Ukrainian businessman Oleksandr Munteanu may head Moldova's government – media
The candidate for the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova is likely to be businessman Oleksandr Munteanu, who has been living in Ukraine for over 20 years, the Moldovan newspaper Guard (Ziarul de Gardă) reports, citing its own sources.
"Munteanu is 61 years old, and he presents himself as 'an American of Moldovan origin.' He has not previously been involved in politics... Information about Munteanu's possible candidacy for the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova was confirmed to ZdG by several independent sources. According to the same information, his candidacy will be discussed at a meeting of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), scheduled for Tuesday, October 14," the report says.
Munteanu is a founding member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova (AmCham Moldova), founding president of the Alliance Française in Moldova (for over 25 years), and co-president of the Business Advisory Council for Southeast Europe and Eurasia (BAC SEE). He holds a master’s degree in economic policy management from Columbia University (New York) and a master’s degree in physics from Moscow State University (MSU). He was also awarded the title of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor of France.
He is the founder of a private equity investment company – 4i Capital Partners – specializing in investment management in Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova.
Munteanu previously worked at the World Bank (Washington, D.C.), where Moldovan President Maia Sandu also worked, with a short break, for almost 10 years.
In 2018, Munteanu ran in the internal elections for the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, which represents the interests of American and international companies operating in the Ukrainian market. At that time, Munteanu introduced himself as "an American of Moldovan origin who has lived in Ukraine for 20 years."
The publication reports that in 2005, Munteanu announced the creation of a fund management company - Horizon Capital, the senior partner of which is now investor Vasile Tofan, whose name was circulated in the public space as a possible candidate for the post of prime minister, but he allegedly refused due to professional obligations.
Dorin Recan, who has headed the government of the Republic of Moldova for the past two and a half years, announced on Monday, October 13, that he no longer wants a new mandate. He announced that he is leaving political life and returning to the private sector.
As reported, in the parliamentary elections in Moldova, the pro-European Action and Solidarity party (PAS), founded by the country's President Maia Sandu, received 50.2% of the vote. The pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc, one of the leaders of which is former President Igor Dodon, received 24.17% of the vote and took second place. The pro-European Alternative bloc received 7.96% of the vote, Renato Usati's pro-Russian Our Party received 6.2%, and the Democracy at Home party, which advocates unification with Romania, received 5.62%. The remaining 18 political forces received less than 1% of the vote.
The international rating agency S&P Global Ratings has assigned Moldova long-term and short-term sovereign credit ratings in foreign and local currency at "BB-/B" with a "stable" outlook after the parliamentary elections. According to the agency, Moldova's GDP will grow by 1.2% this year with inflation of 7.7%, and next year growth may accelerate to 2.2% (with inflation of 6%) and to 3% in 2027 with an average annual inflation of 5% in the medium term.
The report states that if the pro-European course is maintained, the growth of the Moldovan economy will be supported by an EU financing package of EUR1.9 billion. In addition, S&P notes that the country's authorities are considering concluding a new agreement with the IMF after the programs in force since 2022 end in October this year.
