ECO-BUS WEEKLY DIGEST August 23-29. Most important Economy & Business news by IPN
●TUESDAY, August 24
Moldova to get 165 million SDRs form IMF
Moldova will receive 165.3 million SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), equivalent to about $236 million, from the International Monetary Fund. The decision was discussed during a meeting between Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița with Rodgers Chawani, IMF Resident Representative in Moldova. According to a Government press release, the SDR allocation provides liquid assets to member countries without any repayment or cancellation obligations. States do not have to meet any conditionality in order to receive their SDR quota, meaning that each member country can use the SDR allocation according to domestic needs. Natalia Gavrilița says Moldova will use the resources allocated by the IMF to supplement budget revenues and provide support to economic sectors, with a focus on small and medium enterprises.
New Customs Code adopted
Effective beginning with January 2023, a new iteration of the Customs Code has passed final vote today. The new provisions derive from commitments assumed by Moldova with the signing of the Moldova-EU Association Agreement and has also been one of the obligations under the Agreement on the European Union’s Macro-Financial Assistance. The document will improve the quality of services provided by the Customs Service to business entities, will increase data protection, will reduce the costs and delays related to the declaration of goods and will diminish the risks of fraud and corruption through the online monitoring of customs operations and the reduction of the paper-based procedures. It also contains provisions on immediate and longer-term facilitation for businesses such as: centralized customs clearance, elimination of tax or fees for customs procedures, deferment of the payment of customs duty and other import taxes, reduction of the number of customs procedures and their reorganization, Authorized Economic Operators etc. The new Code will also provide economic operators with the possibility to be informed in advance about customs decisions, thus enabling them to respond before a final customs decision is made.
New rules for petroleum products pricing adopted
Amendments to the Law on the Petroleum Products Market were adopted today, August 24, in second reading. The National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) will set the maximum retail prices for main standard petroleum products every working day and will publish them on its website. According to the bill, it is prohibited to set the retail price of standard-type main petroleum products above the maximum caps set by ANRE. Additionally, the amendment to the Law on the Petroleum Products Market provides for a five-fold decrease in the mandatory storage capacity an importer is required to meet, from 5000 m3 to 1000 m3.
Pandemic and drought will have long-lasting effects on wine sector, says minister
The COVID-19 pandemic and the severe drought of recent years will have lasting repercussions for the wine sector. Solid support actions are needed from the state, including restructuring and modernizing the wine sector, Viorel Gherciu, Minister of agriculture and food industry, said on Tuesday at the Wine Sector National Conference - "2021 grape harvest: peculiarities and valorization". "The wine sector is continuously registering positive development trends. However, due to the severe drought in 2020, combined unfavorably with the pandemic situation, the 2020 wine year saw a decrease in overall production by 28% and a reduction in exports of wines in natural expression by 19%. At the same time, exports of quality wines increased by 9%, growth being recorded in most export destinations", Viorel Gherciu said. According to the minister, the quality of last year's wines is exceptional, with high maturation potential, which will lay the foundations for exceptional local vintages. Last year, Moldova was awarded more than 950 medals at international competitions, Viorel Gherciu said.
●WEDNESDAY, August 25
Transport regulator to check operator involved in Kiev bus crash
The National Road Transport Agency (ANTA) will inspect the operator whose bus crashed today in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, on route from Chisinau to Moscow. ANTA said in a press release that the operator will face contravention sanctions if the inspection reveals any violations of the transport legislation. The local press reported that the bus was flipped on its side after the driver hit a curb in an attempt to avoid an accident in slippery road conditions. According to Ukraine’s emergencies service, eight passengers who required detailed medical examinations subsequently refused to be hospitalized. The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a second bus was on its way to safely ferry all the passengers to their destination.
About $235M from IMF is at Moldovan government’s disposal
A sum of about $235 million allocated by the IMF Board on August 2 is already at the disposal of the Moldovan authorities. This was announced by President Maia Sandu following a meeting with Rodgers Chawani, IMF Resident Representative in Moldova. “It is a global tool to support governments in mitigating the effects of the pandemic and to subsequently aid economic recovery, with our country receiving about $235 million,” Maia Sandu posted on her Facebook account. Another highlight of the meeting was a prospective new IMF program for Moldova that could materialize in the fall. An IMF expert team is expected in Chisinau at the end of September. The parties agreed that the program needs to support coherent economic, financial and social policies in the interests of Moldova’s citizens.
Eugeniu Cozonac is new Public Property Agency director
Eugeniu Cozonac has been appointed as director of the Public Property Agency at the Government meeting on Wednesday. Cozonac has over twenty years of experience in corporate management, having launched and developed companies in Moldova, the United Kingdom and the US. He also worked as an expert in recruiting and selecting executive management staff, including Fortune 500 companies. Eugeniu Cozonac is the co-founder of Compudava (now Endava), and from 2000 to 2004 he was CEO of this successful IT company. In 2005, he founded Tricertion and was its chief operating officer. During 2011-2014, he was director on digital strategy of Leading The Way, in 2014-2015 he founded and was CEO at Firstly, and from 2016 to 2018 he worked as a consultant and researcher at CarterBaldwin Executive Search. From 2019 until his appointment, he served as director of Plover LLC, which specializes in managing investments in software companies. Cozonac has completed master’s and doctoral studies at universities in the US and France in areas of business administration, leadership, development and organizational change.
Rail Code opens door for private operators
The Government approved the draft Rail Transport Code on August 25. The new Code seeks to eliminate the monopoly on the railway services market of the state-owned company Moldova Railways. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development said that the railway infrastructure will continue to belong to the state, while traction, passenger and freight services may be provided by private operators. "Rail transport operators will have the right to access the railway infrastructure against payment for use. The payment will be determined according to a calculation methodology approved by the cabinet. The purpose of this payment is to cover infrastructure management costs. Rail transport operators will be able to provide services at a price set by themselves", the project's information note reads. The state will be able to examine the compensation of certain expenses and investments made by rail passenger transport operators. The proposed draft will provide for more rigorous mechanisms to protect passengers' rights and thus ensure the quality of transport services.
●THURSDAY, August 26
EBRD buys 25% stake in Vestmoldtransgaz
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has become a shareholder with a 25% interest in Vestmoldtransgaz, the Moldovan subsidiary of the Romanian gas transmission company Transgaz, SeeNews reported.The EBRD became a Vestmoldtransgaz shareholder after fulfilling the condition of a subscription agreement to increase the share capital of the subsidiary by 20 million euro ($23.5 million) in order to finance the development costs of the gas transmission pipeline Ungheni-Chisinau. Afaceri.news recalls that last year Transgaz and the EBRD signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which, depending on Transgaz's financing needs, the EBRD will consider co-funding the project by providing lending or equity participation instruments.
