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Gold Leaf Europe's

 Premium Cannabis Growing Facility:

Where it is Located

The country in which the first of Gold Leaf Europe's growing facilities is located has a previous reputation for corruption and a challenging business environment, a reputation that, while significantly improved, still hangs over the country. Please see the information about this below as well as Gold Leaf Europe's Response to Concerns About Investing in North Macedonia.


The country has made considerable progress in overcoming these issues, in fighting corruption, and offering foreign investors and companies an attractive, conducive business environment -- which comes with very low costs -- a major reason the country is now attracting foreign investment.

 

The world's largest cannabis growing company, Canopy Growth, recently entered into a partnership with Ohrid Organics, North Macedonia's largest grower, and PharmaCann International, another major international grower invested $25 million in establishing its North Macedonia growing facility (see News Article: North Macedonia Grower with GMP Certification Receives Export License).

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​​WHY LOCATE IN NORTH MACEDONIA? It is because of these efforts, and the resulting improvements, that Gold Leaf chose to locate its facilities in North Macedonia. The company's principal has designed and built growing facilities in the U.S. in New York and Oklahoma, and investigated all countries in Europe in which it is legal to cultivate cannabis.

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He thoroughly researched the business climate in North Macedonia, discussed Gold Leaf’s proposed project with the American Embassy in Skopje, and visited foreign companies that had located in North Macedonia and were selling products outside the country.

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Phase 1 growing facility exterior, Skopje, North Macedonia

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Interior of one of the cannabis growing facilities being built by the  project developer

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Multiple HVAC units to ensure consistent growth and plant quality throughout the growing facility

He chose North Macedonia because:

1.   It is one of only a handful of European countries where it is legal to grow,  distribute, and export medicinal cannabis;  

​2.  It has adopted Canada’s free market approach to cultivation, distribution, and sale, as opposed to setting up a state monopoly, a plus for investors;

3.  It has a favorable climate and conducive growing conditions; and

4.  It has â€‹low costs for land, labor, electricity, and water, a low corporate tax rate (10%), and does not charge an excise tax on cannabis; thus, its operating costs are extremely low (the operating costs of the Phase 1 facility decline from 16% of net revenues in Year 2 to a little more than 3% of net revenues in subsequent years, based on current retail prices of medical cannabis in German dispensaries). 

 

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More information on this project is available by following the links below.

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Please see the links in the column to the left as well (not visible on mobile devices), including links to the Gold Leaf Europe Project Plan and Financial Highlights.   

IS NORTH MACEDONIA A SAFE PLACE TO INVEST? Some potential investors have expressed concern about finding negative information about the business climate and corruption in North Macedonia. This was true several years ago (one investor indicated that out of 180 countries, North Macedonia was at one point listed by Transparency International in its Corruption Perceptions Index as the 140th most corrupt).

 

That has changed considerably as the North Macedonia government and citizens have clamped down on corruption. The country's 2023 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking has steadily improved year after year. It ranked 76 in 2023, a 35 point improvement since as recently as 2020. It is 17 points ahead of India (ranked 93), 22 points ahead of Argentina (ranked 98), and 28 points ahead of Brazil (ranked 104). The U.S., by comparison, consistently ranks between 23 and 25.

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According to Statistia, a global data and business intelligence platform based in Germany that covers 170 industries with 13 locations worldwide, “North Macedonia is fostering a growing Cannabis market, attracting investment and shaping regulations to capitalize on the industry's potential.” [Statistica, Market Insights, “Cannabis – North Macedonia,” https://www.statista.com/outlook/hmo/cannabis/north-macedonia].

 

As a result, “North Macedonia's medical cannabis market is rapidly expanding, attracting international investments and paving the way for future growth in the industry.” [Statistica, Market Insights, “Medical Cannabis – North Macedonia,” https://www.statista.com/outlook/hmo/cannabis/medical-cannabis/north-macedonia ] 

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​For additional information on this, see Gold Leaf Europe's Response to Concerns About Investing in North Macedonia.

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Fitch Ratings affirmed North Macedonia at a BB+ credit rating with a Stable Outlook on October 4, 2024.

North Macedonia Business Environment

ONE WAY TO OVERCOME THIS CONCERN is by investing in the Gold Leaf' Phase 1 project, not directly, but indirectly, by placing $4 million USD (or equivalent) in Gold Leaf Europe's crypto wallet, through a transaction that will be handled and managed by a U.S. accounting firm. Gold Leaf will hold the crypto and use it as collateral for a $2 million USD loan. The lender will get the first lien position, while the investor(s) will hold a second. This will pay an annual return of 33-1/3% ($1.33 million USD; $5.3 million USD over four years).

 

At the end of the four-year term the investor(s) can (1) convert the crypto at its current market value to U.S. dollars or another currency, less any amount still owing on the loan; (2) convert their investment and crypto earnings to common stock to capture the returns shown in the charts below; or (3) do a combination of the two. 

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If the project fails, the value of the crypto will, at its market value at the time, less what is owing on the loan, be released to the investor(s).

​For further information on this project, please contact:

Ed Cichon -- edcichon@gmail.com 

or CJ Evans – cj@ade.llc

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