Finmin Djankov: Some incomes will increase in 2013
(Sofia, Jan 5) - "The Financial 2012 finished better than expected," Bulgaria's Finmin Simeon Djankov commented for the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
"Due to overfulfilment of the revenues by the National Revenue agency and Customs agency, the budget deficit for 2012 is by 3 times less than planned and this will allow an additional increase of some of the incomes in 2013," Mr Djankov stated.
At this stage Finmin Djankov...
NPP Kozloduy to Sell Electricity Abroad without Intermediaries
(Sofia Jan 5, 2013) - The management of Bulgaria's NPP Kozloduy will apply to the State Energy and Waters Regulatory Commission for a full license to sell its electricity to end-users abroad, NPP Kozloduy CEO Valentin Nikolov said.
Presently, NPP Kozloduy uses intermediary companies to sell its output to end-users in several EU member states, including Germany and Austria.
"At the beginning of next week I am going to...
Bulgaria to Pay EUR 879 M on Foreign Debt in 10 Days
The next bonds maturity dates are in 2015 and 2017
(Sofia, Jan 5, 2012) - EUR 879,849,875 ? this is the sum that Bulgaria is to pay on its foreign debt on January 15th, 2013, the finance ministry said.
Thus, Bulgaria will fully pay off the emission of Eurobonds with a 7.5-percent interest, emitted in 2002 by Milen Velchev, finance minister in the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-led Cabinet.
So as to pay off this loan, the Bulgarian...
Nearly BGN four million have been wired Friday for salaries of workers at Bulgaria's State-owned arms manufacturer, VMZ Sopot.
The news was announced by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, at an emergency briefing at the Council of Ministries building. He declared the workers will receive the entire amount of their overdue pay.
It was further reported that Borisov is meeting Friday with the Presidents of the two main trade unions in the country – Konstantin Trenchev of the Confederation of...
Czech-owned power utility CEZ has always strictly adhered to Bulgarian legislation and the normative acts of the European Union, the company says in a press release.
According to its press office, for the electric power distributor, part of CEZ Bulgaria Group, obeying the law, including tax law, was a guiding principle that should not even be commented on.
The statement comes on the heels of news that the prosecution in Bulgaria has requested the revocation of the company's license over...
The visit of a mission of the International Monetary Fund to Sofia, which started on September 23 and featured regular bilateral discussions on economic policies with the Bulgarian authorities, ends on Monday.
The mission was headed by Ms. Catriona Purfield, who has recently assumed mission chief responsibilities for Bulgaria. This was Ms. Purfield's first visit to the country. Mr. Tonny Lybek, IMF's Regional Resident Representative in Bulgaria and Romania participated in the meetings as...
The funds allotted to the Interior Ministry in budget 2011 are 5% more compared to 2010, Bulgaria's Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, announced Saturday.
The BGN 50 M will be used for salaries and improving work conditions.
Tsvetanov reminded the Ministry owes about BGN 30 M as compensations to its employees, and needs really BGN 1 B more in order to function under normal conditions, but promised to make everything possible to fit within the budget frame.
The Minister opened...
Bulgaria is planning to sell bonds amounting to EUR 1 B on the international market in 2011 to shore up its finances, according to a finance ministry draft paper, cited by local media.
Bulgaria aims to have a budget deficit of 2.5% of gross domestic product and a growth of 3.6% in 2011, according to the budget draft.
In June, the center-right cabinet revised the state budget increasing its 2010 target for deficit to 4.8% of GDP on a cash basis and 3.9% of GDP under EU accounting rules,...
Starting Thursday, the minimum monthly wage in Bulgaria grows from BGN 240 to BGN 270 (EUR 137).
According to the country's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, the minimum wage rise will cost its state budget approximately BGN 15 – 20 M. However, the private sector's expenses will be much higher, the Dnevnik daily points out.
Some 120 000 Bulgarians officially receive minimum wage in Bulgaria, according to the country's National Statistical Institute. A total of 20 000 of them are on a...
Bulgaria's Cabinet has authorized Finance Minister Simeon Djankov to terminate the existing contract with the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCRA).
JCRA has been one of the four international credit rating agencies that Bulgaria's government has had contracts with; at present, Bulgaria has contracts for credit rating services only with Moody's and Standard & Poor's, after in 2010 Djankov moved to terminate the contract with Fitch.
The credit rating service agreement between Bulgaria and JCRA...
Bulgaria will have a budget deficit of 2.5% in 2011, and will bring it under 1% in 2013, according to Deputy Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov.
Speaking at a public discussion forum dedicated to the role of the political right in dealing with the economic crisis, Goranov declared that the Borisov Cabinet is succeeding in keeping down the budget deficit.
In 2009, after a revision of the figures in the spring of 2010, Bulgaria registered a budget deficit of 3.9% of GDP under EU accounting...
UDF (Union of Democratic Forces) will propose a fiscal board to be introduced in Bulgaria, stated yesterday UDF Chairman Martin Dimitrov after a meeting of the National Executive Council. He added that this could happen only after the Law for the Structure of the State Budget and the Constitution were amended.
Dimitrov explained that the introduction of the Board will lead to the reduction of interest rates, increased foreign investments and GDP growth. The UDF leader called on Finance...
