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...
Russia's state power trader Inter RAO is in talks with E.ON AG, RWE AG and Enel SpA on possible asset swaps or acquisitions in Europe as the company seeks to expand abroad, a company official said.
"Inter RAO is close to a agreement to buy for cash the Maritsa power plant in Bulgaria from Enel, Italy's largest utility, and may announce the outcome at the end of January," Ilnar Mirsiyapov, head of the company's strategy and investment department and management board member, said at a briefing...
An innovation created by a Bulgarian scientist is said to be able to make natural gas use more efficient and cut down the expenses for central heating.
The invention, which is a steam and gas turbine installation, can produce the same amount of heating and electric energy with about 30 percent less natural gas. The installation costs BGN 56 M, but its efficiency may save a big heating utility, like the one in the capital Sofia, up to BGN 500 M in the long run, Prof. Nikolay Kolev, the...
About 60% of the construction of the so called Danube Bridge 2, the second one to connect Bulgaria and Romania over the Danube River, have been completed.
Additionally, some 50% of the auxiliary infrastucture facilities, including a 600 meter long road junction near the Northern Bulgarian town of Vidin, has already been built. A total of 8 highway and railroad overpasses have also been completed.
The construction work will continue anew on January 11 2011.
The crude completion of the...
Bulgaria's special Agriculture Fund has affirmed 311 EU Rural Development projects, which will cost a total of BGN 136.6 M.
A total of 263 projects are for the modernization of agricultural farms, the planned sum for this activity is BGN 73.5 M. A total of BGN 24.8 M is planned to be spent on 21 projects under the development of value-added agricultural enterprises measure.
BGN 35 M is the sum intended for 16 municipality projects for the development and modernization of rural...
A wide range of little souvenirs are to be launched by Bulgaria's government in order to increase the foreign interest in the country as a touristic destination.
The total price of the project is estimated at BGN 1.4 M.
Some 5000 t-shirts worth a total of BGN 75 000, 3000 beach towels for BGN 45 000, 500 special thermo cups decorated with scenes from the country's image video for BGN 7 500 -these are some of the items the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy Energy and Tourism plans to launch in...
Bulgaria has been listed among the top nine global tourist destinations for 2011 in a CNN article.
Building upon recommendations from three travel experts, Robert Reid, US travel editor for Lonely Planet; Pauline Frommer, creator of Pauline Frommer's guidebooks; and Martin Rapp, senior vice president of leisure sales at Altour, the CNN article places Bulgaria ninth in a list also featuring New York City, New Zealand, the Peruvian Amazon, Barcelona, Norway, Albania, Japan, and...
Leading Bulgarian financiers have criticized the Borisov Cabinet for its response to the economic crisis while also recognizing that the government has in a way reacted to it “adequately.”
“The government has been acting adequately in a time of crisis inasmuch as it hasn't done almost anything,” economist Emil Harsev said speaking on BNT Wednesday.
He elaborated that, in his view, taking international bailout loans or other similar steps will be deadly for Bulgaria's...
The opening of the second line of the Sofia Metro in 2012 will double its load to 400 000 passengers daily, from the current 180 000, according to Sofia Mayor Fandakova.
Fandakova said upon inspecting the subway construction, that the completion of the second line should relieve the traffic in Sofia by 25%.
At present, the Sofia Metro has only one operational line from the Obelya and Lyulin quarters in the northwest to the Mladost 1 quarter in the southeast. The second line will run from...
A consortium of two Bulgarian companies and one Italian firm has won the Transport Ministry tender for modernization of the Plovdiv-Burgas railway in Southern Bulgaria.
The consortium of Trace and SK-13 and GCF, a company from Italy, provided the lowest price of all bidders – BGN 380 M.
"We are thus saving BGN 110 M from the rehabilitation of the railway since this is the difference with the lowest prices offered during the two tenders," explained Bulgaria's Transport Minister Alexander...
Bulgaria’s State Commission for energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) has approved a price reduction of 5,17% for natural gas from January 1, 2011.
The news was announced after the DKEVR meeting behind closed doors Monday. The new prices will be effective for 3 months.
