불가리아 주요 경제뉴스 (22 – 29 FEBRUARY 2008 )

BULGARIAN ECONOMIC TOP NEWS DIGEST

WEEKLY REPORT ( 22 – 29 FEBRUARY 2008 )

 

 

Sections/headline briefs:

 

MACROECONOMY:

 

·        Bulgaria expands industry collaboration with South Korea

·        Recognition of Kosovo will impede Bulgarian business

·        Bulgarian business needs updates on situation over Kosovo

·         Macedonia seeks energy help first from Bulgaria

·        Bulgaria to export electricity to Serbia and Greece

·        Bulgaria lifts ban on electricity exports

·        Energy Minister discusses Bulgaria energy projects

·        Greece ready to join 'South Stream' project

·        45 years of gas industry in Bulgaria

·        Bulgaria has lowest GDP per capita in EU

·        Bulgaria's GDP growth may slow in 2008 on global liquidity crisis

·        Bulgaria's Gross External Debt grows 34.5% in 2007

·        NSI: The total business climate indicator rises 0.9 pp in February

·        WB Director: Bulgaria has excellent macroeconomic indicators 

·        Commerce absorbs bulk of 2007 business credits

·        �215 M for tourism development

·        Salad more expensive than steak in Bulgaria

·        Further rises of wholesale food prices

·        Sofia - the best city for business tourism

·        Hanging railways instead of subway proposed for Sofia

·        BGN 250 M needed for tunnel to connect North and South Bulgaria

·        Construction of Danube Bridge 2 starts in April

·        There are 11 energy projects at indicative price of � 7 billion

·        Over 50 Regional Development projects submitted

·        Bulgaria to import temporary foreign workers

·         Bread wheat price at 500 BGN/t in Rousse

·        Bulgaria 2007 advertising market tops �240 M

·        Bulgarian business wants agency for migration

·        Agriculture remains riskiest sector for fourth consecutive year

·        Average Bulgarian spends 36 levs on pharmacy shopping monthly

INVESTMENTS:

 

·        Asia's top oil refiner Sinopec invests in Bulgaria Plama Refinery

·        Car part makers mull investments in Bulgaria

·        French Saint-Gobain to build �5 M plant in Bulgaria by end-2008

·        Bulgarian gas distributor Citygas to invest �91 M by 2011 in network expansion

·        Germans to built waste water threatment plant on Maritza river

·        Bulgarian Albena resort to invest �20,4 M in hotels in 2008

·        EVN invests BGN 85M in two years

 

 

COMPANIES:

 

·        30 foreign companies willing to start production in Bulgaria

·        German Uhde wins �100 M desulphurisation contracts with Bulgaria's Lukoil refinery

·        Irish bank buys 6 million shares of BACB

·        Marfin Popular Bank wants to operate in Bulgaria

·        Bulgargas to build power facility in Macedonia

·        Bulgarian drug maker Unipharm to list on Sofia Bourse

·        Another Indian buyer for Kremikovtsi

·        Agriculture Expo 'Agra 2008' achieves record in visitors

·        International finance exhibition “Banks Investments Money” is carrying out in Plovdiv

·        Deutsche Bank to list Bulgarian companies on European bourses

·        Deutsche Bank eyes four Bulgarian motorways

·        Ikea edges closer to opening first Bulgarian outlet

·        E.ON cuts power to coastal wind farms

 

 

ANALYSIS:

 

·        Bulgaria's wasting time may put it out of the game

·        Kosovo, Policy and Gas

·        Government reports progress on infrastructure projects

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Articles:

 

 

MACROECONOMY:

 

Bulgaria expands industry collaboration with South Korea

Bulgaria will activate its industrial collaboration with the Republic of Korea, was said in the Memorandum for Understanding between the Economy departments of both states, from Bulgaria's Ministry of Councils informed. The document was signed in Seoul by Bulgaria's deputy Minister of Economy and Energetic Anna Yaneva on her work visit to South Korea in November last year and was confirmed on today's(28 Feb) governmental session.The Memorandum foresees the establishing of Committee for industry cooperation. It aims to further the interaction in industry and technologies, energetic, small and average enterprises, common investments and bilateral commerce.

Recognition of Kosovo will impede Bulgarian business

The expectations of the Bulgarian business for the development of the investments in Serbia are contradictory after it is expected Bulgaria very soon to recognize Kosovo's independence, writes Pari newspaper.Most of the investors don't think that what their investments will be threatened and that there will be pressure from the Serbian side to force them out. The investors hope for stability in Bulgaria's western neighbor and plan not only to continue investing in Serbia but even to increase their investments. So far, all of them rule out the nightmare scenario for the region – embargo, blockade and violence. Some, however, remain reserved to the possible recognition of Kosovo and believe that this could affect seriously both the investment in Serbia and Bulgaria's export which crosses the country. The carriers: Our companies, which conduct cargo transport for South Europe – Italy, Spain and Southern France, will lose a lot if the relations with Serbia deteriorate, commented experts for Pari newspaper. According to them Romania will benefit from this because then Bulgaria's northern neighbor, which doesn't accept Kosovo's independence will take the whole traffic through its territory. This will put our companies in a very unfavorable condition, claim the experts. Therefore, it is very important to consider the consequences for the Bulgarian business when a decision is taken whether to recognize Kosovo or not. Politics: Several days ago prime minister Stanishev announced that in the preparation of Bulgaria's position a clear engagement of the European Union for Kosovo's security as well as guarantees for the whole region's future will be sought. However, it is not clear yest whether the politicians will try to gurantee also the security of the Bulgarian business to the west of the country's territory.

Bulgarian business needs updates on situation over Kosovo

Bulgarian business asked to be updated on the Bulgarian position on Kosovo, BTA reports. Speaking to the press Monday, Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Bozhidar Danev said that the government should invite business representatives to discuss with them the status of Kosovo and the economic implications for Bulgaria. "Nobody has offered to tell us what the Bulgarian position is, and we, as representatives of business, have a right to know," he said. A large part of Bulgaria's trade - some 65 per cent - is now with the EU and the route of this trade goes with Serbia, Bozhinov went on to explain. If passage through Serbia is impeded, the government should say what capacity is available for diverting the cargo traffic through Romania without congesting traffic. "Companies call to ask us if crossing Serbia is OK and we are completely in the dark," Bozhinov said.

Macedonia seeks energy help first from Bulgaria

The government of Macedonia starts searching for ways to prevent an energy crisis, which could grab the country, claims the Macedonian opposition newspaper “Utrinski vestnik”, cited by BTA. The newspaper analyzes the situation in Macedonia and concludes that the domestic reserves are running out and that the situation is additionally complicated by the proclaiming of Kosovo's independence and Setbia's threats for imposing an embargo.In searching for a solution the newspaper points out that what can be done fast is the building of a 400- kilovolt power transmission line from Shtip to Chervena mogila with a total length of 140 km, 40 km of which will be in Macedonia. The construction of the lines was started in 2006 but should be ready the coming summer.
The newspaper claims that the Macedonian side is ready and that it is the Bulgarians who are being late. But in contrast with neighboring Bulgaria, now “we are in a hurry”, because “the condition with the amount of domestic energy is not good at all”.“Utrinski vestnik” newspaper informs about talks of the Macedonian economic delegation headed by the deputy prime minister Zoran Stavrevski in Sofia, where agreement has been reached Bulgaria to provide its energy excess to Macedonia, to finish the construction the power transmission line, which automatically will reduce Macedonia's dependency on Serbia.

