● MONDAY, March 3
More farmers will get loans within Compact Credit Facility
The number of recipients of loans within the Compact Credit Facility that aims to facilitate the farmers’ access to funding for investments in the post-harvest infrastructure and high-value agriculture will increase significantly. The executive director of the Millennium Challenge Account Moldova Valentina Badrajan, in a program on Radio Moldova said that loans of US$4.7 million have been granted until now from the Compact funds of US$12 million. They generated additional investments of US$10.8 million. Most of the loans were used to build cold storage rooms for fruit and vegetables with a total capacity of about 19,000 tonnes. Compact loans will continue to be provided this year. From February 1, entrepreneurs may apply for loans for construction or procurement of greenhouses for vegetables, procurement of equipment and/or associated land and new irrigation equipment and weather stations. The investments in new plantations of fruits, berries, grape or nurseries of fruit trees, table grape and berries have also become eligible for the Compact loans.
Revenues collected into budget up 12.9%
The state budget revenues this January came to 1.361 billion lei, up 12.9% on last January. The spending in the period totaled 1.757 billion lei, an increase of 29.3%.
● WEDNESDAY, March 5
Iurie Leanca urges U.S. businessmen to invest in Moldova
Prime Minister Iurie Leanca called on the U.S. businessmen to invest in the Moldovan economy. He made the call in the United States - Moldova Business Forum that was held at the Chamber of Commerce in Washington. In his speech, the Moldovan official said that Moldova has unexploited economic potential. He spoke about the reforms done to improve the business climate and the prospects offered by the creation of the Free Trade Area with the EU. The Premier said that though the people perceive the Republic of Moldova as an agrarian country, the state also develops other sectors with investors’ assistance. Three of the largest ten exporters of Moldova are companies that produce spare parts for vehicles. One of them is a U.S. company. While in the United States, Iurie Leanca met wit the Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Daniel Yohannes, with whom he discussed the implementation of the Compact in Moldova, which is financed by the U.S. Government. The officials examined the possibility of including Moldova in the list of countries eligible for the second Compact.
Owners who will not sanitize plots will be penalized
The Parliament’s legal commission approved a bill stipulating penalties for landowners who do not clean their plots. The pensioners without heirs and the unable to work persons will not be fined. The bill was put forward by the Ministry of Agriculture. In the commission’s meeting, Minister of Agriculture Vasile Bumacov said the bill creates the legal framework needed to fine the persons who, profiting from unfavorable periods, bought hundreds of hectares of land from the population at small prices and now do not cultivate it. They are waiting for the price to grow so as to sell it. The uncultivated land favors the development of diseases, parasites and weeds that affect the cultivated plots from nearby.
World Bank offers Moldova over US$495,000 for CEP II
Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar and World Bank Country Manager Abdoulaye Seck signed a grant agreement between the Republic of Moldova, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association for preparing and implementing the Competitiveness Enhancement Project II (CEP II). According to a communiqué from the Ministry of Economy, the total value of the grant is US$495,500. The Ministry will create a council for general supervision, coordination and strategic orientation of the project.
Mobiasbanca ready to provide loans of €50m this year
Mobiasbanca – Groupe Société Générale is ready to offer in 2014 loans in the amount of €50 million. These financial resources will be directed towards supporting Moldovan economy by lending to local companies from various sectors as well as to individuals. According to the communiqué, Mobiasbanca has significantly intensified the collaboration with its international partners on mutually advantageous terms. In 2013, Mobiasbanca became an active partner of the energy efficiency program, by signing with the EBRD three agreements in the total amount of €12 million The loans granted within this program may be accessed by legal entities (the MoSEFF facility) as well as individuals (the MoREEFF facilities) to implement measures to reduce energy consumption. The clients benefit from free technical advice, while the successfully implemented project gives the right to obtain the grant component.
Russia imports Moldovan wine selectively
The Russian food safety body “Rospotrebnadzor” announced that so far this year Russia imported 13 consignments of alcoholic beverages from the Transnistrian region and is now examining the request of the Bashkan of Gagauzia to allow five companies from the region to export wine products to the Russian market. Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov said the Moldovan authorities weren’t informed about the decisions of the Russian food safety body. They will see what arguments the Bashkan invoked to convince the Russian side to consider the possibility of resuming wine imports and why the results of the Chisinau laboratories are not convincing.
