Macedonias 2011 GDP increased by 3% in real terms, up from 1.8% y/y in 2010, according to data of the statistics office. The highest growth rate was recorded in construction, which expanded by 15.6%, despite a decelerating growth rate in Q3 and Q4. The hotels and restaurants sector grew by 10.7% and wholesale and retail trade increased by 7.1%. The manufacturing, mining and utilities segment was a major contributor to economic growth, recording a full-year increase of 5.8%. The positive growth was due to strong performance in H1, while the sector dropped by real 0.4% y/y in Q3, and the annual contraction deteriorated to 4.1% in Q4. The data on the expenditure components show that household final consumption in 2011 increased by 3.7% in real terms. The annual growth has been decelerating in the second half of the year, from 7.8% in Q2 to 2% in Q3 and 1.6% in Q4. General government final consumption dropped by 5.5% last year. Gross capital formation rose by 22.7% in 2011, but its annual growth decelerated from 46% in Q3 to 12% in Q4. Exports and imports grew by 11.3% and 14.1%, respectively. The full-year GDP growth outcome is below the estimates of the countrys central bank (3.3%, announced in February) and the EBRD (3.1%, announced in January). |
Macedonias tobacco crop is expected to increase by 20% to over 30,000 tonnes in 2013, Utrinski vesnik daily reported quoting Danco Mileski, president of the countrys tobacco association. The ... more
The transport ministry has cancelled the tender for preparing a feasibility study for developing the countrys natural gas distribution network, build.mk portal reported. Reportedly, two bids were ... more
Large-sized commercial bank Komercijalna Banka announced that it has won the award Best Bank in Macedonia for 2013 by the magazine Global Finance. The Macedonian bank wins the award for a 10th ... more