● MONDAY, 31 July
Over 8m lei for 44 investment projects
The surveillance committee of the program to attract remittances to the economy PARE 1+1 approved financing for 44 investment projects to the total value of 8.42 million lei. According to the Ministry of Economy, the investments are to attract 24.34 million lei to the economy. It is estimated that over 130 new jobs will be created. Almost 70% of the applicants for grants intend to start or develop businesses in agriculture. Among other areas that are to be financed are animal breeding, development of beekeeping, breeding of purebred dogs, ostrich breeding, chinchilla breeding and others.
Ukraine to offer Moldova 10,000 additional authorizations for transporting goods
Ukraine will provide 10,000 additional authorizations to Moldova for the transportation of goods on its territory by Moldovan business entities. The decision was taken in the meeting of the Moldovan-Ukrainian working group on transport that was held in Chisinau last weekend. The working group analyzed the situation of the Unguri-Bronita bridge that is situated on the border between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. This ascertained that the bridge is ready for being used by cars and buses. As to the Basarabeasca-Berezino railroad, the Ukrainian side offered Moldova to send a common letter to the development partners to ask for financing for a feasibility study of the railroad segment that would enable freight trains from Moldova to reach the ports in southern Ukraine.
● TUESDAY, August 1
Moldova should have introduced 1 leu and 2 lei coins ten years ago, expert
The Republic of Moldova should have put into circulation the 2 lei coin and replaced the 1 leu bill with a 1 leu coin ten years ago. This delay caused additional costs of at least US$ 7 million to the national budget, economist of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” Veaceslav Ionita wrote on his blog. According to the economist, there is an explosion in the use and replacement of the 1 leu banknotes. Almost 75% of the costs of changing the shabby bills covered by the National Bank of Moldova are associated with the replacement of the 1 leu bills. The central banks of different states use the so-called D-metric model when they introduce new bills or coins. Thus, the highest nominal value of a coin should be equal to the 50th part of the average daily salary, D/50. In 2004, the average monthly salary in Moldova was 1,103 lei, while the 50th part of the daily salary was 0.98 lei. The 1 leu coin should have been put in the circulation then. The lowest nominal value of a bill should not be lower than the 20th part of the average daily salary, D/20. In 2008, the average monthly salary in Moldova was 2,530 lei, while the 20th part of the average daily salary was 5.62 lei. So, the lowest value bill in 2008 should have been of 5 lei.
National public budget revenues at over 18bn lei in seven months
The revenues collected by the State Tax Service into the national public budget in the first seven months of this year rose by 18.2% competed with the corresponding period last year to 18.3 billion lei. According to the State Tax Service, the revenues were by 2.8 billion lei larger than in January-July 2016. The projections of 17.2 billion lei were exceeded by 1.1 billion lei or 6.5%.
Chisinau-Odessa train to run more often
The train running on the Chisinau-Odessa route will travel more often in summer. According to the state-run company Moldova’s Railways, the agreement signed by it with the administration of the Ukrainian Railways provides that the train will run for four times a week, on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as of August 3, on a temporary basis. If the flow of passengers remains high, the schedule could be extended.
Second Kroll report to be published by yearend
The company Kroll plans to complete the second report on the embezzlements of funds from the Moldovan banking system by the end of this October. The National Bank of Moldova intends to publish the résumé of the report by the end of this year given the confidentiality aspects. A global strategy for recovering the stolen funds was agreed as a result of a meeting of representatives of Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson with representatives of the National Bank, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office and the Crime Assets Recovery Agency.
● WEDNESDAY, August 2
EBRD consultancy for Moldovan SMEs in business development
More than 740 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) managed to advance in developing the business with the assistance offered by the Advice for Small Businesses, EBRD Moldova Project (ASB EBRD). This was possible owing to the access to consultancy services provided by national and international experts and to the financing offered by the European Union within the EU4business initiative and the Government of Sweden. Sweden’s Ambassador to Moldova Signe Burgstaller, together with the team of ASB EBRD, paid a fact-finding visit to northern Moldova to learn about success stories of beneficiaries of such assistance. One of the beneficiaries opened the first poultry-litter-powered biogas plant.
School Fair to be held at “Moldexpo” as of August 18
The exhibitions center “Moldexpo” will host the fifth School Fair between August 18 and September 3, 2017. At the fair that will be open between 10am and 6pm, parents will be able to purchase all the things needed for school. According to the organizers, the Chisinau City Hall and “Moldexpo”, the fair will sell high-quality articles for students of all ages, foreign and national products at the best prices. In particular, buyers will find clothes, new models of school uniforms, sport suits and footwear as well as literary and educational books, school supplies, stationery and a wide range of schoolbags.
Price of first class tickets for Chisinau – Bucharest train reduced by 30%
The state-run Moldova’s Railways announced that the price of first class tickets for the Chisinau – Bucharest train were decreased by 30% as a result of an agreement signed by the railway authorities of Moldova ad Romania. The passengers who will choose to travel first class will pay 720 lei for a trip to Bucharest, while the first class tickets for children aged between four and 12 will cost 474 lei.
Moldova, Serbia to negotiate agreement to reciprocally promote investments
The Republic of Moldova and Serbia will foster bilateral cooperation in the economic sphere. The Cabinet authorized the initiation of negotiations on an agreement on the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments. The agreement will ensure the normative framework needed to stimulate economic development and the flow of capital between the two states. It aims to create safe conditions for investors and encourages the opening of mixed capital companies and is designed to strengthen the relations of friendship between the two states.
Simplified procedures on import of live animals and perishable goods into Transnistria
Tiraspol has simplified the procedures for authorizing the import of live animals and perishable goods into Transnistria. To hasten importation procedures for perishable goods, it was decided that these will take place at the storehouse of those that receives the goods, especially live animals and fish, where there will be created a customs control area. Thus, the data about the goods will no longer be sent to the customs authority, while the customs check will be performed only based on the documents required for clearance. The aforementioned goods will be given priority when crossing the border.
