● MONDAY, February 23
Employers request Government to immediately adopt anti-crisis plan
The National Employers Confederation of Moldova calls upon the Government to immediately adopt a national anti-crisis plan. In a news conference on February 23, the Confederation’s chairman Leonid Cerescu said the national currency has depreciated by 26% against the euro and by 34% against the dollar so far this year. This process must be stopped. The businessmen, banks and decision makers must make use of all the available instruments in order to calm things down and not to allow speculations on the currency market. “We call on the Prime Minister of Moldova to immediately convene the National Committee on Financial Stability, whose task is to ensure appropriate coordination between the public authorities in case of extraordinary financial shocks. We call upon the Government to start to work out a national anti-crisis plan,” stated Leonid Cerescu.
Central bank puts silver coin “Martsishor” into circulation
The National Bank of Moldova put a commemorative silver coin titled “Martsishor” into circulation. The coin weighs 16.5 grams, is 30 in diameter and has a nominal value of 50 lei. It is round and with the edges jagged. There were issued 1,000 copies of the coin. On the coin’s face, there is Moldova’s coat of arms in the center, the year of the issue “2014” on the upper side and the inscription “50 LEI” on the lower side. The lettering “REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA” is engraved on the coin’s circumference with capital letters. On the reverse, there is the image of a martsishor, which is the symbol of spring, in the center, and six elements that represent the stylized image of a snowflake and six elements that represent the stylized image of the sun on the lower side.
Cabinet discusses situation in financial-banking sector
Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici is for supporting the farmers by providing loans in advantageous conditions to them and by diversifying the financial instruments intended for them on the financial-banking market. The subject was discussed in a meeting of the Premier with representatives of Moldovan banks. Chiril Gaburici underlined the importance of an open dialogue between the Government and the banking community, noting the role of the financial-banking institutions in ensuring the sustainable development of the national economy. “We must have efficient communication and coordinate our actions so as to ensure the conditions needed for developing the economy and for attracting investments,” he stated.
19 energy efficiency projects approved for financing
The Energy Efficiency Fund approve for financing 19 energy efficiency projects involving facilities from the public sector. The value of the projects was estimated at 44 million lei, about 25% of which will be covered by the beneficiaries. In the same meeting, the head of the Administration Board of the Energy Efficiency Fund, Deputy Minister of Economy Valeriu Triboi said the project beneficiaries asked for financial support for taking different energy efficiency measures and using renewable sources of energy so as to reduce the energy losses and the associated costs.
● TUESDAY, February 24
Lack of confidence in banking sector influences depreciation of national currency, expert
Most of the people were affected by the fluctuations on the financial-banking market and not many will want to save money in lei in the immediate period. The recent depreciation of the national currency was caused by the lack of confidence in the banking system, which made the people exchange the last lei for euros or dollars, considers program director at the independent think tank “Expert-Grup” Dumitru Budeanschi. He made such statements in the talk show “Place for dialogue” on the public station Radio Moldova. The expert said the problems in the banking sector appeared in 2013, when the raider attacks that struck the sector were managed superficially. “The raider attacks remained unsolved as a problem and many had the feeling that they will repeat. This was the first signal that the banking sector is not as powerful as it seemed,” stated Dumitru Budeanschi.
Moldova holds presidency of Central European Free Trade Agreement
Moldova in 2015 holds the presidency of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA). Deputy Minister of Economy Octavian Calmic will chair the meeting of deputy ministers of the CEFTA member states that will take place in Brussels on February 25-28. In the first meeting of deputy ministers on February 25, there will be signed the additional protocol to the CEFTA Agreement between Moldova and Macedonia, by which the export quotas on wine will be annulled. This document will allow fully liberalizing trade with the CEFTA member states.
Producers from four countries to take part in “Beauty” exhibition
More than 140 cosmetic companies will display their products at the 18th international specialized exhibition “Beauty” that will take place at “Moldexpo” between February 26 and March 1, 2015. The manager of the exhibition project Natalia Salaru has told that the exhibit will involve producers from Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, and Turkey. Besides, there will be exhibited products made in Italy, Germany, France and other states. The event will be staged in three pavilions. The exhibits will include decorative cosmetics, substances for body and hair, cosmetic products and perfumery for children as well as medical and para-pharmaceutical products, special clothes and furniture, jewelry and accessories, personal hygiene and sanitation objects.
