% the shares of ACR Holding, which is now called AlbChrome. AlbChrome is the leader in the mining and metallurgy industry in Albania, the Balkans and the second largest in Europe.
In 2015, Balfin Group started the construction of Green Coast Resort & Residences, the first premium resort located on Caesar's Beach in Palasa, Albania. The beachfront Resort has finished delivering the villas built in the first and second phase and is now constructing phase 3 and 4 (Final) including a 5 star international brand hotel.
REAL ESTATE – Balfin Group started the activity in the field of construction in the early of 2000, first focusing on the construction of residential and commercial areas in Albania. Latter the Group expanded its activity in the construction of Commercial and Industrial areas, elite and tourism projects not only in Albania, but also in North Macedonia, Austria etc.
In the same year AgroCon Albania was established, developing its activity in the field of agriculture for the production of agricultural products, wholesale and retail of agricultural products in Albania and abroad. SPAR became part of Balfin in 2016, intending major investment and an expansion of SPAR in Albania. A joint venture established by Milsped and Balfin Group in 2017, Stella Mare, is representative of Maersk Line Company, the largest group of shipping containers in the world, offering its services in Albania.
Balfin Group continued to expand even in 2018 when Skopje East Gate (SEG), which was established in 2017, announced a large investment in North Macedonia, including a shopping center, and several blocks of residential and business complexes.[7]
In 2018, Balfin Group concluded the acquisitions of Dyqan Taxi, the largest online retailer in Albania, NewCo Ferronikeli, the largest exporter of Kosovo and one of the largest producers of nickel in Europe, and Tirana Bank, the first private bank in Albania.
North Macedonia is a country situated in southeastern Europe with geographic coordinates 41°50′N22°00′E, bordering Kosovo and Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. The country is part of the wider region of Macedonia and makes up most of Vardar Macedonia. The country is a major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Southern Europe and the Aegean Sea. North Macedonia is a landlocked country but has three major natural lakes: Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Lake Dojran. It has a water area of 857 km2, while its land area is 24,856 km2.
Skopje is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. Skopje lies in the Skopje Basin.
Transport in Albania consists of transport by land, water and air, which are predominantly under the supervision of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Albania. The development and improvement of the transport in the country remains among the most important priorities of the Government of Albania.
The National Liberation Army, also known as the Macedonian UÇK was an ethnic Albanian militant and separatist militia that operated in the Republic of Macedonia in 2001 and was closely associated with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Following the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia, it was disarmed through the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which gave greater rights and autonomy to the state's Macedonian Albanians.
The Šar Mountains or Sharr Mountains is a mountain range extending from southern Kosovo, to northwestern North Macedonia, to northeastern Albania. The sections in Kosovo, and in North Macedonia are national parks. Rugged and barren, the mountains are among the highest in the Balkans, with 30 peaks higher than 2,500 m (8,202 ft).
The Drin is a river in Southeastern Europe with two major tributaries – the White Drin and the Black Drin and two distributaries – one discharging into the Adriatic Sea, in the Gulf of Drin and the other into the Bojana River. Its catchment area extends across Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and North Macedonia and is home to more than 1.6 million people. The river and its tributaries form the Gulf of Drin, an ocean basin that encompasses the northern Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast.
District of Ferizaj is one of the districts of Kosovo. Ferizaj is the seat of the district.
Muhaxhir and Muhaxher are Ottoman Albanian communities that left their homes as refugees or were transferred, from Greece, Serbia and Montenegro to Albania, Kosovo and to a lesser extent North Macedonia during and following various wars.
Pristina or Prishtina is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district.
Skopska Crna Gora or Karadak Mountains, often called simply Crna Gora, is a mountain range and ethnographic region in North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia. The highest peak is Ramno 1,651 m (5,417 ft) in Macedonia. The largest town on the mountain is Kučevište in North Macedonia.
Dritan Hoxha was an Albanian businessman. He was the founder of Top Media, Albania's largest media company.
The Albanian revolt of 1912, was the last revolt against the Ottoman Empire's rule in Albania and lasted from January until August 1912. The revolt ended when the Ottoman government agreed to fulfill the rebels' demands on 4 September 1912. Generally, Muslim Albanians fought against the Ottomans then governed by the Young Turks, an aggressively nationalist revolutionary group, in the incoming Balkan War.
The Albanian Vilayet was a projected vilayet of the Ottoman Empire in the western Balkan Peninsula, which was to include the four Ottoman vilayets with substantial ethnic Albanian populations: Kosovo Vilayet, Scutari Vilayet, Manastir Vilayet, and Janina Vilayet. In some proposals, it included the Salonica Vilayet as well. The creation of the Vilayet was confirmed in September 1912, but negotiations were interrupted a month later in October by the beginning of the First Balkan War. Plans for an Albanian Vilayet were lost with the Partition of Albania.
Ferizaj or Uroševac, is a city and a municipality in Kosovo. It is the sixth largest city in Kosovo by population and also the seat of Ferizaj Municipality and the Ferizaj District.
The 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania was a yearlong celebration in 2012 when Albanians celebrated the 100th anniversary of establishing independent Albania, the first Albanian state in modern history.
Samir Mane ; born 24 December 1967 is an Albanian entrepreneur. He is the founder and President of Balfin Group, an investment group based in the Western Balkans. The group encompasses over 50 companies and operates in 10 countries across Europe and USA. Total Group’s Assets up to now €2.1 billion, as per 2022 data.
Tirana Logistic Park (TLP) offers logistic services in Albania. Tirana Logistic Park is a project of 3 "Class A" warehouses and industrial premises in the biggest industrial area of Albania, along the Tirana-Durrës highway. It is the first logistic park in Albania intended to help this country to attract more foreign investment. With its 80,000 square metres (860,000 sq ft) of buildings on 200,000 square metres (2,200,000 sq ft) of land, TLP is the first logistic and industrial Park in Albania, able to meet European standards in storage and manufacturing that combine different logistic modes and solutions. It is one of the most important investments in Albania and one of the biggest logistic parks in South East Europe. This logistic park was open on October this year.
AlbChrome is an Albanian-based private company founded in 1948. The company is the largest producer of chrome in the country and among the leading producers of ferrochrome in the world.
The Open Balkan is an economic and political zone of three member states in the Balkans, those being Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. The zone has a total area of 131,935 km2 (50,940 sq mi) and an estimated total population of almost 12million located in Central and Southern Europe. The official languages are Albanian, Macedonian and Serbian. Its administrative centres are the cities of Belgrade, Skopje and Tirana. With the establishment of the zone, all three member states aim to increase trade and cooperation as well as improve bilateral relations.
Skopje East Gate, simply known as East Gate, is a mixed-development project incorporating a shopping and entertainment center, a residential complex and an office park based in Skopje, North Macedonia. It is located about 3 kilometers east from the center of Skopje.
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