President Plevneliev's Veto Survives Parliament Vote
(Sofia, Jan 12) - Bulgarian MPs supported President Rossen Plevneliev's veto on the Investments Encouragement Act and returned it for further discussion.
Only three MPs supported the Act, 24 voted against it and 95 abstained from voting.
President Plevneliev vetoed the new law because, as he made it a point, the new regulations for residence of foreign investors in Bulgaria create many obstacles for their business activities....
Bulgaria to Start Nabucco in June 2013
(Sofia, Jan 11) - The construction of the Bulgarian section of the Nabucco pipeline will start in June 2013, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov informed at the first ministerial meeting of the project in 2013 in Sofia.
As the current head of the rotating presidency of the project, Bulgaria is calling for fix deadlines, the PM said. By June Bulgaria will have all the construction permits and mining companies from the "Shah Deniz-2" field will decide...
Construction of NPP Kozloduy's Seventh Reactor to Start in 2016
(Sofia, Jan 12) - "The first sod of NPP Kozloduy's seventh reactor will be turned in 2016," Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Ministry Delyan Dobrev said.
His statement was also supported by Sergey Tsochev, chairman of Bulgaria's Nuclear Regulatory Agency.
"The preparation of the necessary analyses and documents regarding the selection of a site for NPP Kozloduy's seventh reactor is to be completed in the second half of...
Bulgaria has secured a one-year extension to repay the 250 million euro bridge loan arranged by BNP Paribas to fund preliminary work on the planned Belene nuclear power plant on the Danube River, Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev said on May 7, as quoted by Focus news agency.
The option to postpone the due date was contingent on securing 55 million euro for immediate repayment of the amounts loaned by Belgium's Dexia and Japanese bank Mizuho. The funds will be provided to state electricity...
Sun Edison this week sold Bulgaria's largest solar park to a consortium of investors for Ј142m. The 60.4-megawatt Karadzhalovo solar park in southern Bulgaria began operating in March and cost Ј144m, according to the International Finance Corporation, which helped fund the project....
An enormous new vacation complex is to be build on Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea coast, announced Atanas Stoilov, Mayor of the Municipality of Aksakovo near Varna.
Stoilov told reporters Tuesday, as cited by Darik Radio, that the new resort will be built between the village of General Kantardzhievo and the Albena resort complex on a plot of 300 decares.
In his words, the project first started several years ago when it was initiated by French investors. After one of the investor's...
Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation, DKEVR, has already adopted one of the Electricity and Gas Directives, requested by the European Commission.
The statement was made Friday by the DKEVR Chairman, Angel Semerdzhiev.
It was reported Thursday that EC is referring Bulgaria, Estonia and the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to fully apply the EU internal energy market rules.
According to the EC's press office, to date...
Italian companies may be attracted in privatization projects, including for tourist sites, as well as concessions agreements and modernization schemes for airports, and construction and reconstruction of road and railway infrastructure in Bulgaria, according to Minister Bozhidar Lukarski.
Speaking Tuesday at the opening of an economic forum titled “Bulgaria and Italy: Together for Achieving Growth”, Lukarski pointed out that the trade and economic cooperation between Bulgaria and Italy...
12 July 12, 2017, Sofia. Miss Hosting (one of the largest Scandinavian hosting providers) announced that it has chosen Sofia as it global center of operations. The company plans to hire up to 100 people in the next 2 years to support its global growth as well as its entry into the Bulgarian hosting market.
The company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with offices in Miami, USA, Nashik, India and local presence in Norway,...
Bulgaria will need to invest over BGN 100 M in the extension of the life of the two operational 1000-MW reactors of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, according to its CEO Kostadin Dimitrov.
Speaking at the Bulatom energy forum in Varna Thursday, Dimitrov said the technical surveying of the two reactors will last 18-24 months. It is expected to provide answers on how to go about extending the life of Units 5 and 6 of the only Bulgarian NPP, whose 440-MW Units 1-4 were shut down in 2002-2006...
