OPEN ECONOMY WILL ATTRACT INVESTMENTS IN MOLDOVA - EXPERT

The openness of economy and the concluded international trade agreements are key factors for attracting investments in Moldova, maintains Viorel Chivriga, the Program Director of the Institute of Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul".

He said in his research that for a quality development of economy, Moldova needs investments, but so far the money flows are mostly bypassing the republic due to political instability, poor market possibilities and lack of qualified labor force.

"Nevertheless, Moldova may become more attractive for investors if it raises the efficiency of financial institutions. Here, much has already been done, first of all due to the administrative reforms and changes in the governmental supervision. The number of mandatory permitting documents, which were hindering the economic activity, has been considerably reduced. Another strong part of Moldova are the concluded free trade agreements with the EU, the CIS, the CEFTA", experts said.

According to him, lately, the permanent improvement of investment trends in the republic.

"The volumes of direct foreign investments are growing (US$3.3 billion as of the end of 2017) and the orientation of the capital in raions, for example Comrat, Edinet, Straseni, Orhei. Such a situation looks unusual for Moldova, though it is quite normal for European countries. What is most important, the preserving of trends will lead to cardinal changes in the field of the regional economy. Also, the membership of investors is changing: the largest inflows in Moldova come from the Netherlands, Spain, France, Romania, Russia and Cyprus, which keep consolidating their positions in the republic", Chivriga said.

He added that if before, the Moldova's attractiveness were ensured at the expense of the cheap labor force, now investors want to see high-quality specialists and this sphere demands serious authorities' attention and interventions in the form of reforms.