The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) registers an increasing tendency of the economic situation of the enterprises from the small business, both the results of the economic agents and the implementation of governmental programs. MEC presented officially on Tuesday, the 27th of June, the Strategy for assisting the development of the small and average size enterprises for the years 2006- 2008. “The fact that more and more people start their own businesses is as well the merit and success of the Government, that has as a mission the creation of necessary conditions for the activity of the economic agents”, declared for Info-Prim Neo the minister of Economy and Commerce, Valeriu Lazar. According to him, about 8 thousand new enterprises were registered last year and comparing with the year 2002, the number of the enterprises from this sector increased by over 40 thousand. Starting with the year 2003, the total financial result of the enterprises is a positive one and also in permanent growth, said the minister, mentioning that more and more companies work having substantial income, presently this index being of 36 %. Lazar mentioned that art.49 from the Fiscal Code is fulfilling its goal: if previously only a few hundred economic agents benefited of tax exemption when paying taxes for corporative income, then last year and this year, their number constituted 2600 and respectively 900 economic agents. The respective article provides that the economic agents having not more than 19 employers and a business financial total of 3 million lei, benefit of tax exemption at paying the income tax for a period of 3 years and of reduction of the income tax by 35 % in the following 2 years. Even if it is not protected from external socks, this sector is the most flexible one comparing with other sectors of national economy and can react quicker and with less looses, says the minister. Asked about the small period of only 4 years provided for the implementation of the new Strategy of Assisting the Development of the small and average size enterprises, Lazar said this is not a problem, because the Strategy assures a permanent existence of previous programs. According to him, a development conception of the respective sector for a period of 7-10 years can be elaborated, but at the level of the strategy very concrete actions are planned for a average time period, including for assuring the control of their efficient implementation. This Strategy was elaborated based on the same principles as the Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EGPRS) that provides for a period of three years, according to the international practice in implementing these kind of strategies, elaborated for a average time period, said the minister. The value of the strategy is in the fact that, according to the quoted source, it stipulates a concrete plan of actions: elaborating and approving the legal framework and reaching high performance indexes. The five strategic directions were elaborated as a result of the analyses performed by the MEC, as well as the international financial bodies and NGOs that studied the existing situation of the sector and its problems, mentioned Lazar. “People say that there are still red tapes barriers and that the existing formula of classifying the sector doesn’t place it in the same reference system with the European Union, thus, through comparison in the Republic of Moldova the sector of the small business is the smallest one from Europe, fact that doesn’t correspond to the reality”, says the minister. Due to this, Lazar says, a delimitation of the notions micro, small and average in the legal framework is necessary and these must be in conformity with the international legal framework. In those three years, provided for the implementation of the Strategy, the government will perfect the general regulation legal framework, in order to be able to clearly stipulate the registering procedure and of elaborating financial and tax reports. Also the institutional framework will separate very clearly the competences regarding the elaboration and implementation of the governmental policy, the news being that MEC will be responsible of policies and the implementation organization of their accomplishment. Also MEC plans to facilitate the access of the enterprises from the sector to financing, including the creation of a new body following the example of “Garant-Invest”, that guarantees bank credits when the enterprises lack the guarantee. The efforts of the Government will be focused, according to the minister, on training business people, in order for basic training to assure the maintaining of new opened companies. Due to this, the Strategy proposes an entire range of consultancy and informational services, as well as creating a net of business centers and business incubators, where beginners could be initiated in the process of business launching. In order to increase the quality of production in this sector, the Strategy provides for the creation of cheap access for the business people to marketing information sources. Companies will be encouraged to implement quality management systems in order to become adequately competitive. Even if projects of facilitating the access of entrepreneurs to preferential credits of foreign donors, like the joint program with the Government of Japan, that provides for leasing offers for the technologic equipment for 18 months, the minister of Economy and Commerce says that the Strategy doesn’t exclude the possibility of attracting such new programs. Nevertheless, MEC didn’t set as a goal to offer preferential credits for the business people in the next three years, considering that it is more important to help them develop their self-ability of making money, added Valeriu Lazăr, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. According to the official statistics, the number of companies in the small business field increased in 2005 to 30, 5 thousand companies, or by 2,7 thousand companies ( 8,9%) more comparing with 2004. In May, in the Republic of Moldova there were registered about 17 thousand micro-companies with a maximum of 3 employers.