The smell of chocolate chip cookies, a staple of the DoubleTree by Hilton, is already greeting the guests at the brand latest destination - the DoubleTree by Hilton Varna – Golden Sands on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.
Situated between the ancient, protected forests of Golden Sands National Park and the beautiful Black Sea beaches of the popular Golden Sands Resort, the hotel officially launched the spring and summer season with key business and civic leaders.
"DoubleTree by Hilton is...
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has met with Westinghouse President for EMEA Anders Jackson and VP for Southern Europe Jose Gutierrez.
Friday's meeting in Sofia is the latest in a series of meetings between the Bulgarian government and the US energy giant, and is the most high-profile one.
It was also attended by Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Traicho Traikov and US Ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlick.
Its talks focused on discussing the results of...
Prototypes of the cars of Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motors that will be produced in Bulgaria's Lovech generated heated interest Thursday at the opening of the auto and agricultural equipment fair at the Ruse University "Angel Kanchev."
China's Ambassador to Bulgaria Guo Yezhou, Deputy Agriculture Minister Georgi Kostov, and a Romanian delegation from Giurgiu were among those who demonstrated great interest in the two vehicles – a jeep and a pickup truck, i.e. the models Hover and...
Irish company Island Renewable Energy may build a wind park in the Northern Bulgarian Suhindol municipality,Nikolay Nikolov, its executive director for Southeast Europe, has announced.
The project, which may be launched after, wind measurements and a feasibility study, involves a 90-megawatt wind farm valued at EUR 130 M.
"If we decide to go ahead with the project, construction may start in some three years," Nikolov said, as cited by Bloomberg, adding that the conclusive decision also...
Bulgaria presents exciting trade and investment opportunities for US companies, US Ambassador James Warlick said before embarking on a "Road Show" in four US cities together with AmCham and his Bulgarian counterpart in DC.
"There are many advantages for establishing business relationships here in Bulgaria such as the well-educated and motivated workforce, the low and flat tax rate, quick access to regional markets, and entry into Europe, to name a few... This is the right time to invest, and...
The European Commission's approval of the first stage of the construction of the waste plant near Sofia is expected in just weeks, according to the Head of the Regional Policy Directorate, Dirk Ahner.
Ahner is on a working visit to Sofia over the weekend. He inspected Saturday the construction site of the "Lions' Bridge" metro station, part of the second segment of the subway, financed by the EC.
The EC representative explained the approval would mean construction of the compost...
Chinese companies have demonstrated committed interest in investment in Bulgaria's agriculture, according to Agriculture and Foods Minister Miroslav Naydenov.
Naydenov met Friday with a Chinese business delegation, including Tianjin State Farms Agribusiness Group Company, which declared its readiness to rent 100 000 decares of land, mostly in Northwestern Bulgaria.
Tianjin State Farms Agribusiness Group Company is seeking to buy or rent 12 000 decares in the Vidin District, and more land...
Coca-Cola Hellenic has announced new investments in Bulgaria's capital Sofia amidst the celebrations of Coca-Cola's 125th birthday.
Sofia has been selected from among 14 other cities in Europe for the setting up of a United Center for Human Resource and Financial Services of Coca-Cola; the center will be opened in the fall of 2011, and will employ 200 Bulgarians.
Over 500 guests including clients, partners, journalists, and senior government officials attended the large-scale birthday...
Bulgaria's sector-based strategy for the attraction of foreign investments was presented by Minister of Economy and Energy Traicho Traikov at a forum in Sofia Tuesday.
The strategy names the fields of the economy that the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism has identified as bearing the greatest potential for stable development that will significantly contribute to growth.
"Looking for a significant boost of GDP per capita, we have accented not on sectors that will give work to a...
A notice for the privatization of Bulgaria's former state tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac Holding is due to be published in the State Gazette on 10 May.
