불가리아 주요 경제뉴스 ( 12 - 19 SEPTEMBER 2008 )

BULGARIAN ECONOMIC TOP NEWS DIGEST

WEEKLY REPORT ( 12 - 19 SEPTEMBER 2008 )

 

 

 

Sections/headline briefs:

 

 

MACROECONOMY:

 

·        Bulgarian economy grows by 7.1% in January-July

·        Inflation reached 13,8%

·        Prime ministers of Russia and Bulgaria discuss energy projects

·        Deputy Economy Minister Yaneva back from official visit to China

·        Bulgarian, Italian, Greek business organizations to interact

·        Bulgarian windfarms to produce 500 MW electricity by the end of 2010

·        Bulgaria takes 68th place on economic freedom

·        Bulgaria is 18th on speed and quality of internet services

·        Bulgarian hotel enters world's top 100

·        Bulgaria ranks third in EU in terms of labor cost growth in Q2

·        Bulgaria to subsidise vineyard insurance by �11 M

·        Bulgaria moots cutting taxes on pharmaceuticals

·        PM: Bulgaria is stable amidst global financial crisis

·        FM: Crisis on world financial markets has limited effect in Bulgaria

·        Wholesale food prices: statistics, trends

·        Farmers call for BGN 378 M plus 2009 EU subsidies

·        Portuguese agriculture minister visits Bulgaria

·        Tobacco production increases in 2008

·        National Construction Control Directorate authorizes usage of ferry complex in Nikopol

·        The sex industry in Bulgaria generates �1 billion income

·        New tenders for cancelled road projects

·        Railroad carrier BDZ to receive � 613.6 M state aid until 2013

·        EU subsidizes Bulgaria's business with BGN 185 M

·        Bulgarian fruit production comes out the crisis

 

 

 

INVESTMENTS:

 

·        Green energy investments to top �500 М

·        PM says: Bulgarian FDI in past three years was �15 B

·        Greek Titan Group may pour �200 M into Lovech plant

·        Greek firm to build logistic park in Sofia

·        French Montuper to build plant in Rousse

·        Agria Group Holding to invest � 25 M

·        Bulgaria to invest in small airports

·        Willbrook to put �40 M in Bulgaria’s 1st green project

·        Lomsko Pivo to invest BGN 3.5 million

·        Denmark's Brunata Bulgarian unit plans to build �2 M  plant for heating substations

·        German electrical equipment manufacturer Eichhoff opens �2.4 M plant in Bulgaria

·        US financial crisis may attract non-transparent investors in Bulgaria

·        US army awards $61 M project for construction at Novo Selo training area

·        Portugal's Martifer Renewables to develop wind parks in Bulgaria

·        Volvo opens new BGN 2.8M  maintenance centre in Bourgas

 

 

 

COMPANIES:

 

·        Globul rolls out Samsung’s iPhone rival

·       Deutsche Bank acquires nearly 30% of Postbank

·        Bulgaria 13 companies included in Deloitte CE Top 500 ranking

·        Visitors of EXPO 2008 interested in Bulgaria

·        Every third firm in Bulgaria involved in grey economy

·        Over 130 companies to participate in BalPex

·        Bulgaria creates new energy giant

 

 

 

ANALYSIS:

 

·        Bulgaria pays through the nose for high profits

• Bulgarians not concerned about Russia’s role as an energy provider, survey shows

 

 

 

 

Articles:

 

 

MACROECONOMY:

 

Bulgarian economy grows by 7.1% in January-July

Bulgaria's economy grew by 7.1 per cent year-on-year in the first six months of 2008, in real terms, to 29.43 billion leva or 15.05 billion euro, provisional data from the National Statiscal Institute showed on September 15.The gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of the year also grew by 7.1 per cent to 15.94 billion leva. Per capita GDP in the second quarter was 2082 leva or 1064 euro, while for the first half of the year the per capita figure was 3842 leva or 1964 euro.The industrial sector rose by 7.4 per cent over the first six months of the year, compared to the same period of 2007, but as a share of the economy, it continued losing weight and accounted for 32 per cent of the final GDP figure, a decrease of two percentage points over January-July.Services accounted for 61.7 per cent of GDP, up from 60.4 per cent in the first half of 2007. The sector grew by seven per cent in the first six months of 2008.Agruculture, which recovered this year from last year's poor harvest, caused by flooding and drought, posted an increase to 6.3 per cent of final GDP, compared to 5.6 per cent in the first six months of last year. The sector grew by 6.5 per cent.The growth in total consumption in the first half slowed down to 4.7 per cent, compared to 5.5 per cent in the same period of last year. Household consumption growth decreased from 6.2 per cent to 5.5 per cent.Bulgaria's trade gap in January-July period rose 35.7 per cent year-on-year to eight billion leva, the equivalent of 27.2 per cent of GDP.The Cabinet targets 6.4 per cent economic growth for 2008, the same target it set last year, when end-year GDP growth was 6.2 per cent. First-quarter economic growth last year was 5.5 per cent, followed by increases of 6.5, 5.9 and 6.9 per cent, respectively, in the other quarters of 2007.

