WIIW The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies - Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche

Our forecast for Kosovo is a robust 3% GDP growth for 2013 and a reinforced growth of 5% in 2014. For 2015 and the medium term, growth prospects are expected to hover around a trend growth rate of about 4%. Expansion in 2014 will not only be due to improved external factors, but also to parliamentary elections that are likely to be held in early 2014. Thus, a fiscal stimulus can be expected to boost both consumption and investment. The budget deficit will not necessarily be overly affected given the inflow of funds in the wake of the privatisation of the Post and Telecom of Kosovo (PTK). At the end of April 2013, 75% of PTK, comprising two business units, Telecom (fixed-line telephony) and Vala (mobile telephony), were sold at a relatively low price of EUR 277 million to ACP Axos Capital, an international consortium from Hamburg.