Bulgaria to export electricity to Serbia and Greece

Bulgaria has won two tenders for export of electricity - to Greece and to Serbia. The negotiated quantity is 140 megawatt-hours for each of the countries and the term of the contracts is March 1-31. The news came from the Electrical Energy System Operator, a daughter company of the National Electric Company (NEC). The price, at which the operator is going to export electricity to Greece is more than profitable - eight and a half euro cents per kilowatt-hour. The price, at which Serbia is going to receive electricity from Bulgaria, is still uncertain. on March 1, Bulgaria will resume the export of electricity, which was suspended on January 14 due to cold weather Bulgaria can export 300 or 400 megawatt-hours to its neighbors. In addition to Greece and Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo are also hungry for Bulgarian electricity. The latter country may receive electricity from Bulgaria via Serbia.

 

Bulgaria lifts ban on electricity exports

 

Bulgaria's Energy Ministry announced Monday the country was going to resume its normal electricity exports starting March 1.The Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov imposed restrictions on the exportation of electric power on January 14 after Bulgaria's energy consumption grew tremendously because of the cold weather. Electricity shortage concerns led to Minister Dimitrov's ordinance allowing the Electric Energy Systems Operation (EESO) to limit electricity exports in its judgment until March 31, 2008.The EESO has recently informed the Energy Ministry that the terminated export deals could be resumed. The decision was made after a careful analysis of the energy resources available in the thermal power plants, the weather forecasts, and the repair values of the generating capacities. Ivan Ayolov, the EESO director, said Bulgaria's energy balance was secure. The country could export 300-400 MW of electricity, which corresponds to the agreements made with neighboring system operators for March 2008.

Energy Minister discusses Bulgaria energy projects

Energy Minister Dimitrov said at a conference on Wednesday that Bulgaria must used efficiently its energy resources. Currently, almost 48 per cent of Bulgaria's energy resources come from abroad. EU's dependence on external resources is currently at 51 per cent and is expected to rise to 5 per cent within twenty years. After the shutting down of the  third and fourth reactors at the Kozloduy nuclear power station, electricity prices in the region doubled, the Minister said. (Kozloduy is one of only two nuclear power plants 

currently operational on the Balkan peninsula proper, the other being at Cernavoda in eastern Romania; Slovenia also has one plant.)What makes Bulgaria energy-independent is local coal mining, the Minister said. He underscored the importance of the rehabilitation and modernization of the country's electricity power plants. The idea for a fourth thermo-electric power plant in the Maritza East region is well-advanced, Dimitrov said, adding that need for this will come post-2012, when Bulgaria will start to pay for greenhouse gasses. The putting back into operation of the Upper Arda HEP scheme, which has a 178 MW potential, is also under discussion. The "somewhat shelved" projects in the region of the Danube River constitute the country's main resource, said Dimitrov, adding, however, that these are awaiting political decision.Electricity distribution companies are relying too heavily on internal funding for their modernization, but if all they are doing is waiting, then they will not get anything done, Dimitrov said. If these companies had invested in serious programmes with external resources then Bulgaria's citizens would not have to endure blackouts "at the first sign of cold or wind" he concluded.

Greece ready to join 'South Stream' project

Greece expressed willingness to join the gas pipeline ‘South Stream' construction project. According to experts, the country's partnership in the project is absolutely expected.‘South Stream'is a Russian - Italian project, as the pipeline will go through the Black Sea bottom from Novorossiysk to Varna.In Bulgaria the pipeline splits in two - towards Austria and towards Italy. The South Stream is expected to be ready in 2013.In January Bulgaria and Serbia joined the ‘South Stream'. This project is the main rival of the EU project ‘Nabucco', which aims to avoid Russia to become the main supplier of nature gas for Europe.

45 years of gas industry in Bulgaria

 

The beginning of the natural gas industry in Bulgaria was set 45 years ago with the start of gas extraction at Chiren in 1963. The anniversary was celebrated on Friday on the grounds of the only gas storage facility in Bulgaria, also at Chiren.Prospecting for natural gas at the site began in 1961, and the initial quantity was extracted in 1963. The gas field began to be operated on a regular basis in 1965. Based on the original assessments of the amount of gas available at the site, a decision was made to build a chemical fertilizer plant near Vratsa, which went into operation in 1967. In 1971 it was decided to turn the site into a gas storage facility. Negotiations began with the then Soviet Union to build a pipeline which would transport Russian gas to Chiren. The pipeline was built in 1974. Chiren began to be operated as a storage facility in 1977.Over a period of 34 years, 8,700 million cubic metres of natural gas were injected in the storage facility, and 7,060 million cu m of gas was extracted. Bulgargaz, which owns the storage facility, has invested 33.5 million leva in equipment upgrades in recent years.

 

Bulgaria has lowest GDP per capita in EU

Bulgaria remains the poorest member of the European Union, with an annual gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of 8 600 euro, French non-governmental organisation Observatoire des inegalites said in a report on its website.Bulgaria's per capita GDP was four times smaller than that of the top performer in the EU, Ireland, which reached 34 200 euro. EU's newest two member states are at the bottom of the ranking, but Romania still outperformed its southern neighbour and recorded a per capita GDP of 9 100 euro.The Czech Republic had GDP a person of 18 500 euro, Estonia came in at 16 100 euro, Hungary at 15 300 euro and Poland at 12 300 euro.The average GDP per capita in the 27 EU member states was 25 900 euro. The benchmark analysis draws on the purchasing power of the population and takes into account the living standard differences in individual countries.

Bulgaria's GDP growth may slow in 2008 on global liquidity crisis

 

Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) may slow its growth this year because of the global liquidity crisis caused by fears of recession in the United States, the world's largest economy, Bulgarian central bank deputy governor Rumen Simeonov said on Wednesday. However, lending growth in Bulgaria is expected to remain strong as it was in 2007, though it could slow somewhat, Simeonov, who heads the central bank's banking supervision department, told the Banks Investments Money conference held in the city of Plovdiv. "We expect that the GDP growth will be approximately the same as in 2007 but if the effects and the influences of the international markets, international trade affect our development, this growth is expected to be a tad lower," Simeonov said. "Our analyses show that the growth [in 2008] will remain sustainable, at around 6.0%." "Most analysts forecast a growth rate that will be lower by less than one percentage point," Simeonov told SeeNews on the sidelines of the conference. Bulgaria's economy grew by a real 4.5% in the third quarter of 2007, slower than its 6.6% rise in the second quarter and the 6.7% growth in the third quarter of 2006. The country's economy grew by a real 5.7% in the first nine months of 2007, slower than the 6.2% rise recorded a year earlier. Austria's Raiffeisen Bank has already lowered its estimate for Bulgaria's economic growth in 2007 to a real 5.5% from 6.2% it projected earlier, following a "surprisingly low growth rate" in the third quarter of the year. It has also lowered its economic growth forecast for 2008 to 5.5% in real terms from 6.0% projected earlier. Bulgaria's finance ministry has forecast that the country's economy will grow by 6.4% in each of 2007 and 2008. The country's statistics office is expected to issue 2007 GDP data next month."We expect that lending growth will remain relatively high but it will not be like the one we saw last year," Simeonov told the conference. The central bank raised its mandatory reserves requirement for Bulgaria's commercial banks to 12% from 8.0% from September 1, 2007, seeking to slow the fast lending growth blamed for the country's widening current account gap. The loan portfolio of Bulgaria's commercial banks surged 64% to 36.488 billion levs ($27.385 billion/18.708 billion euro) last year. Bulgaria's current account deficit rose to 21.6% of the projected GDP in 2007 from 15.7% in the previous year mainly due to widening trade gap.

