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...
Knauf, the German supplier of construction materials, announced it has put into operation what is claimed to be the most up-to-date plasterboard plant in Bulgaria, located near the power complex Maritza Iztok.
The company launched the construction of the plant in 2007 after qualifying for certification as First Class Investor by InvestBulgaria Agency, the local investment promotion authority.
The plant will use each year 300,000 tons of the by-product from the flue gas desulphurisation...
Bulgaria has managed to generate interest with Chinese companies and authorities for the setting up of a joint large-scale industrial zone at Bozhurishte near its capital Sofia.
The project, which was formally announced and approved by the Bulgarian government only last week, has been included in a special memorandum signed by Bulgarian and Chinese officials, the Economy Ministry has revealed.
The Memorandum for Encouraging Bilateral Economic and Commercial Cooperation between the...
The increase of the number of foreign holidaymakers during the summer season is expected to be about 10%, the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Traicho Traikov, told journalists Saturday.
Traikov says this number is on the rise each year, adding the highest growth so far is expected in 2011. Russian tourists would contribute the most to the increase with 30% more compared to previous seasons.
The positive trend is to include both mass and alternative forms of tourism – culture,...
Canada-based mining company has started a diamond drilling program at its Breznik Gold Project in Bulgaria.
The program which will total seven holes and approximately 1,000 metres is designed to test the continuation of the currently identified mineral resource.
If successful, the drilling will double the strike length of mineralization at the EurOmax project in Breznik to the west of Sofia, the company announced adding that once the drilling is completed it intends to apply for a...
Bulgarian producer of electric and LPG forklifts Di-Ven Ltd has presented the first Bulgarian electric light truck.
Di-Ven Ltd, which is stationed in the Danube town of Lom, and is one of the founding members of the Bulgarian Electric Vehicles Industrial Cluster (EVIC), has unveiled its electric truck project at the machine building fair “Mach Tech Expo 2010” taking place May 26-28, 2010, at the Inter Expo Center in Sofia.
Electric transport car model ETK 021 from the PONY series is a...
The company Carlsberg Bulgaria currently ranks second on the Bulgarian beer market, after Zagorka AD, and ahead of Kamenitza AD.
The results were reported Monday by the company's CEO, Aleksander Grancharov.
Carlsberg Bulgaria with two breweries, in the cities of Shumen and Blagevgrad, now has 30% of beer market in the country. The 3 companies together have a 91% share of the market.
In the first quarter of 2010, the leading brand of Carlsberg Bulgaria – Shumensko had reached a 19%...
The second bridge over the Danube between Romania and Bulgaria, now constructed near Vidin, will make Bulgaria more attractive for Austrian and German investments, said DG Regional Development director Dirk Ahner.
Sunday Ahner inspected the ongoing construction of Danube Bridge 2 together with Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov, who had the chance to show to the European Commission representative other road projects in the region of northwestern Bulgaria.
"Our ambition is to connect Vidin to the...
Driven by strong exports, the Bulgarian economy expanded by 2.5% in the first quarter on an annual basis, well above analysts' forecasts, flash data of the statistics office showed on Friday.
The country's gross domestic product grew by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, following a 0.5% expansion in the previous quarter, downwardly revised from 2.1%.
The data, which marks the first considerable increase in economic growth since the country plunged into a recession, overshoots analysts' forecasts,...
French company Saint-Gobain Weber started Wednesday the construction of its second factory in Bulgaria.
The ground-breaking ceremony for the factory located near Izvorsko village, Aksakovo Municipality, close to Varna, was attended by Bulgaria’s Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev.
The second factory to be built by Saint-Gobain Weber in Bulgaria will also be producing dry construction mixes.
Saint-Gobain Weber entered the Bulgarian market in 2001. In 2004, it opened its...
Determined to consolidate the country’s budget deficit, Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has announced plans to implement a 20% cut in public spending, rather than raising the 20% value-added tax (VAT) rate.
Bowing to fierce opposition from trade unions and business leaders, Bulgaria’s government has finally confirmed its intention to cut public spending rather than to press ahead with controversial proposals to raise taxes. Djankov had also recently threatened his...