Second stage of project to tell companies about access to EU launched
Economic entities from the textile industry and the agro-industrial products processing industry will be invited to training within the second stage of the project “Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. Informing and Strengthening of Capacities of Economic Entities”. The project is financed by the Government of Sweden through the International Finance Corporation and is implemented by the Chamber of Trade and Industry and the European Business Association. When launching the second stage of the project, the Chamber of Trade and Industry’s head Valeriu Lazar said that a number of business missions were staged abroad last year to enable Moldovan businessmen to see how the economy develops in the EU and to establish cooperation relations with European partners.
● WEDNESDAY, February 25
Causes why some brands of cigarettes were cheapened became known
One of the main causes for the recent cheapening of some brands of cigarettes is the large number of products counterfeited in the country or smuggled into Moldova, says an investigation on the issue published on the portal www.oficial.md. “Experts drew attention to the fact that even if Moldova is known as a country that rather exports counterfeit cigarettes to the EU, this year we witnessed a different situation. They told us that the Transnistrian region is a source of counterfeit or contraband cigarettes. The previous years, the products imported into Transnistria were taken to the European countries or the CIS through Ukraine. But, after the control on the border was toughened up, the exports to Ukraine decreased considerably and this made the smugglers reorient themselves to the territory controlled by Chisinau,” said the quoted source.
EU is concerned about situation on currency market of Moldova, Pirkka Tapiola
The European Union is very concerned about the current situation on the currency market of Moldova and analyzes it attentively, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Pirkka Tapiola said in an interview for the portal moldovacurata.md. The diplomat noted that in the context of the challenges faced by the financial sector, the EU offered the National Bank of Moldova assistance under the TAIEX and Twinning institutional building instruments. “Moldova’s problems in the banking sector are well-know. This sector needs transparent solutions that would enable us to see what we can do with Banca Sociala, Unibank and Banca de Economii. I would like to note that there is also the psychological factor that significantly affected the situation as regards the exchange rates, especially over the last few weeks. When the Government hadn’t been yet voted in by Parliament, the people expressed increased concern or even fears that contributed to the further depreciation,” said Pirkka Tapiola.
Moldovan wine producers conquer new markets
The annulment of export quotas on wine in the trade between Moldova and Macedonia will open new markets for the national producers, the director of the National Office of Vine and Wine Dumitru Munteanu stated. “As far as I know, we do not export wine to Macedonia, probably owing to the existing restrictions. The market of Macedonia is not simple as this country produces and exports a lot of wine in bulk to the European states. However, any eliminated barrier leads to new business partnerships and the annulment of the export quotas will bring only benefits to our producers. We do not think that the wines of Macedonia can pose a threat to the internal market of Moldova,” said Dumitru Munteanu.
Harsher penalties for suppliers of drugs that do not obey contract clauses
The suppliers of medicines and medical consumables that will not obey the clauses of the contracts signed with medical institutions will be punished harsher. In its February 25 meeting, the Cabinet approved relevant amendments to the regulations concerning the purchase of medicines and other medical products. The economic entities that will not supply the medical institutions with the products stipulated in the contract will have to pay a penalty of 50% of the contract’s value, not of 5% as now. If the buyer is not informed about the impossibility of supplying the drugs within 15 calendar days, the seller will pay a penalty of 5% of the value of the contract. A penalty of 1% of the goods’ value will be imposed for every day of delay in supplying medicines and medical products, as against 0.1% now.
Corruption foils intentions to invest in Moldova, Press Club meeting
Since declaring its independence until 2014 inclusive, Moldova attracted foreign direct investments of about US$4 billion. The country has investment potential, but the existing obstacles are too serious, economic expert Viorel Chivriga said when presenting the conclusions of the study “Attraction of foreign direct investments to the Republic of Moldova: analysis of impediments”. In a Press Club meeting of the Foreign Policy Association (APE), Viorel Chivriga stated the obstacles to the foreign investments are the same as in the 1990s. The business climate must be improved. The legislation in the field is relatively good, but, if it’s not implemented or is modified too often, it becomes noxious because it scares the potential investors. In the economic sector, there are laws that were modified 19 times during the last few years.
● THURSDAY, February 26
Export of Moldovan apples to Russia resumed
Starting with today, February 26, the export of Moldovan apples to Russia is resumed. On its website, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of Russia announced that the import of apples was reopened for ten Moldovan companies and for the producers from a number of districts. The Federal Service said the import was resumed on a trial basis following bilateral discussions with the National Food Safety Agency of Moldova. The companies allowed to export apples are: SRL “UNGUREANCA”, CAP “Prima-Nicatim”, SRL “Plaiul Birladean”, GT “SCUTARU VICTOR”, SRL “GRIMAFRUCT”, SRL “Bona-Fruct”, SRL “Bucuria-Saturn”, “Agrodenidan”, “Agrostar, and “Unit-Olimp”. The producers from the districts Grigoriopol, Dubasari, Camenca, Rybnitsa and Slobozia, situated in Transnistria, will also be able to export apples to Russia.