Bulgaria's Gross External Debt grows 34.5% in 2007

Bulgaria's 2007 gross external debt amounts to EUR 27,039.7 million (94.6% of GDP), which is 34.5%up compared with 2006 (EUR 20,110.7 million, 80.1% of GDP), the Bulgarian National Bank announced. Direct Investment liabilities rose by EUR 3,194 million (54.1%). Long-term liabilities amounted to EUR 17,747.8 million (65.6% of total debt) at the end of December, and short-term liabilities came to EUR 9,291.9 million (34.4% of total debt). General Government’s external debt stood at EUR 3,038.9 million (10.6% of GDP), which is 17.1% down y/y. The decline is mainly due to repayment of global bonds and to the full repayment of the debt to the International Monetary Fund ahead of schedule. Banks’ external debt rose 68% to EUR 5,634.7 million (19.7% of GDP). Other Sectors’ debt stood at EUR 9,273.1 million, or 28.9% up y/y. As of end-December 2007 the stock of Direct Investment liabilities amounted to EUR 9,093 million, against EUR 5,899 million at the end of 2006. 85% of the gross external debt was denominated in EUR and 8.2% in USD. Gross external debt service in 2007 came EUR 5,358.4 million (18.7% of GDP) against EUR 4,280.3 million (17.1% of GDP) for the previous year. Loans and deposits received from non-residents amounted to EUR 10,764.3 million (37.7% of GDP) compared to EUR 8,392.4 million (33.4% of GDP) in 2006. Net external debt stood at EUR 10,200.7 million (35.7% of GDP) , or 71% up from 2006 (EUR 5,964 million, 23.8% of GDP).

NSI: The total business climate indicator rises 0.9 pp in February

In February 2008 the economic conjuncture in the country remained favorable, the National Statistics Institute said. The total business climate indicator rose 0.9 percentage points above January, due to more optimistic opinions of managers in the sectors of construction, real trade and services. Industry. In February the composite “Business climate in industry” indicator fell 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous month due to more moderate expectations expressed by managers in the sphere. Their assessment of production activity was also moderate. Managers shifted their opinions from “increased” to “unchanged” activity, which led to a 8.7 percentage points decrease of the balance estimation. At the same time, expectations about the next 3 months remained favorable. “The insufficient domestic demand” in February was again the number one factor limiting activity. Number two was the uncertain economic environment, and three - shortage of labor force, which was mentioned by one fifth of enterprises. 18% of industrial managers expect selling prices to rise over the several three months. Construction. Prognoses about the business situation in the sector over the next 6 months were more optimistic, which led to a hike in the composite indicator of business climate of 4.9 percentage points above January level. Manager’s forecasts about construction activity and employment in the coming 3 months were also more positive. The main factors limiting the activity of enterprises continue to be competition in the branch and labor shortage. More than one fourth of entrepreneurs pointed out financial problems, high materials costs and uncertain economic environment. 65.7% of managers think selling prices will remain unchanged in the next 3 months. Retail trade. The economic conjuncture in retail trade remains favorable in February. The composite indicator of business climate rose 0.4 percentage points. Expectations for the next 3 months are more positive. 36.8% of retailers expect selling prices to rise in the next three months. Service sector. The composite indicator of the business climate in the service sector slightly increased (by 0.6 percentage points) in February, due to increased optimism in the expectations if the business situation during the following 6 months.
Managers believe demand will b eon the rise. The most serious problem limiting their activity remains competition in the branch, mentioned by more than two thirds of entrepreneurs.

WB Director: Bulgaria has excellent macroeconomic indicators  

 

Bulgaria has excellent macroeconomic indicators, the World Bank Director for Central European and Baltic Countries Orsalia Kalantzopoulos said. The news was released Thursday by the National Assembly information service.Kalantzopoulos is responsible for the programmes of 11 countries - Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. She is paying her first official visit to Bulgaria after her appointment to this position.Kalantzopoulos conferred with Deputy National Assembly Chairman Lyuben Kornezov, the Deputy Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee Martin Dimitrov and the member of the Economic Policy Committee Siyana Foudoulova.Topics of discussion included the implementation of the World Bank strategy of partnership with Bulgaria for the 2006-2009 period, as well as matters of the development of policies for institutional reforms in the social sectors and the implementation of a project for municipal infrastructure.In the course of the meeting, Kalantzopoulos pointed out that Bulgaria ranks second among EU states in terms of alignment of legislation with the acquis communautaire. She also expressed approval for the sub-committee established by the National Assembly with the Economic Policy Committee, which is engaged with monitoring the absorption of European funds.On Friday, Kalantzopoulos is scheduled to confer with Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, the government information service said.

 

Commerce absorbs bulk of 2007 business credits

Merchants and repair companies accounted for the biggest share of corporate loans taken out by Bulgarian businesses in 2007, shows central bank data. Local companies in the commerce and repair business borrowed a total of 8.020 bln levs or just over 35% of total business loans. The sector is also tops in terms of volume with 48,182 credits. The processing industry was a distant second with 4.868 bln levs in new loans or 21% of total business loans. It is followed by construction (12%), realty (10%) and hospitality and restaurants (6%). In terms of volume, business loans topped 100.4 mln by end-2007 while their combined value stood at 22.9 bln levs, up from 13.3 bln levs a year earlier. The pick-up in corporate credit growth became evident in early 2007 when the central bank loosened some of the lending restrictions. The biggest share of business loans - 66.3%, was denominated in euro by the end of 2007, up from 59.6% in late 2006. Business loans in the local currency fell to 32.4% of total corporate credits by the end of 2007 from 37.6% a year ago. Domestic credit growth accelerated to a five-year record of 63.7% in late 2007 when household and corporate loans stood at 37 bln levs or 67% of the nation's GDP.

 

 

 

 

�215 M for tourism development

215 million EUR for tourism development are previewed by Operative program ‘Regional Development', the executive director of National Tourism Board Polly Karastoyanova announced. one share of these resources will be used for building and modernizing of infrastructure in Bulgaria. First projects are expected to be approved in a month, and the realization to start in a month and a half.The National Tourism Board and the National Municipality Union signed a cooperation agreement in the campaign ‘Money for Tourism' realization.The aim is the resources from EU structural funds to be used properly and on time.By this concern, 4 subject conferences are previewed - for infrastructure and tourism, agriculture and tourism, ecology and tourism and about competitiveness and tourism.

Salad more expensive than steak in Bulgaria

A month before spring sets in, vegetables cost more than a kilo of meat. The price of a salad has almost reached 10 levs (1 euro = 1.95 levs), following the total raise of prices of vegetables. A kilo of tomatoes costs 5 levs, while cucumbers sell at 4 levs a kilo. A fruit salad costs much, too, as bananas are sold against 3 levs, oranges and tangerines at 2 levs a kilo.

