● MONDAY, May 13

ACUM MPs say rises in potato prices are due to cartel agreements

A number of MPs of the Bloc ACUM sent a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, the Competition Council and the National Bureau of Statistics whereby they ask for additional information about potato production in Moldova following the latest rises in the prices of this vegetable. The MPs suspect the rises are due to cartel agreements between a narrow group of importers.

ANSA: Potato prices rose owing to lower production

Potato prices on the domestic market were influenced by the decrease of about 2,000 hectares in the areas planted with potatoes during the past three years, with production declining from 214,000 to 175,000 tonnes, IPN reports, quoting the National Food Safety Agency. The Agency said domestic potato consumption is about 300,000 tonnes and this can be satisfied with locally grown potatoes in the amount of 50-60%. Therefore, potatoes are imported from Belarus, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Poland, the Federal Republic of Germany and other countries.

Moldovans become more indebted, economist

The household debt in 2018 reached 9.2% of the Gross Domestic Product, but this year will come close to 11% of the GDP, which is five times more than 15 years ago, economist of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative  “Viitorul” Veaceslav Ioniță wrote on his blog. According to the economist, the household debt in Moldova is six times lower than the European average and almost two times lower than the average of the countries of the region. Aster the crisis of 2014, the private individuals became clients of the financial sector and the tendency will persist the next few years. Most probably, this year or in at most two-three years, the value of loans released to private individuals will exceed the value of loans provided to legal entities.

Mid-term economic growth projected to decelerate in Moldova, WB

Moldova’s economic growth will decelerate in the medium term, estimates the World Bank’s “Moldova Economic Update” presented today. “Expansionary fiscal policy measures adopted in 2018 - tax cuts, an increase in wages and public transfers - and constantly increasing financial intermediation activity will underpin growth in 2019. At the same time, lower growth in remittances and higher inflation that erode the disposable income will decelerate growth to 3.4 percent, from 4 percent in 2018”, WB economist Marcel Chistruga told a press conference.

● Tuesday, May 14

WB conclusions concerning slowdown of economic growth should be succeeded by policies, economist

Economic expert Veaceslav Negruța said the World Bank’s conclusions should be followed by particular policies that would help cope with the risks and factors that stop the economic growth, on the one hand, and that undermine the stability of public finances in the long term, on the other hand. The issue was discussed in the talk show “Expertise hour” on Jurnal TV channel. The WB experts said the economic growth is expected to decelerate. “The question is who of those who now formulate and take economic, macroeconomic and financial policy decisions focused on what it is discussed and took the message transmitted by those from the World Bank seriously?” asked the economist.

WB recommends reducing number of state owned companies and strengthening private ones

The size of government for its level of income is unusually large in Moldova and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) still dominate several sectors. SOEs display much lower productivity levels and growth than their nonstate counterparts, and SOEs are present in at least 19 out of 30 sectors, in contrast to 8 sectors in Estonia, for example, says the World Bank study “Rekindling Economic Dynamism” that is quoted by IPN. “With less productive firms, Moldova is less able to compete on global markets, and thus, while trade occupies a substantial share of GDP, the country’s exports are growing more slowly than in other Eastern European countries,” said one of the study authors Elisa Gamberoni, noting also other factors that explain the low productivity of the Moldovan enterprises, which could slow down economic growth in the medium term. Among these factors are the migration of qualified employees, including young ones, from Moldovan enterprises.

Diaspora Business Connection project launched

Entrepreneurs from the diaspora will be able to get counseling and informational support in developing their businesses with the help of the Diaspora Business Connection (DBC) Project, launched today by the Association of Moldovan Businesspeople Everywhere (AOAMP) today. According to the initiators, the project stems from “the urgent need to strengthen support for the Moldovan community everywhere”. AOAMP president Alexei Repede told a press conference that the DBC Project will reach out to the countries with important Moldovan communities to encourage entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial culture. “Without entrepreneurial culture at the foundation, we can not hope to reach considerable results. There are many reasons to run a business, but we also all know there are a lot of risks and obstacles involved”, said Repede.

Moldovans don’t invest in our country because laws don’t work here, opinion

Moldovans and foreign investors are rather encouraged to invest and develop their businesses elsewhere, because in Moldova laws don’t work, stated Alexei Repede, president of the Association of Moldovan Businesspersons from Everywhere (AOAMP), during a press conference. Alexei Repede says that laws not working or working selectively is also a reason why there are very rich people and very poor people in Moldova, without a middle class in between.

UNIDO Country Program for Inclusive and Sustainable Development launched

The Republic of Moldova will receive support from the United National Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to increase its industrial productivity, encourage innovation and use the best practices so as to fully integrate into the EU and global markets. The UNIDO Country Program for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development in Moldova for 2019-2023 was launched in Chisinau on May 14, IPN reports, quoting the Ministry of Economy. The goal is to promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization in the Republic of Moldova, including re-industrialization oriented to high-value added production, intelligent specialization and efficient use of resources.

● WEDNESDAY, May 15

“Termoelectrica” director: Improvement of quality of provided services is a continuous preoccupation

The improvement of the quality of heating services is a continuous preoccupation of SA “Termoelectrica”, the heat supplier’s director Veaceslav Eni stated in an international energy conference held in Bucharest. He underlined the necessity of exchanging experience and of establishing partnerships in this regard. “The quality, accessibility and safety of the services provided by “Termoelectrica” directly depends on the competence and professionalism of its team, while the implementation of experiences and best international practices in the field is a key issue in the company’s management agenda,” stated Veaceslav Eni.

