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...
Greek telecoms group OTE will seek to sell its Bulgarian businesses - a mobile phone company and an electronic appliance retail chain – for no less than EUR 800 M, according to reports.
Bulgarian phone services provider Globul and Germanos Telecom Bulgaria are expected to fetch the Greek telecom giant some EUR 800 M, the online edition of Kathimerini reported.
"OTE management has repeatedly said that it will sell one of its units abroad at a satisfactory price," the company said in a...
Veselin Peykov, CEO of Sofia Airport, has said that the management of the company will start designing a new terminal at the beginning of 2013.
In a Friday interview for the morning broadcast of the Bulgaria on Air TV station, he specified that the project was very much dependent on the development of the airport and the future concession contract.
Peykov added that it was still unclear whether Sofia Airport would get a third terminal or have a new terminal built in the place of the...
Bulgaria's Ivet Lalova, who triumphed in the 100 m sprint at the European Championship in Helsinki on Thursday, made it easily to the 200 semifinals the next day.
The Bulgarian finished third after clocking 23.58 for the 200, which had the first heats on Friday.
The 28-year-old Bulgarian sprinter ran the 100m in 11.28 seconds, leaving behind Ukraine's Olesya Povh (11.32) and Lithuania's Lina Grincikaite.
Lalova, widely known as the fastest white woman, has obviously come back to her...
Bulgaria makes over 1200 tons of organic honey per year but the largest share of it is exported, according to Plamen Ivanov, Chair of the National Beekeepers' Union.
In a Wednesday statement cited by Darik Radio, he explained that the organic honey volumes that remained in Bulgaria were sold at double the price of conventionally produced honey.
Ivanov announced that a kilogram of organic honey had a price tag of BGN 25-26 on average on the Bulgarian market.
He noted that the main...
The South Stream Transport AG consortium has has formally initiated the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure for the Bulgarian section of the South Stream Offshore Pipeline Project, according to a media statement of the company.
The Bulgarian offshore section of the gas pipeline will be approximately 250 kilometers long.
The South Stream Offshore Pipeline is to be about 900 kilometers long and is to run through the Black Sea from Anapa in Russia to Varna in Bulgaria.
The...
The number of fully Greek-owned companies in Bulgaria increased by 72% year on year in 2011, Bulgaria's National Revenue Agency has revealed.
The same year saw a 50% increase in the number of Romanian companies in the country.
A total of 3781 corporate income tax returns were submitted by Greek company owners in Bulgaria in 2011, as compared to 2199 back in 2010. 1535 of all Greek companies in the country are based in the Southwestern region of Blagoevgrad, while 1381 are in Sofia.
The...
A joint Bulgarian-Romanian wine festival will be opened in Bulgaria's Ruse as part of an EU-funded project entitled "Danube Wine Destinations".
The Bulgarian-Romanian Wine Festival will take place in Ruse on June 28-30, 2012, and will be opened by Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov to finalize the Danube Wine Destinations project, which is funded under EU's PHARE Trans-border Cooperation Program 2007-2013.
Two NGOs, Evrointegra Association Bulgaira and Parteneri 2000 Romania...
Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn will cut the ribbon Sunday on the Trakia Highway stretch between Nova Zagora and Stara Zagora.
The new highway stretch, which was completed ahead of term by the Magistrali Trace Consortium, is to allow Bulgarians to get to the seaside 20 minutes faster.
The remaining part of the Trakia Highway to the Petolachkata junction is to be finished by the beginning of...
The first Chinese car of the Great Wall Voleex C10 model to be produced in Bulgaria is setting the start of a new advertising campaign, announced Litex Motors, the Bulgarian partner of the Chinese producer Great Wall Motors.
The first Bulgarian-made Great Wall Voleex C10 will become a present to one of the participants in an interactive game to be conducted on Facebook.
Instead of the "Made in Lovech" ("Made in Ловеч") slogan (Lovech is the northern Bulgarian city that hosts Great...
Gazprom-controlled Bulgarian gas company Overgas is commencing the second stage of conventional oil and gas exploration in the Provadia block onshore in eastern Bulgaria in the beginning of July, according to the firm's press office.
