● TUESDAY, May 3

Property of important body of Chisinau City Hall sequestrated 

The Chisinau Appeals Court sequestrated the assets of the Capital Constructions Division of the Chisinau City Hall and appointed a temporary administrator to this body, which is one of the richest one from patrimonial viewpoint. It thus risks becoming insolvent, IPN reports, quoting a court decision passed almost two weeks ago. The Chisinau Appeals Court took this and other decisions after examining the introductive application submitted by representatives of the creditor SC “Fastcomtrans” SRL concerning the institution of insolvency proceedings against the debtor IM “Directia Constructii Capitale” (“Capital Constructions Division”) of the Chisinau City Hall. The given measures are aimed at preventing the modification of the state of the debtor’s property.

Temporary administrator about lawsuit filed against Capital Constructions Division 

The property of the Capital Constructions Division of the Chisinau City Hall was sequestrated within the case concerning the repair works carried out at the theoretical lyceum “Mihail Kotsubinski” in 2006. Since then the municipality has been in litigation with the company that carried out the repair works, which complained that it wasn’t fully paid for its services, the temporary administrator named by court to the Division Ion Cretu stated. Ion Cretu said that he does not know many details about this case as he is now only familiarizing himself with it. He is to compile a report on the reasons for bringing insolvency proceedings against the Capital Constructions Division, as the creditor SC “Fastcomtrans” SRL demands.

Group of Ukrainian economic experts to come to Chisinau this month 

After May 10, a group of Ukrainian experts will come to Chisinau to thoroughly analyze the situation created after Moldova decided to impose import taxes on a number of Ukrainian products, in concert with colleagues from the Ministry of Economy and other national governmental institutions. These will also examine the barriers to the export of Moldovan products to Ukraine and will formulate proposals for overcoming the created situation, based on the mutually advantageous interest of the sides. The issue was discussed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Octavian Calmac in a telephone conversation with the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv. According to the Ministry of Economy, they discussed the Moldovan Government’s decision to introduce customs duties on the import of dairy and meat products and cement from Ukraine starting with December 31, 2016. Octavian Calmac underlined that this is a temporary measure aimed at protecting the internal market from massive imports from Ukraine. The measure is in accordance with the norms of the World Trade Organization and the agreement on the creation of the free trade area in the CIS.

Irregularities identified in process of leasing out municipal property 

The leasing out of areas owned by the municipality without holding public tender contests is illegal and does not ensure equality for all those who want to obtain the lease. As a result, a maximum price for leasing out realty cannot be obtained and damage is caused to the municipal budget. This is one of the conclusions of the National Anticorruption Center, which carried out a strategic analysis of the activity of the General Economy, Reforms and Patrimonial Relations Division of the Chisinau Municipal Council. The analysis shows that the lack of a public register concerning the available areas generates elements of corruption. Though the Division keeps records of the public property, it manages only a part of the nonresidential areas of the Chisinau City Hall. Different areas are rented at derisory prices as if by public associations, creation unions and other organizations. The areas are later purchased by these.

● WEDNESDAY, May 4

ANRCETI to regulate postal services market 

The National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI) took up the duty of regulating the postal services market, in accordance with the Postal Communications Law. According to a press release of ANRCETI, the new responsibilities of the Agency include the implementation of the general authorization regime for postal services provision and the surveillance and control of the fulfillment of the obligations imposed on universal postal service providers and of the conditions of the general authorization regime. The Agency will also be responsible for the approval of tariffs for postal services from the sphere of the universal postal service and of the tariffs for the use of public postal networks. It will set the mechanism of financing and compensating the net cost of postal services from the sphere of the universal postal service and will examine and deal with complaints regarding the provision of postal services and the disputes between providers of such services.

IMF mission comes to Moldova 

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Ivanna Vladkova-Hollar will visit Chisinau during May 23 – 27, 2016. According to a press statement of the IMF Office in Moldova, the purpose of the mission is to continue the policy dialogue and advance the discussions on the reform measures put forward by the authorities as critical inputs towards a broader program agenda. At this time, the IMF team will not have the mandate to conclude an agreement on a Fund-supported program. In the May 4 meeting of the Cabinet, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said the IMF mission will be presented the Government’s reform program. “This is not a forced program. These are our reforms that we assumed and will make effort to do them,” he stated. The Premier voiced hope that a mission that will initiate the negotiations on a new program will come next month and thus asked the ministers to get ready.

