INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Moldova
Favourable geopolitical position MOLDOVA TODAY A BRIDGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
Population GDP growth rate Inflation Rate GDP in current prices GDP per capita FDI stock Average wage (USD/month) MOLDOVA TODAY KEY FAC TS 2016 Improvement of macroeconomic indicators 2015 2016-2,99 mil. * 2014 census -0,5% 4,1 % 9,5% 6,5% 6,57 bil. US 6,74 bil. USD 1.843 USD 1.900 USD 3.539 mil. USD 3.581 mil. USD 258 USD 301 USD *6 times lower against EZ Source: National Bureau of Statistics; * Estimated
12.0 10.0 8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 Positive outlook 5.8 7.0 7.3 GDP (bil. USD, current prices) 8.0 8.0 6.5 6.8 MOLDOVA TODAY MACROECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016e 2017f 2018f 2019f 2020f 7.5 8.2 8.9 9.7 Source: National Statistics Bureau and Ministry of Economy Inflation rate (%) 12.0 10.0 8.0 6.0 7.6 4.7 4.6 5.1 9.7 6.4 5.5 5.9 5.3 5.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Source: National Statistics Bureau and Ministry of Economy
Ranked 44 from 190 - Up 3 positions Ease of Doing Business in Moldova 2017 MOLDOVA TODAY INVESTMENT CLIMATE TOPICS DB 2017 Rank DB 2016 Rank Change in Rank DOING BUSINESS RANK 44 47 3 Starting a Business 44 38 6 Construction Permits 165 162 3 Getting Electricity 73 97 24 Registering Property 21 20 1 Getting Credit 32 29 3 Protecting Minority Investors 43 40 2 Paying Taxes 31 55 24 Trading Across Borders 34 34 - Enforcing Contracts 62 70 8 Resolving Insolvency 60 58 2 Source: Doing Business 2017
REGULATING ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY Actions undertaken in 2016 Reduced number of authorizations, permits and licences for launching a business (27% less acts); Approved Action Plan on implementing one-stop-shop solutions; Reduced reporting burden 5 different reports to public institutions reduced to one, unified report; New mechanism for performing state controls and reform of Institutions with control functions. Moratoria on state control instituted to create favourable circumstances for business climate development; Simplified procedures on benevolent liquidation of a business. Priorities for 2017 General Regulation on organizing and managing state control activity within control entities; Review and optimising the permissive acts and licences reduce their number by 20% in 2017; Launching the one-stop-shop for managing and issuing permissive acts (July 1, 2017) - responsible for issuing 30% of permissive acts.
- ADVANTAGES Favourable geographical positioning in relation to EU, Russia, Middle East and Central Asia; Free trade access to EU, Turkey, SEE and CIS markets; 48 bilateral agreements on double taxation avoidance; 40 bilateral agreements on FDI protection; Internationally competitive corporate income rate; Competitive tax system; Favourable ratio between productivity and labour costs in the manufacturing industries and export-oriented services; Various fiscal incentives; Tax exemptions for large investments in free economic zones and industrial parks; Availability of investment attraction instruments for FEZ, industrial parks; Availability of designated industrial sites in FEZ and industrial parks; Large development potential of the software industry and export-oriented services; Large development potential of the automotive, textiles and electronics industries;
COMPETITIVE TAX REGIME Corporate income tax (CIT) Moldova Romania Ukraine Russia Italy Slovakia 12 16 19 20 20.3 23 CIT rates 12% or lower Value added tax standard rate Russia Moldova Ukraine Slovakia Romania Italy 18 19 20 20 20 21 12 % 6 % 3 % Social insurance contributions Moldova Italy Romania Russia Slovakia Ukraine 23 23.81 22.75 30 35.2 49.7 Source: PwC
FISCAL INCENTIVES A. Incentives when starting a business No minimum capital requirement when starting a business. VAT refund for capital expenses on long-term investments, except for housing and vehicles. VAT and customs tax exemption for assets to be included in the share capital of the company. B. Incentives for operating the business Lower CIT for agricultural enterprises and companies operating in FEZ and Industrial Parks. Employment incentives for IT companies partial income tax exemption and reduced social contributions. Simplified and lower taxation for SMEs: 3% CIT. Employers will not pay taxes for the sums spent for food, transport and training of employees. Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) with 48 countries. C. Export incentives Companies importing raw material benefit from VAT and custom tax vacation if they subsequently export the final product within 180 days.
