Moldova to Subsidize Foreign Investors

According to Dumitru Alaiba, Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, this is a common practice in EU countries. The state is ready to compensate half of the investments that foreigners will make in our country, if the amount of investments reaches half a million euros. The draft law on this subject was approved at today’s parliamentary session in its final reading, tv8.md reports. ‘We are launching the first state support mechanism compliant with European standards in the Republic of Moldova. In any EU country there are state support instruments aimed at specific sectors and objectives, through which the state can support entrepreneurs and their investments at a level of up to 50 per cent of the investment value. This is usually done through direct subsidies, or through future tax and duty exemptions, or through a mixed model of these two approaches,’ Economic Development and Digitalization Minister Dumitru Alaiba said. The Minister of Economic Development notes that the new mechanism will be available not only in free economic zones, but also throughout the country, and tax incentives for current FEZ residents have been extended for another 10 years. The statement was made after the Japanese investor announced in mid-June the closure of two cable manufacturing plants in Chisinau and Comrat, without giving reasons. According to statistical data, six free economic zones were operating on the Moldovan territory at the end of last year, with 258 registered residents and about 16,000 employees.