Metro Cash & Carry will continue to extend its presence in Moldova this year by opening a new market in the Chisinau municipality, Metro co-chairman Emilian Abadjiev told a meeting with Premier Vasile Tarlev on Friday, March 24. The governmental press service quoted Abadjiev as saying that the group is studying possibilities to build a market in the Balti municipality. "The decision to come to Moldova was right and we rely on government’s support for implementation of other projects of this kind in Moldova," the Metro regional director added. In turn, Tarlev saluted the enlargement of the Metro network in Moldova. He noted that the government is interested "to create advantageous conditions for business development in Moldova and it will back the intentions of potential investors." Metro opened its first market in Moldova in December 2004. The German group Metro was created in 1996 by a merger of several important retailing companies. Metro Cash & Carry is a division of the group specialised in self-service retailing. According to a report that the group published on March 22, the sales in the fiscal year 2005 were valued at 55.7 billion euros, by 4.2 percent more than in the precedent year.