Although boards of directors should select managers through a tender, founders continue to appoint interim administrators by order. At the end of 2024, 55 out of 74 companies had interim administrators with terms of office exceeding one year. Such appointments bypass competition, reduce the quality of decisions and dilute the responsibility of boards of directors.
The audit showed that the management of state-owned enterprises remains fragmented and inefficient. Boards are mostly advisory, criteria and profiles of members are not defined, and salaries are not dependent on performance. Companies are evaluated only on financial indicators, without effective controls for strategic decisions.
At the beginning of 2024, Moldova had 233 state-owned enterprises, of which 94 were joint stock companies. The State Property Management Agency controlled 183 entities. 54 enterprises remained active, 9 were in liquidation, and later another 48 SOEs were liquidated.
