● TUESDAY, September 19

Agricultural sector to benefit from support from IFC

The Republic of Moldova will receive support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for improving the business climate in the agricultural sector. In a special meeting on September 19, the Cabinet approved the ratification of a consultancy agreement between the Republic of Moldova and IFC. Based on the agreement the international organization will offer Moldova consultancy services in three key areas: enhancement of the business environment; improved market access with emphasis on the agroindustrial sector and augmentation of the investment protection level. Under the agreement, IFC will offer technical assistance to the value of US$ 3.2 million. The Government will contribute US$ 160,000, while the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructural US$ 100,000.

Fuel prices go up again

The National Agency for Energy Regulation announced the fuel price ceilings for the next two weeks. A liter of gasoline will be by 0.11 lei more expensive, while of diesel fuel by 0.45 lei. From September 20 until October 3, the price ceiling of gasoline will be 17.51 lei, as opposed to 17.40 lei during the past two weeks. A liter of diesel fuel will cost at most 15.20 lei, as against 14.75 lei now.

● WEDNESDAY, September 20

Organic farming organizations can apply for grants

The Czech nongovernmental organization People in Need (PIN), which has a representative office in Moldova, has announced a contest of grant proposals that is open to agricultural producers, associations, cooperatives or groups of farmers that develop organic. The applicants must have organic certificates or be in the conversion process. The provided grant will not exceed US$ 4,000. The contest is intended for those who aim to create a point for selling national ecological products, different food products from the own farm or from other national producers, to build a storehouse for fruit/vegetables (not yet building activities) or to develop any other innovative idea in organic farming, but not related to production activities. The grants cannot be used to pay salaries, rent, taxes and for public utilities, pharmaceutical preparations or fertilizers. The use of the funds should not have a negative impact on the environment or human health. The beneficiaries will be chosen taking into account the size of the applicant’s financial contribution, clear argumentation of the project proposal, projected economic benefits and human resources able to implement the project. Priority will be given to producers from the horticultural sector or members of the Association “Moldova’s Berries”.

Land legislation restricts interests of foreign investors, White Book

The legislation on land should be modified. The current provisions restrict foreign investors’ interests in agriculture, which is a key sector for Moldova’s economy, says the White Book 2017, which is a recommendatory document produced by the Foreign Investors Association (FIA). When presenting the document, FIA president Alexander Koss said the investors plead for the revision of the land legislation so as to ensure better protection for the existing investments and to attract new ones to agriculture, in equal conditions for the foreign and national investors. The White Book underlines that there is no fiscal stability in the Republic of Moldova. The adjustments that are made often during the year obstruct the activity of foreign capital enterprises. As regards labor relations, the investors consider it is rational to prolong the probation period from three to six months. The foreign investors also propose allowing employees to decide the length of the childcare leave. The fifth White Book (2017) was compiled by experts of the 16 FIA member companies and represents a dialogue platform between the business community and the authorities.

Ukrainian Premier to pay visit to Chisinau

The Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodimir Groisman is expected to make a visit to Chisinau at the start of October. Bilateral agreements between the Government of Moldova and the Government of Ukraine to eliminate the system of authorizations for carriers from both of the states are to be signed during the visit, IPN has learned from the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure. This was agreed in the meeting of the Moldovan-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission for economic and commercial cooperation that was held in Odessa on September 18 – 19. The Moldovan side asked to issue 15,000 bilateral and goods transit transport authorizations and 700 irregular passenger transit transport authorizations. It was noted that the balance of trade between the two states rose by 30%, including because of a more efficient cooperation with the EU. According to statistics, trade between Moldova and Ukraine in January-September 2017 came to US$ 254.48 million.

IMF mission to come to Moldova

An assessment mission of the International Monetary Fund will be visiting Chisinau during October 25 – November 5, Minister of Finance Octavian Armasu announced in the hearings held in the Parliament’s commission on economy, budget and finance on September 20. According to Armasu, the 2018 state budget plan is to be discussed during the visit. The document will be submitted to Parliament only after these discussions. The minister noted that the draft budgetary-fiscal policy document for next year is being examined by the National Anticorruption Center and will be presented to the Government for approval when the anticorruption appraisal is ready.

● THURSDAY, September 21

FIA recommends including new chapter in Labor Code

The Foreign Investors Association (FIA) recommends the Moldovan authorities to introduce a new chapter in the Labor Code entitled “Work through temporary work agency”. The proposal is contained in the recommendatory White Book that describes a plan of action for improving the investment climate. According to FIA, the work through temporary work agency is work provided by a salary earned who signed a work contract with a temporary work agency. The temporary work agency is the legal entity authorized by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection. The working conditions of the temporary work agency and the authorization procedure are defined by a Government decision. The White Book recommends the authorities to improve the labor legislation and enable to reward the time during which additional temporary work was done with free paid hours within 30 days of the execution of temporary work and to reform the childcare leave system so that the employees can decide the length of the paid leave by themselves. It is also recommended excluding the provisions that oblige employers to keep military records in respect of employees.