The cumulative decrease of natural gas price from October 1, 2010 and from January 1, 2011 is 6,11%.
The price reduction of heating and hot water is 5,1% in Sofia, 5,2% in the cities of Plovdiv and Burgas, and 5,7% in...
Bulgarian company IWC Bulgaria 4 owned by German Innovative Wind Concepts is planning a new wind park in the northeastern part of the country near the city of Shumen.
The park located by the Krasen Dol village will include 21 wind generators, at 2-3 MW each. The yearly turnout of energy is expected to be over 100,000 MWh.
The wind energy facility, which is expected to start working in 2013, will cost some BGN 150 M.
The Ministry of Economy and Energy has issued a "Class-A" grading of...
In 2011, priced for apartments in Bulgaria will hit bottom and go upwards by the end of the year, according to forecasts by real estate experts.
“Prices for residences in 2011 will remain at their historically low levels. We expect them to be stable in the big municipal cities. We also expect a delay in the drop of prices in the country in general,” said Teodora Dimitrova, executive director of the Bulgarian office of ERA.
Real estate agents from Elta Consult also think that drastic...
The long-anticipated construction of the railway line connecting the capitals of Bulgaria and Macedonia – which is also a major part of Pan-European Transport Corridor No. 8 – should start in 2012.
This has been forecast by Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia, Vladimir Pesevski, in an interview for the Macedonian TV channel Alfa.
The report says the Macedonian government is optimistic that the realization of the project for a railway connection between Sofia and Skopje, which has been...
The southern city of Plovdiv has come up with an initiative to host a new national stadium of Bulgaria, which could be realized instead of the expensive construction of a new stadium in Sofia.
Last week Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced a plan to construct a new "National Stadium" for international matches to be located in the outskirts of the capital Sofia, near the Sofia International Airport. This project is said to rectify the present situation in which Sofia gets...
The receiver of the bankrupt Bulgarian steel factory Kremikovtzi has scheduled February 7 as the date for the third attempt to sell off the failed behemoth's assets.
Two prior auctions were held over the fall, but failed because actually no one turned out to bid for Kremikovtzi, which is considered the pride of communist-era industry in Bulgaria.
Unlike the first closed-bid auction, the second was with direct bidding. The starting price was BGN 452 414 008, down by 20% over the initial...
Some texts of the Social Security Act will be challenged in the Bulgarian Constitutional Court, the right-wing Blue Coalition announced Wednesday.
The Coalition is joined by the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) and several independent Members of the Parliament, who want the texts declared anti-constitutional.
The co-Chair of the Blue Coalition, Ivan Kostov, announced they have been able to collect 52 signatures in...
Bulgarian state railway company BDZ expects to start making profit in 2015 as a result of a program of wide-ranging measures, its management announced.
In the first 11 months of 2010, BDZ improved its financial results by BGN 17 M compared with the same period of 2009, according to Vladimir Vladimir, Chair of the Board of Directors of the state-owned company.
He said that the total loss of BDZ in 2010 is expected to be down by between BGN 15 M and BGN 25 M compared with 2009. The board...
Bulgaria is looking at opportunities to export electricity to Lebanon, according to the Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, Traicho Traikov.
As part of a Bulgarian state delegation to Lebanon, Traikov met with Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Resource Gebran Bassil in Beirut.
Bassil has pointed out that Lebanon is planning to invest about USD 1 B in the construction of micro-hydro power plants, and Traikov has suggested that Bulgarian companies could participate in the...
Bulgaria is one of eight new countries that have made their way into the top 30 destinations for globally sourced activities for the period 2010-2011, all of which are in emerging markets, according to a Gartner report.
Five of the new entrants made their debut in the top thirty list (Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Colombia, Mauritius and Peru), along with three re-entrants (Panama, Sri Lanka and Turkey), shows the report entitled "The top 30 countries for globally sourced activities for the period...
The delegation of the Bulgarian Atlantic Club, which was on a week-long official visit in South Korea, has come home with several specific business projects underscoring the special interest of Korean companies in Bulgaria.
The visit of the delegation of the Bulgarian Atlantic Council to South Korea is the first of its kind in the 20-year history of the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Korea.
The delegation consisting of the President of the...
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