Further rises of wholesale food prices

 

Hothouse tomatoes surged by 17.3 per cent to 2.30 leva/kg wholesale last week, and hothouse cucumbers soared by 13.5 per cent to 2.79 leva/kg, the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Wholesale Markets told BTA. Potatoes were up 3.2 per cent to 0.65 leva/kg.Over the week, the price of tangerines increased by 3.7 per cent to 1.40 leva/kg, and at 1.13 leva/kg oranges were 0.9 per cent more expensive than a week before. Bananas were trading at 2.05 leva/kg, up 2 per cent. Lemons cheapened by 2.9 per cent to 1.98 leva/lg.Bottled cooking oil keeps rising: after a 2.0 per cent hike over the week, it reached a record 3.04 leva/litre. Type 500 flour advanced 1 per cent to 1.05 leva/kg. Eggs edged 0.01 leva down, to 0.17 leva apiece.Frozen chickens went 1.4 per cent up to 3.71 leva/kg. Fresh sausages appreciated 6.9 per cent, to 4.18 leva/kg, and dry sausages climbed by 4.1 per cent to 8.63 leva/kg. Vitosha yellow cheese dropped 2 per cent to 8.97 leva/kg, and white cow's cheese eased 1.5 per cent to 4.47 leva/kg.

Sofia - the best city for business tourism

Sofia is the most lucrative town in Europe for business tourism. A research of the Milan Chamber of Commerce shows that a traveling businessman spends daily 184 euro in Sofia. In Budapest and Warsaw the expenses reach 259 and 270 euro respectively. In Milan a businessman daily spends 416 euro, in Frankfurt - 750 euro, in Barcelona 574 euro, in Geneva - 523 euro and in London 509 euro. A businessman pays 17,44 euro for lunch in Sofia.

 

 

 

 

 

Hanging railways instead of subway proposed for Sofia

A hanging railway for 15 million BGN (7.5 million EUR) to be constructed in Sofia instead of subway for 238 million BGN (119 million EUR) is the proposal of movement ‘People's Fist',  money.bg announced. First proposal is the hanging railway to be built from ‘Mladost 1' district to Sofia Airport in order to be solved the traffic jams problem.According to prof. Lozan Stoimenov moving the Sofia's traffic 5 meters above the ground will decrease the transport expenses and the pollution.In his opinion, the experience of Germany is adequate example the subways is 10 times more expensive than the air railway. Another idea of ‘People's Fist' is that subway to be constructed over the beds of rivers Slivnica, Perlovska and Vladaia by the means of columns, stuck into the rivers' beds and rails, elevated to 4.8 meters above the ground.In the movement members' opinion the hanging railway could be constructed in all the overloaded sites in the city. The proposal will be introduced in different capital's municipalities.

 

BGN 250 M needed for tunnel to connect North and South Bulgaria

 

The construction of a tunnel under the Shipka Mount in the central part of the Balkan Mountain will cost about BGN 250 M.This became clear at an expert meeting in the mountain city of Gabrovo in central Bulgaria to discuss the realization of the planned infrastructure project, which is supposed to improve dramatically the transport connections between northern and southern Bulgaria.The forum was attended by members of parliament, district governors, representatives of the Council of Ministers, mayors, and businessmen. The construction of the Shipka Tunnel has been planned in the EU programs for 2013-2015 as part of the Trans-European Transport Corridor No. 9.The meeting in the city of Gabrovo launched an initiative to speed up the construction of the infrastructure project, which according to the experts is of national significance.Yasen Ishev, Director of the Planning and Control of Road Infrastructure Department at the Ministry of Transport, assured the participants at the meeting that the Shipka Tunnel was a priority project in the general infrastructure plan to be approved in May.The idea for the tunnel under the Balkan Mountain has a 100-year old history. It is especially important for the city of Gabrovo, which is currently burdened with the bulk of the north-south traffic in central Bulgaria since the alternative Hainboaz Pass is closed for repairs.The meeting on Monday decided the first step for accelerating the construction of the Shipka Tunnel should be the setting up of an initiative committee of citizens and experts. According to the participants in the forum, the funding could be provided through a public-private partnership and a concession.

Construction of Danube Bridge 2 starts in April

'We can expect the construction of Danube Bridge 2 to start in April', the Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev announced on a press-conference with the premier Stanishev. Mutafchiev defined that all existing to the moment hindrances have been removed and construction details about the sounding, building crews' camps location and etc. have been discussed.‘We will make everything possible to observe the ending term of Danube bridge 2 construction.' The Transport Minister promised but made the note, there have to be taken under consideration the realization of the project is connected with the relations between 3 sides - Bulgaria, Romania and the financing institutions.

 

 

There are 11 energy projects at indicative price of � 7 billion

 

By the end of the term in office of the current government a number of energy projects are expected to finish, Minister of Economy and Energy Petar Dimitrov said at a press conference after the session of the Council for Coordination, Control and Implementation of the infrastructure projects of national importance, cited by Focus News Agency.
Minister Dimitrov added that so far there are 11 energy projects. Their indicative price is about EUR 7 billion.

 

Over 50 Regional Development projects submitted

 

A total of 51 projects have applied for funding under the Regional Development operative programme so far, the regional development and public works ministry said. A total of 27 projects were submitted by the Southwestern planning region, including 22 projects by the Republican Road Infrastructure Fund. The projects envisage the rehabilitation and construction of roads in 22 municipalities throughout the country.

 

Bulgaria to import temporary foreign workers

 

Bulgaria's ministry of labour and social policy will be ready within the next 2-3 weeks with the measures for the admission of foreign workers into the country, deputy prime minister Ivaylo Kalfin, said. Bulgarian employers are allowed to hire foreign workers at present but the procedure is very tardy and complicated, Kalfin reminded. Bulgaria will rely on foreign labour under bilateral agreements for the upcoming large-scale infrastructure and energy projects, Kalfin added.

 

Bread wheat price at 500 BGN/t in Rousse

 

The ask price of bread wheat has been hovering around the 500 leva/tonne mark for nearly a month on the Rousse Commodity Exchange (RCE). The maximum bid prices stand at BGN 480/tonne. Bread wheat prices are within the same range on international markets as well. The prices range between BGN 480 and 490/tonne on the stock exchange in Budapest and at BGN 500-510/tonne in Chicago, RCE executive director, Ivan Ivanov, said.

 

Bulgaria 2007 advertising market tops �240 M

The Bulgarian advertising market rose 28% year-on-year to 243 mln euro in 2007, said Krasimir Gergov, chairman of the Association of Advertising Agencies (AAA). TV commercials accounted for the biggest chunk of ad spending with 1323 mln euro in 2007, up 35% year-on-year. 2007 online ad spending topped 7 mln euro, posting the biggest year-on-year increase at 89%. Advertisers set aside 36 mln euro for outdoor promotional campaigns in 2007, a healthy increase of 63% over 2006. Spending on advertisements in the press media added 8% to 19 mln euro. A survey conducted by News Corp.-owned broadcaster bTV found that TV channels have lost around 140,000 viewers in the past two years with the share of Bulgarians that watch TV every day dropping from 72% in 2005 to 70% last year. However, the bTV survey found that those that have not sworn off television tune in for longer periods of time. The average time viewers spend in front of the TV rose from 277 min in 2004 to 310 min last year. The number of Bulgarian households with more than one TV set is also on the rise, up from 25% in 2004 to 44% in 2007. Cable penetration has increased from 54% of Bulgarian households in 2004 to 61% in 2007. Digital broadcasting is slowly gaining popularity. The subscribers of digital TV providers Bulsatcom and ITV increased from 3.5% of Bulgarian households in March 2007 to 4.5% in October 2007. bTV remains the media outlet most favored by advertisers with 36.9% of the market. It is followed by Nova TV, owned by Greece's Antenna Group, with 17.8% and state-owned channel BNT with 14%. The share of ad spending going the way of channels that appear on the data sheet under 'others' is up to 23%. Non-native channels attracted 17% of ad spending in 2007.

