● MONDAY, September 3
Changes in method of selling confiscated and unowned goods
The regulations concerning the method of recording, assessing and selling confiscated, unowned, sequestrated, easily alterable or perishable goods, corpora delicti, goods transferred under state ownership with the succession right and treasures of September 11, 2001 are to be amended in accordance with a Government decision that was presented by the Ministry of Finance. Thus, the State Tax Service will be empowered to auction real estate. The buildings and land will no longer be transferred free to the local public authorities as now. The money obtained from auctioning real estate and the proceeds collected as bidding fee will be transferred to the state budget. If the buildings and land cannot be auctioned, these could be transferred free to the local public authorities on whose territory they are situated.
Auctions to sell state-owned shares start at Moldova Stock Exchange
The auctions to sell state-owned shareholdings in 21 companies operating in different sectors of the national economy were kicked off at the Moldova Stock Exchange. The holdings in 16 companies exceed 50% of their share capital. The state sells its shares in the cognac factory “Barza Albă”, tobacco company “Tutun CTC”, 11 road companies “Drumuri” and others at the total initial price of 983.5 million lei. The auctions form part of the new privatization round launched by the Public Property Agency in July 27 this year. The round includes a commercial contest, an investment contest and an outcry auction to sell construction complexes and 12 state-run enterprises as undividable property. The total selling price of these is over 1.5 billion lei.
● TUESDAY, September 4
Kiril Gaburici: “Transgaz” can open tender contests to build Iași-Chișinău gas pipeline
Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Kiril Gaburici said the Republic of Moldova met all the conditions concerning the construction of the Iași-Chișinău gas pipeline. Therefore, the Romanian company “Transgaz”, having a construction authorization, can start to organize tender contests for the delivery of building materials and can begin the pipeline building works. In the talk show “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel, Kiril Gaburici said a delegation from Romania led by the Romanian Minister of Economy Dănuț Andrușca will come to Moldova this weekend to end the first working stage related to the construction of the pipeline. “So far work was mainly done on the documents and procedure for transferring the Moldovan company that they will manage from now on,” stated the minister, noting that the Ungheni-Chișinău section is to become functional at the end of 2019 according to plan.
Banking performance rankings at end-July
Moldova Agroindbank, Mobiasbancă and Moldindconbank head the rankings of the commercial banks with the best performance. These excel in terms of profitability and market indicators, accounting for about 80% of the profit made in the sector and for 68% of all the banking assets. The rankings were compiled by experts of the independent think tank “Expert-Grup”. According to the experts, the commercial banks at the end of July had higher financial and prudential indicators both individually and aggregately. Even if new requirements for determining the level of capital and credit risk exposure took effect, the capital adequacy ratio remained at an appropriate level, of about 27% for the whole banking sector, with oscillations of 19.6% to 63% at individual level.
Mobile phone service revenues continue to decline
The statistics concerning the development of the mobile phone market in the first half of 2018 shows a continuous decline in the revenues of mobile phone carriers owing to the reduction in the number of users of such services and of the voice traffic generated by these. According to the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology, the total revenues from the sale of mobile phone services declined by 99.4 million lei (-6%) compared with the corresponding period last year to over 1.5 billion lei. The number of users declined by 51,500 (-1.2%) compared with the end of 2017 to 4.4 million, while the volume of voice traffic diminished by 26.2 million minutes (-0.8%) to 3.6 billion minutes.
● WEDNESDAY, September 5
Central bank raises amount of required reserves in lei
The Executive Board of the National Bank of Moldova on September 4 decided to increase the amount of required reserves attracted in Moldovan lei and nonconvertible currencies starting with the period of applying the required reserves in Moldova lei – September 16 – October 15 – by 2.5% to 42.5% of the calculation base. The decision was made in a move to sterilize the excess of liquidity. The Board also decided to maintain the base rate applied to the main short-term monetary policy operations at the current level of 6.5% annually and to also maintain interest rates on overnight loans at the current level of 9.5% annually and on overnight deposits at the current level of 3.5% annually. The amount of required reserves in freely convertible currencies will remain at the current level of 14.0% of the calculation base.
