Strategy for Investment Attraction ignores remittances of Moldovan migrants

The Strategy for investment attraction and export promotion overlooks one important phenomenon and namely money transfers of the Moldovan migrants working abroad, a research of the Center for Strategic Development of Territory (CSDT) “Investing in competitiveness – failed practices in Moldova” shows. According to the study, the volume of the remittances abroad within one year is almost equal to the total volume of the foreign investments injected in Moldova’s economy within 14 years. This volume – of about one billion dollars annually transferred to Moldova – has positive effects: making GDP increase and extending possibilities of households’ consumption, but also negative ones: affects severely the national currency exchange rate, puts pressures on inflation and deepens the negative trade balance concomitantly. The study shows that one of the main reasons is to identify certain key factors that would direct the transfers towards investment activities, the state being obliged to ensure an amiable and encouraging legal framework. At the same time, it is necessary to involve the financial-banking sector and the National Bank for offering sure transfer networks and coordinating them through the agency of the bank networks providing large supplies of products and new instruments for savings and investments. According to CSDT experts, a better solution would be to use financial remittances for creation and promotion of joint stock companies. “It is time to look over the Prut River, as there are concrete favorable trends thanks to which Romanian companies, national and foreign enterprises, are already considering plans to expand in Moldova”, CSDT report shows. The Government approved in October the Strategy of investment attraction and export promotion for 2006-2015, drawn up by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, which proposes the liberal approach in carrying out structural reforms. The strategy’s key-points are aiming at modifying and improving the policies on investment attraction, reinforcement of business environment as regards the regulatory reform taking internal actions that would ensure the investments’ access to Moldovan market. An important element is the attraction of investments in infrastructure, for which MEC suggests to institute private public partnerships, where the state along with business could make investments in infrastructure. Another important fact, as MEC asserts, is the development of Free Economic Zones (FEZ) and industrial parks. MEC provides a focus for ensuring the dynamic development of the national economy that will become possible by promoting the sectors of producing goods and providing services where the value added is chiefly obtained due to intellectual resources.