Global financial crisis will have long-term repercussions on Moldova's real economy, expert

The global financial crisis will have long-term repercussions on the real economy of Moldova, thinks Valeriu Prohnitchi, director of the Expert Group Center, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Prohnitchi, it is likely that the effects of the global crisis will impact on the financial system of Moldova, which is poorly developed. It is even more likely that the real economy will be stricken, following a reduction in exports, if Moldova's main partner countries experience stagnations or losses. The uncertainty on the markets of the partner countries could also trigger a massive return of migrant workers to Moldova, and this will affect the labor market, which will not be able to offer them enough jobs. Even if the National Employment Agency now has some 16,000 jobs on offer, most of them will remain vacant due to their unattractiveness for the returned migrants, thinks Prohnitchi. In his opinion, the global crisis could also mean less remittances for Moldova, and this will have both good and bad consequences for the Moldovan economy: on the one side the domestic consumer demand will decrease, but on the other side, imports will drop, pushing the trade balance up. The way the global crisis will repercuss on Moldova depends greatly on the Government, says the director of Expert Group. Moldova could be afflicted by the global turmoil, but at the same time it could turn the situation to its advantage if it manages to demonstrate that it's safe to invest here. According to Valeriu Prohnitchi, the first phase of the global crisis has passed but side effects may occur in the next 2 or 3 years.