The increase of the Bulgarian government's share in the country's only stock exchange will lead to the sale of its majority stake to an industry investor, the bourse's executive director has admitted, confirming recent speculations.
Bulgaria raised the state's stake in the Balkan country's stock exchange as it prepares to sell its majority to an industry investor and offer the rest to the public, said Ivan Takev, the bourse's executive director, said in an interview for Bloomberg...
Bulgaria ranked first in the European Union in the number of new shopping malls in the first half of the 2010, a report by Cushman and Wakefield consultancy showed.
While in most EU member-states the number of malls is on the slide due to the global economic crisis, their construction has accelerated in Bulgaria, marking a nearly 90% increase over one year.
A similar trend is also witnessed in other Balkan states - Bosnia&Herzegovina, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia - but the growth...
Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Energy Traicho Traikov is on official visit to Canada, where he took part in the 21st World Energy Congress in Montreal.
Traikov met both Canadian senior state officials and high-ranking business representatives in the fields of energy, engineering and electronic industry, and transport from a number of countries.
Among the top topics discussed was the Belene NPP project, which was discussed among others with Areva Group's CEO Anne Lauveregeon.
Talks...
Representatives of the Bulgarian textile industry have stated they have been overwhelmed with orders and they had to turn down some of them due to lack of capacity.
The Bulgarian Association of Apparel and Textile Producers and Exporters has forecast a strong season and is expecting revenues, comparable to those of 2008, the Bulgarian National Radio has reported.
The VP of the Association, Bertram Rollmann, has stated that the orders in the sector increased by 18-22% for the past two...
Bulgaria aims to have a budget deficit of 2.5% of gross domestic product and a growth of 3.6% in 2011, according to a budget draft, cited by reports.
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, far wider than initial estimates.
The center-right government dropped its plans for applying for ERM II after raising the alarm that the 2009 budget gap was 3.7% of gross...
The leading Bulgarian operator Mobiltel has signed pre-arrangements for the acquisition of two Bulgarian cable operators, Megalan Network and Spectrum Net.
The price of the merger is about EUR 70 M. The deal is expected to be finalized after approval by the Competition Protection Commission.
M-Tel, which is part of Telecom Austria Group, will acquire 100% of the two Internet providers. However, both companies will continue to work independently for a period of about 18 months.
"This is...
The Bulgarian National Revenue Agency (NAP) has announced tenders in some cities for properties that have been seized.
The NAP office in the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas has announced that it is selling a sauna, gym, cafe, underground garage, three apartments and two studios, all located in the Bansko resort.
The properties have been owned by a construction company from the Black Sea city of Nessebar, which has a debt of more than BGN 2 M to the National Revenue Agency (NAP).
The...
Bulgaria's top construction company "Glavbolgarstroy" will continue to build the southern loop of Sofia's beltway.
The company's bid for the 2.14-km section between the "Simeonovsko Shosse" boulevard and the "Mladost 4" district was the lowest among a total of 11 offers.
"Glavbolgarstroy" is prepared to build the road for BGN 37 000 B without Value Added Tax (VAT), which is 35% less than the estimated price of BGN 56 M without VAT of the State Road Agency.
Out of the 11 bidders, 5 made...
Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and the Governor of the Chinese province of Guangdong Wang Yang discussed opportunities for Chinese investment in Bulgarian nuclear energy.
Mr. Wang Yang is on an official visit to Bulgaria to discuss possible Chinese investment in the country. The southern Guangdong province is China's most populous and, once rural and underdeveloped, now boasts the highest GDP of the People's Republic for 2009, totaling USD 572 B.
Last week the Guangdong city of...
The Russian Ural Airlines has announced it will start executing weekly flights from Yekaterinburg to Sofia from October 1, the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported.
The Bulgarian Council in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, Plamen Petkov, has announced that the launch of the route Yekaterinburg-Sofia had a connection with the fact that the number of visas issued by the Bulgarian Embassy from the beginning of the year has increased by 60%.
"This is mainly due to the increased tourist...
Cleves, the luxury Sofia apartment rental company, has acquired an outstanding new building in the Iztok borough of Sofia with 34 apartments and a Class A suite of offices.