Bulgarian business wants agency for migration

The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) insists on the establishment of Agency for Migration."At this moment nobody monitors the migration process. Every year, the Bulgarians who leave this country and the foreigners who enter it, change," Bozhidar Danev, head of the BIA, said for the Standart.The Bulgarians abroad could turn into a potential for the solution of the problem with labour shortage," reads BIA analysis entitled: Bulgarians Abroad and State Policy. The document was drafted by a working group, consisting of experts from the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Policy and Labour, Ministry of Justice, Interior Ministry and non-governmental organizations, headed by Vice PM and Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin. The document has been submitted to the government and the public debate on it is to follow.

Agriculture remains riskiest sector for fourth consecutive year

A total of 240 Bulgarian companies filed for bankruptcy last year, a 31 per cent mark-up on the previous year, according to the annual report of French credit management specialist Coface, presented in Sofia on February 27.The agriculture and forestry sector topped the ranking, accounting for 22.5 per cent of declared insolvencies, followed retail trade with 15.83 per cent and the construction industry with 6.25 per cent.Constructions are already among the top three most hazardous industries in Bulgaria, but it is expected to become even more so this year, Coface said. The number of bankruptcies  in the sector will rise by 50 per cent in 2008, primarily due to ongoing massive unsound investment in holiday properties along the Black Sea coast and in the mountains, Kamelia Popova, managing director of Coface Bulgaria, said.The sector is also the riskiest in Central and East Europe and that the number of Bulgarian bankruptcies is likely to reach regional levels soon.The transport and warehousing sector, finance, insurance and consultancy also registered a considerable number of insolvencies. The service sector as well as wholesale trade and food and beverage production are also cited as vulnerable activities.Chemicals, non-ferrous metals and the pharmaceutical industry were deemed the lowest risk industries because they are export-oriented.  They have also been the target of large investment aimed at modernisation. Companies in these segments were also more likely to have forged long-term trust-based relationships with their partners.Given that the level of inter-company debt currently exceeds 50 billion leva, Bulgaria actually has a relatively low percentage of registered bankruptcies. Popova believes that this could be attributed to the significant difference between the total number of operating companies and the total number of  registered ones (240 000 versus 1.2 million) as well as the long and cumbersome legal procedure for declaring insolvency.In terms of regional risk, Sofia was the city with the largest share of bankruptcies (19 per cent), followed by Plovdiv (nine per cent) and then Pleven (eight per cent).The top three largest companies, in terms of turnover, to declare insolvency in 2007 were Zlatni Pyassutsi-Travel Ltd tour operator, Mlechen rai-99 Ltd ice-cream producer and Thermosystems Complect Jsc, a machine manufacturing company.Coface has been preparing reports on bankruptcies of Bulgarian companies since 2004.

Average Bulgarian spends 36 levs on pharmacy shopping monthly

Bulgarians spend 36 levs on pharmaceuticals, food supplements and cosmetics monthly, shows a Scala survey of the habits of shoppers at local pharmacies. The survey, conducted in late January 2008 among 15,000 Bulgarians, found that one in ten consumers runs up a monthly bill of 100 levs in medicines, supplements and cosmetic products. Close to 60% of Bulgarian consumers shop at a pharmacy at least one a month. on 84% of the shopping trips, the drug purchases are made without a doctor's prescription even if the customer requests to buy a prescription medicine. The majority of polled consumers named three factors that influence their choice of pharmacy. Professional customer service tops the list with 80.7% of respondents. It is followed by low prices and discounts with 72.3% and product variety with 69.3%. only 8.5% of respondents said the type of ownership of the pharmacy influenced their choice. The average monthly turnover of a typical pharmacy is over 20,000 levs in drugs and as much as other products. The survey found an increasing popularity among residents in metropolitan areas of pharmacies with a round-the-clock working hours or very late closing hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENTS:

 

Asia's top oil refiner Sinopec invests in Bulgaria Plama Refinery

Sinopec Corp, Asia's top oil refiner, will invest to modernise Bulgaria's bankrupt oil refinery Plama which is expected to restart production in the next several months, the plant's new owner was quoted by news agency as saying on Tuesday. Bulgarian-based Highway Logistic Center bought the Balkan country's second-biggest refinery last year and said it would restart the outdated plant in 2008 to initially process about 600,000 tons (12,000 barrels per day) of crude oil a year. The communist-era Plama has been idle since 1999. 'Sinopec are our main business partners. They will invest to upgrade and expand the production capacity to 2 mln tons (40,000 bpd) of crude per year,' Highway Logistic Center representative Ivailo Ivanov told Reuters. He declined to say whether Sinopec , or China Petroleum&Chemical Corp would acquire a stake in Plama in return. Ivanov also refused to say how much Sinopec will invest in the refinery in northern Bulgaria. He added that a Sinopec delegation will visit the country next week. Plama's new owners have said they will invest between 20 and 30 mln euro to restart the refinery and then invest another 80 mln to 120 mln euro to add a reforming and a cracking unit. Highway Logistic Center says it has secured crude oil supplies from Russia. It is part of a holding company, which has stakes in Russian oilfields and business partners in Britain and China, Ivanov says. The company acquired the debt-ridden Plama for $33.8 mln at an auction last year.

Car part makers mull investments in Bulgaria

Five or six large companies that are subcontractors to automobile giants are considering investments in Bulgaria and the region, the executive director of InvestBulgaria Agency, Stoyan Stalev, said. In his words, the projects amount to some EUR 30 million.
France's Montupet already has a plant for car parts in Bulgaria. A Germany company is expected to start production in early March. The agency is currently reviewing some 30 greenfield investment projects. Foreign investments in 2007 may exceed EUR 6 billion. We hope the positive trend will be preserved in 2008, Stalev said. However, the ratio between investments in real estate and production is unlikely to change this year. The property business accounts for more than 60% of all attracted investments.

French Saint-Gobain to build �5 M plant in Bulgaria by end-2008

 

Saint-Gobain Weber, the Bulgarian arm of French glass and building materials producer Saint-Gobain, on Thursday said it will build a 5.0 million euro ($7.5 million) plant for dry building mixtures in Bulgaria by the end of 2008. In 2009, Saint-Gobain Weber will invest another 1.5 million euro to include plasterboard in the plant's product portfolio, the company said in a statement. The factory will be located near the capital Sofia and is expected to produce up to 100,000 tonnes of dry building mixtures yearly. In October 2007, the Saint-Gobain concern said it will build a 51 million euro plasterboard plant near the town of Stara Zagora, in south Bulgaria, by the spring of 2010. The plant will have an installed capacity of 25 million tones of plasterboard yearly. Last year, the French concern opened a 100 million euro flat glass factory in Bulgaria's northern neighbour Romania. Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union in January 2007. Saint-Gobain's Bulgarian subsidiary, Saint-Gobain Weber, was set up in 2004. It distributes the concern's products in Bulgaria. Saint-Gobain ( www.saint-gobain.com ), set up in 1665, has operations in 54 countries worldwide and is listed on the stock markets in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Zurich, Brussels and Amsterdam. The concern reported consolidated sales of 32.6 billion euro for the first nine months of 2007, compared to 30.9 billion euro for the same period the previous year.

