● MONDAY, June 6
Fruit growers indignant at non-adoption of 2016 state budget
The fruit growers are profoundly indignant that the draft state budget for this year hasn’t been yet carried. According to them, this delay does not allow them to receive the agricultural subsidies that have been overdue since 2014, when Russia imposed a ban on imports from Moldova. If the state budget is not adopted in the immediate future, the fruit growers intend to stage protests. In a message to the press, the head of the National Union of Agricultural Producers’ Associations “UniAgroProtect” Alexandru Slusari says that over 100 fruit producers will be able to get the overdue subsidies only after the 2016 state budget is adopted.
EBRD increases its stake in Victoriabank
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has increased its stake in Victoriabank in a move to restore effective corporate governance and to ensure Victoriabank’s continued sound financial performance. According to a press release of the Bank, the EBRD bought a 12.5 per cent stake in Victoriabank at 42 Moldovan lei (€1.92) per share, paying a total of €6 million. Henry Russell, Director of Financial Institutions for the Western Balkans, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine at the EBRD, said the EBRD has now consolidated a 27.5 per cent stake in Victoriabank. “The transaction, which required the reversal of recently adopted prohibitive legislation, is an important step that underlines how crucial it is to preserve Victoriabank as an independent, commercially-oriented and profitable institution with transparent ownership that benefits the Moldovan economy,” he stated.
15% reduction on realty tax paid by June 30
The owners of realty can benefit from a reduction of 15% on the property tax if this is paid by June 30 this year. According to the Local Taxes Collection Division of the Chisinau Municipal Council, the tax can be paid at banks or post offices. In accordance with the Tax Code, the property tax can be also paid in two equal installments by August 15 and October 15, 2016. If the property tax is not paid on time, the taxpayers are liable to a penalty of 0.07% for each overdue day.
● TUESDAY, June 7
Moldovan-Ukrainian cooperation discussed in Kiev
Aspects of the Moldovan-Ukrainian cooperation were discussed by Deputy Prime Ministry and Minister of Economy Octavian Calmac and members of the Government of Ukraine in Kiev within the Moldovan official’s working visit. As a result of the discussions, the officials decided to organize a meeting of the co-chairpersons of the Moldovan-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission for commercial-economic cooperation this July so as to examine topical issues from the bilateral agenda. According to the press office of the Ministry of Economy, Octavian Calmac discussed the implementation of bilateral projects in infrastructure, cooperation in the energy sector and protection of the environment with the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Vladimir Kistion. The Moldovan official also had discussions with the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Alexandr Daniuliuc, who is the co-chairman of the intergovernmental commission for commercial-economic cooperation on behalf of Ukraine. The meeting centered on the regulation of the ownership relations, demarcation of the state border, ensuring of the functioning of the Hydroelectric Plant in Dnestrovsk, cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and interaction between the two states within the EBRD.
Development fund will solve problem of redistribution of money in economy, expert
The creation of a development fund that will include the money that must be returned to the National Bank of Moldova can solve an ethical problem, of the redistribution of money in the economy, expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” Sergiu Gaibu said in an interview for Radio Free Europe. According to the economist, owing to the creation of this fund, money will appear in the economy for a long term. Sergiu Gaibu considers the creation of the fund is possible from legal viewpoint, but political will is first of all needed as well as a decision between the Government and the National Bank of Moldova. “The system, the mechanism of using this money must be well-thought-out so that the money is not wasted on objectives that bring no benefit to the national economy,” he stated.
● WEDNESDAY, June 8
Promotion of trademarks becomes a priority for Moldovan companies
About 60 national and foreign trademarks took part in the 13th contest “Trademark of the Year” staged by the Chamber of Trade and Industry, the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) and other partners of the Chamber. The most successful trademarks were awarded in the Moldovan Business Gala in the evening of June 7, 2016. The Chamber’s acting head Tudor Olaru said the objective of the contest is to identify important projects to create and promote national trademarks on the domestic and foreign markets, to increase their competitiveness and to contribute to enhanced professionalism of marketing teams. The winning trademarks were chosen by an expert jury and in accordance with consumer preferences identified within a poll. Among the awardees are the trademarks of the companies Sudzucher Moldova, Nufarul Alb, Linella, grain complex Aur Alb, Rogob SRL, the Ungheni Free Economic Zone, Ritlabs SRL and Moldovahidromas. The companies received medals “Golden Mercury”.
Bonded warehouses risk lose functioning authorization
A number of bonded warehouses run the risk of losing the functioning authorization following inspections carried out by the Customs Service recently. The Customs Service finalized the second stage of the assessment of customs warehouses, which included their infrastructure and storage capacity, functionality of the examination machinery, observance of the security norms and final destination of all the categories of stored goods. The second inspection revealed a series of irregularities at bonded warehouses. Also, a number of warehouses stopped work and will be thus subject to liquidation. The examinations will continue directly during clearance. There will be established the real destination of the stored goods pending re-export so as to prevent their placement on the home market without levying import duties.
Agreement between Economy Ministry and Gas Natural Fenosa about recovery of tariff deviations
The Ministry of Economy and Gas Natural Fenosa in Moldova signed an arrangement on the regularization of the recovery of tariff deviations sustained as a result of the non-adjustment of the electric power tariffs in 2012 – 2015. The sides agreed that the recovery period will start on January 1, 2017 and will last until 2020. Now the tariff deviations, adjusted to the interest rate, will total about 1.75 billion lei. According to the Ministry’s press office, as a result of negotiations the value of the tariff deviations claimed by Gas Natural Fenosa was decreased from 1.881 billion to 1.637 billion lei. The deviations will be recovered through the power distribution and supply tariffs that will be calculated and adjusted annually so as to fully recover the main debt during the agreed period, at an interest rate of 7.66% a year.
