For 12 years, residents of the Balti FEZ have invested about $251 million and paid $27 million in taxes.
Such data was announced by its administrator Marin Ciobanu during the meeting of the Economic Press Club on Wednesday. According to him, the free economic zone "Balti", although it is the "youngest" (established in 2010), has demonstrated dynamic development. “Today, this free zone is represented in 19 settlements in 11 regions of the country, and more than 80 companies have become its residents. As of January 1, 2022, the number of active jobs in the free economic zone "Balti" was 10.2 thousand, which exceeds 63% of all jobs in the FEZ, and the payroll in 2021 amounted to $58.5 million. More than 9.5 % of all jobs in the country's processing industry, and this share has almost doubled over the past 5 years. The volume of industrial products produced by residents of the zone amounted to $395 million (data for 2020), and the amount of purchases from local companies amounted to $26.5 million,” said the administrator of the Balti FEZ. Marin Ciobanu noted that the free economic zone "Balti" provided more than 33% of Moldova's industrial exports and at least 15% of Moldova's total exports in 2020. Major free economic zone "Balti''s residents who have made significant investments are DRA Draexlmaer, GG Gebauer & Griller, Sumitomo Corporation, Blacksea- EMS, La Triveneta Cavi, Coroplast, Fritzmeier Group and others. At the same time, the administration of the Balti FEZ is negotiating with a number of large industrial groups, including the Canadian manufacturer of auto components Magna (investments of 50 million euros are being discussed), Te Rox (20 million euro), the American manufacturer of cargo equipment Greenbrier (70 million euros), the German manufacturer of industrial robots Kuka (5 million euros), etc. During the event, the German MP Manfred Grund, who promoted and supported the idea of creating a Balti FEZ, spoke. Manfred Grund welcomed the activities of large industrial enterprises with investments, including those from Germany and Austria, stressing that the volume of attracted investments in ZELB is significant even for Germany. For his part, he expressed readiness to provide support to the Balti FEZ in the future. During the meeting of the Economic Press Club, issues related to the challenges faced by the residents of the FEZ of Moldova, including in the context of the war in Ukraine, were discussed; difficulties associated with the training and retraining of personnel, the specifics of the interaction of foreign residents and investors in general with the authorities of the country, tax incentives in the industry and for FEZs, in particular, etc. // 23.03.2022 — InfoMarket