Moldova to pay honorariums of €190,000 to two law firms
The Cabinet approved the decision to pay honorariums to the law firms that will defend the interests of the state in two arbitrary lawsuits filed against the Republic of Moldova. The honorariums total over €190,000. Minister of Justice Vladimir Cebotari said the interests of the state will be defended by KPMG Advisory SRL of Romania and Skadden of Germany and expert Tobias Tröger, teacher of law at the Goethe-University Frankfurt Institute of Private and Business Law.
● THURSDAY, August 3
Two enterprises deprived of exemption from VAT on import of raw material
The national production and disabled people training combine “Bunatate” and the production and training enterprise ”Handi” will be removed from the list of organizations and enterprises of the Society of the Blind, Society of the Deaf and Society of Invalids that are exempted from VAT on the import of raw material and accessories needed in production. The tax inspections initiated based on orders made by the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases revealed that the two enterprises do not meet the conditions for being on the given list. Since the list was compiled in 2013 until 2016, the two enterprises didn’t satisfy the condition of having at least 50% of employees from among persons with disabilities.
Exports to EU up 15% in five months
Moldova’s exports of goods to the EU came to US$ 542 million in January – May this year, up over 15% compared with the corresponding period last year. They accounted for over 63% of the total exports. Among Moldova’s main export partners are Romania, Italy, Germany, the UK, Bulgaria, Poland, and France. According to the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, imports from the EU member states totaled more than US$ 877 million, an increase of over 17% on January-May 2016. They accounted for 49% of the total imports. Moldova imported mainly from Romania, Germany, Italy, and Poland.
Moldova honors financial commitments to international organizations
The Government authorized the allocation of 119.9 million lei from the 2017 state budget for paying membership dues and arrears to the regional and international organizations of which Moldova forms part. There will be paid membership dues and arrears to 68 organizations, such as the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Interparliamentary Union, Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie and others.
Russia bans import of 20 tonnes of plums from Moldova
About 20 tonnes of Moldovan plums were sent back from the border crossing point Krupet in the Russian region Kursk. On its website, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance “Rosselkhoznadzor” says the consignment was sent back because it contained products that are under quarantine. As a result of the phytosanitary inspection, the customs officers identified the Oriental fruit moth in an active state in the Moldovan plums.
National Bank revises inflation rate down
The National Bank of Moldova forecast an annual inflation rate of 6.5% for 2017, down 0.3 percentage points from the rate forecast in May. In 2018, the annual rate of inflation will be 4.4% (-0.7%). National Bank governor Sergiu Cioclea told a news conference that the inflation rate will remain high in the third quarter of this year too and will then decrease to the lower limit of the variation interval of the inflation target of 5%, plus-minus 1.5%. The annual average rate of inflation in the second quarter of 2017 was of 7.1%, up 2.8% from the rate recorded in the first quarter.
Geography of transfers from abroad has modified
The transfers of money from abroad made by private individuals in January – June 2017 came to US$ 551.7 million, an increase of 9.7% compared with the corresponding period last year. National Bank governor Sergiu Cocleam, in a news conference where he presented the third report on inflation, said the transfers this June totaled US$ 108.3 million, up 10.5% on last June.
● FRIDAY, August, 4
Interest rate on loans released by banks declines
The assets of banks in the first half of 2017 continued to increase. The capital maintained the high level of liquidity and profitability, National Bank governor Sergiu Cioclea said in a news conference, referring to the situation in the banking sector. The new loans provided in April-June 2017 increased by 22.9% compared with the first three months of this year even if their total balance hasn’t grown. The interest rate on loans continued its downward trend, decreasing to 10% owing to the diminution of the base rate of the central bank to 8%.
Regional development policy should be rethought, study
Moldova should rethink the regional development policy because the National Regional Development Fund turned out to be inefficient. The authorities announced that they already drafted a new law on regional development. Eleven years of the creation of the National Regional Development Fund in Moldova and over six years of its de facto functioning, the allocations of millions of lei from the state budget didn’t produce the expected results, experts of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” say in a study published in the Bulletin “Budget without secrets”. According to Iurie Morcotylo, one of the study authors, the projects financed with money from the National Regional Development Fund refer more to infrastructure problems and do not generate economic opportunities for the population as they should when the population is more determined to leave Moldova. Moreover, even if communities won and implemented projects with the assistance of the Fund, the impact of these on the own incomes is rather low.
Depreciation of dollar is seasonal, expert
The U.S. dollar, according to the data of the National Bank of Moldova, on August 4 cost 17.99 lei. On August 5 and 6, the dollar will be sold at the same rate. For Monday, August 7, the central bank will set the rate based on the interbank transactions. Financial expert of the independent think tank “Expert-Grup” Sergiu Gaibu said the level reached now by the U.S. dollar shows the national currency follows an appreciation tendency. Such situations are witnessed almost annually, primarily at the end of summer or the start of autumn. According to the expert, the rise in remittances from abroad is another cause for the depreciation of the U.S. dollar. The Moldovans who work in the building and agricultural sectors abroad sent more money home.
Russia imposes authorizations on Moldovan transport operators as of Aug.14
The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation informed that the Moldovan units of transport involved in international road transport from August 14 will be able to enter Russia only based on authorizations. According to the National Motor Transport Agency of Moldova, the procedures for the coming into force of the intergovernmental bilateral agreement on international road transport that was signed on May 31 were completed. The Russian side pledged to issue the Moldovan transport operators with 75,000 authorizations for goods transit and bilateral transport and 750 authorizations for the transportation of goods to or from third countries.
