The Bulgarian Solarpro company has received a EUR 1 M order from the Hungarian Green Solar Equipment Manufacturing for the delivery of laser equipment used for the production of thinfilm photovoltaic panels, which will be sold on the Chinese market.
The order includes 3 devices for laser scribing. Laser scribing is a part of the technological process for the production of photovoltaic panels. It has been used since the 80's, for reducing the cost and price of solar cells.
"The fact that...
The residential property deals in the Bulgarian capital Sofia have witnessed price falls of 10% in the first quarter of this year in line with the general steep contraction of the market over the last two years, data of a realtor shows.
Price levels of residential property in Sofia stood on average at about ERU 830 per square meter in the first quarter of 2011, down from EUR 930 in the last three months of the previous year, according to research from Sofia based real estate agency Bulgarian...
Bulgaria's Cabinet has approved its budget forecast for 2012-2014 which stipulates a gradual reduction of the budget deficit while ruling out tax increases.
According to the Finance Ministry, budget forecast, which was adopted by the government together with a strategy for the management of the public debt, lays out the fiscal goals for by accounting for the macroeconomic challenges before Bulgaria and the planned reforms.
It points out that the 2012-2014 forecast provides for a fiscal...
The Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and the Areva company signed a cooperation memorandum covering crucial spheres of the country's energy sector on Wednesday.
Bulgaria may cooperate with the French company on the production and installment of wind turbines in the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, it was also made clear.
"Areva possesses great expert knowledge on wind turbines and just this type of wind turbines which are installed in the sea," Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister Traicho...
Bulgaria has moved three spots ahead in the global information technology report of the World Economic Forum, and is now ranked 68th out of 138 countries.
In last year's Networked Readiness Index of the IT report Bulgaria was 71st out of 133 states.
The Top 10 in the "Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011: Transformations 2.0" released Tuesday is made up of Sweden, Singapore, Finland, Switzerland, the USA, Taiwan, Denmark, Canada, Norway, and South Korea. Germany is 13th, the UK...
The number of foreign tourists who visited Bulgaria in the first two months of 2011 grew by 6%, year-on-year, a senior official announced at the opening of the Cultural Tourism Expo in Veliko Tarnovo.
According to Ivo Marinov, Deputy Minister of Economy, who is in charge of tourism, in January-February, Bulgaria saw more tourists from Greece, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Macedonia, the UK and Russia. The visas issued to Russian tourists in January were 50% more than in the same month of last...
The market of new cars in Bulgaria has registered a modest but nonetheless tangible year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2011.
A total of 4 638 new cars were sold in Bulgaria in January-March 2011 vs. 3 956 sales in the same period of 2010, a growth of 17%, according to data of the Association of Car Importers.
In March, a total of 1 816 new cars were sold, compared to 1 358 in February and 1 464 in January.
Bulgaria's all time record first quarter in terms of new car sales was...
The Bulgarian government has signed a consulting contract with UK-based company HSBC for the financial analysis for the project for the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant.
Bulgaria's Cabinet and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov in particular have made it clear that the results from HSBC's financial appraisal of the Belene project, i.e. whether it is economically feasible, will be decisive with respect to the government's final decision on whether to go ahead with the project whose...
Bulgaria's exports to the rest of the EU increased by 71,4% year on year in January 2011 reaching the amount of BGN 1,8 B.
The data was released by the National Statistics Institute Monday.
The country's main trade partners were Germany, Italy, Greece, Romania and France that formed 68.0% of the total exports to the EU Member states. The most significant growths were observed in the exports to Portugal, Luxembourg and Estonia. The most notable falls were registered in the exports to...
In the period January - February 2011, Bulgaria's exports to non-EU countries increased by 65.5% year on year and amounted to BGN 2.4 B.
The data was released by the National Statistics Institute Monday.
Bulgaria's main trade partners outside the EU in this period were Turkey, Russia, Serbia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, South Africa and China, that formed 54.5% of the total exports to non-EU countries.
The exports to South Africa, India, Croatia and Turkey increased...
German Ambassador to Sofia, Matthias Hopfner, voiced Monday strong optimism about the number of his fellow countrymen visiting Bulgaria for vacation and leisure.