Inflation reached 13,8%

Inflation in Bulgaria for the period January-August 2008 compared to the same period last year is 13,8%. This is information from the National statistics institute (NSI). The average relative increase of consumer prices from the beginning of the year is 6,3% while for August 2008 compared to August 2007 it is 11,2%.In August compared to July the prices of food products and beverages have decreased by 0,4% according to the statistics. Alcohol and tobacco products have increased by 0,6%, clothing and shoes have decreased in price by 1,3%.There is an increase of 2% in housing (rent, current repairs and maintenance), water, electric energy, gas and other fuels, health care has increased by 0,2%, there is a 1,7% decrease of the price of transport, prices in restaurants and hotels have increased by 1,4%.In August 2008 the poorest 20% of Bulgarian households had to pay 0,4% less for food products and 0,2% more for non-food products. The services of poor Bulgarians have increased in price by 2,1% within a month.

 

 

Prime ministers of Russia and Bulgaria discuss energy projects

Russia's Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin will discuss large-scale energy projects with his Bulgarian counterpart Sergey Stanishev. Both will meet in Sochi on Thursday. Putin invited Stanishev to his favourite residence - the Riviera in the Black Sea resort. They will discuss the energy projects Bourgas- Alexandroupolis, South Stream and  the construction of Belene NPP.   The two prime ministers will not be alone in Riviera. A deputy PM, a minister and a deputy minister will accompany Vladimir Putin. Stanishev will be in the company of Bulgaria's Ambassador to Moscow, Plamen Grozdanov, Deputy Minister of Economy and Energy, Yavor Kuyumdjiev and Foreign Ministry Russia expert Maya Draganova.  The two delegations will discuss the development and enhancement of the Bulgarian-Russian relations, as well as the organization of the Year of Russia in Bulgaria and the Year of Bulgaria in Russia.It is expected that Putin will treat his Bulgarian guests to a cup of tea. The Rusian PM and his Bulgarian counterpart will meet on the eve of the Seventh International Investment Forum, which starts on Friday in Sochi.Putin will open the conference which will be attended by 10,000 businessmen from 36 states. Representatives of 50 Bulgarian companies will join the forum.On Friday the Russians will explain the possibilities for investments in Sochi connected with the forthcoming Winter Olympic Games in 2014.

Deputy Economy Minister Yaneva back from official visit to China

Deputy Economy and Energy Minister Anna Yaneva returned Tuesday from an official visit to China after participating in the 12th edition of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen, China, her ministry said. At the fair Bulgaria was represented by an information stall of InvestBulgaria Agency.This year's edition of CIFIT, which featured more than 100 participating countries and a record number of foreign guests - 13,685 - was unveiled by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan.In her capacity as Co-Chair of the Bulgarian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation Yaneva conferred with the Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zhengwei; Su Zengtian, vice governor of the provincial government of Fujian, Zhejiang Province Vice Governor Jin Deshui and the Director General of the Zhejiang Provincial Economic & Trade Commission, as well as with representatives of business circles.The sides discussed opportunities for increasing Chinese investments in Bulgaria and balancing two-way trade.

Bulgarian, Italian, Greek business organizations to interact

Bulgarian, Italian and Greek business organizations will interact to improve the trade and 

economic relations between businesses in the three countries thanks to a cooperation agreement signed Tuesday between the chambers of commerce in Aitoloakarnania, Ionannina and Thesprotia in Greece, in Brindisi, Italy and the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), BIA said in a press release. The business organizations will help small and medium-sized enterprises in the three countries by providing information and services to start and develop trade. Support will be provided to traditional local producers, for ensuring competitive conditions for development, young entrepreneurship, promoting trans-border trade. A network is to be set up for international cooperation between agencies, people and organizations of the three countries to promote business.

Bulgarian windfarms to produce 500 MW electricity by the end of 2010

 

By the end of 2010 windfarms in Bulgaria will generate between 400 and 500 MW of electric power, the Chairman of the Association of Ecological Energy Producers Velizar Kiryakov said Monday. In his words, the association's long-term forecast indicates that in 2015 the electricity generated by this type of power plants will be around 1,000 MW and will reach 2,500-3,000 MW in 2020. Bulgaria currently has windfarm capacity to produce 105 MW. Kiryakov added that the electricity generated by using solar panels currently amounts to about 2 MW. The buyout price of this electric power is high because of the large investments of  between 4,500 and 5,000 euro per kW. In the case of windfarms the investment per kW stands at 1,500 euro.Some 20 million euro have been invested to date in complete renewable energy source projects, Kiryakov said. he explained that expectations are that next year some 500 million euro will be invested in windfarms and about 100 million euro in solar plants.The electric power from renewable sources is cheaper but because of the high transmission fee it practically remains unused by ordinary consumers. Kiryakov added that the current transmission fee per 1 MWh is 8.20 leva, plus another 5.10 leva per MWh for access to the grid. In his opinion, electric power from renewable energy sources should be free of transmission fee.

