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 German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce has presented to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Sofia a plan for doubling the German investments in Bulgaria and the bilateral trade by 2015.
Mitko Vasilev, Chief Manager of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DBIHK), presented the "Action Plan 2015" to the German Chancellor at a business forum in Sofia Monday night organized in connection with Merkel's first ever visit to Bulgaria.
Merkel was the keynote speaker...
Bulgaria's export has again registered a substantial growth in August, 2010, on annual basis, data published Monday by the National Statistics Institute shows.
The export was up 32.2% compared to August, 2009, reaching BNG 2.8 B.
In August, Bulgaria has a surplus in its trade balance of BGN 51.4 M, but it has been negative in the first 8 months of the year by BGN 2.6 B.
The export of Bulgarian companies is growing with double digits since the beginning of the year, seen by experts as a...
China has suggested to Bulgaria to increase the marketing and advertising of its goods in China, in order to boost the consumers' interest.
The suggestion was made Monday by Wan Jifei, the Chair of the China Council for the Promotion of International trade.
He is leading a Chinese delegation, which participates in a joint forum with Bulgarian companies, organized by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTPP).
According to Jifei, Bulgarian producers should participate in...
In August, the construction production in Bulgaria is up in comparison to previous month, but is still down on annual basis, statistics show.
According to preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute (NSI), the production in the construction sector increased by 1,6% in August, in comparison to July.
However, the sector registered a decrease of 11,6%, year-on-year.
The August the volume of retail trade, except cars and motorcycles trade, dropped down by 0,3% from the previous...
Bulgaria's contract with Russia's Atomstroyexport, commissioned to build the planned 2,000 megawatt Belene nuclear plant on the Danube River, which has stalled over lack of funding, will be extended by six months, reports say.
Negotiations between Bulgaria's National Electricity Company NEK and Russia's Atomstroyexport are underway, but no agreement has been signed yet, local Standart daily reported.
The talks will yield their first results next week, according to the report.
The...
Bulgaria's Lyulin highway is 82% ready, the Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the Minister on Regional Development, Rosen Plevneliev, have announced.
The two have made an official check on the construction of Lyulin highway on Sunday and announced the launching of new lanes at the Daskalovo road junction, which aim at easing the traffic.
"Half of Lyulin highway was made for six months, while one third of it was made for three years," Borisov said.
In September, the Bulgarian Road...
Most commercial real estate markets around the world, including Eastern Europe, have passed the bottom and are now on the rise, according to Colliers International Global Investor Sentiment Survey for the third quarter of this year.
A total of 90% of the survey participants said they planned to expand their current level of real estate holdings within a year or as a minimum maintain them at current levels.
The Global Property Clock equates market cycles to specific times, with 12 o'clock...
Bulgaria's export to non EU states has shown a substantial growth of 50% up to BGN 8.6 B in the first eight months of 2010, according to the National Statistical Institute.
The main trade partners of Bulgaria were Turkey, Serbia, Russia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Singapore, China,and the USA that formed over 54% of the total export to non EU countries.
The exports to China increased by 256.4% and those to Turkey by 65.2%. The exports to Serbia and Russia reported growth...
Bulgaria's export to the other EU member states registered a substantial growth in the first eight months of 2010.
In January-August, it grew by 23.7% compared to the same period of 2009, reaching BGN 11.7 B. At the same time, Bulgaria's import from the EU was BGN 13.5 B, an increase of 5.4%.
In August, the export was up 48.5% compared to August 2009 and reached BGN 1.8 B.
Bulgaria's major EU trading partners remain Italy, Germany, Romania and Greece, which form about 61.3% of its...
The number of new cars sold on the Bulgarian in the first nine months of 2010 declined by almost 40% year-on-year.
According to the Association of Car Producers and Importers, a total of 13 189 new cars were sold in Bulgaria in January-September compared with 20 729 in the first three quarters of 2009.
Toyota was the most popular brand on the Bulgarian market of new cars in that period with 1 450 sales, followed by Ford – 1 262, Volkswagen – 1 172, Peugeot – 1 032, Dacia – 912,...
The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has announced the organizing of a Bulgarian business delegation to the USA.
