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 European Tour has long sought to grow golf outside the continent, taking top players around the world to Asia, the Middle East and Africa, while its second-tier circuit even visited South America this year.
Its latest bid to break new ground -- the largely untapped golfing market of Eastern Europe -- has been driven by the desires of one of its major sponsors.
One of the tour's premier events, the World Match Play Championship, will next year move home from economically-stricken...
The coins, dating from the 3rd century A.C., have images of a number of Roman Emperors or different Gods.
They are extremely well-preserved, meaning they have not been in circulation, experts say.
The coins were located in an ancient hiding place and were a real treasure for this period with their owner being a very wealthy man, they further explain, adding the hiding place in the floor showed the said owner had intentions to get them back at some point, but was prevented, most likely...
Remittances - money sent by Bulgarian migrants to family members back home - have hit a new high, despite the global downturn, data from the central bank shows.
In May the net sum of the remittances from Bulgarians permanently working abroad totaled EUR 78.2 M, a record-high level of transfers since the Bulgarian National Bank started collecting data back in 2004.
The value of migrant remittances in May exceed by 40% the amount of foreign direct investments that entered Bulgaria's economy...
Greece should follow the example set by neighboring Bulgaria and introduce a flat tax, according to Forbes magazine.
Echoing the opinion of Steve Forbes, the 64-year-old publisher of the magazine, the article argues that the lack of decline in Greek government spending is due to general economic uncertainty, as well as the effects of the large tax rate increases on an already-overtaxed private sector.
"Bulgaria has a flat tax system with a 10% income tax rate and a 10% corporate tax rate....
GERB - the party of Boiko Borisov pressed on the independent judiciary - That said magistrates of the Supreme Judicial Council. At its extraordinary meeting today, they were pressed by the Minister of Justice Diana Kovacheva to provide statements for the last four years of the disciplinary...
The unemployment rate in Bulgaria in June 2012 was 10.8%, down 0.2% compared to May 2102, according to data of the Employment Agency.
354 825 unemployed people have been registered. This is 5 289 fewer than during the previous month.
21 577 found jobs in June 2012, which is 2 138 more compared to June 2011.
5 480 found work in June 2012 under the program for development of human resources.
Also in June, 12 783 job openings have been listed with the Labor Bureaus across the country...
Bulgaria has become the picture of fiscal discipline, a top ranking German diplomat has said during his visit to Sofia, bringing good news for policy makers here.
"Bulgaria can serve as a great example of fiscal discipline, which Germany wants to see implemented across the European Union," Michael Link, Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office, said on Thursday.
Link is paying a visit to Sofia for the regular political consultations between the ministries of both...
Lot 3 of the southern Trakiya highway, connecting the town of Nova Zagora and the city of Yambol, will be launched Thursday.
The length of the new section is 35.7 km. The breaking ground was on August 2010. The contractor is the Greek company Aktor which offered the price of BGN 133 973.
With the launch of Lot 3, and the recently opened Lot 2 (between the city of Stara Zagora and Nova Zagora) the travel time by car from the capital Sofia to the Black Sea city of Burgas is now shorter by...
Bulgaria's fiscal reserve increased to reach BGN 6.5 M after the successful sovereign bond issue, Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, has boasted.
According to Djankov, by the end of July, when the country must make obligatory payments to the EU, the reserve will reach BGN 7 M.
The Minister showed to the media a thick folder, saying it contained all documents about the deal that will be provided to the Members of the Parliament, who can check them in the library of the Finance...
Fitch rating agency has affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings of three mid-sized Bulgarian banks.
The banks are Societe Generale Express Bank AD (SGE) and Allianz Bank Bulgaria AD (ABB) at 'BBB+' with a Stable Outlook.
Fitch has also maintained MKB UnionBank AD's (MKBU) Long term IDR of 'BBB+' on Rating Watch Negative (RWN).
At the same time, the agency has affirmed ProCredit Bank (Bulgaria) AD's (PCB) Long-term IDR at 'BB+' with a Stable Outlook and upgraded PCB's Viability...
