Bulgaria attracted a total of only EUR 7.9 M in foreign direct investment in the first six months of 2011, according to latest data from the Bulgarian National Bank.
Compared with the first six months of 2010 when the foreign investments in Bulgaria reached EUR 532.7 M, Bulgaria's H1 2011 FDI declined 67 times.
The newly announced H1 2011 FDI result, however, is still an improvement after all throughout the first five months of the year Bulgaria kept registering a negative inflow of...
The Balchik palace complex in the northern Black Sea coast of Bulgaria is marking during summer 2011 a peak of weddings of couples from all over the world.
Over 30 couples from Bulgaria, the US, Switzerland, Australia, Romania and Slovakia have chosen the beautiful backdrop of the sea and the castle to tie the knot, the Culture Activities Department at the complex reports.
The most exotic wedding had been the one of a couple from Iran, who had chosen the Bulgarian site after visiting it...
Bulgaria's government is selling "Industrial Construction Holding", a state company, to a local private investor for BGN 12.01 M, the Privatization Agency announced.
The selected buyer of Industrial Construction Holding is Vodstroy 98, a Bulgarian-owned company headquartered in the eastern city of Sliven. Vodstroy 98 was the sole bidder for the state owned construction company.
The state-owned Industrial Construction Holding had a profit of BGN 2.5 M in 2008 but registered a loss of BGN 1...
The shipyard in Bulgarian Danube city of Ruse built a sea-faring ship for 3.5 months instead of the usual 12-month period.
Monday the newly built 8,000 tonne deadweight, 128.5 m freight ship will be sail off to Varna for testing.
The ship, called "Frisian Ocean", has been commissioned by Dutch company Boomsma Shipping...
Bulgarian capital Sofia is planning to allot some 38 acres nearby defunct steel plant Kremikovtzi for the creation of a new industrial park, according to a publication by wide-circulation 24 Chasa daily Sunday.
The land is owned by Sofia Municipality and is in the very vicinity of Kremikovtzi, which was up for liquidation after being declared bankrupt, and was bought only at the fourth auction in April by sole bidder Eltrade for EUR 162 M.
According to 24 Chasa, the town of Sofia is ready...
Bulgarian towns are not stimulated enough to build facilities to clean sewage, which is a serious drawback, stated Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov in Varna Sunday.
"For some 20 years almost nothing has been done in the field, and this is a problem especially on the Black Sea coast, as it severely detracts from tourism," commented the PM.
Sunday he was present, together with Varna mayor Kiril Yordanov, at the opening of a new sewage facility in the St. Constantine and Helena resort.
"We need...
Bulgaria has partly regained its popularity among overseas buyers, breaking back into the top ten most preferred real estate markets for Britons, according to a UK guide for residential property.
3.3% of all enquiries in July were directed at Bulgarian property, marking the country's return to the overseas property portal's top ten for the first time in three years, TheMoveChannel.com report said.
In the comparative list of overall enquiry volume for last month Bulgaria ranked seventh,...
Bulgaria's 2011 summer tourist season will most likely end up being the most successful in terms of revenues in the past ten years, various data indicates.
The Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism, a think-tank, estimated that 6.6 million tourists will have visited the Bulgarian Black Sea by the end of the season in August 2011. This means a growth of the number of tourists by some 14% with respect to their numbers in 2010.
Prof. Stoyan Marinov, member of the board of the...
Bulgaria's largest summer resort Sunny Beach, which has recently made headlines with binging sprees, alcohol-related accidents, crime and prostitution, has ousted Mallorca in the hearts of young Germans.
"The German tourists now prefer to spend their summer holidays in Sunny Beach rather than in Mallorca," says a report of the German ARD.
Data shows that Germans, primarily students, who have come to Bulgaria for their proms, account for 70-80% of the tourists in the resort.
The prices...
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...
Lukoil has reduced retail fuel prices at its filling station chain in Bulgaria.
As of August 12, gasoline A95H costs BGN 2.41 per liter, gasoline A98H sells for BGN 2.57 per liter, diesel trades at BGN 2.40 per liter and LPG has a price tag of BGN 1.27 per liter.
The price update has been posted on the company's website.
On Thursday, Lukoil reduced wholesale prices, with gasoline A95H retreating to BGN 2274 per 1ooo liters, gasoline A98 settling at BGN 2334 per 1ooo liters, diesel...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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