The annual decrease in Bulgaria’s local-currency household deposits was nearly thrice that on consumer loans in July, according to the latest Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) data.
Interest rates have been decreasing for about a year now but on loans they have been decreasing at a lower ate, with only minor changes recorded on monthly bases.
Furthermore, July brought a reduction month-on-month on the interest rates on new lev-denominated and euro-denominated business loans. At the same...
Bulgaria is 48th in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness out of 139 countries, according to a report of the World Economic Forum.
The WEF ranking evaluates the countries according to 14 different criteria – from infrastructure and safety to regulatory framework and human, cultural, and natural resources.
Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, and Sweden take up the top five spots. Tunisia and Israel are right in front of Bulgaria, while Turkey and Poland are right after...
The Musala Soft company won the annual "Golden Martenitsa" prize in the "Bulgarian producer" category for its contribution for the development of the country's IT sector.
The high quality of Musala Soft's software services and its high-value-added export were the reasons why the organizers choose it for the prestigious prize. It was presented by Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov and Director of the National Palace of Culture Hristo Drumev to the company's...
International Personal Finance Plc, a U.K. lender that makes unsecured loans to low-income households in central and eastern Europe and Mexico, may start operating in Bulgaria this year.
"Ukraine and Bulgaria are our top priorities," Chief Executive Officer John Harnett said in a telephone interview for Bloomberg agency. "Our focus is on emerging markets and we are trying to find markets that are moving into the growth phase."
International Personal Finance typically makes loans of 200...
Japan's Ambassador to Bulgaria will pay a visit to the town of Yambol on Wednesday to discuss the planned investment of a Japanese company in the construction of a solar power plant there.
The meeting is at the initiative of His Excellency Makoto Ito, the municipality announced.
The Japanese company Toshiba voiced last year plans to invest in construction of solar power plants in the USA and countries in Europe, including Bulgaria.
Toshiba will begin implementing its investment plan...
Bulgaria’s Economy Minister Ttaicho Traikov and Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos opened Saturday a new tobacco processing plant in the Bulgarian town of Sandanski.
About EUR 9,5 M have been invested in the new plant of the Greek Leaf Tobacco company and it will provide jobs for 600 people.
The new facility will be connected to the central production hall of the company in Policastro, Greece.
The plant in Sandanski, which has a production capacity of 4 to 6 tons per...
The Bulgarian office sector faces two major challenges at the same time - the increased supply and the decreased in the demand. Anyway for some investors there is a light in the tunnel - the weak H1 in office rents is expected to be followed by the market stabilization. According to a survey of the international consultancy Colliers International the volume of rented offices in Sofia of 40,000 sq. m in H1 was in fact 20% lower than the same period of 2008 and 30% below the levels of 2007. One...
The French company Malteries Soufflet is acquiring the malt production of Bulgaria's oldest commercial brewery "Kamenitza."
Kamenitza announced Monday they were selling their malt factory in the northern city of Pleven and renting long-term the facility in the southern city of Haskovo to the French business.
The decision is motivated by "the goal of steady growth," and is based on a "strategic assessment of the operations of the Bulgarian company."
The buyer, Malteries Soufflet is part...
Japanese dairy products maker Meiji has expressed interest in investing in Bulgaria’s southwestern region of Petrich, according to a media statement of the Petrich Municipality.
Bulgaria’s Deputy Economy Minister Lyuben Petrov met with representatives of Meiji in Sofia in early March.
Kazuo Kawamura, President of Meiji, will visit Petrich in the period April 7-9 to discuss concrete projects and investment proposals with representatives of the local authorities.
Although the core...
The Rose Festival in Bulgaria's Kazanlak had its peak point on Sunday. Again, it managed to attract tens of thousands of tourists from Bulgaria and all around the world. According to official information, the last official day the City of Roses and the Valley of the Thracian Kings has hosted 80 thousand visitors. The number for the last three days has reached more than 150 000.
Japanese Shinohara-san could barely hide her admiration. "We are 20 people from Tokyo, we came from Ruse, went...
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