The building is part of the Este Home and Spa project developed by Este Properties EOOD. The Cleves deal is valued at EUR 10 M.
This is the company's fifth acquisition in Sofia. Cleves already has a Sofia rental portfolio of 57 apartments.
Cleves Este – as it will be known – is at 28G Samokov Blvd, Iztok. Newly...
Taiwanese hardware maker D-Link announced it has decided to go for an international launch of its Internet TV box in a number of countries, including Bulgaria.
Boxee Box allows customers to play what they normally watch on the computer on their TV, tailor the Internet experience to a huge flat screen, do it in full HD, 1080p with 5.1 surround whenever possible, share the stuff with friends and use a simple remote rather than a keyboard and mouse.
D-Link said that the Intel based hardware...
The Bulgarian and Chinese parties have reached an agreement to create a joint company to operate the future business zone to be built in Bozhurishte nearby Sofia.
Bulgaria is expected to send documents on the creation of the company to China by beginning of October.
This agreement was made during the official visit of Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Economy Evgeni Angelov to China and was signed by him and Zhejiang Province governor Lu Zushan.
Deputy minister Angelov also met deputy...
Chinese telecoms and media tycoon Richard Li is considering a deal with Dubai-based Oger Telecom as he tries to retain control of Bulgaria's top fixed-line operator Vivacom, according to reports.
Li and Oger have been in a battle over Vivacom for the last few months after it was put for sale by US insurance giant AIG.
Chinese billionaire Richard Li, who controls Bulgaria's Vivacom, was ready to invest in the latter in a bid to restructure its debt. PCCW and its chairman's privately-owned...
China's vehicle maker, Great Wall Motor Co and Bulgaria's Litex Motors will start production in the plant in the town of Lovech, Northern Bulgaria, in 2011, Litex Motors said.
Great Wall Motor Company, one of China's biggest automotive manufacturers, signed a joint venture (JV) deal with Bulgarian diversified holding company Litex Commerce in the presence of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov on October 15.
The plant will have an annual production...
Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Lower Austria Chancellor Erwin Proell broke ground Monday for a new co-generation facility in Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria.
The new electric and heating power plant will be constructed by Bulgaria's Austrian-owned power utility EVN EVN Bulgaria near the Plovdiv North Heating Plant.
"Bulgaria has to take full advantage of the fact that it is situated on international crossroads to attract investments in infrastructure," stated Borisov...
Bulgaria's export to the other EU member states registered a substantial growth in the first half of 2010.
In January-June, it grew by 17.4% reaching BGN 8 B. At the same time, Bulgaria's import from the EU was BGN 9.9 B, an increase of 2.8%.
Thus, Bulgaria's trade deficit with the rest of the EU was BGN 1.9 B in the first half of 2010.
In June, the deficit was BGN 257.5 M as Bulgaria's export to the EU grew by 36.2% year-on-year reaching BGN 1.6 B, while its import increased by 9.5%...
Bulgarian employers' expenses for employment have increased by 8,2% in the second quarter of 2010 in comparison to the same period last year, statistics showed.
According to data from the National Statistics Institute on payment per hour to employees, the amount in the industry has increased by 5,6%, in the services – by 10,3% and in construction – by 7,9%.
The biggest increase of payment has been registered in the sector for creation and distribution of information and creative...
UK investment fund Quorus Ventures will open Bulgaria's first factory for electric cars by the end of 2010.
This has been announced by Encho Enev, a Bulgarian consultant to the British investor, as cited by Darik Radio.
The plant will be opened in the southern Bulgarian city of Stara Zagora. The precise sum of the investment has not been specified but it is expected to be at least several million euro plus funding from EU programs.
The intention of Quorus Ventures to build an electric...
The Bulgarian refinery of Russian oil company Lukoil has come in 47th on the list of 500 largest companies from Central Europe compiled by auditing firm Deloitte.
Lukoil Neftochim Burgas leapfrogged Lukoil Bulgaria, which trades in the refinery output, state power utility NEK and Aurubis Bulgaria, the Bulgarian subsidiary of Europe's largest copper smelter Aurubis, which ranked 77, 85 and 139 respectively.
There are altogether 14 Bulgarian firms on the Deloitte CEE Top 500 list, including...
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