Bulgaria takes 68th place on economic freedom

Bulgaria takes the 68^th place in the world on economic freedom. This is according to data from the yearly report of the Canadian institute "Fraser" for 2008, distributed in Bulgaria by the Institute for market economy. The report puts Hong Kong in the first place, followed by Singapore and New Zealand. According to the survey Bulgaria climbs 6 places from last year's 74^th position. Just before our country are Armenia, Ghana and Albania. Yet again Zimbabwe is with the lowest level of economic freedom among 141 countries, included in the survey.The survey shows that people, living in countries with high levels of economic freedom, enjoy higher levels of prosperity, more individual freedom and higher life expectancy, the announcement writes.

Bulgaria is 18th on speed and quality of internet services

Bulgaria takes the 18th place on speed and quality of Internet services among 42 countries all over the world. The study is centered on countries in Europe, North America, the Organization for economic cooperation and development, Brazil, Russia and China. It has been carried out by a team of researchers and students of Said Business School in the Oxford University and the Oviedo University and has been sponsored by Cisco. The best quality Internet is being offered in Japan.From the European countries the best in this respect are Sweden and the Netherlands. Fourth is Latvia, the only Eastern European country with good position in this research. Russia takes the 17^th place followed by Bulgaria.8 million results from real tests, done by people all over the world, have been used in the research. Several different parameters are leading for the calculations of the quality of the high-speed connections for each country. It becomes clear that the major components that influence the connection are latency (delay), overload of the network and loss of packets.    

 

Bulgarian hotel enters world's top 100

A Bulgarian hotel ranks among the 100 best hotels in the world: Hotel RIU Helios in Sunny Beach resort received the TUI Holly 2008 prestigious award. The prize was handed to Luchezar Todorov, CEO of Terra Tour Service EOOD at a gorgeous ceremony in Berlin on the occasion of TUI tourist operator's 40th anniversary.The best hotels are chosen by the tourists via a special poll which this year included 15,000 vacation centers in the world. Over one million respondents voted for their favourite hotels all over the world.Helios hotel, situated a hundred meters away from the beach, is included in the poll for the first time. The prize is a proof of the managerial professionalism in RIU Helios Hotel, as well as in the tourist branch in Bulgaria as a whole.

Bulgaria ranks third in EU in terms of labor cost growth in Q2

Bulgaria ranks third in the EU in terms labor costs growth in the second quarter of 2008, Eurostat data show.The hourly labor costs in the country went up by 21.9% year on year in the second quarter of the year, the data show. The average wage in Bulgaria went up by 5.4% in the second quarter of 2008 to 510 leva monthly (261 euros), data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) show. The average monthly salary went up by 40 leva in the public sector and by 22 leva in the private sector, BSI data show. The highest annual rises were registered in Latvia (24.8%) and Romania (23.0%). The smallest annual increase in hourly labor costs was observed in Germany – 0.7%, Eurostat's data show. The Labour Cost Index is a short-term indicator showing the development of hourly labour costs incurred by employers as a result of engaging the labor work force, according to Eurostat. The quarterly changes in employers’ costs are measured for the total labor costs and the main components wages and salaries, and labor costs other than wages and salaries (non-wage costs), the statistical service said.

 

Bulgaria to subsidise vineyard insurance by �11 M

Bulgarian vine-growers will get as of 2009 subsidies covering up to 80 pct of the premiums of land insurance to learn to look after their produce, said the deputy head of the agriculture fund Angel Kinanov. The government will hand out 6.2 mln levs of aid next year and increase the volume to 10.6 mln levs within five years. The total amount planned is 112 mln euro. Vine-growers may insure land plots against hail, storm, fire, flood and frost. The state will also distribute 1.5 mln euro for advertising of Bulgarian wines in third countries. The figure will grow to 2.6 mln euro by 2013.