Bulgarian gas distributor Citygas to invest �91 M by 2011 in network expansion

 

Gas distributor Citygas Bulgaria, part of Italy's Gruppo Societa Gas Rimini, plans to invest 178 million levs ($137 million/91 million euro) by 2011 in network expansion, a company executive said on Wednesday."According to our business plan to 2011, we will invest 178 million levs to expand our network by 1,000 kilometres", Citygas Bulgaria board member Alexander Kozhuharov told SeeNews on the sidelines of the Energy Streams conference. Citygas Bulgaria currently runs a gas pipeline network of over 150 kilometres. The company plans to turn to profit in 2008, Kozhuharov added but declined to elaborate. Citygas Bulgaria plans to attract some 500 corporate and utility clients and up to 10,000 households by 2011, he said, but provided no comparative figures.

Germans to built waste water threatment plant on Maritza river

The German company ‘Shulc' will built a waste water treatment plant in Bulgaria on the Maritsa river (Southern -Western Bulgaria). The investment will cost round 5 million BGN (2.5 million EUR) as to provide the resources, the regional municipality Belovo will apply for the European funds. When ready, the treatment plant will serve the neighbor villages form the region. 

Bulgarian Albena resort to invest �20,4 M in hotels in 2008

Bulgarian blue-chip resort operator Albena plans to invest some 40 million levs ($30.3 million/20.4 million euro) in its hotels this year, the company's executive director said on Friday. The money will be spent on the completion of Albena's Flamingo hotel and the upgrade of several other hotels on the Black Sea coast, Krasimir Stanev, told SeeNews. Albena will invest 25 million levs on upgrades and building a hotel featuring spa services in 2009, Stanev said. The new hotel should be completed in 2010, he added. Stanev said the company would aim to attract more Russian tourists as clients, hoping for a 10% increase in their number in 2008 following the warming up of ties between the two countries in the past months.During a visit to Sofia by Russian President Vladimir Putin in January the two countries signed an agreement to set up a 50/50 joint company that would build and manage the Bulgarian section of the multi-billion euro South Stream pipeline designed to carry Russian natural gas to western Europe via Bulgaria. Albena, on the northern Black Sea coast, is one of the major seaside resorts in Bulgaria alongside Zlatni Pyasatsi (Golden sands) and Slanchev Bryag (Sunny Beach). Its shares, part of the SOFIX index of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, closed 0.3% lower at 95 levs as only 10 stocks changed hands.

 

 

EVN invests BGN 85M in two years

Austria's EVN has invested more than EUR 85 million over the last two years in the upgrade of the low and medium voltage electricity transmission network on the territory of its electricity distribution companies in Southeastern Bulgaria. The total volume of the investments and maintenance costs of the company in Bulgaria amounted to BGN 140 million in 2007. The company plans to invest further BGN 140 million in 2008.
EVN plans to invest BGN 400 million in Bulgaria over the next three years.

 

COMPANIES:

 

30 foreign companies willing to start production in Bulgaria

Direct Foreign Investments in Bulgaria for 2007 are on the amount of 5,7 billion EUR. It is expected that the sum will exceed 6 billion EUR when after April this year will be announced the final data for the investments in Bulgarian economy in 2007.This was informed by the executive director of Bulgarian Investment Agency Stoian Stalev.In the passed two years Bulgaria has attracted foreign investments which outstripped the entered funds for the period 1990-2005.Most of the investments are ‘on green', as 60% were entered in construction works and real estates.According to Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) statistics UK has classified first in investment capacity in Bulgaria.

German Uhde wins �100 M desulphurisation contracts with Bulgaria's Lukoil refinery

 

German engineering and construction company Uhde said on Thursday it has won two contracts worth a total of 100 million euro ($150.9 million) for the construction of desulphurisation units at Bulgaria's sole operating oil refinery, Lukoil Neftochim, majority owned by Russia's Lukoil. Uhde, part of ThyssenKrupp Group, will engineer and supply clean-fuels plants for diesel and gasoline desulphurisation for the refinery in the city of Burgas on the Black Sea shore, it said in a statement. The refining plants for the production of low-sulphur fuels have respective annual capacities of 1.6 million tonnes of diesel and 1.1 million tonnes of gasoline, and are scheduled to come on-stream in 2009, the statement added. Innovative refining plants for the production of lower-emission fuels make an important contribution to environmental relief," Helmut Knauthe, Uhde executive board member responsible for the refining technologies division, said in the same statement. Uhde is focused on the engineering and construction of chemical and other industrial plants in the fields of fertilisers, electrolysis, gas technologies, oil, coal and residue gasification, refining technologies, organic intermediates, polymers and synthetic fibres, and also coke plant and high-pressure technologies. The Russian oil major bought the Bulgarian refinery in1999. In 2005 it said it would invest $750 million to boost Neftochim's processing capacity to 7.5 million tonnes of crude by 2011. Lukoil Neftochim is the sole oil refinery producing fuels in Bugaria and covers about 80% of domestic demand for motor fuels.

 

Irish bank buys 6 million shares of BACB

On February 21, 2008 the Bulgarian-American Credit Bank (BACB) received notification from the Bulgarian-American Investment Fund that it had signed a contract for the sale of 6 311 100 shares of BACB with the Allied Irish banks PLS, Ireland, informed the press center of Bulgarian stock exchange.The price of one share is 33.5 EUR.The total value of the deal is 216,196,551.85 EUR and amounts for 49.99 % of the BACB capital. Thus the BAIF ownership will be reduced to 3.89%.The deal is expected to be finished after all permissions and approvals from the competent institutions in Bulgaria and Ireland are obtained.

Marfin Popular Bank wants to operate in Bulgaria

The second biggest bank in Cyprus, Marfin Popular Bank has applied for a license to conduct bank activities in Bulgaria. This announced Forbes sources. So far the bank has requested to open one branch in Bulgaria but the business plans are to open altogether 18 branches in the next 18 months.Representatives from the bank have claimed that the bank is not seeking unification with other bank institutions in the region because this hides a lot of risks. However, Marfin Popular Bank will seek options for development in Albania and Bulgaria.

Bulgargas to build power facility in Macedonia

Bulgaria's Bulgargas Holding will participate in the construction of a 200-megawatt co-generation facility at a heating utility of Macedonia's state-owned LM. Most probably our interest will be about 20%, Bulgargas's CEO, Lyubomir Denchev, said.The procedure for selection of partners has to begin within a few months. The contract will be signed by the middle of 2008. France's Dalkia is also expected to take part in the project. Bulgargas's participation in the project will help it diversify its investments, Denchev pointed out.

Bulgarian drug maker Unipharm to list on Sofia Bourse

 

Bulgarian producer of acetate and bicarbonate solutions for hemodialysis Unipharm plans to list on the Sofia bourse in early April at the latest, Bulgarian business daily Dnevnik reported on Monday. I expect that the shares of Unipharm will be on the market at the end of March and the beginning of April," Dnevnik quoted the CEO of Bulgarian drug maker Sopharma, Ognian Donev, as saying. Unipharm is 90.85%-owned by Unipharm 2000, which in turn is owned by a group of individuals affiliated with Sopharma. The rest of Unipharm is held by its employees. Unipharm's prospectus has been filed for approval by the financial regulator, Donev said. Earlier this year Sopharma floated on the Sofia bourse its distribution arm Sopharma Trading.

