Marin Ciobanu: In 2022, we managed to attract several important foreign investors who plan to invest at least $80 million in the development of production in Moldova.
This was announced by the head of the Investment Agency, summing up the results of 2022. He noted that, despite the difficulties of this year in the region and in Moldova, against the backdrop of the energy crisis and the post-pandemic situation, in 2022 it was possible to attract 3 new important investors. All of them will work in the sub-zones of the Balti FEZ - in Stefan Voda, Rezina and Straseni. Thus, this year a Schöni Finefood fruit and vegetable processing plant began operating in Stefan Voda. The Swiss investor planned to invest $12 million in this project and create 50 new jobs. According to Marin Ciobanu, this project will stimulate agricultural production, because farmers, especially small ones, will be able to hand over their products for processing right in the region. He also expressed hope that in Moldova there will be an opportunity to develop another area of Schöni Finefood's activity - cargo transportation: the company has a large fleet of trucks (about 700) and is an important player in this market. Another investment in 2022 is a fiberglass production facility opened by the German company BauTex Composites in Straseni. The enterprise with a total investment of $20 million was already launched in July this year, 120 people are employed at the plant, and subsequently the number of BauTex Moldova employees will be increased to 200 people. Ciobanu noted that the investor managed to attract Moldovan citizens to this project, who worked for many years at industrial enterprises in Germany. Another investor, which will start operating in early 2023, is the Danish company Tunetanken, which announced an investment of $50 million. The company built a Scan Plast plant in Rezina, which will produce silos, tanks, fiberglass industrial products. The Moldovan enterprise will complement the 6 production zones of this company, which operate in Lithuania and Denmark. At the same time, the head of the Investment Agency spoke about the negotiations that are being held with a dozen foreign companies that are exploring the possibility of placing their investments in Moldova. Among them is the global manufacturer of medical and pharmaceutical technologies B. Braun, which has more than 300 branches in 64 countries of the world, and in 2021 the group's turnover amounted to 7.9 billion euros, and the number of employees exceeded 66.2 thousand. Negotiations are also underway with German concern Rheinmetal, which is engaged in the production of military and defense equipment. The company's factories are open in 133 locations in 33 countries of the world (most in Europe), the number of employees is 25 thousand people, annual sales are $5.7 billion. Negotiations are ongoing with the German concern Kuka, which is engaged in the production of industrial robots and solutions for industrial automation. 14 thousand employees work in 40 branches of the company around the world, the group's turnover is 3.2 billion euros. Another potential German investor is a manufacturer of automotive components, Magna ($42 billion in sales, operating in 27 countries). In addition, the Investment Agency continues to negotiate with the well-known manufacturer of coffee machines and other household appliances DeLonghi (annual turnover - 3.2 billion euros, more than 10 thousand employees at 10 group enterprises); with a manufacturer of electrical equipment for cars Automotive Austria - (12 enterprises, 7.4 thousand jobs); with the manufacturer of gaming technologies Novomatic (turnover - 1.3 billion euros, (more than 21 thousand employees in 50 countries of the world); with a major player in the construction market ACS Group (turnover - about 34.9 billion euros, more than 122 thousand employees).// 26.12.2022 — InfoMarket.