● THURSDAY, June 9
Ex-minister of finance: Draft budgetary-fiscal policy must be reviewed
Some aspects of the 2016 budgetary-fiscal policy must be reviewed or these will cause the people’s dissatisfaction, ex-minister of finance Mihai Manole said in the talk show “Place for dialogue” on Radio Moldova station. The former minister referred first of all to the differentiated tax on realty. “I don’t know according to what criteria the luxury buildings will be assessed. This category could include the people who built attics, but are far from being well-off. This year I paid a tax of 3,500 lei on real estate. As I work as a teacher, this sum is considerable for me. If the taxes are raised, many citizens will simply be unable to pay them,” stated Mihai Manole.
Mechanisms for monitoring public procurement need to be improved, report
The legislation on public procurement has been renewed, but there are no efficient mechanisms for implementing this, while the supervision of the observance of the law is imperfect, says the second report on public procurement monitoring that was presented by the Association for Efficient and Responsible Governance and the Journalistic Investigations Center on June 8. Expert Olesea Stamate reminded that the new Law on Public Procurement took effect on May 1. Based on the provisions of the new law, there were worked out five regulations concerning the procurement procedures. Several more documents needed for implementing the law are yet to be thought up. “At practical level, not much changed in the process of organizing public procurement contests. About 99% of the contractors do not have procurement plans, while the Public Procurement Agency, when registering the procurement contracts, continues to impose too many technical specifications that are narrow and often vague,” she stated.
IMF mission to come to Chisinau in July
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Ivanna Vladkova-Hollar will visit Chisinau during July 5-15, 2016. The mission will initiate discussions on the possible IMF program, and will seek to reach agreement on a comprehensive set of policies that would maintain macroeconomic stability, improve governance and transparency in the banking sector, and foster sustainable and inclusive growth.
Draft state budget law for 2016 passed in two readings
Parliament adopted the 2016 draft state budget law in the first and second readings. The budget provides for incomes of 48.5 billion lei and a total expenditure of 52.7 billion lei, with a deficit of 4.2 billion lei. The draft budget was passed by the votes of 55 Mps. The draft state budget law for this year envisions that the incomes will represent 36.3% of the GDP, an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared with the 2015 state budget. The rise of over 11% in incomes is due to the larger grants intended as budget support. The incomes from duties and taxes represent over 60% of all the revenues. The budget expenditure increased by 17.1% on 2015. The programs financed with money from the state budget account for 38.6% of the spending, the social protection – for 32.9%, education – for 17.5%, healthcare – for 5.1%, while the costs associated with services in economy – for 12.5%.
● FRIDAY, June 10
Bill to annul stamp required for business entities passed in first reading
Parliament adopted a bill to amend and supplement a number of legal acts in the first reading. This provides that possession of the stamp required for business entities will no longer be mandatory, but will be optional. Presenting the bill, Deputy Minister of Justice Eduard Serbenco said the obligation to possess the stamp increases the costs of registering a business by 200-300 lei. In external trade transactions, the stamp is a non-tariff barrier that hampers the export and import procedures.
Premier at Moldovan-Czech Forum: Moldova has potential to develop business
“The Czech Republic is a key partner for Moldova and we want a more active involvement of the Czech investors in the national economy. The Republic of Moldova has potential to develop business,” Prime Minister Pavel Filip said in the Moldovan-Czech Business Forum staged on the occasion of the official visit by the Czech Premier Bohuslav Sobotka to Chisinau. In the event, the Moldovan Premier and his Czech counterpart pleaded for strengthening the Moldovan-Czech relations at multiple levels, especially in the commercial-economic sphere. According to the Government’s press service, Pavel Filip spoke about the actions taken by the Moldovan authorities to ensure political, economic and social stability as an essential element for attracting investments. “We managed to ensure stability in Moldova and invite you to invest! Moldova is a country with potential in developing business. We are close to signing an agreement with the IMF and this will enable us to have access to external financing,” he stated.
● SATURDAY, June 11
Companies with growth potential could have increased access to loans
The Organization for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (ODIMM) suggests a number of solutions for facilitating access to financing for Moldovan companies with growth potential. The issue was discussed in a working meeting convened by the Organization and the Ministry of Economy. This involved representatives of the banking sector. The participants in the meeting considered possibilities of improving the work of the Loan Guarantee Fund that is managed by the ODIMM. In a press release, the Organization says that it suggests increasing the guarantee ceiling on the offered products, reducing the guarantee commission and other improvement activities. These will help use the Loan Guarantee Fund in the best way possible.
Moldovan-Czech commission for economic cooperation to meet in Prague in October
The meeting of the Moldovan-Czech intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation will take place in Prague in October. This will examine a set of investment projects that can be implemented jointly by companies from the two states. Such an agreement was reached by Minister of Economy Octavian Calmac and Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Jan Mládek in a working meeting on June 10. According to the Ministry of Economy’s press office, Octavian Calmac and Jan Mládek discussed the commercial-economic relations between Moldova and the Czech Republic, noting that the existing potential hasn’t been fully realized. They agreed to prepare a more consistent agenda with objectives in different areas for fostering the development of the bilateral commercial-economic relations until the meeting of the intergovernmental commission.