Another Indian buyer for Kremikovtsi

Indian Essar Steel Holdings Ltd eyes Bulgaria's largest steel works - Kremikovtsi. The company that failed to enter the tender for Navigation Maritime Bulgare is now considering options to become a strategic partner in the steel works, brokers from London told the Standart. The sources point out that these Indians are ready to get really interested in the complex only after the property issues are cleared and the bond holders are satisfied; presently the current Kremikovtsi owner, Pramod Mittal owes them 325 million euro. The other parties interested in Kremikovsi are Ukrainians Kostyantin Zhevago and Rinat Akhmetov, a Russian company possibly related to Oleg Deripaska, a European company and the US Steel. "We will not allow production and draining of Kremikovtsi at the expense of the state," said Bulgaria's Minister of Economy and Energy Petar Dimitrov.Minister Dimitrov explained that was the reason the state had decided to let the steel works function at "artificial respiration" by supplying it only with the minimum amounts of electricity and gas from the state-owned National Electric Company and Bulgargaz. "Bulgaria cannot be such a creditor. I cannot think of creditors who loan money without receiving any guarantee they will have it back some day," Minister Dimitrov commented further. Petar Dimitrov said he was doing his best "to keep the works alive but we cannot stimulate its operation for free."

Agriculture Expo 'Agra 2008' achieves record in visitors

33, 897 people have visited AGRA 2008 - a record in the 17 -year history of the International Agricultural Exposition. The visitors' raise is 13, 5% compared to last year when guests were 29, 853. The most of the foreign attendants were from Greece, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia and Romania. That's how AGRA has already turned into the most successful agriculture exposition on the Balkans.Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Sofia are the cities with biggest share of Bulgarian visitors.6% raise marks the share of company owners and governmental representatives, who came to see the last renewals in the branch.The biggest interest was shown towards plant growing, agriculture technique and stock and other.Most sold were the consultation services, combines and tractors.

 

International finance exhibition “Banks Investments Money” is carrying out in Plovdiv

 

International finance exhibition “ Banks Investments Money” is carrying in the town of Plovdiv, Central Bulgaria, organizers informed. The exhibition will be attended by Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev , Bulgarian Finance Minster Plamen Oresharski, Belgian ambassador Philippe Beke and others.

 

Deutsche Bank to list Bulgarian companies on European bourses

The listing of Bulgarian corporations on the European exchanges, primarily the LSE and the Warsaw bourse, will be among the top priorities for the local division of Deutsche Bank, said Borislav Ivanov, the bank director for Bulgaria. Deutsche Bank Bulgaria will also look to become a key player in the field of public-private partnerships and on the mergers and acquisitions market. The 12 major clients that Deutsche Bank has here have hired to bank to either take them public or create opportunities for domestic growth through acquisitions or mergers, said Ivanov. He did not specify names nor the industries in which the bank's clients are active but added that the first listing should happen by the end of 2008, most likely on the LSE. Infrastructure projects also remain a key priority for the bank with planned advisory or financing participation in the construction of the Rila and Cherno more motorways. In respect to the Belene nuclear power station project, Ivanov said Deutsche Bank Bulgaria is currently not interested but may review its position at a later stage. In his view, a syndicated loan is no longer a suitable option for the financing of the power station. Deutsche Bank Bulgaria set up a local representation office 18 months ago. There are plans to open a fully-fledged bank office as well. The bank will continue to provide clearing services and support financially Bulgarian banks through syndicated loans and structured products. Deutsche Bank Bulgaria posted revenues of 10 mln euro in 2007 and is aiming for 15 mln euro in revenues this year.

Deutsche Bank eyes four Bulgarian motorways

Оne of Deutsche Bank's major objectives for 2008 is to provide funding for the construction of the Struma, Hemus, Cherno More and Rila motorways, Borislav Ivanov, director of Deutsche Bank Bulgaria, said. Deutsche Bank implemented several large-scale projects in Bulgaria in 2007 with a combined value of over EUR 1.5 billion. Deutsche Bank Bulgaria booked EUR 10 million profit for 2007.

Ikea edges closer to opening first Bulgarian outlet

Greek group Fourlis has signed the preliminary contract to buy a plot in Sofia for 12.1 million euro, where it plans to develop the first Ikea hypermarket in the country, investor.bg reported on February 28.Negotiations for the sale started in November last year, Fourlis officials were quoted as saying, but they declined to give details about its size and location.The company holds the rights to develop the Swedish furniture chain in Greece and plans to start construction of the Sofia hypermarket later this year. Completion is scheduled for 2009.Prices in the Bulgarian outlet will be lower than those of its Greek counterpart, because Fourlis’ policy was based on the gross domestic product per capita figures of the country it was entering, company representatives noted. Fourlis intends to open three IKEA outlets in Bulgaria by 2011, two of which will be outside Sofia. It now has two hypermarkets in Greece - one in Athens and one in Thessaloniki. A third store will open in Athens at the end of March and there are plans for building four more units by 2011, one of them again in the Greek capital. The company will also open an outlet in Cyprus.Fourlis, which also operates the Intersport chain in Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria, intends to increase the total number of its outlets across the four countries to as many as 60 by 2010, Ot now has 35, but only one in Bulgaria, in the Mall of Sofia.Fourlis' revenue for the 2006/2007 fiscal year exceeded 670 million euro, compared with 482 million euro a year earlier, while pre-tax profit rose to 65.2 million euro from 48 million euro .IKEA was set up in Sweden in 1943. It now has 260 shops in 34 countries, posting a turnover of 20.7 billion euro in 2007. The registered footfall, which is the number of visitors, for last year was more than 583 million, 60 per cent of them women.

E.ON cuts power to coastal wind farms

E.ON Bulgaria, which owns majority stakes in Bulgaria's regional power distribution companies based in Varna and Gorna Oryahovitsa, has discontinued electricity supplies to some 20 wind parks, said the Association of the Producers of Ecological Energy (APEE) in a media statement. The power distributor said power was cut after the respective companies failed to transfer ownership over the power cables that connect the wind generators with the E.ON grid. According to the APEE, the allowed timeframe was 15 days and the action of the German-owned company were unlawful. The move constitutes abuse of market monopoly and the APEE has duly notified the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission and the prosecution authorities and has requested the intervention of the energy ministry, said association chairman Velizar Kiryakov. According to him, the wind power producers are yet to receive adequate information on the terms and conditions for the ownership transfer. Six of the 25 producers of wind energy are honoring their contractual obligations, said E.ON Bulgaria. The wind generators operated by Energy Invest near the village of Vidno, by Nik-Building-Prim near the village of Mogilishte, by Degrets-Tsvetana Ilieva near the village of Rakovski and by Citi D in Omurtag are all working. According to E.ON Bulgaria, it is misleading to claim that power was cut across-the-board. Data of national power grid operator NEK indicates there is a 1,000MW pipeline of wind power projects. The biggest number of projects is concentrated in the areas of Varna and Gorna Oriahovitsa. The owners of wind power facilities with a total capacity of 765MW have requested to be plugged into the national grid over the next two years.

