Romania sings EUR 150 mln loan agreement with Moldova

Romanian Minister of Finance Eugen Teodorovici signed on October 7, at Chisinau, the agreement via which Romania will grant a EUR 150 million loan to the Republic of Moldova. “The agreement will enter into force once it is ratified by the two countries, and the first tranche will be granted after the Moldovan Government will inform the Romanian Government about the stage of consultations and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund,” Teodorovici said. Each tranche will have a maximum maturity of 5 years, and the cost will be the one that Romania currently pays on similar loans contracted from international markets, or around 1.5% per year. The cost is lower than anything that Moldova would get elsewhere, considering that the country is almost bankrupt after USD 1 billion disappeared last year from three Moldovan banks' accounts. The Moldovan Government is currently negotiating an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is highly necessary to keep the country's finances afloat. Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced in late-September that Romania will grant the Republic of Moldova a EUR 150 million reimbursable loan. Ponta later said that the loan was necessary to prevent Moldova from falling back under the control of pro-Russian forces. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com