Moldova is preparing partial listings of state-owned companies and a future Pillar II pension system

The Republic of Moldova wants to use the new stock exchange for the partial listing of certain state-owned companies and, gradually, for developing a pension system based on saving in individual accounts. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan linked the two reforms to the need to create both companies in which investors can place capital and long-term institutional investors. The Government has not yet announced the companies concerned, the share packages or the timetable for introducing Pillar II.

The Republic of Moldova intends to use its new stock exchange for the partial listing of certain state-owned enterprises and to link the development of the capital market to the gradual construction of a Pillar II-type pension system based on saving in individual accounts. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan presented the two directions in a discussion organized by Bruegel, explaining that a functioning capital market simultaneously needs companies large enough to attract investors and stable sources of long-term capital. The Government has not yet announced which companies would be listed, what percentages might be sold or when the new pension system would actually begin.

In brief

1. Vasile Tofan says that the Government wants to push some state-owned enterprises toward partial listings, either individually or through a structure grouping several companies.

2. The International Stock Exchange of Moldova was authorized in August and began the process of attracting brokers and issuers as part of the capital market development strategy.

3. The Bucharest Stock Exchange owns 26.67% of the Moldovan operator, while the Public Property Agency owns 20%, creating a direct link between Moldova’s new financial infrastructure and the Romanian market.

4. The Government also wants to prepare a Pillar II pension system based on saving in individual accounts, which could gradually create a base of local institutional investors.

5. Neither the listings nor Pillar II have yet been implemented. There is currently no public list of the companies concerned, share percentages, contribution levels or final timetable.

The discussion about listing state-owned companies comes at a time when the Republic of Moldova is trying to build a capital market capable of financing more of the local economy. Tofan described the problem in terms of two mutually dependent shortages. For a stock exchange to function, there must be companies large and attractive enough for investors, as well as capital available over the long term for purchasing shares and bonds. In the vision presented by the prime minister, state-owned enterprises could contribute to the first part of the equation, while the private pension system could contribute to the second.

Tofan said that the Government wants to push public enterprises toward partial listings and indicated several possible options, including the individual listing of certain companies or the use of a holding-type structure. However, the statement does not identify the companies that could enter the market first, nor does it establish how much of their capital would be offered to investors. The documentation file does not yet contain a listing program from the Public Property Agency, meaning that the announced direction must be presented as an economic policy intention, not as an already launched privatization.

The message is consistent with the position previously presented by the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization. At Capital Market Forum 2026, Minister Claudiu Năsui argued that state-owned companies must be prepared to access the capital market and, where appropriate, to list. The authorities’ argument is that access to the stock exchange can provide capital for development, but simultaneously requires greater transparency, public reporting and financial discipline.

The infrastructure for such a strategy has begun to be built. In August, the National Commission for Financial Markets authorized the International Stock Exchange of Moldova as a market operator and allowed it to administer both a regulated market and a multilateral trading system. The process of admitting brokers and issuers then entered an operational phase, so the project is gradually moving from establishing the institution to building a market where new financial instruments can actually appear.

The connection with Romania is one of the structural features of the new operator. The Bucharest Stock Exchange owns 26.67% of the capital of the International Stock Exchange of Moldova, while the Public Property Agency owns 20%. BVB’s stake means that the development of the Moldovan stock exchange is directly connected to the experience of a capital market in the European Union, but it does not automatically mean that Romanian investors or pension funds have already decided to purchase Moldovan instruments.

In his intervention at Bruegel, Tofan spoke about potential access to capital from Romanian investors and used Romania’s experience as an example for developing the Moldovan market. This potential nevertheless depends on the eligibility of the instruments, the rules applicable to managers and the commercial decisions of each investor. The institutional link between the two stock exchanges creates infrastructure and may reduce operational barriers, but it cannot be presented as a promise that Romanian funds’ money will automatically be invested in Moldovan companies.

The Government also views the development of pension saving as part of the same structure. Tofan said at Bruegel that the authorities intend to use this development to gradually build a Pillar II in the Republic of Moldova. The idea had already been announced in the program presented by the prime minister when the Government was installed, when he spoke about preparing a second pension pillar based on saving in individual accounts.

Such a system would create a long-term savings component separate from the public mechanism through which current contributions primarily finance pensions being paid at present. Assets accumulated in participants’ accounts are managed and invested over the long term, and pension funds can thus become important institutional investors. For the Republic of Moldova, it is precisely this local capital base that is currently missing from the stock exchange development equation.

The link between the stock exchange and pensions must nevertheless be treated carefully. A Pillar II is not created to finance state-owned companies, nor should participants be turned into automatic buyers of shares selected by the government. Any pension funds should operate under rules concerning investment, diversification, risk management and participant protection, while investment decisions would rest with managers within the limits of the legal framework.

The available materials do not yet contain the final architecture of the future system. The contribution level, the categories of people who would participate, whether participation would be mandatory or voluntary, the managers, fees, guarantees or the cost of transitioning from the current system have not been publicly established. For this reason, Tofan’s statement confirms a reform direction, but does not mean that Pillar II has already been introduced.

This distinction is also important for the part concerning state-owned companies. A partial listing does not necessarily imply the loss of public control over a company. The state can sell only part of the capital and remain the majority shareholder, but the effects depend on the percentage offered, shareholders’ rights, corporate governance and how the proceeds are used. None of these elements has been established for specific companies in the prime minister’s statement.

For the authorities, the advantage of a listing is not limited to receiving money. Entering the stock exchange entails the regular publication of financial information, reporting to investors and continuous market valuation of the company. These requirements can change how state-owned enterprises are managed, but they do not in themselves guarantee financial performance, nor do they replace corporate governance reform.

The International Stock Exchange of Moldova also needs sufficient supply to become relevant. For the coming years, the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization has presented objectives involving increased market capitalization, a larger number of listed companies and the development of corporate and municipal bonds. Listing public companies could contribute to these objectives, but until prospectuses, official decisions and public offerings appear, there are still no concrete transactions to attribute to the strategy announced by Tofan.

The project’s three components are therefore linked, but are at different stages. The stock exchange is already authorized and is building its infrastructure and participant base. Possible listings of state-owned enterprises remain at the level of intention and preparation, with no companies or confirmed percentages. Pillar II is a reform that the Government says it will prepare and build gradually, but whose legal and financial framework still needs to be defined.

For the Republic of Moldova, the stake is transforming a small financial market into a mechanism through which companies can attract capital without relying exclusively on bank loans, while long-term savings can be invested in a broader range of assets. The Government uses Romania’s experience as a benchmark both for the stock exchange and for the role of pension funds, but the outcome will depend on the rules adopted in Chișinău and on the actual emergence of companies and investors.

Tofan’s statement therefore creates an explicit political link between the management of state-owned companies, capital market development and pension reform. The next decisive step is no longer formulating the objective, but turning it into concrete documents: the list of companies eligible for listing, the share packages, the offering rules and the complete Pillar II plan. Until these appear, the plan describes the direction in which the Government wants to build the market, not a system already in operation.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/moldova-pregateste-listari-partiale-ale-companiilor-de-stat-si-un-viitor-pilon-ii-de-pensii