ECO-BUS WEEKLY DIGEST 21 December 27. Most important Economy & Business news by IPN

● MONDAY, December 21

State budget law and budgetary-fiscal policy promulgated by Igor Dodon

The 2021 state budget law and the law to amend a number of normative documents (budgetary-fiscal policy) were promulgated. The announcement was posted by incumbent President Igor Dodon on his Facebook page. The state budget revenues total 41.415 billion lei, up 4.2 billion lei or 11.3% on the state budget for 2020. The state budget provides for an expenditure of 55.399 billion lei, an increase of 2.2 billion lei or 4.1% on the expenditure for 2020. The budget deficit was projected at 13.984 billion lei. The sources for financing the deficit include domestic resources (purchase of shareholdings, proceeds from sale of publicly owned state property and assets of banks under liquidation) and foreign ones.

EU to offer €20m to help Moldova’s SMEs recover faster from COVID-19 crisis

The European Investment Bank, the lending arm of the European Union, will provide €20 million to the ProCredit Group to offer a new credit line for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Moldova and support their faster recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The credit line can be made available in multiple currencies, including in the local currency. A press release issued by the two banks says the investment is a part of a €55 million regional agreement with the ProCredit Group. The transaction provides much-needed financing to companies in Moldova to address working capital issues created by the ongoing pandemic. The EIB loan also strengthens the national banking sector of Moldova and reinforces its ability to finance the economic recovery of the country.

● TUESDAY, December 22

Law that obliges shops to display 50% of national products on shelves promulgated

The law to amend a number of legal acts, including the law on domestic trade, was promulgated by incumbent President Igor Dodon. This obliges the traders of food products to purchase and display national products on at least 50% of the length of the shelf in stores. “By this law, we will promote national products, will safeguard the interests of local producers, will protect the domestic market. Respectively, we will enable the national producers to develop,” Igor Dodon posted on Facebook.

€5m loan from EBRD under Green Economy Financing Facility

The citizens of Moldova will benefit from new green technology thanks to a €5 million loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to Moldova Agroindbank SA (MAIB) under the EBRD’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF), IPN reports, quoting a press release of the EBRD.

Counterfeit drugs could be sold through mobile drugstores, Association of Pharmacists

Together with the creation of mobile drugstores, counterfeit drugs and expired medicines could be sold in the country, while the prescription medicines could be issued without prescription. There is also the risk that the medicines in these mobile units will be issued not by specialists, but by ordinary people without pharmacy studies, IPN quoted the president of the Association of Pharmacists Ion Zgîrcu as saying in a news conference. Ion Zgîrcu stated that the mobile drugstores cannot ensure optimal conditions for storing drugs. “Simultaneously, there is an acute shortage of pharmacists on the market. The law that was recently adopted by Parliament will generate an irrational consumption of medicines. The provision of the population with medicines in villages can be ensured by the rational placing of drugstores in rural areas,” stated Ion Zgîrcu, noting that any medicine can become toxic in inappropriate storage conditions, when taking an overdose or using the drug incorrectly, without consulting a doctor.

Guaranteed salary will rise by 160 lei in January

As of January 1, 2021, the minimum guaranteed salary in the real sector will be 2,935 lei a month or 17.37 lei an hour. In 2019, this was 2,775 lei a month or 16.42 lei an hour. A bill to this effect was adopted by the Cabinet. The guaranteed salary in the real sector was approved for enterprises, organizations, institutions with financial autonomy, regardless of the type of ownership and the legal organizational form.

Average monthly salary in economy for 2021 set at 8,716 lei

The average monthly official salary for 2021 will be 8,716 lei. A decision to this effect was approved by the Cabinet on December 22. The given salary is used to determine the upper limit of the basis for calculating social insurance benefits and the monthly guaranteed earnings of salary earners who are residents of IT parks. Currently, the average official salary is 7,953 lei.

Salaries of healthcare workers to rise by 30% on January 1

As of January 1, 2021, the pays of medical staff will grow by 30%. The Government approved the secondary normative framework for implementing the measure, which will also cover ambulance drivers. A sum of 1.12 billion lei was allocated in the state budget for providing higher salaries. Over 40,000 healthcare workers will benefit from pay raises. Under the draft decision, the salaries of municipal administrative staff will rise by 3%. The medical personnel working in divisions for premature children will get salary bonuses for night shifts.

