International Finance Corporation to assist Moldovan Economics Ministry in investment climate reform

Chisinau, 24 February /MOLDPRES/-The Economics Ministry will receive assistance in the reformation of the investment climate through a consultancy project launched by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) today. The project accounts for 3.2 million dollars and is financed by the Swedish government for a period of 36 months, the Economics Ministry’s press service has reported.

During the event, experts of the World Bank unveiled the results of the “Cost of Doing Business” study and the Climate Investment in Moldova.

According to Deputy Prime Minister, Economics Minister Octavian Calmic, the project aims to improve the business environment, enhance competitiveness of the private sector, cut down the business regulatory burden both centrally and locally and boost up investments and exports.

“The new government wants to improve the investment climate and draw new investments into the national economy. The confidence of the development partners in the government’s actions is an incontestable support to meet the goals in this sector. Moreover, while taking efforts to improve the investment climate, we take into account regional and international competitiveness Moldova is drawn into, when attracting major investment projects, with a real economic impact; this one, will be included in the new policy tools promoted by the Economics Ministry,” Calmic said.

Swedish Ambassador to Chisinau Signe Burgstaller has also spoken about the important need to implement some approaches in this field. She added that the Moldovan business environment is coping with a string of obstacles and only a complex reform could help remove them.

The “Cost of Doing Business” study, carried out by the experts of the World Bank, states that inspections, unofficial payments, selective enforcement of the legislation and other unjustified checks are among the most significant difficulties in the activity of an enterprise. According to the Economics Ministry, the implementation in all central and local institutions of a one stop shop to issue permission documents, especially licenses, construction and functioning authorizations, as well as other elements to optimize the regulation framework, will allow making “effective savings” accounting for almost 100 million lei annually and 400 thousand lei per day, per person.

According to Aurel Casian, the head of the Economics Ministry’s Implementation Unit of the Competitiveness Enhancement Project, the study is a critical analysis of the economic agents’ perception of the burden and compliance with state regulations, being at the same time a support for central authorities in the reformation of the investment climate.

The study has been carried out annually since 2002, with the support of the Economics Ministry, according to the methodology provided by the World Bank.

(Reporter A. Mardare, Editor M. Jantovan)