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...
Moody's recent upgrade of Bulgaria's debt is the first step towards distinguishing it clearly from the troubled countries in the region, a local expert argues.
"This is the beginning of a process of differentiation, which - if brought to an end through sound economic policies - can restore investors' confidence in Bulgaria despite the problems of the other countries in the region," Georgi Angelov, Senior Economist with the Open Society Institute – Sofia, has commented.
"In 2009 Estonia...
Bulgaria has not changed its intention to join the euro zone but it does not expect to start specific talks for accession to the ERM-2 before the situation with the euro zone debt crises clears, according to Finance Minister Simeon Djankov.
"We are not going to start preliminary talks (on joining the euro) in the autumn. Our intentions (to join the euro) are not changed. However, a specific time is not fixed yet," Djankov told Reuters in an interview provided by the Bulgarian Finance...
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Bulgaria's government debt ratings to Baa2 with a stable outlook from Baa3 in a long-anticipated review.
According to a statement on the website of the international credit rating agency signed by Kristin Lindow, Senior Vice President, Sovereign Risk Group, Moody's Investor Service, the improvement reflects Bulgaria's ongoing fiscal discipline and improving institutional strength as well as the financial system's relative resilience in a volatile...
The euro zone and the rest of the EU should learn from Bulgaria's example as far as strict fiscal stability is concerned, Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has declared in interviews for major global media.
In a series of interviews in London, Djankov has spoken to the CNN, the BBC, Sky News, and Reuters.
Speaking to the BBC World Service, Djankov has declared that in spite of the ongoing difficulties, the euro will become the strongest global currency.
"What we learned from...
The foreign direct investment that Bulgaria's post-crisis economy will attract per year will stabilize at about 4%-5% of the GDP, according to a forecast of UniCredit Bulbank.
While in the pre-crisis period – 2002-2008 – Bulgaria's FDI averaged over 17% per year, in the period after the crisis, they will stabilize at about 5% of the GDP, and only on the condition that the business environment in Bulgaria continues to improve at an accelerated pace, the economic team of UniCredit Bulbank...
Five banks will offer loans on preferential terms to Bulgaria's business sector under the JEREMIE initiative.
On July 14, Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov signed guarantee agreements with EIBank, ProCredit Bank, Raiffeisenbank, United Bulgarian Bank and UniCredit Bulbank under the JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) initiative, allowing them to provide up to EUR 80 M in EU structural funds to Bulgarian small and medium-size...
The consumer price index (CPI) in Bulgaria in June 2011 compared to May 2011 was 99.1%, meaning the monthly inflation was -0.9%.
The data was reported Tuesday by the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
The annual average inflation, measured by CPI, in the last 12 months (July 2010 - June 2011) compared to the previous 12 months (July 2009 - June 2010) was 4.3%.
In June 2011, compared to the previous month, prices of goods and services in the main consumer groups have been changed as...
Bulgaria's Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, forecasts a 6% economic growth for the last quarter of the 2011.
In a Monday interview for the Bulgarian daily "Trud" (Labor), Djankov says Bulgaria has entered the crisis half a year later than most European countries, thus the recovery is to arrive six months later as well.
The Minister points out Bulgaria is now in its third, consecutive strong quarter in 2011, while the fourth one would be the strongest where growth will certainly reach 6%...
Bulgarian National Bank Governor Ivan Iskrov has expressed confidence about the stability of Bulgaria's banking system and the prospects for Bulgaria's economy despite the sovereign debt crisis in Greece.
Speaking at a round table taking place on the sidelines of the "Bank of the Year" ceremony, he emphasized that Bulgaria's capital adequacy stood at 15.36%, or three times over the EU minimum requirements.
According to Iskrov, Bulgaria's banking system includes no bad banks, which means...
More and more Romanian citizens decide to register their businesses and pay their taxes in the Bulgarian Danube city of Ruse, according to the Balkan country's national revenue agency.
The government in Sofia has been boasting that Romanian companies are moving in droves to neighboring Bulgaria attracted by lower taxes, which the government has maintained at pre-recession levels unlike Romania or Greece.