Some 800 teams with business ideas have applied for funding under the Entrepreneurship Acceleration and Seed Financing Instrument under the JEREMIE initiative.
The first application window for submitting projects expires at the end of June, according to a media statement of Bulgaria's Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
The Entrepreneurship Acceleration and Seed Financing Instrument consists of EUR 21 M provided under the JEREMIE initiative within the Competitive Power Operational...
In the first six months of 2012, Sofia Airport processed a total of 1 694 728 passengers, up by 0.7% from the same period of 2011.
According to a media statement of Sofia Airport, the number of passengers travelling to international destinations increased by 34 276 (2%) on the year.
Bulgarian national carrier Bulgaria Air registered an increase of 8% in passengers travelling to domestic destinations.
As regards international air carriers running regular flights, the biggest increases...
4 and 5-star hotels had the highest occupancy rate in May, at 25.6%, according to data of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute (NSI).
3-star hotels had an average 17.1% occupancy rate, while hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with 1 or 2 stars reported an occupancy rate of 14.3% in May.
The average occupancy rate in Bulgarian short-term accommodation sites in May was 19.8%.
In May, a total of 1932 sites offering...
Energy and Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev and Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov launched Tuesday the privatization of VMZ Sopot, Bulgaria's largest defense industry plant.
The privatization process is to be wrapped up within 165 days, during which the state is to clear all of the company's debts, including unpaid salaries to its workers, according to reports of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA).
In three months' time, the plant is to be bought by a strategic investor which is in the same...
Bulgaria's exports increased by 0.9% in the first five months of 2012 year on year, while the country's imports grew by 12.1% in the same period.
In the first five months of 2012 the value of all exported goods from Bulgaria amounted to BGN 15.9 B, according to the country's National Statistical Institute.
In May 2012, Bulgaria's total exports added up to BGN 3.6 B and grew by 10.7% compared to the corresponding month of 2011.
The total value of all the goods imported in the country in...
Bulgaria's success in floating EUR 950 M worth of five-year bonds last week at a yield of only 4.25% comes close to the price higher-rated Lithuania achieved earlier this year, the finance minister has boasted.
The Lithuanian government raised EUR 400 M on international markets in April 2012 after issuing a euro-denominated bond with 4.21% yield.
"It is important to point out however that Lithuania enjoys a higher credit rating than Bulgaria's," Finance Minister Simeon Djankov...
Ten years after Bulgaria last appeared on the international capital market, the country made a successful comeback, but the biggest test is yet to come, according to analysts.
Bulgaria could have achieved an even better interest rate, but deliberately underestimated its prospects to please investors and lure them to subsequent issues, according to sources, cited by the local media.
Bulgaria tapped last week international markets to raise funds to repay the first tranche of about EUR 835 M...
French bank Credit Agricole has officially taken control of the Bulgarian assets of its Greek subsidiary Emporiki Bank.
The transfer of all 83 876 135 shares took place last week, data of Bulgaria's Central Depository shows.
Not that the procedure is complete, the Bulgarian unit of Emporiki Bank has direct access to funding from the French bank and will adopt the name Credit Agricole with its trademark and logo.
French bank Credit Agricole announced in the middle of June it has taken...
Bulgaria's first solar-powered electric vehicle charging station was unveiled Monday in front of Inter Expo Center on the Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd in Sofia.
The project was initiated by a consortium called Green Energy with funding from the Global Environmental Fund's Small Grants Program and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The electric vehicle charging station, which can be used for cars, scooters and bikes, can charge one car and one scooter or bicycle at a time.
The...
German discount retailer Lidl said it has expanded its chain in Bulgaria, a move that will heat up further the competition in the sector.
The new shops are located in the capital Sofia and the cities of Burgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora and Vratsa, bringing the total number of Lidl outlets across the country up to sixty.
Lidl opened its first fourteen stores in Bulgaria at the end of November 2010, locating them in eleven cities - Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Stara Zagora, Pazardzhik, Sliven,...