 

 

 

 

 

ANALYSIS:

 

 

 

Bulgaria's wasting time may put it out of the game

Author: Deutsche Welle, Walter Lewalter, Germany's former ambassador to Bulgaria
 

 

The German Government did not recognize the independence of Kosovo on the first day, either, but went through the routine i.e. waited for a sitting of Cabinet and then the Cabinet started the procedure for recognition of the new country.We believe this a normal process of decision-making. The time is selected which is most suitable from the point of view of a certain country. Every country defends its interests. As a  neighbor and a country in the same region, Bulgaria is directly interested in a peaceful long-term development of the situation in Kosovo. For this reason all countries in the European Union understand that Sofia very carefully considers this step. I understand Bulgaria's intention to actively observe how exactly the EU will carry out its responsibilities in Kosovo. on the other hand too long hesitation on the recognition of the independence could prove risky for Bulgaria. Thus Bulgaria will miss the opportunity to actively participate in a process concerning a neighboring country. The apprehension that such a decision could harm the relations with Serbia and Russia is justified but this is a risk that must be taken.This, certainly, is another point of view which influences the political assessment of Sofia, but this decision is adequate to the foreign policy experience as a whole.The significance of a country grows along with its participation in the processes.The countries which choose the variant of non-participation will remain "out of the game". The present situation in Kosovo is neither optimal nor desired by the EU, but the membering states will have to adapt to the new political variants of action. The EU can't afford to remain indifferent to the development of a country in Europe's heart, neither could it allow uncontrolled processes to take place there.This is why, despite the fear of new era of separatism on the continent, Brussels should take active actions for Kosovo's future.This is not a precedent in international law, as there is not other similar case in the European history when such a considerable majority from a given region demands a broad political autonomy.
 

 

Kosovo, Policy and Gas

Author: Focus Information Agency

First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Dimitry Medvedev paid one-day official visit to Belgrade, Serbia on Monday. Medvedev assured Serbians that they are fully supported by Russia after Kosovo’s declaration of independence. on the sidelines of the visit an agreement was signed for construction of 400km long segment from the gas pipeline South Stream to transport natural gas across the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Last month Russia and Bulgaria has also signed a agreement on South Stream gas pipeline during the visit of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to Bulgaria. Next country mentioned along with South Stream was Hungary. Did Russia combine Serbia’s support over Kosovo with energy agreements? Even if that is so Belgrade has more important issues connected with the situation after Kosovo’s secession. All the more that Medvedev confirmed Moscow’s position also in Belgrade.

Russia, Serbia sign agreement for the construction of South Stream pipe

Alexei Miller, Chairman of the Management Board of OAO Gazprom and Sasha Ilic, acting General Director of Serbiagaz (GP) have signed a Cooperation Agreement between OAO Gazprom and Serbiagaz to build a gas pipeline to transport natural gas across the territory of the Republic of Serbia, Gazprom informs in a press release.
The agreement was signed in Belgrade in the presence of Dmitry Medvedev, First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, and Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. Mr Miller today took part in meetings with Serbian President Boris Tadic and Mr Kostunica in Belgrade as part of Mr Medvedev’s visit to the Republic of Serbia.The agreement stipulates the establishment of a joint venture for the completion of a feasibility study, as well as the construction and use of a gas pipeline through Serbia with the capacity of at least 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year as part of the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline system.In order to prepare the company’s establishing documents, the parties will establish a management committee and joint working group that will function until the company’s establishment. Gazprom’s delegation has also visited the production facilities of Serbia’s largest oil refinery in Panchievo.

Russia to adhere to principle position for cohesive Serbia

Russia is to adhere to the principle position for cohesive Serbia, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitrii Medvedev said, cited by RIA Novosti. ‘Serbia is united country, and its jurisdiction affects all its territories. We will adhere to this position in the future’, Medvedev said during his meeting with the Serbian PM Vojislav Kostunica.

Camps harden on Kosovo a week after independence move

A week after Kosovo proclaimed independence, the move continues to feed Serbian anger and chill relations between independence naysayers Belgrade and Moscow and a pro-autonomy West, AFP reports. Along with the United States, 23 of the 27 European Union members have so far backed Kosovo's independence, either formally recognising it or declaring their intention to do so. only Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Spain have explicitly refused to do either. The recognition of the breakaway Serbian province has hardened Moscow's stance, with the foreign ministry accusing Washington Sunday of seeking to humiliate Serbia over Kosovo, ahead of a Monday visit to Belgrade by Russian Deputy Prime Minister and presidential hopeful Dmitry Medvedev. The Russian statement followed a comment by US Assistant Secretary of State Nicholas Burns that Moscow was only aggravating tensions over the Kosovo issue.

Serbia blames U.S. for crisis in Balkans

 

Serbia went back on the offensive over Kosovo's independence on Sunday by blaming the United States for a crisis in the Balkans while its ally Russia accused the Americans of destroying "world order".Three days after rioters in Belgrade attacked Western embassies and looted shops, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said it was Washington that was threatening peace and stability, Reuters reported."The United States must annul the decision to recognize a false state on the territory of Serbia," Kostunica said. "It must reaffirm U.N. Security Council resolution 1244, which guarantees Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity."Continuation of the policy of force will deepen the crisis that undermines the foundations of world order and threatens peace and stability in the Balkans."Serbia has expressed official regret for riots last Thursday during which the U.S. embassy was attacked and set on fire. Kosovo declared independence last Sunday.
Slobodan Samardzic, Serbia's Minister for Kosovo, blamed the United States for the riots.
On Sunday, the United Nations mission in Kosovo said it had turned down a request from Samarzdic to visit Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, citing "public security concerns".
Kostunica is due to host Russian President Vladimir Putin's likely successor, Dmitry Medvedev, on Monday after the Russian foreign ministry again demanded a "compromise" on Kosovo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Government reports progress on infrastructure projects

Author: BTA

Construction work at Danube Bridge 2 between Vidin and Bulgaria and Calafat in Romania is expected to commence in April this year and be completed in 2010. This emerged at a news conference given by Transport Minister Peter Moutafchiev February 25 after a meeting of the Council for Coordination, Control and Implementation of Infrastructure Projects of National Importance, BTA reports. The bridge will be built by FCC Construction (Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA) of Spain. A consortium between Ingerop of France and High-Point Rendel of the UK who will carry out building supervision, project management and engineering services on the project.The construction contract for the bridge amounts to 236 million euro. In addition, infrastructure connecting the bridge to the existing road and rail networks will be required to be completed by 2010. The separate contract for this is 60 million euro.
Moutafchiev said further that the construction of the Lyulin Motorway will be stepped up and the first 12-km stretch from Sofia to Malo Buchino may be ready by the end of this year. The motorway will be part of trans-European corridors IV and VIII and will improve traffic from Sofia towards Greece and Macedonia. MAPA-Cengiz of Turkey has been contracted to build the motorway at the price of 148 million euro on 75 per cent ISPA funding and 25 per cent national co-financing. Construction began in January 2007.
On another project, construction of a stretch of Hemus Motorway beginning at the Northern arc of the Sofia ring-road is due to start in March. As for Trakia Motorway, major banks are interested in the project and funding may become available to build the Stara Zagora - Karnobat section by the middle or the end of 2009. This will link the existing parts of the motorway all the way from Sofia to Bourgas on the Black Sea. A Bulgarian-Portuguese consortium bought a concession to build and operate Trakia Motorway in a deal that drew strong criticism both in Bulgaria and in Brussels. Late March 2008 will also see the completion of a 500 million euro upgrade of Unit 5 and 6 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, said Peter Dimitrov. Work is also underway - even though behind schedule - on introducing desulphurization technologies at the Maritsa East 1 and 2 thermo-electric power plants. Progress has been made in the project for a 400-kV power line between Bulgaria and Macedonia, said the Economy and Energy Minister. Environment Minister Djevdet Chakurov, who was also at the news conference, said that Bulgaria will utilize all funding available under ISPA for the water and waste sectors. He added that his ministry will provide all support the Sofia local authorities may need for its project to build a waste treatment plant.