News about Industry

Romania’s interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan announced that automaker Automobile Dacia (a subsidiary of Renault) and the Turkish company Ford Otosan have suspended production at their local plants until August 19 in order to reduce electricity consumption, as the country is facing a severe power shortage due to historically low water levels in the Danube.

The government has postponed consideration of a bill to introduce a financial guarantee for environmental restoration in connection with mineral extraction. The decision was made following appeals from the business community—some of the bill’s provisions will be revised based on further consultations.

The government has approved an increase in the authorized capital of the state-owned enterprise “Calea Ferată din Moldova.” According to reports, “up to 421.115 million lei, equivalent to approximately 21.279 million euros, will be allocated for financial support,” which means that the exact amount of the railway’s capitalization has not yet been fully determined.

Amid an electricity shortage, Romanian authorities have restarted the Paroșen coal-fired combined-cycle power plant, built 70 years ago, to restore the country’s energy balance.

The Spanish group Inditex, owner of the Zara chain, has supported a research project aimed at creating textile materials from brewing industry waste. The initiative is being carried out as part of the MIT-Spain Inditex Circularity Seed Fund program in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and aims to identify new sources of sustainable raw materials for the textile industry.

Thirty-five legendary companies that have accompanied Moldova’s 35-year journey toward statehood from the very beginning will be included in the “golden list” of Moldovan business history. And the first company named is the joint-stock company “AROMA.”

Romanian authorities are beginning consultations with major industrial enterprises to reduce the strain on the power grid amid the declared energy alert. On August 3, the Ministry of Energy will hold an online meeting with the largest electricity consumers, during which it will ask them to voluntarily shift some of their energy-intensive production to hours of lower demand. 

PARIS—For many years, Europe and China have embodied competing models of development and energy transition. Europe has emphasized markets, common rules, and multilateral organizations, while China has focused on industrial policy, infrastructure investment, and manufacturing. Europe developed regulations that often became global benchmarks (the “Brussels effect”). Meanwhile, China built factories.

Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan announced that he does not believe in the country’s industrialization and even expects the automotive parts manufacturing sector—which accounts for one-fifth of Moldova’s exports—to fail.

Russia has begun importing gasoline by sea from Morocco due to a domestic fuel shortage. An oil tanker delivered about 30,000 metric tons of AI-92 gasoline, industry sources told Reuters.

The government is proposing amendments to the legislation governing the operations of a number of special economic zones (SEZs) and free enterprise zones (FEZs). This decision stems from the findings of an audit by the Accounts Chamber, which identified problems with cadastral registration, property management, and land use.

Layoffs are becoming the new reality for the German auto industry. BMW has launched a voluntary workforce reduction program that, according to media reports, could result in a reduction of approximately 8,000 employees in Germany by the end of 2027.

More than 20 companies and two associations of food industry manufacturers have appealed to Prime Minister Vasile Tofan and Deputy Prime Minister Eugen Osmocescu, asking them to review the package of proposals they have drafted. The package is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of this vital sector of the national economy. The core of the proposals is to restore a competitive environment in Moldova’s sugar market.

The inclusion of strategic companies such as Moldtelecom JSC and Franzeluța JSC in the category of enterprises subject to privatization raises questions. This was stated by MP Dinu Plîngău, chairman of the parliamentary commission investigating the activities of certain state-owned enterprises, citing an information memo on the classification of state property.

Tax liabilities accrued in the second quarter of 2026 rose by 17%—to 1.3 billion lei—while tax payments increased by 18% (to 1.31 billion lei).

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), more than half of industrial output is sold on the domestic market. According to the agency’s latest report for 2025, the share of domestic consumption of local industrial products reached 68.6%.

The fields of study in higher education will be expanded to include six new programs: “Furniture Design”, “Geographic Information Systems (GIS)”, “Geography of Tourism”, “Bioinformatics”, “Pharmaceutical Care”, and “Sports Travel and Tourism”. The corresponding decision was approved today, July 29, at a government meeting.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), sales by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rose by 15.5% in 2025, and their share of Moldova’s economy increased by 1.7% over the course of the year.

Bucuria is one of Moldova’s most recognizable brands, with a turnover of nearly 700 million lei. It produces more than 7,800 metric tons of sweets annually and remains the largest player in the country’s confectionery market. In an interview with Infotag, the company’s CEO, Ecaterina Cechina, explained how the business operates, why the factory does not take out loans for expansion, who oversees product quality, and whether the company has any new best-sellers.

The German government plans to hold its first international investment summit this fall, modeled after the French initiative “Choose France.” Chancellor Friedrich Merz hopes to present the country as “an anchor of stability in Europe,” but this strategy is already sparking debate in the German media amid ongoing problems in the industrial sector and a decline in investment activity.