According to the Registration Chamber of the Ministry of Justice of Moldova, as of November 1, 1999, there were 148 companies with U.S. capital registered in Moldova, accounting for just 8% of the total number of companies with foreign capital registration.
Majority of the U.S. companies (69% or 102 firms) entered the Moldovan market through joint ventures. Other modes of entry used by U.S. firms included branch offices (16% or 23 firms), fully owned ventures (11% or 17 firms) and representative offices (4% or 6 firms).
As to the legal form of ownership, U.S. firms gave preference to companies with limited liability (59% or 88 firms), while the corporate form of doing business, i.e. joint-stock companies, accounts for 20% of entries to the market or 30 firms.
An estimated 91% of the companies have their offices in Chisinau. U.S.-Moldova joint ventures account for 61% or 90 firms. The number of companies with U.S. participation registered in Moldova over the last six years is as follows:
Year Number of Companies
1994 13
1995 36
1996 34
1997 32
1998 20
1999* 13
*Jan-Oct. data.