infomarket.md: Foreign direct investments in Moldova in 2022 increased by 50%, reaching $586 million
These are the results of the updated study “Impact of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) on the Republic of Moldova’s Economy, 2012-2022”, prepared by the consulting company Business Intelligent Services (BIS), commissioned by the Foreign Investors Association of Moldova (FIA). The study notes that foreign investors in Moldova acted contrary to expectations: they reinvested their profits in the national economy (up 1.9 times). This resulted in foreign direct investment in 2022 growing by about 50% compared to 2021 and by about 16% compared to 2019 (pre-crisis period). Despite the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which brought with them a number of uncertainties, increased risk and pressure on FDI, its volume in Moldova did not decrease, but rather increased. This development suggests that there has been no panic among foreign investors, such as the usual withdrawal of capital from the economy. However, the volume of FDI in Moldova is still one of the lowest among the Eastern European countries – only $1006 per capita for 2012-2022 (average in Eastern European countries – $2455 per capita). The study confirmed that companies with FDI are, on average, almost twice as productive, which directly translates into higher economic growth. While companies with FDI account for only about 15.4% of employees in all enterprises, they create 28.2% of sales revenue in the economy. They also make a significant contribution to Moldova’s budget – they account for 25.1% of income tax revenues. In addition, they own 24.2% of all fixed assets, both industrial and social. Labor productivity in FDI enterprises is about 90% higher than in local private enterprises. Mixed-ownership enterprises with foreign capital have the highest labor productivity (3.04 million lei per employee in 2022), and it is steadily increasing every year. The turnover of foreign companies per employee amounted to about 1.75 million lei. In local enterprises with private ownership, labor productivity is almost twice lower than in enterprises with FDI (1.1 million lei per employee) and is almost the same as the national average (1.15 million lei per employee). Enterprises with FDI account for 19.7% of the gross value added of the economy as a whole, while in some sectors of activity their share is very high (financial activity and insurance (59.7%), information and communication (47.4%), etc. While commenting on the results of the study, FIA Vice President, General Director of Efes Moldova Alphan Akpeche said that by attracting capital from abroad, foreign investors produce Moldovan products and services, pay contributions, taxes and salaries in Moldova, and employ Moldovan citizens. “We do this more efficiently than companies that lack foreign investments, technological know-how and international corporate standards,” he emphasized. It should be recalled that the Foreign Investors Association of Moldova (FIA), the first non-profit and non-political association of companies with foreign capital active in Moldova, celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023. The association includes 26 companies from 15 countries – these are the largest enterprises with direct foreign investments in Moldova, employing more than 23 thousand people. The total investment volume of FIA members is more than 2.6 billion euros, which is 19% of Moldova’s GDP. These are the most active enterprises influencing the sustainable development of the country and generating progress in all its key sectors: agriculture, industry, winemaking, telecommunications and IT, oil products, medicine, pharmaceuticals, banks and insurance, distribution, consulting and auditing, etc., as well as in the field of economic development. // 07.11.2023 – InfoMarket