Last week, it turned out that the richest citizen of Ruse, who earned BGN 3.12 M in...
The minimum monthly wage in Bulgaria is to go up on September 1, according to a proposal of the Finance Ministry, extended to the trade unions.
The proposal was made Tuesday during a meeting of the income subcommittee at the so-called Three-Way Council between the cabinet, the business and the labor unions.
The two main labor unions in Bulgaria – the Confederation of the Independent Syndicates (KNSB) and Podkrepa (Support) firmly reject the proposal, insisting the wage goes up on July...
The Bulgarian government of the center-right party GERB plans to raise the retirement pensions only of widows, according to the latest announcement of Finance Minister Simeon Djakov.
According to Djankov, the state budget cannot afford to raise all pensions, as Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov had indicated earlier.
Instead, the government is mulling upping only the so called widows' allowances. Currently, retired widows receive 20% of the pension of the late...
The consumer price index (CPI) in Bulgaria in May 2011, compared to April 2011, was 100%, meaning the monthly inflation was 0%.
The data was reported Tuesday by the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
The inflation rate since the beginning of the year (May 2011 compared to December 2010) was 2.6% and the annual inflation in May 2011 compared to May 2010 was 4.8%.
The annual average inflation, measured by CPI, in the last 12 months (June 2010 - May 2011) compared to the previous 12...
Data on Bulgaria's banking system as of April 30, 2011, has indicated no negative change in its financial stability, according to the latest report of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).
April has marked the highest monthly growth of corporate lending in Bulgaria since the beginning of 2011.
BNB data shows that the liquid asset ratio, as calculated under BNB Ordinance 11, preserved its high level at 23.70%.
"The liquidity position of individual credit institutions remained adequate....
Bulgaria registered a monthly surplus of BGN 190.5 M in April 2011, the second month in a row with a positive balance, the Finance Ministry announced.
The April surplus appears to have resulted from the contribution of BGN 200.9 M of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) to the state budget, which is a leftover from BNB's 2010 surplus. Meanwhile, Bulgaria's fiscal reserve appears to have been depleted further.
In March 2011, Bulgaria's budget registered a surplus of only BGN 8 M.
In the...
Bulgaria's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov submitted to parliament on Friday a plan, known as the "Financial Stability Pact", which proposes constitutional amendments in a bid to ensure the stability of state finances.
The Parliament is expected to set up a special commission to discuss the legal amendments needed before the proposals are put to the vote, Djankov told reporters.
"I have been assured by quite a lot lawmakers that the constitutional changes can be approved by the fall," he...
The long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) outlook of Bulgaria's Societe Generale Expressbank, Allianz Bank Bulgaria and Bulgarian Development Bank have been upgraded to positive by Fitch Ratings.
The outlook on Bulgaria's largest domestic-owned bank, First Investment Bank has been also upgraded to stable from negative, Fitch said in a statement late on Tuesday.
The upgrade followed Tuesday's news that Fitch Ratings has also upgraded ITS outlook on Bulgaria's currency ratings to positive...
International credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has improved its outlook on Bulgaria's currency ratings to positive from negative.
This has made it less likely that they will fall into junk territory, reflecting the Bulgaria's declining debt levels and recovering economy, reported Tuesday Dow Jones Newswires as cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Fitch has Bulgaria's foreign and local currency ratings at BBB- and BBB, or one notch and two notches above junk grade, respectively.
The...
The conclusions of the International Monetary Fund mission, which visited Bulgaria's capital Sofia during the period May 10-20, have exhibited optimism about the Bulgarian economy and state finances.
The visit was part of the IMF's surveillance under Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement. The mission, headed by Catriona Purfield, met with officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Bulgarian National Bank, other government agencies, as well as representatives from the private sector,...
The International Monetary Fund expects Bulgaria's economy to grow 3% at the end of this year as a global recovery boosts exports demand in the EU.
The IMF forecast for the Bulgarian economy in 2011 is below the 3.6% growth projected by the Bulgarian government in its 2011 budget.
The Washington-based global lender forecasts end-year's inflation at 5.3%, according to its latest report.
Bas Bakker, leader of the team, commented that the pace of recovery in the countries from...