Bankers prefer to keep money at National Bank than to lend to economy, opinion
Lending to the economy continues to contract even if the interest rates on loans are very low. The balance of loans in the economy at the end of this June was by 2.8% lower than at the end of last June, totaling 37.5 billion lei. The banks prefer to keep the money in Central Bank Certificates or to place it in state securities, journalist Victor Ursu was quoted by IPN as saying in the program “15 minutes of economic realism”. The balance of loans in foreign currencies declined by 4.4% (the appreciation of the national currency being an important factor that influences the value of these recalculated in lei), while of loans in national currency decreased by 1.7%. The decline is also due to the bank’s unwillingness to provide loans due to the high amount of required reserves and their profitability. However, the diminution pace slowed down.
Excise stamps to be bought from Center of Information Technology in Finance
Importing business entities will purchase excise stamps directly from the public institution Center of Information Technology in Finance, IPN reports, with reference to changes made by the Government to a number of previous decisions. Now the excise duties are bought from the Customs Service. According to the Ministry of Finance, the new purchase methodology will facilitate the activity of importing business entities as the time needed for issuing excise stamps without intermediaries will decrease. The excise stamps are issued to business entities that import excisable goods for money.
● THURSDAY, September 6
Agreement for commercial and economic cooperation with Kazakhstan approved
The Cabinet on September 5 approved the agreement for commercial and economic cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan that was signed in Chisinau on March 16, 2018. Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Kiril Gaburici, who signed the document on behalf of the Republic of Moldova, said Moldovan business entities operating in the agrifood sector are interested in establishing commercial relations with Kazakhstan. According to the authorities, the agreement will contribute to strengthening the mutually advantageous economic relations, creating favorable conditions for cooperation based on the main socioeconomic development directions, improving the legislation that regulates the commercial-economic relations and creating mixed production units. The agreement is valid for a five-year period and could be extended automatically for another five years.
Global Conference on Wine Tourism opened at Mimi Castle
More than 200 representatives of the world tourism industry from 60 countries are taking part in the third UN WTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism that is held in Moldova during September 5-7. The participants will be familiarized with the country’s tourism sector by trips to wineries and tasting events. The conference was opened at Mimi Castle in Bulboaca village of Anenii Noi district on September 6. Attending the event, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said Moldova’s wine tourism has huge potential and its wines already became a visiting card. “When we go abroad on a visit, it is mandatory for us to also take a bottle of Moldovan wine with us, alongside the toothbrush,” he stated, noting that as the people, the wines of Moldova experienced many difficulties because the vines were cut in the Soviet period, but the sector nevertheless survived, as the people did.
● FRIDAY, September 7
Wine Day to take place October 6 and 7
The 17th National Wine Day will be celebrated on October 6 and 7, 2018, IPN has learned from the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment. A number of areas will be set up in the central square of the capital city, such as the Craftspeople, Peasant’s Yard and the Painting Area. There will be improvised three Moldovan villages and created a “wine road”. The sanitary area for participants and visitors will be three times wider. According to Minister of Agriculture Liviu Volconovici, it is important to make sure that the guests of the holiday are familiarized with high-quality Moldovan wines in an atmosphere that will meet their expectations.
Chișinău to host Must Fest this weekend
This year the Must Fest, which is at its third edition, will move from vineyards to the Great National Assembly Square of Chișinău. On September 8 and 9, the organizers promise a grandiose festival and corresponding concerts. Entrance to the festival is based on tickets. These will cost 200 lei for a day and 300 lei for two days. An area for children was set up in the Square. There these could see illusionists and dazzling displays, make paintings on water and amuse themselves at inflatable chutes. The guests will enjoy masterclasses given by a professional sommelier and different sports and mind games. The Must Fest concert will feature The Rasmus, Antonia, Brainstorm, Chaif, Zdob și Zbub, Alex Calancea Band and others.
