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The European Investment Fund (EIF) said it has signed guarantee agreements with four Bulgarian banks, unlocking up to 2 billion euro (.2 billion) in funding for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and green initiatives.

The EIF will extend the guarantees to Eurobank Bulgaria, operating under the Postbank brand, ProCredit Bank Bulgaria, UniCredit Bulbank and United Bulgarian Bank, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Belgium`s Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering (ABEE) proposes to invest 1.1 billion euro (2.2 billion levs) in a large-scale project for production of e-vehicle batteries in Bulgaria. The company intends to build a gigafactory, a recycling facility and an R&D center in three cities in southern Bulgaria -Stara Zagora, Burgas and Plovdiv respectively - thus closing the cycle.

If the plans materialize, which has to happen in the next three to five years, that will be the largest single investment in an industrial project in Bulgaria. Therefore the government undertakes to provide the maximum admissible state aid for the strategic project. The only uncertainty comes from the fact that the proposal is tabled not by a top global manufacturer in the sector but by a young Belgian company, which has recently announced intentions for a similar megaproject in Romania.

Bulgaria’s economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of the year, according to preliminary data announced by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) on December 7, exceeding the flash estimate released by the statistics body last month. That estimate put quarterly growth at 0.5 per cent, which would have been the lowest in four years.

Compared to the same period of 2017, economic growth in the third quarter was 3.1 per cent. In real terms, gross domestic product (GDP) in Bulgaria in July-September was 29.82 billion leva, or 15.25 billion euro.

NSI’s preliminary data showed domestic consumption grow by 1.4 per cent compared to April-June, slowing down from the 1.8 per cent growth rate recorded in the previous quarter. Year-on-year, domestic consumption was 6.9 per cent higher in July-September, unchanged from the second quarter.

Gross fixed capital formation fell by 1.5 per cent in the third quarter, compared to 1.1 per cent growth registered in the second quarter. In annual terms, gross capital formation in July-September rose by seven per cent compared to the same period of 2017 (up from 6.6 per cent annual growth rate registered in the previous quarter).

Exports in the third quarter expanded by 1.7 per cent (the first increase after three straight quarters of decline), while imports were down by 0.8 per cent, resulting in a trade surplus of 3.15 billion leva. Compared to the third quarter of last year, exports were 3.6 per cent lower and imports were four per cent higher.

The latest projections by Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry, in the three-year macroeconomic framework that accompanied the 2019 Budget Act, envision economic growth reaching 3.6 per cent this year, down from the 3.9 per cent target set in last year’s budget.

Last month, the European Commission said in its autumn forecast that it was lowering Bulgaria’s growth estimate for this year to 3.5 per cent, from 3.8 per cent in its summer economic growth report.

Swedish streaming and publishing company Storytel said on Tuesday that it has launched operations on the Bulgarian market, its fifteenth globally.

"Storytel is coming to Bulgaria with the ambition the create a new category, on the back of the traditionally high interest of Bulgarians towards reading and literature, as well as the increasing demand for digital content with a subscription fee," Lisa Vasileva, manager of Storytel for Bulgaria, said in a statement.

Storytel, which offers audiobooks and e-books, is starting its service in the country with a catalogue of 300 books in Bulgarian and over 50,000 in English, the company said.

According to commercial register data, in October 2017 Storytel Sweden acquired Bulgaria`s D&D Factory, which was previously fully owned by private investor Deniz Gerganova, for an undisclosed price. In January this year, D&D Factory was renamed to Storytel Bulgaria.

Source: SeeNews

In the third quarter of 2016, construction licenses for administrative buildings increased by 37.8%, compared to the previous quarter, while their area  marked a 315% growth.

According to the latest research of Colliers International and Automotive Cluster Bulgaria Bulgaria heads the list of the top ten countries, attractive to the automobile sector in Europe. This was revealed in the latest research of Colliers and Automotive Cluster Bulgaria, which took place during the second half of 2016. In the ranking, created for the purposes of the research, Bulgaria is compared to Romania, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, UK, Italy, France and Germany.

The InvestBulgaria Agency is preparing a comprehensive investment promotion strategy, according to Stamen Yanev, the newly appointed Executive Director of the Agency.

Yanev, who took over Wednesday from Svetoslav Mladenov, told the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency that representatives of NGOs, businesses, and the state would take part in the preparation of the draft of the strategy.

US company Sensata, a leading supplier of sensors and controls, is building its second manufacturing plant in Bulgaria.

The mayor of Maritsa municipality Dimitar Ivanov explained that the first stage of the plant will become operational in June and will employ 1,500 people, the news website Dnevnik reported.

