[0]

There are now more than 4,000 small and medium sized businesses, such as this one, all throughout the length of Pridnestrovie

BENDER (Tiraspol Times) - Coming out at a conference and expo for small and medium-sized businesses, PMR President Igor Smirnov gave his full support to the private sector. He also lauded a recent growth in the number of privately owned companies in Pridnestrovie.

The two-day event, called "Leader 2007", was organized by Pridnestrovie's Chamber of Commerce and Industry and took place in Bender's Cultural Hall at the start of November.

President Igor Smirnov participated in a round table session entitled "The role of small businesses in Pridnestrovie's economy and in the creation of the middle class of the republic," noting that this topic has never been more important now for Pridnestrovie as well as for a number of other new and independent states in the territory of the former Soviet Union.

In his opening remarks to the conference, Smirnov called the growth in privately-owned companies "a very positive trend."

" - In recent years, Pridnestrovie has seen a very positive trend of growth of privately owned companies.

President Igor Smirnov, 66, strongly supports the growth of private business as a way to strengthen the economy and build a middle class in the new and emerging country. He is a former political prisoner and also the son of a former political prisoner.

Only in comparison with 2006, in the first half of the current year [2007], their number increased by 395, bringing the total of private firms to 4,021." He added that the largest number of new firms are in the commercial sphere and in food services. Thanks to free market reforms, firms in the private sector have on average been able to more than double their profits on a year-to-year basis.

" - The profit of small companies exceeded 338 million PMR Rubles, which is a 2.4 increase over the same period of 2006."

48,500 self-employed in private business

The President, whose father was jailed under Stalin, has direct personal experience of private personal business from an early age. While his father was imprisoned for political crimes against the Communist state, his mother was fired from her job at a state publishing firm and the fatherless family had difficulty obtaining food.

Living near Odessa, just a few miles from Pridnestrovie's border, young Igor and his two brother had to employ themselves by odd jobs for private individuals, earning money by trading privately and engaging in small-scale commerce. To keep warm at night, they sometimes slept next to a group of horses which they had been paid to look after.

Today, the now 66 year old Smirnov supports economic reforms and the growth of an open economy. He sees this as the best way to strengthen a democratic economy which, while integrated globally with the rest of the world, is at the same time resilient to pressure from Moldova who wants to Pridnestrovie to give up its 'de facto' independence.

In addition to the 4,000+ private firms, the number of self-employed individuals or sole traders, who operate with "patents" (licenses), now stands at nearly 50,000.

" - The number of newly issued patents grew considerably, by almost 5,000 new patents [business licenses]. The total now exceeds 48,500," said Smirnov, adding that the largest growth was seen in Bender, Tiraspol and Rybnitsa - the three largest cities in Pridnestrovie - and moreover in Slobodzya, in the southernmost part of the country.

" - This shows that small businesses in our country are developing ever more actively, and becoming a firm part of the development of our national economy," he noted.

" - Today our country is an integral part of the economic space of the former Soviet Union. The broader and deeper our economic connections are, the more successfully we'll be able to solve the existing economic problems."

The democratically elected president reiterated his support of small private firms, wishing them "new victories to you, new achievements in the sphere of production and innovations, introduction of the newest technologies, prosperity and successes!" A former factory director himself, he ended his speech by urging them to find success in new business connections: "May your forum contribute to the establishment of new ties, new business connections, for future economic collaboration."

See also:
» International reports call Pridnestrovie "independent, open, democratic" [1]
» Transdniester middle class voters form Home Owners Associations [2]