● Wednesday, December 23

World Bank says twin shock of 2020 can lead to deep recession

In 2020, Moldova has been simultaneously hit by COVID-19 pandemic and one of the most severe droughts in the past two decades. The World Bank anticipates that this twin shock will have a heterogeneous impact across households, firms, sectors and geographical areas. Employment is expected to drop by almost 8 percent in 2020, with an estimated 70,000 jobs lost, of which the majority in trade and hospitality, followed by agriculture and industry. In the Moldova Economic Update presented on December 23, the World Banks says young workers and micro firms are expected to be affected the most. Given such a heterogeneous impact, it is key to tailor and target Government response to the most vulnerable workers and households, and the most affected sectors and firms, to effectively mitigate the impact of the crisis and support the economic recovery.

● TUESDAY, December 24

 Iurie Fala: We cannot say authorities did their best to support agricultural sector

Summarizing results in the agricultural sector with Iurie Fala, director of “Moldova Fruct” Association of Fruit Producers and Exporters, within series “2020 in Review: Good and Bad Aspects”. Iurie Fala said that during a pandemic year, the authorities didn’t do their best to support the sectors of the economy, in general, and the agricultural sector, in particular. The Republic of Moldova, being a small country, must have good relations with the development partners. The Government did not much to attract additional resources so as to overcome the crisis in agriculture, while the own resources it identified were insufficient. The way in which the Government treats the farmers in relation to other sections, such as teachers or pensioners, is unwise as the capacity of this sector determines the country’s capacity to attract investments and to manage crises.

Sparkling wines of Moldova win 11 medals at “Effervescents du Monde – 2020”

The Republic of Moldova won 11 medals – a gold and ten silvers – at the 18th edition of the competition for sparkling wines “Effervescents du Monde”. The wines presented under the country brand “Wine of Moldova. A living legend” managed to outstrip the wines of Italy and Spain in terms of medals, which won 10 (three golds, seven silvers) and, respectively, 9 medals. The gold went to the Cricova Winery for the sparkling wine “Pinot Noir Extra Brut Alb”. The other ten medals were won by Cricova, Purcari, Mileștii Mici, Maurt, Consalcom and Alianța-Vin for the wines: Cuvée Prestige White Brut (Cricova), Cuvée de Purcari White Brut (Purcari), Cuvée de Purcari Rosé Brut (Purcari), Cuvée de Purcari - Feteasca White Brut (Purcari), Moldova de Lux – White Brut (Mileștii Mici), Bacio di Bolle Grande Cuvée Gold Edition White Brut (Maurt), Apriori, Sparkling Wine Cuvée - Glera – White Brut (Consalcom), Apriori, Sparkling Wine - Glera White Brut (Consalcom), Chișinăul Vechi –Semi Dry White Wine (Alianța-Vin) and Chișinăul Vechi –Sparkling White Brut (Alianța-Vin).

Transfers from broad in November at US$131.8m

About US$131.88 million was transferred to private individuals in Moldova from abroad through licensed banks this November. The figure is by 30% higher compared with last November, IPN reports, quoting the National Bank of Moldova (NBM). Transfers from the EU-27 in favor of private individuals represented 49.2%, from Israel – 17.7%, up 25.4% on last November, from Italy – 12.8%, from Germany – 11.7%, from Russia – 11.7% of the total, a decline of 18.6% on November 2019. Transfers in euros constituted 65.3%, in U.S. dollars – 32.8%, in Russian rubles – 1.9%.

● SATURDAY, December 26

PPPDA challenges capping of local taxes in CC

The Party “Dignity and Truth Platform” (PPPDA) disputed in the Constitutional Court (CC) the capping of local taxes. According to PPPDA vice president Alexandru Slusari, the capping of these taxes runs counter to the international commitments undertaken by the national authorities in the field of local democracy, especially on the Recommendation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. “These legislative norms adopted, as many other laws, with serious violations of the procedure, represent direct limitation of local self-government,” Alexandru Slusari posted on Facebook.

Moldovan agricultural products can be exported to Russia duty-free until next April

The Government of the Russian Federation extended the period of validity of the duty-free deliveries of Moldovan agricultural products to the Russian market until March 31, 2021. In a posting on Facebook, ex-President Igor Dodon wrote that the preferential regime on the export of a number of categories of fruit and vegetables, wine and other agricultural products to the Russian Federation is the result of the agreements he reached with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin in 2018.