"I believe the number of German tourists to come to Bulgaria is going to go up this year because your infrastructure is developing and improving," Hopfner told the Varna Region Governor, Dancho Simeonov, and the Varna Mayor, Kiril Yordanov, during meetings with them in the Black Sea capital.
The Ambassador informed over half...
Bulgaria's economy will grow 3% in 2011, according to the biennial World Economic Outlook report released by the International Monetary Fund Monday.
Thus, 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 Fund has actually upgraded its 2011 economic growth project for Bulgaria, which used to be at 2.6%. IMF data also shows that in 2010 the Bulgarian economy grew by 0.2%.
The IMF expectations for the...
Bulgaria's Business Registry Agency has registered 83% of the wide-circulation dailies "Trud" (Labor) and 24 Chasa (24 Hours) as property of Ognyan Donev and Lyubomir Pavlov.
The remaining 17% are owned by the "BG Printmedia" company managed by Pavlov and Hristo Grozev, the Bulgarian National Television, BNT, informs. 53% of the company are still held by the Vienna-based "BG Privatinvest" GmbH, belonging to Grozev and Austrian Karl Habsburg. The other 47% are owned by the manager of...
Bulgaria's working day adjusted Industrial Production Index rose by 15.2% year on year February 2011, according to preliminary data by the country National Statistical Institute.
On a monthly basis, the Industrial Production Index, seasonally adjusted, decreased by 1.4 in February 2011 as compared to January 2011.
In February 2011, the Bulgarian year on year Industrial Production Index, calculated from working day adjusted data in the manufacturing grew by 22.3%, in the electricity, gas,...
French international hypermarket chain Carrefour has announced plans to open a sixth hypermarket in Bulgaria - in the southern city of Stara Zagora.
Carrefour's first Bulgarian hypermarket was opened in Burgas in 2009, when the brand entered the Bulgarian market for the first time, followed by its stores in Plovdiv, Varna, Sofia, and Ruse in 2010.
The sixth Carrefour store in Bulgaria will be opened in the fall of 2011. It will be located on an area of 5 000 square meters on Nikola Petkov...
Turkey plans to construct a nuclear power plant right on the Bulgarian border in the region of Eastern Thrace, virtually on the Black Sea coast.
The site of what is planned to become the third nuclear power plant in Turkey, with projects for the other two already underway, will be the small Black Sea town of Igneada, a town of some 2 000 inhabitants, located 5 km south of the Rezovska (Rezovo) River, which marks the Bulgarian-Turkish border, according to reports in the Turkish press citing...
The airport in the Bulgarian capital Sofia is going to be offered on concession, according to Deputy Transport Minister, Kamen Kichev.
The Ministry is still mulling two options – to concession the entire airport or just the construction of the new cargo terminal. The concessioner is to also repay the loan, which was taken for the building of the new terminal.
Kichev admits the preparations to offer Bulgaria's airports, railway stations, and ports have taken quite a while, but points out...
The Maritza Iztok Mine in southern Bulgaria has scored 2011 its greatest yield for the first quarter of the year since 1997.
For March 2011 miners at Maritza Iztok excavated some 2.5 M tonnes of coal, while for Q1 the amount is close to 7.5 M tonnes.
The mine is reporting that it is fulfilling its plans for ground excavation, with close to 24 M cubic meters of earth dug up for the first quarter.
The Maritza Iztok Mine, the largest coal mine in Bulgaria, is built upon a deposit of...
Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday it has placed Bulgaria's Baa3 government rating on review for possible upgrade, reflecting its healthy government finances and ongoing improvements in institutional strength.
The outlook had been positive since January 2010.
The move comes thanks to the government's strong balance sheet, a prudent budget reserve and expectations it will bring its deficit below the European Union's 3% limit, Moody's said.
Moody's on Tuesday said a key focus of...
The French energy giant Gas de France Suez considers investing EUR 100 M in Bulgarian biomass plants, the country's Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov announced Monday.
Gas de France considers building 4 biomass energy plants in different Bulgarian cities. Apart from it, Spanish and Bulgarian companies have shown investment interests in the country's biomass energy.
The Balkan country is working on a new law on renewable energy sources, which includes incentives for biomass energy...
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