Landowners from Dubăsari district informed about development opportunities
The farmers who recently gained access to their farmland located beyond the Râbnița-Tiraspol road were informed about the eligibility conditions, type of projects and opportunities offered by the programs and projects implemented in agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment on September 6 staged an information session in the building of the Dubăsari Duistrcit Council. The landowners were informed about the financing opportunities within the project “Moldova’s Orchard”. The project is intended for business entities operating in the horticultural sector, such as fruit, grape, walnut and berry growers, and those involved in post-harvest activities, such as processing companies, nurseries and companies from the related industry – packing, label and horticulture accessories producers. The famers can raise investment loans and financing in leasing. Among the tax concessions of the project are the application of zero VAT on the delivery of products on the domestic market and the importation of goods, works and services, exemption from paying customs duties on the import of goods and services.
Fines of 85,000 lei imposed on flower vendors
The State Tax Service penalized about 40 vendors selling flowers in the municipality of Chisinau, fining them a total of 85,000 lei as a result of surprise inspections carried out on September 2 and 3. According to the Service, the vendors didn’t have a cash register, had money in excess and didn’t present the required documents. As a result, there were imposed fiscal fines totaling 77,000 lei and contravention fines of 8,000 lei. Fiscal posts in the period were instituted at two authorized flower markets. The deliveries of flowers, according to the data of cash registers, came to the value of over 400,000 lei, which is much higher than the amounts recorded outside the period of fiscal posts.
Nonbank payment service provider changes name
The payment service provider Artosis S.R.L. requested the National Bank of Moldova to renew the license for issuing digital currency following the change of the name into BPAY S.R.L. and of the legal address. It happened after on August 9 this year the National Bank suspended the company’s license for the provision of payment services and issuance of digital currency for a period of six months. In a press release, the National Bank says that after examining the application the Executive Board decided to renew the license, not yet to allow the company to resume work. The Board’s decision to suspend the company’s activity remains valid. Thus, BPAY S.R.L. could work based on the renewed license only after the six-month period as from August 9, 5pm expires.
● SATURDAY, September 8
Fresh Moldovan plums to be exported to Canada
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on October 1 starts to issue permits for the import of fresh Moldovan plums into Canada, IPN has learned from the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment. The Moldovan competent authorities were informed about this by Barbara Peterson, national coordinator for plant protection of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The Ministry noted that the gaining of access to the Canadian market for fresh Moldovan plums is a success of the joint negotiations between the competent authorities of the two states. It voiced hope that this way the country’s image as a supplier of agricultural products of a high quality and as a credible commercial partner will improve.
1.5-2.2bn cubic meters of gas will go through Ungheni-Chișinău gas pipeline annually
Director general of the Romanian company Transgaz Ion Sterian said the capacity of the Ungheni-Chișinău gas pipeline will be of 1.5 to 2.2 billion cubic meters of gas a year. This volume is larger than the annual gas consumption in Moldova, which is of about 1 billion cubic meters a year. The issue was developed in the talk show “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel. Ion Sterian assured that the gas pipeline will be built by the end of 2019. According to him, Transgaz has €90 million that it will invest in the construction of the Ungheni-Chișinău gas pipeline. The pipeline will help diversify the gas supply sources in Moldova. “The pipeline will be about 120 kilometers long and will go through four districts and will supply with gas all the people living in these regions that will be connected to the distribution network,” noted the businessman.
Kiril Gaburici about Ungheni-Chișinău gas pipeline: It is a courageous step
Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Kiril Gaburici said the construction of the Ungheni-Chișinău gas pipeline is a courageous and important step by which gas from the EU, including Romania, will come to the Republic of Moldova. “What we did is a courageous, very good step that will help supply the citizens of the Republic of Moldova with gas regardless of the situation elsewhere,” the minister was quoted by IPN as saying in talk show “Fabrika” produced by Publika TV channel. Kiril Gaburici noted that the supplies of gas from the Russian Federation are expected to be stable until 2020. Roman Chircă, director of the Market Economy Institute, said the capacity of the Ungheni-Chișinău gas pipeline will be of 1.5 to 2.2 billion cubic meters of gas a year. This volume is much larger than the annual needs of Moldova. It is yet too early to say at what price the gas that will reach Moldova through this pipeline will be sold.
