Investments in Free Economic Zones (FEZs) in the first 9 months increased by 1.7% compared to 2011, reaching $13 million. The data was published on Tuesday, November 27, at a press conference, Info-Prim Neo reports. Head of the Ministry of Economy’s general division for industrial policies and competitiveness Ion Lupan said that the sales of FEZs productions increased in January-September by 10.3% in current prices, compared to the same period last year (considering the 0.8% drop in overall industrial production) and amounted to 1.57 billion lei or 9% of the total production of Moldova’s processing industry. Most of the FEZ production was exported: wines, packages, carpets, covers and car wiring, heating oils and furniture. “Currently, we finalized negotiations with several investors for the implementation of 8 investment projects in FEZs. They will be launched in 2013. According to initial calculations, the projects should bring investments of $120 million and create 2500 new jobs. Other 7 projects are being negotiated. The companies that want to become FEZ residents and to implement these projects are from Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Romania and even some local companies”, said Ion Lupan. There are 7 FEZs in Moldova, which have 151 residents that in turn employ 6167 workers. The total amount of investments attracted in FEZs so far is $155 million. According to Moldovan legislation, the income tax FEZ residents that export their production is halved, meaning they pay a tax of only 6% compared to 12% paid by other companies. The FEZ residents are also exempted from VAT and customs taxes.