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...
Bulgaria has registered a 0.0% monthly inflation rate in July 2011, according to the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
The consumer price index (CPI) in July 2011 compared to June 2011 was 100.0%.
The inflation rate since the beginning of the year (July 2011 compared to December 2010) was 1.8% and the annual inflation in July 2011 compared to July 2010 was 4.4%.
The annual average inflation, measured by CPI, in the last 12 months (August 2010 - July 2011) compared to the previous...
Bulgaria's agriculture sector has achieved a higher wheat yield in 2011 than was originally expected, according to Agriculture Ministry data.
As the harvesting campaign around the country is wrapping up, with 99.4% of the plots already harvested, initial data shows that a total of 4.25 million metric tons of wheat have been produced in 2011. The average yield per decare is 409 kg, compared with 360 kg in 2010.
This is an increase compared with 2010 when Bulgaria's wheat output was 4.09...
Melia Hotels International has signed a contract to manage a new hotel in Bulgaria's top Black Sea resort Nessebar.
The Spanish-owned chain formerly known as Sol Melia is taking over the management of the four-star Marina Palace hotel in Nessebar, which is going to rebranded as Sol Marina Palace as a result.
Melia Hotels International, which is the largest hotel chain in Spain and the third largest in Europe with over 350 hotels, has already been managing a hotel with over 1000 rooms in...
Bulgaria's state authorities are seeking bidders for the concession of the inactive airport in the northwestern city of Vidin, Plamen Stefanov, Vidin District Governor, told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency).
In an interview for Novinite.com dedicated to the situation of Bulgaria's Northwestern (Severozapaden) Region, which is the EU's poorest region in terms of per capita GDP, Stefanov announced that his administration and the central government are now prepared to grant the Vidin Airport on...
Bulgaria's population managed to put aside regular savings over the last year, leading to a sharp increase in the money stashed in bank deposits, official data shows.
Bulgarian citizens have saved in deposits BGN 2.8 B, while companies – BGN 1.2 B over the last year, according to figures from the central bank.
The figures mark an increase of 11% and 10% respectively, bringing the total amount of money put aside in bank deposits to BGN 28.4 B in personal accounts and another BGN 13 B in...
Russia's Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has offered Bulgaria a new extension of the contract for the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant, amidst continuing haggling over the project's price.
Atomstroyexport has sent Bulgaria's National Electric Company NEK a draft of a new annex to the November 29, 2006, contract between the two state companies that provides for an extension until December 1, 2011.
If Atomstroyexport's proposal is welcomed...
The United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), which is fully owned by the National Bank of Greece (NBG), has announced a net profit of BGN 63.88 M in 2010.
The general assembly of the UBB shareholders has decided to add its 2010 net profit to the bank's capital, which made 2010 the seventh year in a row in which the UBB will not be paying out dividends.
The 2010 profit will thus be added to the profit from past years amounting to the undistributed BGN 905.9 M, thus boosting UBB's own capital to BGN...
Dominant fuel seller Lukoil Bulgaria decreased on Thursday petrol and diesel prices by some 2%, turning a blind eye to the much sharper drop in crude oil costs on global markets.
The A-95H, the most widely used and lowest octane gasoline in the country, will see a decrease of 2.72% and its price will be BGN 2 274, 00 per 1,000L.
The A-98H gasoline will be sold at BGN 2 334, 00 per 1,000L. Diesel fuel will cost BGN 2 239,20 per 1,000L.
This is the second time that Lukoil reduces fuel...
Bulgaria's Privatization Agency is set to file a claim against the National Bank of Greece for at least EUR 3 M at the Court of Arbitration in Paris, for failing to pay a bank guarantee.
The Privatization Agency contends that the failure to pay the guarantee for the Greek Public Power Corporation (PPC) has interfered with the privatization of the Bobov Dol power plant.
The Bulgarian unit has already posted a competition for a court representative for the proceedings with a deadline of...
Bulgarian cigarette maker King's Tobacco has accused an offshore company registered on the Virgin Islands of trying to lay its hands on their key brand – The King.
The Plovdiv-based company suspects that Moroy Assets Limited aims to deliberately damage their brand, which is protected not only in Bulgaria but in more than 100 countries worldwide, its representatives told Dnevnik daily.
