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The Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, present in Bucharest on Tuesday, urged companies to invest in her country, noting that the authorities aim to simplify the taxation system, reduce bureaucracy and accelerate the digital transformation.
Natalia Gavrilita participated in the "Moldova-Romania: Capital Bridges" forum, aimed at promoting the capital markets, an event attended by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.
We need a more active capital market and international investment. But we understand that an adequate capital market needs professional participants, such as pension funds and insurance funds. Therefore, I would like to invite the Romanian pension funds to consider the launch of private pension products for Moldovan citizens and to provide access to investment on international financial markets, Gavrilita said, addressing the audience in English.
She mentioned that the Republic of Moldova, although with a small internal market, represents an access point including to the Romanian market.
I know that for some companies the market in the Republic of Moldova may seem too small to justify an investment. However, considering the cultural and linguistic proximity, many Moldovan companies approach the Romanian market as an extension of their domestic market. From this reason, Romania is by far the largest export market for our businesses. When you think of the Republic of Moldova, you don't think of it as a small market of less than three million, but rather as a point of access to a combined market of over 20 million potential consumers," the Moldovan prime minister said.
Natalia Gavrilita recalled that, almost three months ago, the Republic of Moldova received the status of a candidate country for the EU. She stressed that one of her priorities as Prime Minister is to talk to representatives of the business community and ensure that their views are not only heard, but taken into account for an "improved regulatory framework" in which the role of the state is to facilitate economic activity.
To this end, we are in a process of simplifying the taxation system, reducing bureaucracy and accelerating the digital transformation that will simplify the interaction between citizens and companies, on the one hand, and state institutions, on the other hand, the Moldovan Prime Minister said.
Given that logistics and transport networks have had to adapt to the changing regional environment, we must work with our friends in Romania to ensure that the border infrastructure is strengthened, but also expanded. For example, by building a floating bridge at Leova - Bumbata, but also by preparing the construction of the bridge that will connect Ungheni with the Romanian side of the Prut. Also, we recently reopened a former railway line that would connect the south of Moldova with Ukraine. (...) Our efforts are aimed at ensuring that the Republic of Moldova can provide safe and efficient corridors that allow the flow of goods between the region and the rest of the world, the head of the Government in Chisinau stressed.
She declared that the Republic of Moldova has a solid macroeconomic base, citing in this regard the fact that, in 2021, the GDP increased by 13.9%, a higher increase than that of any other European country. Natalia Gavrilita mentioned that her country has a low level of public debt in GDP, just over 30%, "one of the lowest in the region". In 2022, the labour force employment rate increased by 30,000. At the same time, in the last two decades, the Moldovan currency leu was generally stable, demonstrating an annual devaluation against the euro of less than 2% per year, Gavrilita added.
We understand that, with a smaller domestic market, we must build an open, innovative economy that can also serve as an export platform for investors. We have attractive opportunities in areas such as IT, business process outsourcing, green energy, electronic commerce, research and development, Natalia Gavrilita said.
According to her, the banking sector is competitive and well capitalized, "has seen dramatic improvements", but there is still room for improvement.
One of the priorities of the current Government is to develop the internal capital market, launch new financial instruments and improve access to international financial markets. We are convinced that the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the Financial Supervisory Authority are able to offer their expertise and support to the Stock exchange from Moldova and the National Commission of the Financial Market, Gavrilita concluded.AGERPRES