The promulgation will mark the start of the third official attempt to sell the state-owned stake in the company, which is expected to be successful thanks to the political consensus the deal now enjoys, the agency for privatization and post-privatization control said.
A majority stake - 79,83% - in Bulgaria's state cigarette producer...
Bulgarian cigarette maker King's Tobacco has confirmed its interest in the privatization of the country's state tobacco giant Bulgartabac Holding.
"Provided that we meet the requirements, we will join the competition. The requirements are pretty high because the state wants to protect the interests of tobacco producers," Boyko Kachulev, CEO of the company, commented.
The factory was part of Bulgartabac holding prior to its privatization in 2008 According to its data during the first three...
TransGlobal Assets, an Oregon-based company, has announced plans to acquire a Bulgarian Black Sea resort development, an investment estimated at USD 400 M once completed.
TransGlobal Assets, Inc. has signed a letter of intent and has received the project plans for the acquisition and development of the White Lagoon Resort project located in Topola Village near Kavarna, Bulgaria on the Black Sea coastline.
The White Lagoon project is anticipated to be valued at more than USD 400 M USD when...
Some seven or eight new foreign companies have declared interest in starting outsourcing and offshoring operations in Bulgaria, according to Borislav Stefanov, head of the InvestBulgaria Agency.
Speaking at a conference on outsourcing in Sofia Wednesday, Stefanov cited data from a survey carried out by the McKinsey consultancy, which showed that in the past two years the number of people employed in the outsourcing sector in Central and Eastern Europe grew from 220 000 to 250...
A number of Italian companies have declared readiness to invest in the development of Bulgaria's renewable energy sector at a round table organized by Confindustria Bulgaria.
Confindustria Bulgaria, the association of Italian businesses working in the country, brought together key Bulgarian government figures and potential investors to explore the possibilities of Bulgaria's renewable energy sector. The event was organized in collaboration with Ice Sofia and with the support of Unicredit...
The Spanish FCC company, building contractor of Danube Bridge II between the Bulgarian port Vidin and the Romanian Calafat, has received a concession to extract construction materials.
The information was reported by the company's press center, cited by the Bulgarian daily "Standart."
The decision has been made during the last cabinet meeting.
The concession has a 5-year term and allows the extraction of 432 000 tons.
FCC have been asking for permission to extract materials from...
Accor, a leading global hotel operator and market leader in Europe, has started a new project in Bulgaria in partnership with the Bulgarian investment company MHQ.
Accor's Bulgarian partnership was unveiled Thursday at a news briefing by Antoine Guego, Chief Operations Director of Accord for Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and the Balkans together Borislav Spasov, Managing Director of MHQ Ltd, and Andrew Peirson from King Sturge, French Ambassador to Bulgaria Philippe Autie, and Philippe...
The French energy giant Gas de France Suez considers investing EUR 100 M in Bulgarian biomass plants, the country's Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov announced Monday.
Gas de France considers building 4 biomass energy plants in different Bulgarian cities. Apart from it, Spanish and Bulgarian companies have shown investment interests in the country's biomass energy.
The Balkan country is working on a new law on renewable energy sources, which includes incentives for biomass energy...
UK electric car company Zero Carbon 2020 will produce the first cars from a new assembly line in Bulgaria in the second or third quarter of 2011.
The assembly line will be near the southern city of Stara Zagora and will initially have the capacity of 100 cars; output is planned to expand to some 5,000 units by 2015.
The initial investment is estimated at BGN 6.5 M, and if the market reacts well, it is planned it would reach EUR 10-12 M.
"We are a company offering niche products and...
The project for the construction of Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant "Belene" is completely ready, according to Kiril Komarov, CEO of the nuclear energy complex of Rosatom and director of Atomenergoproekt.
"The project is fully prepared and no outside factors – save for "political emotions" - can affect it substantially," Komarov told a meeting in the Russian State Duma of its committee for cooperation with the Bulgarian Parliament, as cited by RIA Novosti.
The senior Rosatom...
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