Exporters of apples to Russia issued with phytosanitary certificates
The National Food Safety Agency on February 26 started to issue phytosanitary certificates for the export of apples to Russia, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Ion Sula announced. The minister told a news conference that the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance allowed partially resuming the import of Moldovan apples into Russia on a trial basis, for an indefinite period, under the quality guarantee of the National Food Safety Agency of Moldova. The Russian authority warned that if violations of the phytosanitary norms are identified, the export will be stopped.
Foreign investors will come to Moldova if better conditions are created for them, study
Foreign investors consider they can work efficiently in Moldova only if the Government creates conditions for attracting investments at least like those in Romania, Hungary, Poland, Serbia or Montenegro. Investors’ opinions were collected by expert Viorel Chivriga, who is the authors of the study “Attraction of foreign direct investments to the Republic of Moldova: analysis of impediments”. The survey commissioned by the Foreign Policy Association (APE), was presented in a Press Club. The conditions wanted by the investors include appropriate infrastructure, access to financial resources and administrative support. Viorel Chivriga said the investors pay lower taxes in the mentioned countries. They are offered direct financing for each opened workplace, lower charges on infrastructure services and electric power, new/modernized industrial areas with all the necessary infrastructure.
● FRIDAY, February 27
Ion Sula: We will ask explanations from Russia concerning selection of companies allowed to export
The National Food Safety Agency will ask Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance to provide explanations concerning the criteria used to select the ten companies that can export apples to Russia from February 26. The Agency will also request that all the companies from Moldova should be allowed to export apples, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Ion Sula said. The minister stated that he received a letter from the Russian authorities, informing him that the import of Moldovan apples was allowed on a trial basis, but the trial period and the selection criteria were not specified. Ion Sula noted the list of companies is a surprise for him and he hopes the export of vegetal products will be fully resumed after this experiment.
Central bank anticipates additional inflationist pressure
The deepening of the depreciation trends of the national currency witnessed since the start of this year reveals the imminence of pronounced inflationist pressure in the immediate periods, which, at the first stage through the prices of imported goods and the charges of public utilities, and afterward through the extension of the pro-inflationist expectations, will cause the Consumer Price Index to temporarily exceed the upper limit of the variation interval ± 1.5 percentage points from the inflation target of 5%, the National Bank of Moldova says in a communique. According to the central bank, the increasing probability of a recession in the countries of the euro zone and in Russia, which are the main commercial partners of Moldova, can lead to the diminution of the currency incomes of the population and the national exporters in the short term, through the external trade channel and the remittances of the population.
StarNet was target of cyber-attack
StarNet announced that in the evening of February 26 the company was subject to an organized cyber-attack. The attackers used a virus that allowed stealing information and enabled access to confident data, such as clients’ names and surnames, ID, telephones and email addresses. StarNet said all clients’ data have been kept under strict control and protected in the company’s information system, but the way the attack was conducted led to the impossibility of accessing them.
Employers formulate proposals for easing situation of economic entities
The employers suggest rescheduling the loans provided to economic entities in foreign currency by offering possibilities of repaying them at the exchange rate of the Moldovan leu used when the loans were taken out. This is one of the suggestions formulated at a roundtable meeting staged by the employers in a move to stabilize the situation on the internal currency market. Chairman of the National Employers Confederation of Moldova Leonid Cerescu said the discussed proposals will be submitted to the executive in the nearest future so as to improve the conditions of the economic entities that are in difficulty because the depreciation of the leu.
PGO starts criminal case over cyber-attack against StarNet
The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) started a criminal case over the cyber-attack committed against the telecoms company StarNet. Searches are being carried out at the homes of clients of StarNet from Chisinau, who are suspected of being involved in the commission of the offense. Nobody was yet arrested. In the morning of February 27, the PGO was informed by StarNet about the illegal accessing of its database. The prosecutors ordered investigating this case, including the way in which the company ensured the protection of data.
● SATURDAY, February 28
Police arrest two suspects in case of cyber-attack on StarNet
Officers of the Internal Protection and Anticorruption Service, in concert with employees of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Special Police Brigade “Fulger” and of the Security and Information Service, in the afternoon of February 27 arrested two persons who are suspected of illegal accessing the databases from the information system of StarNet. Following a notification from StarNet, the hackers and their home addresses were identified as a result of special investigation measures. The suspects were arrested, while the information systems they possessed were confiscated.