King's Tobacco has brought a lawsuit at Sofia City Court, which has ruled on August 8 in their...
Bulgaria's anti-trust commission will launch a probe into a possible newspaper monopoly, the first of its kind in the country.
The news comes shortly after the purchase of a large number of titles by media mogul Irena Krasteva and the recent squabbles over ownership of the WAZ assets in Bulgaria – the first ever monopolist on the local media market, dating back to the 90s - left a bitter taste in the mouth of the audience.
The beginning of August saw the latest development on the market...
A contract signed Thursday has become a "decisive" first step for the construction of the natural gas grid interconnection between Bulgaria and Greece, the Bulgarian Energy Holding announced.
The contract for the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the connecting of the natural gas grids of Bulgaria and Greece was signed between "ICGB AD", a joint Bulgarian-Greek government venture, and a consortium of Penspen Ltd. and C&M Engineering S.A.
The...
Bulgarians should not be worried because they will not suffer from the effects of international stock market turmoil, according to Finance Minister Simeon Djankov.
"There is no new global financial crisis coming up. Some countries might have problems with their fiscal stability but Bulgaria doesn't – and won't have any such problems," Djankov promised, as cited Wednesday by the 24 Chasa daily.
He further stressed that "somewhere in the world" there could be higher unemployment and...
Bulgaria's consumption of natural gas grew by 2% in 2010 compared with 2009, according to the newly released financial report of state company Bulgargaz.
The Bulgargaz report, which has been published in the Bulgarian Trade Registry, states that in 2010 the Bulgarian economy and households consumed a total of 2.53 billion cubic meters of natural gas compared with 2.48 billion cubic meters the previous year.
Bulgaria's output of natural gas, while occupying a negligible share of the...
The new version of the national tourism portal of the Bulgarian government www.bulgariatravel.org is said to be ready in a month.
According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, as cited by Dnevnik, the new site will be up and running in September.
The site is developed by a consortium entitled "Bulgaria Travel 2010" including three firms – Media Planning Group, CNsys, and Screen Brothers – which won the tender for it in competition with 13 other entities at the...
The average market price of residential properties in Sofia is down over 10% in the second quarter of 2011, compared to the same period of last year.
The data comes from a report of Raiffeisen Real Estate which measures the dynamics of the actual sales prices of real estate in the country.
Compared to the first quarter of 2011, the average market price of residential properties in Sofia is up 3.6%
In the second largest city of Plovdiv, the average market price of residential properties...
Bulgaria's Privatization Agency has announced a tender for the sale of two state-owned minority stakes in two of the country's military repair plants from the TEREM group.
Thus, the Agency for Privatization and Post-Privatization Control will offer investors 34% of the "Terem-Georgi Benkovski" plant in Plovdiv and 28% of "Terem-Gen. Vladimir Zaimov" located in Bozhurishte near Sofia.
The TEREM military-industrial complex consists of eight repair Plants, and the sale of the state assets in...
Bulgaria's finance minister has launched a probe into the allegedly inflated prices that local mobile operators charge, the highest across the European Union, promising justice for the clients.
"We are currently analyzing the market of telephone services. Our initial study showed that mobile prices in Bulgaria do mark a decrease, but much more slowly than they have to," Minister Simeon Djankov told the morning broadcast of bTV private channel.
"Prices are falling everywhere. In Bulgaria...
The number of new mortgage loans has gone tangibly up in Bulgaria in the second quarter of 2011 as the real estate market and banking activity are becoming more dynamic, according to a report.
Thus, the number of mortgage loans increased by 18% in Q2 compared with Q1, Credit Center, a Sofia-based consultancy, announced Wednesday.
At the same time, the average amount of the mortgage loans increased by EUR 2 200, its estimate shows, reaching EUR 40 595 vs. EUR 38 366 for the previous month,...
The number of completed new buildings increased in the second quarter of 2011, but the number of dwellings in them decreased, according to preliminary data the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
A total of 742 new residential buildings were put into exploitation in Q2 2011, up by 13.1% from the same period in 2010.
The number of dwellings, however, decreased by 26.2% to 3 497.
The largest number of newly completed residential buildings and dwellings was registered in the Black Sea...
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