A very crude joke, which has been told since Moldova’s independence, went something like this: “Moldova is an independent country, nothing depends on Moldova”. Today, this could not be further from the truth. The Republic of Moldova is a strategically located, albeit very small, key country in the Democracy’s standoff against the Russian imperialism.
During the last week of February, representatives of an international project development team lead by the Broad Street Capital Group and Horn & Watson Capital Strategies visited Moldova to present a unique financing solution and implementation model for energy and infrastructure projects. The team, which in addition to the project developers, consists of a major international EPC contracting company, a global investment bank, and several major law firms, is anchored in Moldova by the ERAgreat Energy SRL – an experienced local energy developer and operator.
While in Chisinau, supported by the representatives of the US Embassy and USAID, the US delegation met with the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Energy, Finance, as well as with the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, to present and discuss two significant renewable energy and infrastructure projects for Moldova totaling up to $500 million. The proposed projects contemplate credit enhancement insurance from the US Government’s development agency, and issuance of 20-year notes in the US capital markets. By receiving the investment grade rating due to the US-Government’s insurance, the proposed projects will greatly reduce borrowing costs, significantly contribute to Moldova’s energy independence, as well as stimulate international trade development and promote Moldova to the international investment community.
The US project development team is one of the most experienced teams in the world for this type of projects, having completed over a billion dollars in the US Government-insured capital markets transactions in Ukraine, Togo and Gabon, as well as close to $40 billion of export credit and development agency financings over the last 20 years.
As the result of the meetings in Chisinau, two project working groups have been formed and the work began with the Government of Moldova to finalize the scope of both projects and to move forward with the contract development.