Agricultural subsidies: budget approved annually 45.5 mil. EUR available in 2017 WHY MOLDOVA? - FINANCIAL INCENTIVES Grants for exporting, for SMEs : up to 50% eligible expenses or up to 10,000 USD per project Grants for agricultural production: up to 50% eligible expenses or up to 20,000 USD per project Grants for horticultural production, for groups of producers (min. 5 members): up to 50% eligible costs or up to 350,000 USD State aid structure (%), 2015 EU Hungary Slovakia Serbia* Romania 63.6 62.7 82.4 83.2 80.9 30.1 9.0 15.4 34.4 Financial incentives analysed by the Government for potential future implementation Grants for investment costs Moldova Lithuania Latvia 11.8 62.7 72.2 88.2 34.6 8.2 Grants for salary costs for an initial investment which creates new jobs Estonia 83.6 16.3 Croatia 35.4 Bulgaria 92.6 2.5 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Grants Tax exemptions Guarantees Credits Other Source: EC s State Aid Scoreboard 2016, Moldova State Aid Report 2015, Serbia State Aid Report 2014
- FREE ECONOMIC ZONES ( FEZ), INDUSTRIAL PARKS (IP), GIURGIULESTI INTERNATIONAL FREE PORT (GIFR) 50% of national corporate income tax OTACI BUSINESS 3 and 5 years income tax exemption if investing between 1 and 5 million USD MARCULESTI HUB AIRPORT VAT and excise duties exemption Changing the destination of agricultural land is for free Free allocation of public property assets to create parks at owner's decision 10 years state warranty if changing the legislation The right to privatize the state-owned land for construction at normative price Decreasing up to 70% the annual fee regarding land lease or space rent BĂLȚI UNGHENI BUSINESS EXPO BUSINESS CHISINAU TVARDITA Decreasing up to 70% the annual fee regarding land lease or space rent TARACLIA Decreasing up to 70% the annual fee regarding land lease or space rent GIURGIULESTI PORT* VULKANESTI 7 FEZ 10 Industrial Parks
STRATEGIC SECTORS - Very rapid development; High penetration of fixed telephony (33%); High penetration of mobile telephony; 3 operators; 3G & 4G; Information and Communication Technologies High penetration of cable TV; Broadband Internet and IP TV growing areas (no. 15 in the world); High speed loading data nr. 6 in the world; Qualified human resources incentive for IT companies. Automotive industry Prevent (seating/ trim) first automotive supplier in Moldova, production since 2000; Lear Corporation (seating/ trim) 1st plant in 2010; Draexlmaier Automotive (wiring harnesses) 1st plant in 2007, 2nd plant in 2009, 3rd plant planned for 2016; Gebauer & Griller (cables) plant construction 2012, production launched July 2013; Leoni (wiring harnesses) local subcontractor since 2010; Fujikura Automotive (wiring harnesses) 1st plant in 2016, 2nd plant in 2017; SEBN Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze (wiring harnesses) 1st plant in 2017; Coroplast Fritz Mueller (wiring harnesses, molding injection) 1st plant in 2017. Automotive components that can be produced competitively in Moldova Cable assemblies and wiring harnesses Electronic components and systems Rubber components Car seat covers, trim Injection/Molded parts Foams/ Felts
Textiles: footwear, clothing, leather processing Moldovan manufacturers are cooperating for many years with renowned foreign brands both fashionable and mass market brands. Companies from Italy, Germany, Netherlands, France, Austria, Belgium, and Great Britain produce here. The reason: Moldova offers a high level of quality production and a high speed in command processing. WHY MOLDOVA? STRATEGIC SECTORS - Products that can be produced competitively in Moldova Textile Apparel Leather Accessories Footwear Carpets Agriculture & Food processing ¾ of the country's area agricultural land, 72% is arable land; fertile soil ¾ arable lands are chernozem (among the most fertile in the world); diffuse sector many small farmers; Viticulture and Wine Fruits and Vegetables Cereal Crops consolidation great opportunities for investors; specialization in agricultural niche products and the food industry (nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, wine sector, etc.). Walnut Growth and Sorting Sugar Production Organic Farming Other sectors: Business Process Outsourcing Electric devices
SUCCESS STORIES Financial institutions ICT Industry
INVESTMENT CHALLENGES Challenges No branch concept available Restrictions on acquisition of agricultural land by foreign companies and individuals Limited VAT refund opportunities Fiscal and customs policy- limited practice in dealing with international tax concepts (e.g. PE, royalty) Investment litigations - rather formal approach of state authorities Certain non-business friendly tax provisions (e.g. limited CIT and VAT deduction available for some expenses/aquisitions) Liquidation of company not a straightforward exercise Workforce development and lack of medium and highly skilled workers, especially in the rural environment Limited availability of industrial, transport and commercial infrastructure High costs for industrial infrastructure s, difficulty in obtaining construction permits and connecting to the electricity grid.
CONCLUSION Opportunities that can be capitalised Geographical closeness and lack of linguistic barriers offering the possibility of integration in the technological chains of FDI firms located in Romania (especially North East region) and Ukraine (especially Odessa); Rising global and regional demand for business services and software development; Increasing delocalization trends of Central European firms in automotive industry, garment and footwear industry, and electronics; The implementation of the Association Agreement could facilitate the international trade and tackle the competition issues. Important considerations Government open approach towards investors EU integration agenda Favourable fiscal environment Relatively low employment costs
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