Some of the activities involving specialized equipment will take place on the territory of settlements in the region of Targovishte, Shumen, Kaspichan, Veliki Preslav and Provadiya, according to Overgas' press release.
The work schedule is now being...
Bulgaria's Privatization and Post-Privatization Control Agency (PPCA) has confirmed investor interest in the upcoming sale of the Freight Services unit of the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) company.
The privatization watchdog, however, did not specify the number of companies that had already purchased tender documents and refused to comment on the allegations of the participation of Russian state railways (OAO RZhD) in the deal.
On Monday, Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski remained...
Franchising has been growing by more than 20% annually for five years in a row, according to a survey by Franchising.bg, a consultancy.
The consultancy surveyed a total of 144 franchisers and 385 franchisees in Bulgaria between February and June 2012 to compile its third annual report on the development of franchising business, the practice of using another firm's successful business model, in Bulgaria.
The report says that Bulgarian franchisers usually start offering franchising on...
The project company for the construction of a major highway running from Romania to Turkey and Greece via Bulgaria (aka the Ruse-Svilengrad Road) is to become operational in October.
The project will be implemented through a public-private partnership scheme.
The latest news surrounding the Ruse-Svilengrad high-speed road project were announced Tuesday after the second working meeting of representatives of the participating countries (Bulgaria, Turkey and Qatar).
According to reports...
A Greek company is offering its employees fictitious registration in Bulgaria to pay them lower salaries.
Greek newspaper To Proto Thema argues in an article titled "Greeks (from Bulgaria) wanted to work in Larissa" (cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA)) that the fraud scheme was used by a Larissa-based company operating in the sphere of supplies to the hospitality industry.
According to a tip-off given by the trade union of workers in the spheres of tourism and supplies, the...
The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) have joined efforts to create a rating system for employers in Bulgaria, according to a media statement of BIA's press office issued after a joint meeting.
The joint project is financed under the Regional Development Operational Program.
The information system will include data about employers' economic situation, their commitment to corporate social responsibility and the...
Bulgaria's state budget has come to a positive balance for the first five months of 2012, after May became the second month in a row to register monthly budget surplus, the Bulgarian Finance Ministry announced Tuesday.
According to preliminary data, Bulgaria had a positive monthly budget balance in May 2012 amounting to BGN 284.4 M.
Thus, Bulgaria's budget balance for January-May 2012 has already reached a surplus of BGN 67.4 M, after a monthly surplus of BGN 473.8 M in April 2012.
The...
First Investment Bank, FIB, has been able to find a private investor for Bulgaria's troubled largest producer of non-ferrous metals, the Lead and Zinc Complex (LZC; OTZK) in the southern city of Kardzhali.
The company is not the Polish consortium Silesia, but the name will be disclosed in 2 weeks.
It was announced on Sunday that FIB is deferring payments on loans of workers from the complex.
The decision came one day after the trade unions accused FIB of condemning the plant by placing...
Bulgarian Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski has cited preliminary estimations indicating that a total of 10 infrastructure sites granted under concession are expected to bring investments amounting to BGN 1 B into the country.
Speaking Monday at a forum on attracting foreign investments in transport, logistics and machine building, he explained that the two airports in the Black Sea cities of Varna and Burgas were on the list of sites granted under concession.
Bulgaria's Minister of...
Ivan Kostov, leader of the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) party, has argued that a successful concession procedure conducted by the authorities could attract an investor that could bring about a five-fold increase in cargo turnover at the Varna port.
The rightist leader reported Monday the results of the visit of the DSB delegation to China.
"One of the greatest weaknesses of Bulgarian politics in the past few years has been the inability to attract strategic investors that could...
Bulgaria starts on June 25 a series of investor meetings across Europe ahead of the eurobond issue that the country plans to float this year, one of the banks organizing the meetings said.
Bulgaria's parliament ratified at the beginning of June contracts with BNP Paribas, HSBC and Raiffeisen as mediators for the eurobond issue. The three banks will organize the meetings with investors.
Bulgaria plans to tap international markets to raise funds to repay the first tranche of about EUR 835 M...
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