ECO-BUS WEEKLY DIGESTЬ April, 11- 16 . Most important Economy & Business news by IPN
● MONDAY, April, 11
Those with electronic signature can access new service “Real Estate File”
The State Tax Service has launches a new service called “Real Estate File” that contains information about the real estate and the tax calculated for each real estate unit apart and about the income tax. The “Real Estate File” generates a notice for paying the real estate tax and property tax, shows the size of the tax that is to be paid and issues the payment order.
Smallholders to get seeds, family farms to receive fodder
The smallholders in Moldova will receive corn, sunflower and soybean seeds, while the authorized small family farms and vulnerable households from rural areas will get assistance in the form of concentrated fodder for animals as part of an emergency assistance project implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry. The project comes with an initial investment of US$500,000, IPN reports.
In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, FAO is implementing in the Republic of Moldova another ten technical assistance projects to the value of US$3.5 million for building a sustainable agricultural sector resistant to external challenges, including those caused by climate change.
●TUESDAY, April 12
Insurers in 2021 paid over 662m lei insurance
Insurance companies last year paid 662.1 million lei in insurance, up 11% on 2020. The data were generalized based on information presented by the ten insurance companies that were functional on December 31, 2021.
According to the National Commission for Financial Markets, almost 95% of the insurance represented general insurance, while slightly over 5% – life insurance. The largest indemnities were paid based on compulsory civil liability motor insurance – about 267.1 million lei (+37.9%), CASCO insurance – 227.5 million lei (+25.6%), Green Card – 58.8 million lei (-21.1%), health insurance – 34.7 million lei (+30.8%) and on agricultural insurance – 16.5 million lei (-37.5%).
Hungary offers 1,000 more permits for transit by EURO III transport
Hungary for this year provided an additional quota of 1,000 road haulage permits for transiting the country with EURO III units of transport. The permits are valid until January 31, 2023 and will start to be issued to transport operators in the nearest future, as the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development informed. “At the same time, as a result of discussions between the Republic of Moldova’s Embassy in Hungary and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, as regards the signing of an agreement for the liberalization of freight transport with the Republic of Moldova, the Hungarian authorities expressed their readiness, at political level, to offer the support requested by the Republic of Moldova at bilateral level and within the EU,” runs the Ministry’s press release.
Moldovagaz president announces purchase price of natural gas for April
The purchase price of natural gas in April will be US$1,193 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, the president of Moldovagaz Vadim Ceban posted on his Telegram channel. In accordance with the agreed calculation formula, 70% of the purchase price of gas in the first and fourth quarters of each year depends on the price of goods from the oil basket, while 30% – on the market price of gas. In the second and third quarters, since April until September, the price of gas 70% consists of the average monthly price of gas for the previous month and 30% of the price of the oil basket.
● WEDNESDAY, April 13
Lending to population grew rapidly, NBM governor
The previous years and in the recent past, lending to the population has expanded rapidly, with both consumption loans and mortgages growing, said the governor of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) Octavian Armașu. He noted that in such conditions risks of over-indebtedness of the population appear and this is also confirmed by the petitions and complaints of citizens.
“We do not yet have countrywide statistics and it is actually rather hard to determine this index. But it is more important for the authorities to intervene in this process and to prevent over-indebtedness. This way, the National Bank, together with the National Commission for Financial Markets, worked out responsible, prudent lending regulations by which particular macro-prudential indicators will be introduced to limit citizens’ indebtedness. I think the implementation of these regulations can mostly solve this problem of over-indebtedness,” the governor stated in a joint interview for the press.
Total financing envelope under IMF program to rise to about $815 million
The Moldovan authorities and the IMF team have reached a staff-level agreement on the augmentation of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF)-Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangements. The team will recommend increasing IMF support to Moldova by SDR194.6 million (about $267 million), bringing the total financing envelope under the program to SDR594.3 million (about $815 million), it is said in a press release of the IMF that is quoted by IPN.
The authorities have requested an increase of about US$267 million in financial support to help Moldova cope with the impact of the war in Ukraine and surging international energy and food prices. An international Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Ruben Atoyan conducted discussions on the augmentation of access under the Extended Credit Facility – Extended Fund Facility (ECF-EFF) arrangements during April 4-11, 2022.
● THURSDAY, April 14
Case of “Silovye Mashiny”. Experts say offshore companies are banned from signing contracts with state
The case of the Russian company “Silovye Mashiny” seriously affects the image of the Republic of Moldova as this company has been on the list of Western sanctions since 2008. Experts said that light should be shed on this case as it is evident that decision makers from the Government created the necessary conditions for this company to win the tender contest. Moreover, Parliament adopted a law on deoffshorization and this bans dubious firms registered in offshore zones from doing business with the state.
The international consortium led by the company “Horus Energy”, of which the Russian company “Silovye Mashiny” forms part, on April 8 announced that it signed a contract for the modernization and repair of thermoelectric blocks of “Termoelectrica”. Later, Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spînu said that following the events in Ukraine, the Government ended the relations with the given company. Energy experts noted the unilateral termination of the contract in the absence of legal evidence can inflict penalties on Moldova.
Parliament ratifies loan agreement with EBRD for rehabilitation of CET-Nord
The MPs gave two readings to a bill to ratify the loan agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the EBRD for implementing the project “Thermoelectric system of the municipality of Bălți (CET-Nord) – Phase II”. The loan is €15 million, €9.5 million of which will go to implement the investment component, while €5.5 million to refinance the historical debt. The loan is repayable in 15 years, with a grace period of three years. The project includes the delivery and installation of individual heat points and of the horizontal heat and hot water distribution system inside apartment buildings, building of a thermal energy storage reservoir and modernization of treatment installations. The project implementation period is three years.
Damages in case of illegal fishing up to three times higher
The damages awarded in case of illegal fishing, sale, owning and export of biological aquatic resources or destruction of such resources were raised by up to three times. The MPs adopted a bill to this effect on April 14. The damages vary between 1,500 and 15,000 lei, as opposed to 50 and 5,000 lei earlier.
Energocom will purchase electrical energy as a result of tender contest by April 22
The volumes of electricity needed by end users and system operators during May 1 – June 30 will be bought from Energocom, which will purchase electrical energy as a result of a contest until April 22. The winner of the tender contest will be decided according to the lowest tender price method. If there is only one bidder, the price will be set by direct negotiations. Such a decision was taken by the Commission for Exceptional Situations. If the price of electricity purchased from the wholesale market by the supplier rises and this will generate an impact higher than 5% on the incomes determined when approving the current prices/tariffs, within two workdays the service suppliers will request the National Agency for Energy Regulation to adjust the regulated electricity price for end users and the power distribution tariffs. Within five workdays, the Agency will adjust and publish the power distribution tariffs and regulated electricity prices for end users.
● FRIDAY, April 15
Project “Discover Moldova’s Finest” supports local producers
Local producers will be able to promote their products by presenting them to the diplomatic corps in the Republic of Moldova. The economic diplomacy project “Discover Moldova’s Finest”, which was launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, is part of the 4D (European Development, Dialogue, Diaspora and Economic Diplomacy) foreign policy agenda for 2022, IPN reports, quoting a press release.
“In the current situation in which the war has made a dramatic impact on our imports and exports, economic diplomacy became a vital priority for our country. We aim to contribute to the economic development of the country and to identify export destinations for the products made in the Republic of Moldova,” said Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.
