● MONDAY, September 26
Moldova’s Railways gets €52m loan
Moldova’s Railways received a loan of €52.5 million from the European Investment Bank for purchasing new locomotives and modernizing infrastructure. This is repayable in 15 years, at an interest rate of 1.5% a year. In the ceremony to sign the lending agreement, Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure Iurie Chirinciuc said the loan forms part of the same package as the loan provided by the EBRD, to the value of €50 million. Thus, investments in Moldova’s Railways amount to over €100 million.
Moldova’s Railways reports 35% decline in revenues
The revenues of Moldova’s Railways decreased by 35% as a result of the difficult situation in Ukraine, which led to lower exports, the company’s director Iurie Topala said in a news conference. Iurie Topala said Moldova’s Railways monthly spends about 60 million lei, but the revenues amount to 50-55 million lei. This month the company is five days overdue in paying salaries, while the debts to employees accumulated in the previous periods rise to 80 million lei. “The costs and salaries remained constant, while the revenues declined,” he stated, assuring that the debts to employees will be gradually cleared. Iurie Topala also said that he had meetings with officials from Germany and Russia and it is planned that exports through the railroads of Moldova will be increased from next month.
Free Trade Agreement with Turkey to take effect
The Free Trade Agreement between Moldova and Turkey takes effect on November 1. The document envisions the promotion of reciprocal trade, development of economic relations, elimination of barriers to trade and extension of commercial exchanges. “Overall, the Republic of Moldova and Turkey will eliminate 99.5% and, respectively, 100% of the taxes with commercial value. The elimination of taxes will enable the Moldovan exporters to annually save large sums owing to the lower customs duties imposed by Turkey,” said Mihaela Gorban, head of the Ministry’s General International Cooperation Division. When the accord takes effect, all the import duties and any other tax with equivalent effect will be annulled, except for industrial goods made in Turkey, such as clothes, furniture and plastic products, for which Moldova asked for transaction periods of three to seven years.
● TUESDAY, September 27
National Bank informed about progress made in investigating banking fraud
The National Bank of Moldova received the second informative note about the progress made by the companies Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson in investigating the fraud committed in the banking sector of Moldova. So far, the analysis of the flow of funds enabled to identify over US$600 million that disappeared in 2012-2014 without returning to the three Moldovan banks as repayment for the raised loans. According to the note, these funds were dissipated in multiple foreign jurisdictions. The results of the investigation show that the beneficiaries of the fraud go beyond the companies and private individuals related to the Shor group. Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson continue to cooperate with the regulatory authorities and other interested sides from multiple jurisdictions, including Latvia and Estonia, so as to get evidence to identify the final beneficiaries and actions could be taken to recover the stolen funds.
WTO Agreement on Government Procurement ensures access to market of trillions of US$
Now that Moldova joined the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Health Organization (WHO), the national operators will be able to take part in international tender contests. Moldova also has access to a market of up to US$1.7 trillion a year, Minister of Economy Octavian Calmac stated in an international conference staged by the EBRD. According to Octavian Calmac, the joining of this agreement is an opportunity for increasing the level of competition for large infrastructure projects implemented in Moldova.
Proposal for enterprises working in agricultural sector
The agricultural enterprises with closed production cycle, including farms producing eggs for consumption and poultry, are invited to take part in the assessment process with a view to obtaining the right of exporting to the EU. In a press release, the National Food Safety Agency says the selected companies will benefit from free consultancy at international level for working out and implementing a plan for modernizing the enterprise and for ultimately being authorized to export to the EU. The interested enterprises are invited to apply by filling out the application and questionnaire on the Agency’s website. The applications must be submitted to the email address vitalie.porcescu@ansa.gov.md or by mail to Chisinau, 63 M. Kogalniceanu St, MD-2009. The deadline for submissions is October 10, 2016.
● WEDNESDAY, September 28
Two suspected hotbeds of swine fever reported in Moldova
Two suspected hotbeds of swine fever were identified in the villages Mosana and Cernoleuca of Donduseni district. The problem was discussed in an emergency meeting called by Prime Minister Pavel Filip. The members of the Commission for Emergencies of the Republic of Moldova discussed the measures that must be taken to prevent the spread of African swine fever on Moldova’s territory. Specialists informed that the samples taken from deceased animals were sent to an accredited lab in Spain and the results are expected to become available on September 28. It is presumed that the virus was brought by the import of meat products from Ukraine, where a number of cases of infection with African swine fever were reported.