The three biggest Bulgarian banks have put up for public sale seized real estates worth BGN 32,449 mln, shows an inspection of Klassa on the websites of the leading financial institutions. DSK Bank is the winner in assets declared for sale. The financial institution has offered to the market immovables worth BGN 23.16 mln. UniCredit Bulbank ranked second in assets worth BGN 5.678 mln put up for tender, followed by the UBB with seized real estates worth BGN 3.606 mln.
According to the...
For the first time since end-2009, Bulgarian mutual funds experienced pick-up in the volume of managed assets, posting a 4% rise to BGN 618 million in August.
The figure represents a BGN 26 million increase on the July level, shows data by the Bulgarian Association of Asset Management Companies (BAAMC) and market players.
Domestic schemes attracted approximately BGN 8 million in fresh assets in the eight month of the year, with foreign schemes, led by Pioneer, scooping up around BGN 18...
The first day of September spurred drowsy investors on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) into action with a bunch of exciting corporate news.
ERG Capital 1 and ERG Capital 2, the real estate investment trusts (REITs) of Bulgarian American Credit Bank (BACB), gained 36.92% to BGN 3.56, and 47.17% to BGN 3.90, respectively. But volumes were a slim 500 and 1,000, respectively.
BACB itself advanced by 2.95% to BGN 11.20 apiece on expectations of a possible sell-off after current majority...
Bulgaria's finance minister has assured that the country will have no need to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund over a bailout loan for its ailing economy in the next two years.
"There will be no need for a loan not only this year, but the next two years as well," Minister Simeon Djankov said on Thursday.
"In terms of its economic policy the Bulgarian government is doing just as fine as the bigger part of the EU member states," he said, adding that he expects to see a return...
The mintage of the coin is 5000 pieces. The coin surprised collectors with it sporting a gold plated design, while previous announcements did not hint that such will be available. The interesting fact here is this will be the lowest ever mintage for a Bulgarian gold plated coin.
The coin has an interesting, original and different design. We expect a serious interest in it by Bulgarian commemorative coin collectors.
The obverse of the coin features the logo of the Bulgarian National Bank...
The Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) turned green on Wednesday amid a slight uptick in trading activity.
Meanwhile, global markets remained bloody red, not buying promises by both lawmakers and financiers they would do whatever is necessary to shore up economic recovery.
In Sofia, the broader BG40 index was the best performer with a 1.21% rise to 111.95 points as the others inched up by some 0.5%.
The main contributors were liquid stocks such as Synergon holding and Corporate Commercial...
Mr. Andronov, BNB (Bulgarian National Bank) statistics reported that bad loans had marked a dramatic jump to BGN 6.2 bn, or nearly 16% of the total volume of loans in July. What caused this increase?
- I have no idea why the figure 15.94% has been circulated. Obviously, it was calculated by some financial reporter and widely copied by other media. Indeed, if BNB monetary statistics is read properly, it proves that it allots a share of below 12% to bad loans and restructured loans pursuant to...
Investor interest in the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) returned slowly and feebly on Thursday when the benchmark index SOFIX finished almost 1% higher at 387.18 points after six negative sessions.
The other indices also made it to positive territory, with Dnevnik 20 of the biggest and most liquid stocks gaining 0.69% to 55.36 points and the broader BG40 adding 1.4% to 110.88 points.
Growth was fuelled by state-owned tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac Holding, which rallied by almost 8%, and...
The default bank loans in Bulgaria have reached 16% by the end of July, according to data from Bulgaria’s Central Bank, BNB.
The total amount of the so-called bad loans is estimated at BGN 6.2 B and went up by BGN 334 in the month of July, compared to BGN 198 M June, 2010. The record of BGN 424 M, however, was registered in April, 2010.
According to the data, corporate default loans top the list (17%), followed by consumer loans (16%) and mortgages (14%).
The total amount of loans in...
Fitch confirmed its credit rating for Bulgaria and characterized the situation in the country as “stable”, announced the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance Thursday.
Fitch Ratings themselves report that Bulgaria's rating stays at F3 for short-term foreign currency, BBB- for long-term foreign currency, and BBB for long-term local currency.
The outlook for the long-term rating of Bulgaria nevertheless also stays "Negative."
Among the main causes Fitch sees for the stability in Bulgaria's...
The Bulgarian National Bank announced a major sale of EUR 61.5 M worth of state bonds, exceeding more than four times the initially planned amount.
The average profitability of the bonds sold is 3.15%.
Last week the National Bank also scored a BGN 90 M sale, with an initially offered amount of BGN 45 M.
Thus the total amount of state bonds sold for just two weeks is over BGN 200 M.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Finance plans to auction more issued state...
The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has set the basic interest rate back to its lowest levels since the index was recorded for the first time in 1991.
From August 1 2010, the basic interest rate has been set at the record low of 0,17%, which is down by 0,01 percentage points compared to the previous month.
The interest rate decrease is part of a continued trend that started at the beginning of last year from levels at 5,17%. The downward movement was reversed in May only for the growth to...
The European bank groups represented in Bulgaria, which took part part in the pan-European bank stress tests demonstrated stability and high capital adequacy, the Bulgarian National Bank declared in a statement.
The European banking system stress tests were organized according to a decision of ECOFIN and were coordinated by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) in cooperation with the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the consolidating national...
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