● THURSDAY, March 6
State to privatize property of about 1bn lei
The Public Property Agency will hold three privatization rounds to sell state-owned public property. The initial selling price is about 1 billion lei. The Agency’s director general Valeriu Triboi told a news conference that the property will be denationalized in order to attract investments and achieve the budget fulfillment objectives for this year. An investment contest to privatize the movie theaters in Falesti, Glodeni and Leova towns and the Chisinau jewelry factory “Giuvaier” will be held on April 4. According to Valeriu Triboi, the factory was exhibited for sale for several times, but wasn’t bought. It will be now privatized as it collected debts of 17 million lei. The initial selling price of the facilities is over 12.1 million lei. Investments projected at 10.7 million lei are to be made in them during three years. There will organized a commercial contest to privatize 21 state-run companies and to sell state-owned shares in two joint stock companies, to the value of 588.6 million lei, and an outcry auction to privatize 14 facilities to the value of 72.072 million lei.
New rules concerning payment of sickness benefit
Employers will pay sickness benefit for the first five days of the sick leave only for a cumulative period of at most 15 days during a calendar year. In the next cases, the payment will be made from the state social insurance budget. These provisions take effect on April 1 and are aimed at limiting the number of sick leave days paid by employers. Nicolae Tabuleac, head of the Employees’ Social Insurance Division, said such changes to the legislation were necessary as the principle of social equity was evidently violated.
Political situation in Ukraine has repercussions for Moldovan economy
Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov, in a program on Radio Moldova, said the political events in Ukraine have a negative impact on the economic situation in Moldova as Ukraine is an important economic and commercial partner. The minister, adding that the anti-hail rockets system cannot be supplemented as rocket parts are brought from Russia through Ukraine. Dumitru Budianschi, program director at the think tank “Expert-Grup”, said the events in Ukraine can have political as well as economic effects on Moldova and other countries of the region. “Some of the Moldovan companies that have cooperation relations with Ukraine started to experience serious difficulties. The oscillations in the exchange rates of the national currencies of Ukraine and Russia affect the exchange rate of the leu,” he explained. Expert of the Market Economy Institute Viorel Garbu said a large part of the goods imported by Moldova for production and consumption transit Ukraine, including a large part of the energy resources. This fact should not be neglected.
● FRIDAY, March 7
Tones of sugar beet decaying in Glodeni
Tonnes of sugar beet are decaying at the Glodeni sugar factory. The company experiences financial difficulties and cannot process the sugar beet. Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov said the court at the start of this year obliged the factory to give several tonnes of sugar and lees to the Balti gas supplier owing to a debt of about US$40 million. Vasile Bumacov said he informed about the problem last autumn. But when he proposed that the company should be helped to overcome the financial difficulties, he was accused of lobbying for the factory. The head of Glodeni district Valeriu Tarigradschi said the company was unable to work in winter, when there was hard frost. Experts say the sugar beet was lost irrecoverably, while others say the raw material can be saved.
Regulatory authorities cooperate in liberalizing market segments
The Competition Council is establishing cooperation relations with a number of regulatory authorities in order to liberalize relevant market segments. The carrying out of studies in regulated areas, with the support of World Bank experts, will be the first step in this direction. Afterward, based on the formulated conclusions, proposals will be made for liberalizing the market. “Competition must stimulate the improvement of the quality of goods and services and lead to lower prices. This does not yet happen in the case of regulated markets in Moldova,” Competition Council head Viorica Carare said in a roundtable meeting.
ANRE director general suspended from post
The director general of the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) was suspended from post. The Chisinau Appeals Court passed a definitive decision, by which Victor Parlicov was banned from holding public posts for a period of up to one year. The penalty was imposed following an inspection carried out by the Security and Information Service at the ANRE. As a result, Victor Parlicov was accused of not correctly organizing work with secret documents at the institution. “It is political settling of accounts dating from last July, when Parliament was unable to dismiss me,” Victor Parlicov has told. He said the court decision refers to him not to the post entrusted to him by Parliament in 2010.
