● MONDAY, September 1

Electronic clearance of imports introduced on trial basis 

The customs posts Sculeni, Chisinau and Tudora will pilot the electronic clearance of imported goods during six months, starting with September 1. The system will be extended to all the customs posts of Moldova from 2015. “This is a great advantage for economic entities because the electronic statement is submitted one hour before the units of transport loaded with goods are to enter the country,” senior inspector of the Sculeni Customs Post Petru Nuca has told.

Russia imposes excises on import of a number of Moldovan products 

Russia introduced customs duties on the import of a series of products made in Moldova, including meat, sugar, wheat, vegetables, alcoholic beverages, and furniture, on August 31. The list includes 19 types of products. Until now the Moldovan products were exempted from import taxes based on a bilateral free trade agreement. According to Russian press reports, the bans imposed by Russia on the import of Moldovan fruit is related to the risk of re-export of goods from the EU following the signing by Moldova of the Association Agreement with the European Union.

Contest of investment bids for Chisinau Agrifood Center 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry launched a contest to attract investments to the project “Chisinau Agrifood Center”. The deadline for submitting bids is October 1 this year. According to the Ministry’s website, it is planned to attract total investments of €20 million with their capitalization by additionally issuing ordinary shares with a nominal value of 1,000 lei, without modifying the status of the farmland where the center is to be erected.

Sales of landline telephone services 9.2% down 

The number of subscribers to landline telephone services in the first half of this year remained practically at the same level as last year. Traffic in the landline telephone networks fell by 11.8% to 1.3 billion minutes, while revenues from the sale of landline telephone services decreased by 9.2% to 502.4 million lei. There are 23 active providers of landline telephone networks. The customer base of SA “Moldtelecom” diminished by over 7,100 in the period, to 1.1 million users, while the number of new clients of the alternative providers increased by over 7,400 to 113,800. On June 30, the total number of subscribers to landline telephone services was over 1.2 million, while the penetration rate of these services per 100 people was 34.3%.

Chisinau-Torino direct flight to be launched December 15 

The airline “Air Moldova” will operate a direct flight Chisinau-Torino-Chisinau starting with December 15. The flight will be provided two times a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays by an Embraer 190. According to a communiqué of the airline, the plane will take off from Chisinau at 1:50 pm, while from Torino at 4:00pm, local time. The price of a one-way ticket is €59 and up, with all taxes included.

● TUESDAY, September 2

SMEs can apply for financing to purchase production equipment 

From September 1, the small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) can submit applications to get financing for purchasing production equipments within the program to support and develop the SME sector for promoting the efforts to make structural economic adjustments. The program, launched by the Ministry of Economy, is financed with money from the Partner Fund of the Japanese Grant with a total budget of 7 million lei. According to a communiqué of the Ministry of Economy, through the agency of the program the entrepreneurs will be able to purchase production equipment in leasing for a period of one year, without security. The leasing interest rate is zero. A zero value added tax is put on the purchased equipment, while the customs procedures are facilitated.

Romania, China consider building railway on Bucharest-Iasi-Chisinau road 

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on September 2 said the Governments of Romania and China are analyzing the initiative to build a high-speed railway on the Bucharest-Iasi-Chisinau road, which will replace the initiative to implement such a project on the Bucharest – Constanta road. “The project to build a railway, as it is the railway that allows the trains to travel at high speed, is a project to which the Government of China cares a lot. It was presented by Prime Minister Li Keqiang last year while on a visit to Bucharest. It is designed not only for Romania, but also for the entire Central and Eastern Europe. This pilot-project cannot be implemented on the Bucharest-Constanta line because there is a European corridor and the European Commission opposes a new project,” said the Romanian Premier.

Harvest of technical sorts of grapes projected to total 300,000 tonnes 

The production of technical sorts of grapes this year is expected to total 300,000 tonnes. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry proposed distilling 100,000 tonnes of technical sorts of grapes and purchasing the finished products for the state reserve. “We estimated that the wine companies will have about 100,000 tonnes of own raw material. Another 100,000 tonnes will be bought from the producers and we suggested that the other 100,000 tonnes should be distilled and purchased for the state reserve,” division head at the Ministry Valeriu Cebotari has told.

Utilization of new licenses for mobile communications to bring benefits 

The utilization from November 6 of the new licenses to use radio frequencies in the 800, 900 and 1800 MHz bands, which were issued recently to the three providers of public mobile communications services, will stimulate competition and will bring benefits to the national radiocommunications sector, consumers and society, it was said in a news conference held at the head office of the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI). ANRCETI director Grigore Varanita said the licenses were issued with the aim of providing the radiocommunications sector with the resources needed to develop broadband mobile networks and ensure the continuity of GSM mobile voice services (2G). The Agency considers the use of the licenses will lead to the extension of the 4G networks, the development of radiocommunications infrastructure and diminution of the digital discrepancy between villages and towns.

Producers fear they will be unable to sell sugar 

The sugar beet yield in Moldova this year will be the best in the last 20 years. Deputy Minister of Economy Octavian Calmac has told that the sugar producers fear they will be unable to sell the sugar, especially because they don’t like the prices on third markets. The sugar producers discussed the problem with the authorities. Octavian Calmac said that Moldova negotiated with the EU an export quota of 37,400 tonnes of sugar a year. He called on the producers to use this occasion and fully use the quota for this year.