The number of employees is foreseen to rise to 3,200 in case the company implemented its plan in full.

Canada-based natural and organic food group SunOpta announced it has acquired the Bulgarian grain handling and processing facility of Organic Land Corp, based in Silistra. The price of the deal is EUR 3.2 M, inclusive of debt, and is subject to normal closing adjustments.

Not a single country, except for Iceland, should expect to join the EU in the next six to eight years, says European Integration Office Head Milan Pajević, Serbian B92 reported.

Greece has overcome the danger of an ignominious euro exit, but it must stay the course of tough reforms to avoid a "relapse", Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said Sunday, AFP reported.

Bulgaria will concentrate efforts on oil and gas exploration in its entire Black Sea aquatory, according to Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev.

Bulgaria redeemed an 818.5 million euro (.1 billion) bond maturing on January 15, the country`s deputy finance minister said.

Bulgaria manages to absorb 85% of the funds under Operational Program Competitiveness thanks to the construction of Sofia Tech Park and the Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnection, according to Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev.

Bulgaria`s producer price index on the domestic market grew by 6.4% year on year in November 2012, according to the National Statistical Institute.

China`s electric-vehicle maker BYD Co Ltd signed a joint-venture agreement on Tuesday with a Bulgarian partner to build an auto assembly plant in the country.

Swiss-based global engineering group ABB plans to invest about USD 23 M to build its second greenfield factory in Bulgaria, the company announced Thursday.

Huvepharma AD, through its affiliated unit Biovet AD, will finalise the construction of a new plant for bio-technologies and pharmaceutical products at its production site in the town of Razgrad, the company announced.

Bulgaria`s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market will reach 750 million euro (6.7 million) by the end of 2012, research outfit DealWatch said.

Justice minister Diana Kovacheva said there are no grounds to expect that the European Commission`s regular report on the country`s judiciary will be negative as the country has met all EU recommendations contained in previous reports.

Germany`s Fraport reported mixed five-month passenger traffic results for the two airports it operates on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

Bulgarian corporate beneficiaries are entitled to receive over 500 million levs (9 million/256 million euro) ...

Bulgaria called a tender to sell state-owned printing and publishing company IPK Rodina`s unfinished building in Sofia, setting the starting price at 20 million levs ($ 13.0 million/10.2 million euro ).

Bulgaria`s economy ministry said it expects tourist arrivals from Romania this year to exceed one million.

Bulgaria and Romania will set up working groups this year to determine the most suitable locations for two new bridges between the two countries over the Danube river...

Banks in Bulgaria have been recording consistent and significant growth in deposits throughout 2011, a trend which peaked in the last quarter of the year, official data shows. The deposits of citizens in local banks increased by BGN 768 M only in December last year, according to data of the central bank BNB.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said on Thursday the government will continue with the reforms and cut-backs in the inefficient sectors of the country`s economy no matter how painful they might be...

Housing loans in Bulgaria became more accessible even as the freefall on the domestic real estate market continued for a third year in a row, according to a report in daily Presa on January 10 2012...

Bulgaria and Romania signed an Agreement on the establishment of a Functional Airspace Block. Bulgarian Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications, Ivaylo Moskovski, and the Romanian State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Alexandru Nazare, signed the Agreement on Monday in Brussels.

IKEA Bulgaria received a special prize for investment of the year in the Forbes annual business awards. The award was given by Traicho Traikov, minister of economy energy and tourism of Bulgaria on a grand ceremony yesterday evening in Sheraton hotel in Sofia...

Krasen Kyurkchiev, executive director of Bulgarian home and personal care products maker Ficosota Syntez, was among the winners of the Ruban d`Honneur prize at the European Business Awards, while software firm Telerik scooped up the business of the year award for companies with turnover of up to 25 million euro...

Bulgaria launched on November 14 2011 its 14th consecutive public tender envisaging the sale of Government stakes in local companies.
The state will place stakes in a total 25 entities on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), ...

A subsidy of 30 million euro for innovation development in small business will be allotted under a new procedure of the Competitiveness Operational Programme.

Seventeen Bulgarian companies have claimed their place among the top 500 businesses in Central and Eastern Europe for 2010. This becomes clear from Coface third annual ranking: Top 500 in CEE...

Nearly half of the companies in Bulgaria are founded on these terms, shows the date of the National Statistical Institute. In times of crisis, the family business in Bulgaria is growing and for 2010 it numbered 156,000 companies or 42% of ...

Bulgarian state-run railway operator BDZ intends to sell 11 of its 16 recreation facilities in the country hoping to generate bottom sales proceeds of between 10 million and 15 million leva, Dnevnik learned on August 24. The company will retain five recreation facilities and modernise them to lure tourists outside the railway sector. The facilities were built in mountain and coastal resorts when the railways company had a workforce of ...

