ECO-BUS WEEKLY DIGEST January 4-10. Most important Economy & Business news by IPN

● MONDAY, January 4

Interpellation concerning implementation of law that bans use of plastic bags and dishware

The utilization and sale of plastic bags and dishware are banned as of January 1, 2021 and the violation of this ban should be punished. PAS MP Dumitru Alaiba, who initiated these legal provisions, stated that if plastic bags and containers continue to be sold, this shows the current Government and the subordinate institutions are unable to implement a rather clear and appropriate law. He noted that the main players from this market could pursue particular interests. The MP will ask for information about the actions taken to enforce this law from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Dumitru Alaiba noted that for a law to work, it should be implemented. The Government transposes the law to Government decisions, distributes internal instructions, makes orders and gives instructions to the subordinate institutions, if necessary. There are devised guidebooks and trained inspectors who explain to the business entities and the people so that the law works. The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for the implementation of the law banning the use of plastic bags that was adopted in Parliament unanimously. But the institution preferred to do something else.

Majority shareholders of “Gemeni” SA address open letter to senior administration

The majority shareholders of “Gemeni” SA, who have managed the company since 2019, and a number of minority shareholders said they became the target of a denigration and manipulation campaign that is aimed at exerting pressure on the Supreme Court of Justice and public opinion so that they are expropriated of the business they acquired legally, as bona fide purchasers. The concerns were incorporated into an open letter addressed to the senior administration and to the resident ambassadors of the U.S. and the EU. In a news conference, Leonid Sidorov, the representative of the majority shareholders of SA “Gemeni” SA,  said that in this case, the state, in the person of the governmental agent at the Ministry of Justice, does not protect itself appropriately and does not defend the state budget. By the decision of February 18, 2020 in the case of Ojog and others, minority shareholders owning 1.6% of the shares, the ECHR obliged the majority shareholders to transfer 36.55% of the shares in SA “Gemeni” to the state in exchange for the rooms or for the sum of €2 210 000. ‘”The authorities ignore the fact that the given shareholders flout the ECHR decision and cannot transfer 36.55% of the shares. Moreover, the governmental agent wants to take over the property of “Gemeni” SA, knowing that this way he exposes the state budget to pretentions of tens of millions of euros in international arbitration,” stated Leonid Sidorov.

● WEDNESDAY, January 6

Alexandru Slusari: “Chayka” health resort in Ukraine is to became property of MP Andronache

The deputy chairman of the Party “Dignity and Truth Platform” (PPPDA), MP Alexandru Slusari said that compound of the health resort “Chayka” situated in the seaside area of Koblevo city in Ukraine was sold at a so-called auction. The buyer is an intermediary and the compound is to become property of MP Vladimir Andronache. The MP noted that on December 16, 2020, the Public Property Agency sold the complex of buildings of “Chayka” resort, which are 1,340 square meters in area, at the so-called auction for only 1.888 million lei. “So, the functional health resort with four stories, with an eatery, located 300 meters from the beach, was sold by the formula of US$82 per m2. For comparison, I looked for similar offers in Koblevo through Google. A small health resort that is 478 square meters in area is exhibited at the initial price of US$470,000 or approximately US$ 1,000 per m2,” Alexandru Slusari posted on Facebook.

Fuel prices expected to rise in immediate period

Given the ascending tendency of the international quotations and the rise of up to 9% in excise duties stipulated in the budgetary-fiscal and customs policy for 2021, the retail prices of diesel fuel are expected to go up. The Competition Council said it will continue to attentively follow the developments on the oil products market and will intervene promptly if it identifies signs of violation of the competition legislation. According to the Council, after the unprecedented fall in oil prices at stock exchanges in the spring of 2020, the international quotations during the past two months followed an upward trend and reached the level witnessed before the crisis. As a result, rises in the pump prices of oil products were seen in the countries of the region. In the neighboring Romania and Ukraine, the retail prices of gasoline and diesel fuel grew by 10-11% on average the past three months.

IDEP to propose creating working group of European Commission for Moldova

The Institute for Development and Expertise of the Project (IDEP) will suggest constituting a working group of the European Commission for the Republic of Moldova that would support, together with the Delegation for Relations with the Republic of Moldova in the European Parliament, the implementation by Moldova of the EU-RM Association Agreement. In a press release, IDEP programs director Iurie Calestru said the working group of multistakeholder type could represent all the civic, political and economic players from all the national sectors. According to Iurie Calestru, Moldova can start a new stage in which Romania, as an EU member state, can successfully represent the interests of an EU neighbor with which it has close history, language and economic ties. “The projects proposed by the Republic of Moldova can be propelled to the highest level in the EU owing to the political voice of Romania, which supports the Moldovan citizen. There are multiple projects that are needed by our country and they need the support of Romania. Among these is the program of President Maia Sandu concerning the direct financing of Moldovan mayor’s offices by the EU,” noted the IDEP programs director.

Number of payments by cards issued in Moldova up 39.8%

The number of card payments in the third quarter of last year continued to rise. The number of cards in circulation in the period rose by 9.4% compared with the corresponding period a year before, while the number of payments made by cards issued in Moldova increased by 39.8% against the same period a year earlier. According to the National Bank of Moldova, 88.4% of the number and 88.8% of the value of the credit transfer operations in the third quarter of last year were initiated in electronic format through the automated remote service system. Direct withdrawal or debit remains less used in Moldova. At the end of the third quarter of this year, 12,300 payers used this instrument, primarily to pay for public utilities.

● FRIDAY, January 8

Nonbank payment service provider penalized by NBM

The Executive Board of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) fined a nonbank payment service provider for violating provisions of the Law on Payment Services and Electronic Currency and a decision taken by the Board. In a press release, the Bank says the violations consist in the non-observance of a previous NBM prescription and non-informing on time of the National Bank of the modification of data in documents presented when registering agencies.

Recreational facilities demand to lift work hours restrictions

Representatives of the National Association of Restaurants and Recreational Facilities of Moldova (MĂR) ask the authorities to lift the restrictions concerning the working hours of public eating places. In a letter addressed to the Government, these demand to eliminate the provision that allow them to work only until 10pm, invoking the decrease in the number of infections with COVID-19. The letter says the decision to limit activity until 10pm was taken by the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission amid the alarming rise in the number of cases of COVID-19 to 2,000 during 24 hours. “Given the decline in the number of cases to under 1,000 over 24 hours, we respectfully ask to lift the restriction that shortens the working program of the public eating places by 10pm,” runs the letter signed by MĂR.

About 40% of credit card frauds committed without physical presence of cards

The total value of the frauds committed using credit cards issued in Moldova in the third quarter of this year was 1.5 million lei. Almost 40% of the credit card frauds were committed without the physical presence of cards, by using the card number only. According to the National Bank of Moldova, over 33% of the credit card frauds were committed in the acceptance network of foreign providers. In international practice, there is used a relevant indicator relevant showing the size of credit card frauds – the ratio of the fraud value to the value of operations with payment cards. This indicator for the third quarter of last year was 0.0078% of the total value of transactions with cards issued in Moldova, which is much lower than the European average.