The delegation is expected to go to the US in the second or third week of November 2010.
The Bulgarian businessmen will be on a week-long visit to Cleveland, OH, and one more destination in the US to be selected from Chicago, IL, or Washington, DC.
The delegation is organized as part of the partnership between the BCCI and the Greater Cleveland Partnership,...
Romania's income from foreign tourism is four times smaller than Bulgaria's, Romanian newspaper Ziarul Financiar reports.
In 2009, Romania's revenues from tourism amounted to EUR 882 M, according to the Romanian Statistical Institute. In comparison, Bulgaria's income from foreign tourists was EUR 3.72 B, Hungary made EUR 5.63 B, the Czech Republic – EUR 6.5 B, Croatia – EUR 8.8 B.
The number of foreign tourists who visited Romania in 2009 is five times smaller than the number...
Bulgaria's successful example with the introduction of flat tax rates is partly the motivation for Hungary to adopt the same policy, according to Hungarian PM Viktor Orban.
Orban spoke in Sofia Friday at a joint press conference with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
"Hungary's policies must be directed towards the Hungarian market so that it can pay off its credits, and that is why we are introducing the flat tax following your example, and are reducing in half the taxes on...
The Bulgarian government has formally approved a 5-year concession for oil and gas prospecting in a 400 sq.km. area in northeast Bulgaria for North American company Park Place Energy Corp.
Park Place Energy Corp. is registered in the US state of Nevada and based in Calgary and Vancouver, Canada. The area it won to study is said to be very promising.
The company specializes in the extraction of shale gas, a novel and still largely unexplored procedure to capture gas trapped in earth...
Russia's state power trader Inter RAO has been tipped as the most likely buyer of a majority stake in Bulgaria's Maritsa East 3 coal-fired power plant, controlled by Italy's Enel SpA, according to reports.
Inter RAO may be the leading candidate among five bidders interested in Maritza, Italian daily Il Messaggero reported, without citing sources.
According to the report Enel, advised by Deutsche Bank AG, aims to pocked EUR 600 M from the sale and talks are at advanced stage.
Fulvio...
Bulgaria's Black Sea Port Varna has seen its revenues almost triple in the first nine months of 2010, year-on-year.
In January-September, Port Varna processed a total of 5.958 million tonnes of goods and materials, which is 1.112 million tonnes more than in the same period of 2009. About 1.5 million tonnes of these come for the exports of grain.
The greatest increase comes from the transport of grain, ores, coal, fertilizers, non-metalliferous minerals, and container goods, the Transport...
After the 2009 collapse, Bulgaria's metallurgical industry has started to make a comeback with growth of 3.7% in the first nine months of 2010 year-on-year.
Thus, in January-September 2010, the Bulgarian metallurgical plants produced a total of 562 100 tonnes of steel. The production of non-ferrous metals has also started to grow, though by an even smaller share.
This becomes clear from data of the Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry (BAMI) released Friday, November 5,...
One of Bulgaria's top winter resorts – Borovets in the Rila Mountain – expects a 10% increase of the holidaymakers for the winter season.
According to Neli Sandalska, head of the Board of Borosport AD, the owner of Borovets, the resort is seeing a tangible increase in bookings, especially from Russia and the Balkan countries.
The bookings by British tourists are expected to go up 5%, as is the number of Bulgarians who will spend their winter vacations in Borovets.
The Borovets...
The visit of a mission of the International Monetary Fund to Sofia, which started on September 23 and featured regular bilateral discussions on economic policies with the Bulgarian authorities, ends on Monday.
The mission was headed by Ms. Catriona Purfield, who has recently assumed mission chief responsibilities for Bulgaria. This was Ms. Purfield's first visit to the country. Mr. Tonny Lybek, IMF's Regional Resident Representative in Bulgaria and Romania participated in the meetings as...
Greek merchants and businessmen are flocking to Bulgarian language classes, the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, reports Saturday.
People from northern Greece are learning Bulgarian and the Cyrillic alphabet in a heated competition with hotel and restaurant owners in Bulgaria's southern resorts to attract more customers.
Bulgarian and Turkish language classes are the latest hit in the Greek border area where fluency in these languages and computer literacy are basic prerequisites for...
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