Bulgarian fertiliser maker Neochim raked in a consolidated profit of 17.2 million leva in the first half of 2011, reversing a loss of 3.2 million leva from a year ago.
Sales surged by 91 million leva to more than 166 million leva, the company said in its consolidated financial report released on August 24. Sales abroad more than doubled to 85 million leva...

Bulgarian and Russian investors will pump 7.5 million euro into a silk spinning and processing plant in the northwestern Bulgarian town of Byala Slatina.
The first phase of the project is due for completion on May 1 2012 and includes five production lines, a silk drawing capacity and a weaving unit, Milka Dimitrova, board chairperson of textile cluster Silk, told Dnevnik...

In February 2011 the total business climate indicator has increased by 2.7%  in comparison with the previous month, but is still 8.3%  below its long-term average value, the National Statistical Institute has informed.

Japanese consumer electronics maker Toshiba Corp plans to invest funds in the construction of a solar park near the city of Yambol, southeastern Bulgaria, the company said as quoted by AFP on Friday, but declined to reveal the planned investment. Earlier that day, Japanese daily Nikkei reported as quoted by Reuters that Toshiba, together with local utility Tokyo Electric Power and the Japanese government, will allocate a combined JPY 100 billion to build a large solar power plant in Bulgaria ...

Bulgaria expects to finalise the privatisation of tobacco group Bulgartabac Holding and its remaining stakes in local electricity distribution companies by the end of the year, finance minister Simeon Djankov said.
The assets, together with Vazovski Mashinostroitelni Zavodi (VMZ), building firms Montazhi and Promishleno Stroitelstvo Holding, the duty-free zones of Bourgas and Svilengrad and ten other companies ...

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is willing to extend a EUR 2 billion banking guarantee to finance Bulgaria`s part in the Nabucco gas pipeline project ...

Analysts expect pharmaceutical companies and property funds investing in agricultural land to be the most profitable Bulgarian businesses for 2010, according to a poll conducted by daily Dnevnik among several experts.
Export-oriented and manufacturing companies are also expected to report growth, as they ...

Around a quarter of Sofia`s office space is still vacant despite the market`s slight improvement in 2010, according to a study of business real estate company MBL, part of property consultancy group CB Richard Ellis. Take-up of Class A and Class B office space stood at 105,000 square ...

State-held China National Electric Equipment Corp (CNEEC) has shown eagerness to take part in the development of power projects in Bulgaria at a meeting with Bulgarian ...

Czech state-run energy company CEZ has set up a subsidiary, dubbed CEZ Bulgarian Investments, which will be engaged in purchasing power from renewable sources, it said in a statement ...

Swedish furniture maker IKEA has started recruitment several months before the launch of its flagship store in Bulgaria`s capital city, Dnevnik reported. The company is mainly looking for middle managers, including cash line team leaders, warehouse and maintenance team managers, according to IKEA`s online advertisements published in local employment portals ...

Last year is likely to emerge as one of the worst periods for the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in Bulgaria, although in the last months of 2010 the segment witnessed a rebound in the activities of both buyers and sellers.
Top 10 M&A deals in Bulgaria:
1. bTV (EUR 296.3 million); 2. Mall Varna (EUR 95.2 million); 3. Mall Rousse and Mall Stara Zagora (EUR 85 million); 4. Spectrum Net and Megalan (EUR 83 million); 5. Sofiyska Voda (EUR 80 million); 6. Tsvetelina Borislavova`s 16% stake sale in CIBank (EUR 72 million); 7. NURTS (EUR 57 million); 8. Trud and 24 Chasa (EUR 46 million); 9. Bluehouse Capital`s hypermarkets, offices purchase (EUR 27 million); 10. Eurohold`s property sales (EUR 20 million) ...

Bulgaria`s economy will start to recover gradually in 2011, fuelled by growth in exports and small domestic investments, and gather more momentum in the second half of the year, according to a poll carried out by Dnevnik among economists and business representatives ...

Bulgarian marine fleet operator Navibulgar and Bulgarian river shipping company BRP plan to create a transport joint venture, the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) said in a statement...

The European Commission (EC) has given the thumbs-up to the construction of Bulgaria`s Trakia motorway, deciding to grant the country EUR 350 million for its completion, Dnevnik reported on Tuesday. "This is our Christmas gift to the Bulgarian people," regional development minister Rosen Plevneliev said ...

Standard and Poor`s confirmed on Friday its BBB/A-3 sovereign credit ratings with a "stable" outlook on Bulgaria. "We believe that the fiscal policy of the Bulgarian government, the low level of state debt and solid growth prospects over the medium term support this rating," the agency said ...

