Bulgaria's finance minister, who was initially targeting rapid accession to the euro zone, has confirmed the country is in no hurry to adopt the single currency.
"We will not make any move toward the switchover in the next two years," Simeon Djankov told reporters in Vienna on Thursday.
The statement is in line with the opinion of local analysts, who have tried to tone down the cabinet's enthusiasm for adopting rapidly the common European currency, saying it makes more sense for the...
Bulgaria has registered an increase in its foreign direct investment in January-May 2012 year-on-year, according to the latest data of the Bulgarian National Bank released on Monday.
According to the Bulgarian National Bank's preliminary data, the foreign direct investment in Bulgaria for January - May 2012 increased by EUR 473.8 M (1.2% of GDP), compared to an increase of EUR 72.2 million (0.2% of GDP) for January – May 2011.
Bulgaria's attracted Equity Capital (acquisition/disposal of...
Bulgaria's Currency Board Is Super Stable
(Sofia, Jan 12) - "The currency board functioning in Bulgaria is super-stable," the monthly analysis of Raiffeissen Bank Bulgaria reads.
The experts have calculated that at the end of November 2012 the currency board's reserves amount to 15.1 billion euro, which is an increase by 2.2 million euro from a month ago.
The board's reserves have increased by 1.9 billion euro (14.4%) year-on-year, which is a surplus of about 89% to the minimum...
Wall Street legend and highly successful international investor, author and commodities expert, Jim Rogers has said he is considering investing in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria is among the few countries, in which he is considering investing right now, since they have made the most improvement since his latest trip around the world, the billionaire, currently based in Singapore, said in an interview for Gold Radio Cafй.
He joined the broadcast for a brief discussion on his new book "Street Smarts:...
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...
“The opportunities OP Environment provides in the previous and the new programme periods establish prerequisites for a huge volume of work on designing and construction of ecological infrastructure as well as possibilities for the state to tackle challenges,“ said Ivelina Vasileva, Bulgarian Minister of Environment and Water, speaking at an annual conference themed “Strategic infrastructure and investments – Bulgaria and the Western Balkans“, FOCUS News Agency reported.
“In the...
The privatization process for VMZ Sopot, Bulgaria's largest defense industry plant, is to be launched Tuesday, according to Energy and Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev.
In a Thursday interview, he stressed that the state could no longer afford to seek money to pay the salaries of the plant's workers every other month, which was why it would go private.
Dobrev explained that the privatization strategy adopted by Parliament in 2011 envisaged a commitment for the buyer to keep the plant's...
According to flash estimates, the seasonally adjusted industrial production index in Bulgaria increased by 0.9% in May 2012, compared to April 2012.
The preliminary data was released Tuesday by the Bulgarian National Statistics Institute, NSI.
In May 2012, the working day adjusted industrial production index also rose by 0.9%, compared to the same month of 2011.
In May 2012, as compared to April 2012, the seasonally adjusted Industrial Production Index in the mining and quarrying...
Bulgaria's capital Sofia slipped down one spot in the global ranking of cities with hotels with top customer satisfaction.
The rating is published by hotel.info every quarter.
Sofia is 11 with a score of 7.49 out of 10 received by customers themselves.
The respondents evaluate their stay on the basis of fulfilled expectations. They rank from 1 to 10 the hotel room, the noise level, the balance between price and quality, the staff, and the quality of food. These criteria allow some...
Rural areas in Bulgaria are reporting peak interest in subsidized projects for the construction of photovoltaic systems.
A total of 37 photovoltaic projects were approved in the last three months, alongside subsidies of over BGN 11.6 M, according to recent statistics of Bulgaria's State Fund Agriculture cited by news portal investor.bg.
The subsidies are granted under three measures of the Rural Development Program (RDP) envisaging a diversification into non-agricultural activities,...
Bulgaria's government approved Wednesday a memorandum of understanding between Bulgaria's Executive Agency for Promotion of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Montenegro's Directorate for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.
The two sides are to cooperate on the organization of events promoting SMEs like exchange visits of entrepreneurs, arranging participations in business forums and seminars, commercial fairs, exhibitions and other activities enhancing the economic...
The delays in the construction of Lot 1 of Bulgaria's Maritsa Highway leading to the border with Turkey will be made up for, according to the Bulgarian government.
The construction of Lot 1 of the Maritsa Highway – between Orizovo and Dimitrovgrad – was inspected Wednesday by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova.
Lot 1 between Orizovo and Dimitrovgrad is 31.4-km long and is part of the Pan-European Transport Corridor connecting Central and...
Bulgaria ranks 43rd in the 2012 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) of the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD) in France and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Switzerland.
Croatia ranks right before Bulgaria, while the majority of countries on the Balkans are after Bulgaria, like Montenegro (45th), Serbia (46th), Romania (52nd) and Macedonia (62nd).
The first thee places in the ranking are occupied by Switzerland, Sweden and...
Germany's importance for the Bulgarian economy is growing, Bulgarian Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev told a business forum in Berlin Tuesday.
Dobrev is part of the delegation accompanying Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev in Germany.
Speaking before 70 businesses in Berlin, he pointed to a potential German investor, a company interested in building a plant for car air conditioners in Bulgaria's Plovdiv, and noted that more and more investors are seeking to join Bulgaria's car parts...
The citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Moldova who visited Bulgaria in 2011 can now enjoy eased visa rules for the Balkan country.
As of July 1, Bulgaria's consular offices in the aforementioned countries will issue annual multiple entry visas to all citizens who made a holiday or business trip to Bulgaria in 2011.
The candidates have to bring a photocopy of their 2011 visa.
As of January 2012, Russian holders of Schengen visas have been able to visit and stay in Bulgaria without...
Romanian investors are increasingly deciding to register firms in Bulgaria, the Romanian paper Ziare wrote Tuesday in a report.
Ziare points out that in 2011 the number of Romanian companies registered in Bulgaria increased by 50% year-on-year.
The report adds that the same goes for Greek investors, with the number of Greek companies in Bulgaria increasing by 72% in 2011 year-on-year reaching a total of 3 781.
The main reasons for Romanian investors to choose to start business in...
All trains serving the railroad line between the second largest city of Plovdiv and the town of Dimitrovgrad in southern Bulgaria can now travel with speeds up to 160 km/h.
The news was announced by Transport Minister, Ivaylo Moskovski, during the official opening of the railway section. The ceremony was also attended by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn, President, Rosen Plevneliev, Regional Development Minister, Lilyana Pavlova, and...
In June 2012, the industrial confidence indicator in Bulgaria decreases by 1.1 percentage points in comparison with May.
The report on key indicators of Bulgarian economy was published Monday by the National Statistics Institute, NSI.
In April 2012, the work day adjusted Industrial Production Index rose by 0.3% as compared to the respective month of 2011 (by operative flash data estimates). An increase was recorded in 'Manufacturing' - by 4.2%, while decreases were registered in the...
One of biggest Bulgarian construction companies, Planex, has opened an office in the Romanian capital Bucharest, the company announced.
It said the move is "in line with its development plans", and that is has entered negotiations for a number of projects in Romania due by the end of the year.
„We have faith in the Bulgarian market, but at the same time, it is our responsibility to expand our opportunities. We are in process of negotiating a number of important projects in...
Bulgaria has set pricing on its euro-denominated, benchmark-size, five-year bond in the area of 350 basis points over midswaps, one of the banks running the deal said Monday.
BNP Paribas, HSBC, and Raiffeisen Bank International (RAIFY) are the lead managers on the issue, which is expected to price later Monday.
Bulgaria is rated Baa2 by Moody's Investor Services and BBB by Standard and Poor's Corp. Bulgaria was last in the euro-denominated bond market in 2002.
Bulgaria started on June...
The section of Bulgaria's Trakiya Highway between Nova Zagora and Stara Zagora was officially opened on Sunday.
"The construction of highways will yield its results over the following years," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov told journalists during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The 32-km highway stretch was completed ahead of term and is to allow Bulgarians to get to the seaside 20 minutes faster.
Borisov revealed that another section of the highway, the one connecting Nova Zagora...
This year's first group of four Romanian police officers are to start patrolling the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Albena together with their Bulgarian colleagues on Sunday.
The joint Bulgarian-Romanian patrols of Bulgaria's Black Sea resorts for the 2012 summer season start as of July 1, as they did last year.
The Romanian police officers will be wearing their native uniforms and will cooperate with Bulgarian authorities in contacting Romanian tourists.
In the summer of 2010, Bulgaria...
Bulgarian Finance Minister and Deputy PM Simeon Djankov has made clear his high expectations for the country's upcoming Eurobond float.
"There has been a calming of the international markets since the EU leaders' summit on Friday. Bulgaria will benefit from that because it is about to float Eurobonds," Djankov stated in the Black Sea city of Burgas on Friday, as cited by Dnevnik.
"I expect great news in this respect by the end of next week," he added.
Bulgaria started on June 25 a...
LUKERG Renew, a joint venture between Italy's ERG SpA (ERG) and Russia's OAO Lukoil, completed the acquisition of a wind park in Northeastern Bulgaria.
Thus, Lukoil and ERG SpA have paid EUR 52 M for the 40 MW wind farm near the city of Dobrich in Bulgaria, the Moscow- based company said.
LUKERG Renew controls some 10% of the Bulgarian wind market after the buying the wind park, which was built in 2009, it said. Lukoil also owns Bulgaria's biggest refinery Lukoil Neftochim Burgas.
In...
German electric energy company E.ON has finalized the deal to sell its Bulgarian unit E.ON Bulgaria to private Czech company Energo-Pro, it emerged on Friday.
The news comes half a year after Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) cleared the acquisition of E.ON Bulgaria EAD by the Czech utility.
"Our main priority at the moment is to assure Bulgarian authorities and consumers that Energo-Pro is a reliable partner and a high-quality electricity supplier," Irji Krushina,...
The second bridge over the Danube linking Romania and Bulgaria at Calafat and Vidin will be ready by the end of the year, announced Bulgarian Minister of Transport Ivaylo Moskovski.
Saturday Moskovski accompanied Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov and EU Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn on an inspection of the project for the so-called Danube Bridge 2.
"82% of the bridge itself is completed at the present moment, 90% of funds have been used, 92% of outlying infrastructure has also been...
Bulgaria Translation