ECO-BUS WEEKLY DIGEST April 25-31 May. Most important Economy & Business news by IPN

● MONDAY, May 25

Igor Dodon announces measures of support for business entities

The Government will undertake to cover the interest rates on loans equal to six salary funds, instead of three as it was agreed earlier, while the period for making such payments is extended until December 31, 2021 and will include the loans taken out not only from commercial banks, but also from microfinance companies. “We earlier proposed, the Government accepted and Parliament voted in favor of three salary funds for covering the interest rates until the end of this year. Now we propose covering the interest for all the enterprises that take out new loans, in the amount of six salary funds. This does not mean that these pays will be used for salaries only. They can be spent on working assets, investments. Each enterprise will decide,” President Igor Dodon said after the meeting with the Premier and Parliament Speaker.

Over US$ 2.6m worth of grants intended for eight groups of producers

Eight groups of producers will benefit from grants to the total value of over US$2.6 million following the last call for proposals announced within the grants program “Facilitation of Access to Markets” that is implemented by the Moldovan Agricultural Competitiveness Project (MAC-P). Four of the selected groups of producers grow fruit. They intend to invest the obtained funds in the construction of modern cold-storage facilities. Another two cooperatives are walnut, almond and hazelnut producers that plan to modernize production by purchasing the necessary processing equipment.

● TUESDAY, May 26

HiSky ready to operate flights

HiSky airline is ready to launch flights on July 1 this year. Its partner, the Romanian airline Cobrex Trans, was issued with an authorization to operate flights from the Chisinau International Airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of Moldova on April 7 this year. “We are glad that all the stages were passed successfully and we can operate flights. We succeeded because we were correct in relation to the state institutions and the travellers. The simple fact that HiSky is the only company that refunds the price of tickets on the flights that were cancelled because of the pandemic confirms our respect for the passengers and the principles by which we generally abide,” said HiSky manager Iulian Scorpan.

● WEDNESDAY, May 27

Public Property Agency sues Avia Invest

The Public Property Agency (PPA) has sued Avia Invest, demanding that the company should pay penalties and compensation for the non-fulfillment of the contractual obligations by investment areas. The lawsuit was filed to the Centru branch of the Chisinau City Court. In a press release, the PPA says that during the first investment stage, the concessionaire of the Chisinau International Airport, Avia Invest, didn’t fully honor its obligations stipulated in the concession contract. More exactly, for some of the investment directions Avia Invest executed concession works whose value is by €8.8 million lower than it is provided in the investment program. For this reason, on the Concession Monitoring Commission’s recommendation, the PPA in February issued Avia Invest with a notice, demanding that this should pay compensation, in the amount of €500,000 at that moment. On February 14, Avia Invest informed that it will not satisfy the Agency’s demands.

Restaurant and cafe owners seek reopening on June 1

A number of owners of restaurants and cafes and their employees mounted a protest in front of the Government Burdening on May 27. They expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision to put off the reopening of public eating places and with the imposed conditions. According to Aneta Zasavitski, president of the National Association of Restaurants and Recreational Places of Moldova, the protesters want permission to work as of June 1 and ask to accept the epidemiological measures that were thought up by the hospitality industry and were approved by the National Public Health Agency. The proposed measures are European measures. For example, they propose ensuring a distance of 1.5 meters between tables, while the National Extraordinary Commission for Public Health requires 2 meters between chairs. No other states imposed such a measure.

If we want to be really free, we must work every day, Poland’s Ambassador

To make progress, we should realize that we are a nation and want to be a nation and to have an independent country. If such a wish exists, it is easier to find a response to the question what reforms and changes are needed, which are definitely tough and not easy, Poland’s Ambassador to Moldova Bartłomiej Zdaniuk stated in BDR Associates’ first interview of a series of thematic interviewers with EU ambassadors conducted as part of Europe Days. According to the diplomat, it is important to place the country’s wellbeing at the forefront and, if we want to be really free, we must work every day. “I think what helped a lot in our case was the awareness of the shed blood. The most difficult or harshest thing is when one can say that a person was killed twice: the first time when losing one’s life while defending the homeland and the second time when being forgotten. That’s why, to make progress, we should realize that we are a nation and want to be a nation and to have an independent country,” said Bartłomiej Zdaniuk.

● FRIDAY, May 29

Alexandru Savva proposed for NBM vice governor

The governor of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) Octavian Armașu suggested Alexandru Savva for the post of vice governor to Parliament. “The candidate was selected according to the criteria stipulated in the law on the NBM, such as professional integrity, good reputation, rich experience in the financial sector, etc.”. “This post should be held by a professional who would respect and promote the values of the central bank, would be upright and politically unaffiliated. Alexandru Savva fully meets these criteria. During the last few years, he has taken part in the modernization of the financial market of the Republic of Moldova. I hope the MPs will support this candidate as the NBM should remain an independent institution and should continue the reforms,” runs the press release.

Winners of Easter edition of Fiscal Lottery announced

The first special edition of the Fiscal Lottery contest, which was devoted to the Easter holidays and was held in April, is over. The 100 winners who will get by 1,500 lei were chosen. The list of winners is available on the website of the State Tax Service. The awards will be transferred to winners’ card accounts within ten days. Under the Government Decision of December 17, 2019, each citizen who turned 18 automatically becomes a participant in the Fiscal Lottery if they have a bank card at a licensed bank of Moldova and pay for purchases and services worth over 30 lei by card.

● SATURDAY, May 30

Average salary in highest paying sector in first quarter was 17,700 lei

The gross nominal average monthly pay in the first quarter of this year was 7,633.9 lei. The highest average salary in the period was paid in the ICT sector (17,786.3 lei), financial and insurance sectors (13,728.5 lei) and the production and supply of electricity, heat, gas and hot water (11,820.7 lei). According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the lowest average salary was paid in agriculture, forestry and pisciculture (4,842.6 lei), accommodation and public food (5,152.2 lei), arts and recreational activities (5,587.4 lei).

Government negotiates €92m loan from IBRB for energy project

The Government negotiated with the World Bank a new foreign assistance project for improving the efficiency of the centralized heating system. The project will be financed with a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The total cost of the project is €92 million, which is equal to US$ 100 million. The project will be implemented by Termoelectrica SA and the Consolidated Unit for the Implementation and Monitoring of Energy Projects of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, which was founded in December 2000. The implementation deadline is December 31, 2025. The loan is repayable in 30 years, with a grace period of five years.