Romania is firmly committed to supporting Moldova’s European path and the Bucharest Stock Exchange can help strengthen the economic cooperation between the two countries allowing Moldovan companies to draw capital from Romanian and Western investors, according to Romanian top officials present at the Moldova-Romania Capital Bridges forum in Bucharest, on March 27, 2024.

Meanwhile, Moldovan officials thanked Romania for supporting their country’s bid to join the European Union and spoke about the opportunities offered by the dynamic Moldovan economy and companies to Romanian and European investors.

The listing of Moldova’s biggest bank – maib on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which is currently waiting for a change in the regulatory framework from the Moldovan authorities, could further strengthen the economic ties between Romania and Moldova.

“Our commitment to the Republic of Moldova is undeniable, we have supported and will support the European agenda of the Republic of Moldova through all our decisions, I mean obtaining the status of a candidate state and of course the opening of accession negotiations. Romania commits and continues to commit unconditionally to support the European path of the Republic of Moldova,” stated Romanian Senate president Nicolae Ciucă.

He also highlighted the strengthening of the economic cooperation between Romania and Moldova: “In the 10 years since the signing of the Association and Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, the Republic of Moldova benefited from Romania's contribution. Romania has become the biggest commercial partner of the Republic of Moldova and trade between our countries increased from EUR 1 billion in 2014 to EUR 3 billion in 2024. Romania has also become the top investor in the Republic of Moldova, the value of the investments amounting to EUR 400 million.”

The president of Moldova’s Parliament, Igor Grosu, continued by emphasizing the symbolism of the date chosen for this forum – March 27, which marked 106 years since the union between Romania and Bessarabia (March 27, 1918):

“The events of 1918 started from the interests of the majority of the population, who wanted to live in a state capable of ensuring security, prosperity, and safety in the future. Today, we want the same thing, and we are confident that together we will ensure a European future for the Republic of Moldova, to live in a free, democratic state that exists for the good of its citizens.”

He added that Romania's support is felt by "practically every person in our villages and cities - we have modernized kindergartens and schools, households provided with water and sewage. After 30 years, finally, we are no longer blackmailed by the Kremlin, we have gas and electricity, and we are building bridges.”

Grosu also urged Romanian investors to cross the Prut River and invest in Moldovan IT, hospitality, construction, and energy companies.

Romania’s prime minister Marcel Ciolacu highlighted that it’s time the cooperation between Romania and Moldova became stronger and based on concrete projects.

“The time has passed when support meant only beautiful words and flower bridges. It’s time for iron and concrete bridges, doubled by commercial and capital bridges, budgeted investments, and projects with a well-defined economic impact. The Bucharest Stock Exchange is the place where the facts and figures speak for themselves. It is a national resource built with a lot of effort that, today, we make available to our brothers,” Ciolacu said.

He added that the Bucharest Stock Exchange is a mature and booming institution and has already become the ideal platform for launching some successful Romanian companies and can play the same role for first-rate Moldovan companies.

“We know that MAIB, the largest bank in Moldova, has announced that it is ready for a listing on the Bucharest stock exchange and is waiting for a change in the legislation that will allow it to make this strategic move. We offer all the necessary legislative support to the government of the Republic of Moldova to speed up this process. Because time has become essential! It is enough to see what impact Hidroelectrica’s listing had last year, to realize the huge potential of BVB at this moment. […] It is also relevant to be inspired by the success of a well-known company from Moldova, Purcari, which is listed on the BVB. Not only does it make very good wines, but it is an example of a business that knew how to develop organically. By listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, it also managed to communicate more and better with Romanian consumers. It found the perfect platform to become an important name in the Romanian and international markets. This is the correct route that we want to take for as many companies as possible in the Republic of Moldova!”

Moldovan prime minister Dorin Recean spoke about the necessity of connecting the capital markets in Moldova and Romania to make Moldovan assets easily accessible from Bucharest: “We believe that there are many good assets in Moldova that need to be exposed to international financial markets and the use of international markets to finance projects in Moldova, for infrastructure, energy and various public-private partnerships.”

“The Republic of Moldova provides many opportunities to investors on different dimensions – infrastructure, road, and railway, pharmaceutical, even electronic. We are talking about free economic zones, but also IT parks, where we also included the research and development dimension. Moreover, the Republic of Moldova has its fiscal-budgetary policy oriented towards the business environment, the Republic of Moldova respects profit, the Republic of Moldova wants the profitability of companies to increase, and this, we are sure, will lead to much higher productivity in the economy, and, accordingly, all citizens of the Republic of Moldova will benefit,” Recean added.

The Forum Moldova – Romania: Capital Bridges was organized by Bucharest Stock Exchange in association with maib, Wood&Co, Raiffeisen Bank International, with the support of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, AmCham Romania and EBA Moldova.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: BVB)