Objectives of policy matrix for implementing DCFTA 55% achieved
The indicators from the policy matrix for implementing the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) for January-September 2016 were 55% fulfilled. “It is a more than a positive tendency given that this figure at the end of April stood at only 11%,” said Philip Santens, team leader of the Technical Assistance for the Implementation of the DCFTA in Moldova Project. “The Delegation of the European Union remains a reliable partner in the implementation of budget support programs for instituting the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area because the Moldovan authorities in the period showed responsibility and wish to implement the assumed reforms.”
State Tax Service resumes inspections
The State Tax Service on October 1 resumes the fiscal inspections given that the moratorium on state inspections ends. The objective for the immediate period is to identify and penalize illegal labor and illegal payment of salaries. In the process of planning and performing fiscal inspections in the immediate periods, the State Tax Service will mainly take into account the fiscal behavior and the taxpayers’ level of voluntary compliance with the fiscal legislation. The taxpayers with a higher risk in this regard will be inspected the first.
Small entrepreneurs demand to be allowed to work based on patent after January 2017
Small entrepreneurs who work based on patent and a number of mayors expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that the economic activity based on patent wil be liquidated from 2017. The bill that will regulate the activity of traders staring with January 1, 2017 was discussed in debates staged by the Small Business Association and the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova. Small Business Association chairman Eugen Roscovanu said that under the initial draft law, the small entrepreneurs starting with 2017 must keep fiscal and financial records and have cash register. They will also have to pay 1% of the taxation object, but it is not yet clear what this will be – the sales or the profit. In the first case, the tax will be catastrophically high, while in the second case it will be acceptable. According to Eugen Roscovanu, the government should take into account the provisions of the Association Agreement with the EU, which provides that the legislative initiatives must be in favor of SMEs.
Andrian Candu proposes concessions for IT sector investors
Head of Parliament Andrian Candu suggests allowing the IT sector investors to work on Moldova’s territory without a temporary stay permit. A legislative initiative to this effect is to be debated in the immediate period. According to the Parliament’s press service, the bill contains a series of supplements to the Law on the Foreigners’ Stay in Moldova, which specify the conditions of stay for persons with executive posts, investors and highly-qualified specialists from the IT sector.
Castel Mimi wins Top Prize in winemaking
On the National Wine Day, the Top Prize for special merits in wine industry will be conferred on the company Castel Mimi. Castel Mimi is a private company that forms part of the Codru Delimited Geographical Region. It has made consistent and sustainable effort to modernize production, increase the quality of its wines and diversify markets.
● THURSDAY, September 29
Importation of animals and products sensitive to swine fever banned
The importation from Ukraine of animals sensitive to the African swine fever (domestic pigs and wild boars), pork, preparations, products and byproducts of animal origin coming from animals sensitive to the virus and of raw material for fodder is temporarily banned by a Government decision. The decision was made following a meeting of the Commission for Emergencies of Moldova called by Prime Minister Pavel Filip on September 27, 2016. This adopted a plan of measures for preventing the spread of the African swine fever on Moldova’s territory. The document provides, among others, that the National Food Safety Agency will coordinate the actions to prevent the spread of swine fever on Moldova’s territory and will ensure the funds needed for organizing activities to control the virus.
Moldova has chances of being appreciated by Japan for wine and gastronomy, opinion
Natalia Turcanu, executive director of the National Inbound Tourism Association, considers Moldova has chances of being appreciated by the Japanese people especially for its wine and gastronomical delicacies. A Moldovan delegation for the sixth time took part in the international tourism exhibition “JATA Showcase” that was held in Tokyo on September 22-25, 2016. The visit was organized by the National Inbound Tourism Association with support from the USAID Moldova Competitiveness Project. USAID Moldova Competitiveness Project director Doina Nistor said the tourism sector of Moldova is a strategic and competitive industry that continues to grow and contributes to the socioeconomic development of the country. “The Japanese market holds increased interest for us both through the value added with which the tourists from Japan contribute and because of our wines that are increasingly popular, while our exports to Japan increase year on year,” she stated. The about 1,200 participants in the event could taste the jams made by the company “Orhei-Vit” and wines made by “Chateau Vartely”, “Asconi”, “Et Cetera” and “Purcari”. Those interested could buy Moldovan wines.