● WEDNESDAY, September 3

 Apartments can be privatized by next summer only 

The dwellings distributed by the state will become property of the territorial-administrative units on whose territory they are situated if they are not privatized by next summer. The head of the General Architecture, Constructions and Dwellings Division of the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction Elena Bejenaru has told that such a law was adopted because 2.8% of the housing stock (38,000 apartments) remains non-privatized. One of the reasons is that the persons to whom the apartments were distributed no longer live there, while other persons cannot buy these apartments. The law providing this mechanism was passed by Parliament in the final reading on July 17. It will be published in the Official Gazette in the nearest future and will take effect in six months.

Sunflowers seeds harvest higher than last year 

The yield of sunflower seeds this year will exceed half a million tonnes, which is more than last year, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov said in an event held to launch the harvest. The minister said the sunflower producers do not face problems as other farmers do because the sunflower seeds and oil have always been in demand. The exports of sunflower seeds and oil represent one fourth of Moldova’s agricultural exports.

● THURSDAY, September 4

Eight projects financed by Poland implemented in Anenii Noi 

Eight projects to the total value of over 400,000 lei were implemented in Anenii Noi district owing to the financial support provided by Poland, Andrei Buga, specialist for investments at the Anenii Noi District Council, said in the program “Place for Dialogue” at the public station “Radio Moldova”. According to Andrei Buga, the first project is related to tourism and was managed by a group of young people aged between 15 and 17. “All the tourist facilities of Anenii Noi district were inventoried. For the first time, there was designed a map of these facilities and there will be printed a brochure,” he stated.

Passengers of Chisinau Airport familiarized with Turkish traditions 

LLC “Avia Invest”, the company that manages the Chisinau International Airport, organizes five days dedicated to Turkey within the waiting area on the second floor of the terminal where a special corner is arranged with decorations specific to this country. All the passengers will be able to admire the scenery which reflects Turkish traditions, the oriental Turkish dances as well as to take photos with a sultan. In order to create an atmosphere specific to this country, within the five-day event all the passengers will be able to taste Turkish sweets, tea and coffee in the specially decorated area. For all the passengers who will want to capture the most beautiful moments, there will be a photographer who will take a photo and will print it, absolutely for free.

Rape in danger because of drought 

The level of soil moisture of 0-15 mm is below the norm for agricultural crops. The low quantity of precipitation at the end of August led to a reduction in the level of moisture in soil almost all over Moldova, except for the northern districts where rain fell. Head of the Agro-Meteorological Forecasts Center Tatiana Mironova said the level of precipitation in the second half of August satisfied only 30% of the needs. The low level of soil moisture can affect the rape whose cultivation traditionally starts at the end of August or the start of September.

Compensation for plum and summer apple producers 

The state will compensate the farmers for the sustained losses with 1.5 lei per kilogram of summer apples and 1.5 lei per kilogram of plums. A sum of 146 million lei was allocated for the purpose. Compensation will be paid to agricultural producers, private individuals and legal entities that work legally within specialized companies and that will present documents showing that the products were sold to processing units. The money will be distributed by September 15 to plum growers and by September 20 to apple growers.

Incomes of fixed and mobile Internet access service providers go up 

The number of subscribers and the incomes of providers of fixed and mobile Internet access services in the first half of this year continued to rise, show data of the ICT regulator ANRCETI. The number of subscribers to dedicated mobile Internet access services (by modems and data cards) increased by over 16,600 (+6.4%) to 276,200, while the number of subscribers to fixed broadband Internet services – by 18,700 (+4%) to 486,000. The cumulative number of subscribers to the given services rose by 35,500 (+4.9%) to 762,200, while the sales of these services – by 93.5 million lei (+18.4%) to over 601.6 million lei.

● FRIDAY, September 5

First railway terminal with joint gauge for liquid products starts work 

The first railway terminal with joint gauge for liquid products, which will ensure connection between Moldova and the European Union, was put into operation on September 4. Also yesterday, the first train with 16 tanks of fuel from Romania entered the Giurgiulesti Free International Port. The terminal was constructed at a cost of €2 million within a project supported financially by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a commercial bank of Moldova. Minister of Transport Vasile Botnari said that Moldova’s south became a multimodal transport center. “A year ago, we opened the first railway segment with European gauge here in Giurgiulesti. This year, export-import operations are possible by all types of transport, either by road, sea/river or by railway directly from the EU. The economic entities can transport goods in advantageous conditions, suitable for them,” said Vasile Botnari.

Leova–Cimislia–Basarabeasca aqueduct to be rehabilitated 

A project to finance the rehabilitation of the water supply and sewerage system was launched in southern Moldova. The issue was discussed by Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and EBRD Director for Environmental Infrastructure Jean-Patrick Marquet, IPN reports, quoting the Government’s press service. The project envisions the rehabilitation of the Leova–Cimislia–Basarabeasca aqueduct. The financial assistance of the EBRD will cover the feasibility study for building the aqueduct and the extension of the water supply in six districts in southern Moldova. The Premier expressed his conviction that the new cooperation project will essentially contribute to modernizing the infrastructure and developing the southern part of the country.

Moldova hopes to convince Russia to annul customs duties 

The provisional coming into force of the Deep and Compressive Free Trade Agreement with the EU on September 1 does not mean that Moldova renounces the market of Russia or other CIS states with which it has commercial relations, Deputy Minister of Economy Octavian Calmac said in a program on “Radio Moldova” station. According to Octavian Calmac, the Russian partners’ decision to impose customs duties on 19 categories of goods imported from Moldova is unjustified from the viewpoint of the norms laid down in the Free Trade Agreement with the CIS, signed by Moldova.