Bulgaria will pour up to BGN 600 million into its state-owned railway firms BDZ and National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) under a memorandum of understanding signed with the World Bank on Wednesday ...

Sofia, December 14 (BTA) - The Bulgarian subsidiary of Vienna-based BG Privatinvest has bought all assets of Germany`s WAZ Media Group in Bulgaria, Trud.bg says.
Under an agreement signed on Monday, the buyer acquired the "Troud" and "24 Chassa" dailies, the "168 Chassa" weekly and magazines, as well as a printing house and the Strela distributing company. BG Privatinvest has been set up in Austria for ...

Romanian companies are moving in droves to Bulgaria attracted by lower taxes, which the government has maintained at pre-recession levels, Sofia finance minister has said. "We`ve maintained the same tax system, unlike Romania or Greece. Over here, the value-added-tax rate remained at 20%. The profit tax amounts to 10%, while in Romania it is 16% and the tax on dividends amounts to 5% in Bulgaria and about 12% in Romania," Simeon Djankov pointed out in an interview for Romanian Adevarul newspaper ...

Bulgaria`s economy minister will launch officially on Tuesday the construction works of a EUR 150 M, 45-megawatt solar park in central Bulgaria, near the city of Veliko Tarnovo ...

Bulgaria hopes to collect the proceeds from the first major privatisation carried out during centre-right party GERB`s Government by the end of 2010.
A public auction of state stakes in 31 companies will be held from December 14 to 27 on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange in Sofia, the stock exchange said in a statement ...

Bulgaria`s National Electric Company (NEK) is preparing a tender for remittance of part of its telecommunications network, the company`s CEO Krasimir Parvanov has announced ...

From January 1 2011, traders will have to make an electronic declaration to Customs with security data on goods before they leave or enter the European Union, a European Commission media statement on December 13 2010 said. The aim of the measure is to increase security in international trade, by enabling customs to carry out better risk analyses on the basis of the information received in advance, and therefore to better target controls, the statement said. Traders have benefited from a transitional period to adapt their electronic systems to these new rules since July 2009 ...

Bulgaria has marked a record high of sales of electricity abroad in 2010, doubling the amount sold for the previous year ...

The joint Bulgarian-Greek committee for territorial cooperation has approved for financing a number of projects, totaling about 63 million euro ...

Bulgaria`s Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) will only be assisted in its work, and not superseded, by a future project management company for the Strouma, Hemus and Black Sea motorways, the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry said on Wednesday.

Bulgaria`s economy grew faster in the third quarter of the year than the flash estimate issued in November by the National Statistical Office (NSI), the statistics bureau said on December 9.
Gross domestic product (GDP) was 19.4 billion leva in July-September, an increase of 0.5 per cent over the same period of 2009 and 0.7 per cent higher than in the second quarter, NSI said in a statement. Cumulative GDP for the first nine months of 2010 was 50.66 billion leva ...

Bulgaria said on Tuesday it will launch next week a bourse auction for stakes in 31 companies.
The auction will last from December 14 through December 27, the country`s Privatisation Agency said ...

Bulgaria`s National Railway Infrastructure Company will apply for a 140 million BGN loan from the World Bank, well below the initial intention to seek 250 million BGN in funding. The funds will be used for purchasing machinery and equipment for repairs and management of the railway infrastructure.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has opened a new regional representation office in Belgrade. At the official inauguration ceremony the EIB was represented by its President, Philippe Maystadt and Vice-President, Dario Scannapieco who is responsible for operations in the Western Balkans; the Prime Minister, Mirko Cvetković and the Deputy Prime Minister, Bozidar Djelic were present for the occasion.

The opening of this office has significance in two respects today: on the one hand, to increase EIB activity in the region; on the other, to stress the commitment by European institutions to support your countries in joining the European Union” noted EIB President Maystadt at the official inauguration ceremony.

Thanks to its strong fiscal position prior to the crisis, Bulgaria is one of the few EU countries which plan to correct their excessive deficit by 2011, the European Commission said. This will be achieved without substantial increases in the tax burden (except for the increases in social security contributions and excise tax rates to comply with EU requirements) or cuts in wages and pensions.The budget deficit is expected to improve from 4.7 per cent of GDP in 2009 to 3.8 per cent of GDP in 2010.

After the economy`s stagnation in 2010, the recovery is set to accelerate and gradually become broad-based in 2011 and 2012, with real GDP growth reaching 2.6% and 3.8%, respectively, underpinned by both external demand as well as a pickup of domestic demand.