150 companies participate in three simultaneous food industry exhibitions

Equipment and technology for the food and processing industry will be showcased at three simultaneous exhibitions -  Food & Drinks,  Food Technology, and Packaging Depot - hosted by Moldexpo during May 16-19. Galina Petrache, head of Rural Development at the Ministry of Agricultue, told IPN that 150 companies from Moldova, Turkey, Romania, Belarus and France are participating in the exhibitions. The offer includes equipment, technology, raw materials and other items useful in food production and processing.

● THURSDAY, May 16

Fuel prices go up

A number of gas stations posted higher fuel prices. The price of gasoline was raised by 1.10 lei, while of diesel fuel by 0.85 lei. The liquefied petroleum gas is sold at the same price. Currently, gasoline “95” costs 19.47 lei a liter, up from 18.37 lei a day ago. Diesel fuel is sold for 17.47 lei, as against 16.62 lei. The price of liquefied petroleum gas remained at 10.72 lei.

More people can now purchase homes, expert

The real estate market is influenced by the reduction in the number of public constructions and is simultaneously reinvigorated by the old apartments. Until 2010, apartments were purchased mainly by Moldovans who worked abroad and by very rich people. Now the number of those who can by a home is higher following the diminution of areas to the average of 60 square meters, which is twice smaller than ten years ago, economist of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” Veaceslav Ioniță was quoted by IPN as saying in the program “15 minutes of economic realism”. According to the expert, the young people who have incomes prefer to live separately from parents and the young people wo get married prefer to live alone. In 2018, there were sold over 20,000 apartments, which is a record high for Moldova. The figure is by 5,000 higher compared with the last five years. As many as 21,000 apartment were sold in the first quarter of 2019, the rise being fueled by home loans.

Central bank governor on bank fraud recovery progress

So far, 2.285 billion lei of the total 13.34 billion lei bailout offered by the National Bank of Moldova to mitigate the consequences of the 2014 bank fraud has been recovered. This was announced by NBM governor Octavian Armașu at a press conference on Thursday. According to the governor, part of the money was recovered from overdue loans owed to the now-defunct banks Banca de Economii, Unibank and Banca Socială; while other amounts came from selling the assets of the bankrupt banks. A further 850 million lei was collected from people convicted for being involved in the fraud.

Inflation predicted at 5.1% in 2019 and 6.5% in 2020

The National Bank of Moldova predicts inflation to stand at 5.1% in 2019 and at 6.5% in 2020, driven by food prices and and core inflation throughout this period. Regulated prices will see a temporary shock, while the rise in fuel prices will be insignificant. This was stated by NBM governor Octavian Armașu at a press conference Thursday. Annual inflation has been affected by food prices, which rose 3.8% in March and 4.5% in April. Last year’s good harvest in Moldova and in the region drove food prices down in the summer and fall of 2018. However, as export markets invigorated and food supply diminished, price trends reversed both domestically and externally. Rising food prices is not only a domestic trend, Armașu emphasized.

Transfers in rubles and dollars decline, those in euros rise

Money transfers from abroad, after decreasing considerably at the end of 2018, inverted the trend and in March 2019 rose to US$ 102 million. Transfers in Russian rubles and dollars in the first quarter of this year declined by 46.1% and 18.8%, respectively, compared with the corresponding period last year. Transfers in euros in the period rose by 11.1%, IPN reports, quoting data of the National Bank of Moldova that were presented in a news conference. The evolution of transfers during the past few years reveals a geographic reorientation of the money transfers to the European Union member states.

Moldova needs policies to diminish food waste, FAO representative

The global food waste that is witnessed in Moldova as well comes to over 1.3 billion tonnes a year. In Moldova, the legislative and policy framework on food waste is not developed. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is ready to cooperate with the responsible state institutions is designing a relevant policy document, Tudor Robu, FAO Assistant Presentative in Moldova, stated in an event centering on the issue. In Moldova, the largest part of food is wasted at the production – sale stage and less at the consumption stage. According to Tudor Robu, to diminish food waste in the production – sale process, the harvesting and keeping practices should be improved. The cold storage facilities can be a solution.

● FRIDAY, May 17

Competition Council probes allegations of cartel agreement in raising fuel prices

The Competition Council opened an inquiry following the recent simultaneous rise in fuel prices at a number of oil companies. It noted the simultaneous move generates suspicions that the oil sellers didn’t act independently and thus decided to probe the allegations of a cartel agreement. In a press release, the Competition Council said that in order to elucidate this case, it cooperates with other competent institutions and is ready to accept any information that will help clarify the situation.

● SATURDAY, May 18

Pavel Filip: IT sector is country’s chance of economic development

Investments in the IT sector are very important. This sector is the country’s chance of economic development, Prime Minister Pavel Filip stated in an event held to present the progress report of the project Moldova IT Park one year after its launch. The Premier said this is a very important project for him on which he worked a lot while he served as minister of information and communication technology, IPN reports. According to the Government’s press service, Pavel Filip in the event said that during one year of activity alone, the virtual IT park became home to 339 companies. The average monthly salary there is 28,000 lei. This salary rose twice over a year. Sales revenues came to 2 billion lei.

Travelers can purchase international traffic permits through “RoTicket”

The travelers as of May 20 can buy international traffic permits through the “RoTicket” system at the Chisinau Railway Terminal for European international routes and for the Chisinau – Bucharest train route No.105/106. In a press release, the company Moldova’s Railways says the price of permits for European international routes will be paid in Moldovan lei. The travelers can also purchase low-cost tickets for the Chisinau – Bucharest train route at the Smart –“Friendship” tariffs, for €19. Details about the routes can be found on the website of Moldova’s Railways.