Swine fever was brought to Moldova by persons
An epidemiological analysis revealed that African swine fever was brought to Moldova by private individuals at the end of August, when the patron saint day was celebrated in a number of villages in Donduseni district. According to the vice director of the National Food Safety Agency Vsevolod Stamati, the persons went to Moghilau town in the Ukrainian region Vinitsa, from where they brought infected meat products. According to him, the meat was processed, while the remains were given to domestic pigs and these became infected. The disease appeared in 12-14 days, after the incubation period. “Of the ten pigs that were suspected of being infected with swine fever, eight died, while two were killed,” said Vsevolod Stamati. Samples of pork were sent to a lab in Spain to see if the virus is still present. Meanwhile, a new case of infection was reported in Cernoleuca village of the same district, where one of the three pigs suspected of being infected died, while the other two were killed.
Employment market is dominated by informal intermediaries, study
The private employment agencies that provide work abroad witness stagnation owing to the competition from informal intermediaries and the ifficult procedures for obtaining licenses and legalizing work, says a study carried out within the NEXUS Moldova Project. In a presentation event, study author Mihail Cebotari said the private employment agencies hold a market share of 20%, while the rest of the market is occupied by informal intermediaries. The agencies meet with difficult procedures for obtaining licenses, while the informal intermediaries face no restrictions. These act freely and dominantly and are liable only to small fines or penalties that will most probably not be imposed on them. According to the study, most of the agencies in Moldova signed cooperation agreements with intermediaries, not with employers. The procedures defined by the national legislation for negotiating cooperation agreements and draft individual work contracts can prolong the negotiation process for months, entailing significant costs.
● FRIDAY, September 30
Pavel Filip: We had to choose lesser evil
Chisinau (IPN)
Prime Minister Pavel Filip admits that the Government assumed responsibility for repaying the debt to the National Bank of Moldova in order to unlock external financing. He developed the issue in the program “Moldova live” on the public TV channel Moldova 1. “The package of laws for which we assumed responsibility represents a precondition imposed by the IMF. We were put in the situation to adopt these laws as a matter of urgency so as to unblock external financing. The loan of €60 million provided by the Government of Romania was released only after we promised we will do everything possible for the agreement with the IMF to be signed. The external financing we will get after we sign the document will total over 3 billion lei,” said he Premier.
Day labor in agriculture to be regulated by new law
The Cabinet approved a bill on unskilled occasional work done by day laborers. The draft law regulates the temporary labor relations in agriculture and the method of work in derogation from the provisions of the Labor Code. The length of day labor in agriculture cannot exceed 8 hours, 5 hours for persons aged 15 and 7 hours for those aged 16-17. The labor for the same beneficiary cannot be longer than 90 days a year.
Small business development policies discussed by international experts
The small business development policies in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) were the subject of a roundtable meeting staged in Chisinau on September 30. This involved experts from Ukraine, Georgia, etc. In the event, Eduards Filippovs, who heads the Council of the Union of Businessmen of Latvia, spoke about the importance of the small business sector and the experience of his country in the field. The roundtable meeting was organized by the Small Business Association and the Civil Society Forum. Small Business Association chairman Eugen Roscovanu said the European countries are a model for small business organization for the Republic of Moldova as well as for Ukraine and Georgia.
Moldova became more vulnerable than ever, study
After the economic, currency and banking shock of 2015-2016, the Republic of Moldova became more vulnerable than ever. Even if the authorities maintained it floating and avoided a system catastrophe, Moldova no longer possesses that safety cushion that offset the shocks in 2015-2016, shows a study carried out by the independent think tank “Expert Grup” and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. The study says the theft of the US$1 billion didn’t result only in the de-capitalization and failure of the three important banks, one third reduction in the foreign exchange reserves and rise in the state debt, but also in the significant fissuring of the country’s economic and financial security. This became vulnerable to a wide range of fiscal, currency and social shocks.
● SATURDAY, October 1
Wine promoted as Moldova’s visiting card
Wine industry is very important for Moldova’s economy, while the Moldovan wines are the country’s visiting card. This sector offers tens of thousands of jobs and provides the country’s main product for export, said officials and diplomats attending the opening of the National Wine Day that is celebrated in the central square of Chisinau on October 1 and 2. Prime Minister Pavel Filip said the wine is the drink of Gods and a product of which the Moldovan can be proud. “Our wines are appreciated in the country and abroad. I’m proud that our wines receive the highest awards at international festivals. The wines presented here are known by many foreign officials, who appreciate them. I assure you of the Government’s openness and support,” he stated, addressing the winemakers.