● THURSDAY, May 5

Moldovan companies to take part in government procurement abroad 

The Moldovan companies will be able to take part in public procurement contests held outside the country. This is provided in a bill on Moldova’s accession to the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement hat was approved by the Government. This Agreement is an important instrument for creating and maintaining an efficient national public procurement system. Its implementation will encourage foreign investment through the participation of foreign companies in tender contests in Moldova. The Moldovan companies will also be able to take part in government procurement abroad and to learn the best international practices in the area of public procurement, based on transparency, open competition and free trade.

Inflation rate in 2016 will be lower than forecast in February 

The National Bank of Moldova reviewed down the inflation rate for 2016. This is forecast to be 7%, as opposed to 10.1% anticipated in February. National Bank governor Sergiu Cioclea told a news conference that the reduction in the inflation rate is due to the diminution of the contribution of all the inflation components. It is about the decline in internal consumption amid the economic recession and the reduction in the regulated prices of gas and electric power. The food products at international level also decreased, influencing the prices on the domestic market. Also, the weather conditions for agriculture are rather good. It is for the second time this year that the central bank revises the rate of inflation down. In February, the inflation was decreased to 10.1% from the level of 11.9% forecast last November.

Special surveillance at three banks will continue 

The special surveillance instituted by the National Bank of Moldova at Moldova Agroindbank, Moldindconbank and Victoriabank will continue, the central bank’s governor Sergiu Cioclea stated at a press conference on May 5. The governor noted that the diagnostic studies of the situation at the three banks that are under special surveillance were presented. “If I refer to the studies, the situation is different. There are also common problems such as the shareholder quality, loan portfolios and corporate governance,” he said. According to Sergiu Cioclea, plans for each bank are now being worked out based on the diagnostic studies. A reform plan will be thought up for the common problems. “Intense work is done on these documents, together with the IMF and the World Bank. When the individual plans for each bank are finished as well as the reform strategy, we will make an announcement. Now I can say that the special surveillance will continue as long as necessary,” said the governor.

Analysis: Building confidence will be major goal of central bank during next two years 

Building the people’s confidence in the system will be the major goal that the National Bank of Moldova will pursue during the next two years, especially because the situation in the financial-banking sector is difficult. One of the methods of contributing to the achievement of this objective is to continue firmly implementing the central bank’s commitments deriving from the Association Agreement with the EU, especially as regards the circulation of capital. These are the main conclusions of a thematic analysis carried out by economists of the Institute for European Politics and Reforms, who examined the bill to amend the Law on Currency Regulation. According to the authors of the study, the testing of the liberalization in the notification of loans provided to nonresidents by instituting a cap of €10,000 instead of the current €50,000 is welcome. The bill allows the National Bank of Moldova to limit the foreign currency withdrawals from bank accounts in periods of financial crisis.

● FRIDAY, May 6

Standing Monitoring Committee analyses reform of financial-banking system 

The actions taken by the authorities to discover the frauds committed in the financial-banking sector was the main subject discussed by the Standing Monitoring Committee that analyzes the cases of increased social interest. In the second meeting of the Committee, the participants presented information about the recovery of assets. According to the Government’s press service, the members of the Committee discussed the difficulties met in the process of recovering the financial resources and the measures that are to be taken to ensure the continuity of the mentioned actions. Prime Minister Pavel Filip said the reform of the financial-banking system, which includes a set of measures for increasing confidence in the system and efficiency of bank surveillance and for improving bank management, can prevent large-scale frauds.

Law on Romania’s loan for Moldova promulgated 

The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis on May 6 signed the decree to promulgate the law on the ratification of the lending agreement between Romania and Moldova. The accord was signed in Chisinau on October 7, 2015. The agreement by which Moldova borrowed €150 million from Romania stipulates that the loan is repayable in five years, at an interest rate of 1.5% a year. The loan is provided as budget support.