EU to support two new projects in Moldova

Two projects to the total value of €5.5 million will be put into practice in Moldova by the European Union to help implement the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. According to the Ministry of Economy, the first project “Visibility and Communication for actions related to AA/DCFTA Implementation in the Framework of the EU funded Assistance Programs” will last for 24 months and is designed to increase the awareness and understanding of the benefits of a fully implemented and fully participatory AA/DCFTA. The second project “Support to Quality Infrastructure Framework in the context of the DCFTA in the Republic of Moldova”. The implementation period is of 36 months. There will be promoted different awareness, communication and visibility actions related to quality infrastructure, market surveillance and internal and external market conditions and opportunities. The projects are to be launched this October and November.

● FRIDAY, September 22

Rain with hail causes damage in several districts

More than 100 hectares of orchards in Cunicea village of Floresti district and another 45 hectare of orchards in Soldanesti district were destroyed by hail, while the strong winds damaged the roof of the secondary school of Oliscani village, IPN has learned from the Civil Protection and Emergencies Service. In Soldanesti district, the rainstorm with hail of the afternoon of September 21 destroyed 21 hectares of soybean. In Chersac village of Telenesti district, a number of houses remained without roofs following the high winds. The local commissions for emergencies are to gauge the extent of the caused damage.

Roman Chirca: Moldova’s economy is in a lull period

The economy of the Republic of Moldova is in a lull period The stabilization follows a period of serious crises and recession witnessed in the national economy, director of the Market Economy Institute Roman Chirca stated. According to him, the volume of deposits in banks now exceeds two times the volume of loans and this means that the banks have a lot of liquidity, but there are no economic projects in which this could be invested. “The key source of economic growth – the remittances - recovered after the stagnation witnessed in the Russian Federation and the reorientation of some of the migrants to countries of the European Union. Such dynamics appeared at the middle of last year. Traditionally, August is the apogee month, when we saw a record of US$ 178 million in remittances,” said the economic expert. As to the loan provided to Moldova by Romania, analyst Victor Gurau said in 2016 the tranche of €60 million was like a fraternal aid offered to Moldova, but now the third tranche of this loan will be rather support for a possible growth in the national economy if the processes are managed correctly and coherently and based on pragmatic development strategies. The analyst also said there are positive signals not only about the improvement of the economic situation in the country, but also about the people’s perception.

US$ 4.8m from Japan for developing conservation agriculture

As many as 106 tractors could be bought with US$4.8 million worth of grant funding that will be provided by the Government of Japan to Moldova. The implementation of the project to develop conservation agriculture in Moldova, which was signed on March 7, was discussed in a meeting of Minister of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Vasile Batca and Japan’s Ambassador in Chisinau Masanobu Yoshii, who paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry on September 22. According to the Ministry’s press service, Vasile Batca expressed his gratitude for the support provided to Moldova and reiterated the competent authorities’ readiness to cooperate in developing the Moldovan agricultural sector. For his part, Masanobu Yoshii noted that Japan is ready to offer support to the Moldovan farmers and intends to increase the imports of wheat and wines from Moldova, adding that the Japanese businesspeople have a special interest in the Moldovan wines. Four projects to the value of US$ 65 million are implemented in Moldova with the assistance of the Government of Japan.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to visit Moldova in first half of next year

The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pay a visit to the Republic of Moldova in the first half of next year. He will take part in the opening of the Consulate General of Turkey in Comrat. The announcement was made by Turkey’s Ambassador in Chisinau Hulusi Kilik in a news conference on September 22. According to the ambassador, the agreements concerning the visit and the opening of the consulate were reached during the recent visit to Ankara made by Speaker of Parliament Andrian Candu. The sides also agreed to open a commercial office of Moldova in Istanbul. An investment forum will be held in Comrat this November. The event is expected to involve a Turkish deputy minister. On December 14 and 15, Chisinau will host the meeting of the joint Moldovan-Turkish commission. This year it is celebrated 25 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two states.

● SATURDAY, September 23

Ten road rehabilitation contracts to be terminated

Ten of the 16 contracts for the rehabilitation of roads, which were signed with foreign contractors and are financed with foreign partners’ funds, have been compromised and require urgent intervention, Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Octavian Calmac stated in an event staged by the European Business Association. The minister said the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure is in the process of terminating the contracts and is to choose new contractors. The performed works and activities are monitored daily. “I think in 2018 the Republic of Moldova will be a building site in the field. We are to use about €350 million provided by the development partners for the national roads,” stated Octavian Calmac. The World Bank offered over US$80 million for rehabilitating local roads. About 2 billion lei is to be allocated from the Road Fund in 2018 for similar purposes.