Bulgaria moots cutting taxes on pharmaceuticals

The Bulgarian government is mulling over lowering the taxes on some goods including pharmaceuticals, the head of InvestBulgaria Agency, the country's investment promotion authority, Stoyan Stalev said.Stalev added that the corporate tax and the flat tax rate on personal income will not be changed in the coming years.The Finance Ministry, however, has been strongly opposed to tax cuts, saying a lower value-added tax rate would tip the scales in favour of some sectors at the expense of others. Drug makers call for a tax rate of five to nine per cent. Value-added tax in Bulgaria is flat for all goods at 20 per cent.Earlier in the year, farmers and bakers pressed for lower tax rates and their demands were backed by Agriculture Minister Valeri Tsvetanov. Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski has so far rejected their demands.A differentiated value-added tax would stand in the way of tax collection, the head of asset management and brokerage firm Elana analysis team Tsvetoslav Tsachev said.It is all sectors that should be moving towards lower tax rates, Industry Watch think-tank macroeconomist Georgi Stoev said.

PM: Bulgaria is stable amidst global financial crisis

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev stated Wednesday that the country's economy remained stable amidst the continuing global financial crisis.In his words, Bulgaria's economic growth of 7% in the first six months of 2008 was unique in the context of the stagnation in the EU. "In the last few days we a collapse in the largest financial markets in the world - the USA, the EU, Russia. However, for the time being, Bulgaria is not being affected by this crisis in any significant way", the Prime Minister said.He added this confirmed the success of the government, which had managed to preserve the stability of the country's currency and financial system as well as people's savings and income. During the ceremony for the opening of the new academic year in the Southwestern University "Neofit Rilski" in the city of Blagoevgrad, Stanishev also emphasized that the foreign investments in the country were on a pretty decent level, and that many of them went into the manufacturing. There was only a drop in the real estate investments but the PM explained this with the real estate crisis in the USA and the EU.

FM: Crisis on world financial markets has limited effect in Bulgaria

 

The crisis on the world financial markets is affecting the Bulgarian financial market but not to such a big extent, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin told journalists on Tuesday. The Bulgarian financial market possesses enough incentives and engines, capacity and instruments, he added. Forty-five new issues have been released on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange since the beginning of the year. Such a great number of new issues is reported only on the stock exchanges in London and Warsaw, he added. The leading index on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, Sofix, dropped by 4.18 per cent down to 894.14 points at noon on Tuesday. The BG-40 index fell by 6.95 per cent down to 211.51 points. The Stock Exchange turnover was slightly over 5,200,000 leva. Asked whether the crisis of the American International Group (AIG), owner of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), will affect the Bulgarian Telecom, Kalfin replied that BTC is stable and will not go bankrupt.

Wholesale food prices: statistics, trends

The price of cooking oil continued to decrease in the past week reaching 2.87 leva/1 l. In August a litre of cooking oil cost more than 3 leva, the State Committee for Commodity Exchanges and Wholesale Markets said.The price of sugar, flour and eggs edged down, while rice, frozen poultry and sausages increased slightly. No big changes were observed in the prices of fruit and vegetables with the exception of red peppers which increased by about 10 per cent to 1.20 leva/kg and water melons, by about 15 per cent.The curve of the index of wholesale food prices as at mid-September repeats the trends observed in past years. The index increases in the first four months of the year peaking in April after which it dips, reaching the lowest levels in the last week of August. The stabilization and reduction of the prices of some of the goods in May-June 2008 is reflected in the 6 per cent reduction of the index. The curve of the index fluctuated more markedly in July and August. In July the index increased by 2 per cent, after which it edged down to reach its lowest level this year of 1.667 points in the last week of August, attributed to the decreasing prices of cooking oil, poultry, fruit and vegetables.As a rule, the index in previous years reached its lowest levels in July and August as a result of the tangible reduction of prices of seasonal goods, after which it edged up. In 2008 the minimum level of the index was reported in the last week of August. on account of the lasting increase of food prices in the second half of 2007 and the first six months of 2008, the index in this period grew constantly, with an overall increase of its values of 28 per cent. In the first weeks of September the index increased slightly and leveled off in the middle of the month at 1.707 points.

 

Farmers call for BGN 378 M plus 2009 EU subsidies

Bulgaria’s farm ministry pressed at the demand of grain producers for 378 mln levs of state aid aside of the EU subsidies for 2009. The finance ministry opposed the proposal saying milk producers will be backed by extra subsidies and the rural development programme, experts said. In the spring former farm minister Nihat Kabil and grain producers signed a memorandum for the subsidies.The grain producers threatened to take to the streets in protest unless the ministry keeps its promise, said the association’s chairman, Krasimir Avramov.In 2007 farmers were denied state aid on the ground that the first year of EU membership would burden heavily the budget. The ministry dug its heels in on subsidies last year as well and slated 147 mln levs only after the drought caused farmers to stage mass protests. Yet the subsidies will be handed out no sooner than October when the budget surplus should be calculated.

Portuguese agriculture minister visits Bulgaria

Portuguese Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries Jaime Silva arrives Monday on a two-day visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Valeri Tsvetanov, the press center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food announced.The two ministers will discuss the bilateral relations in the area of agriculture.

Tobacco production increases in 2008

The two main tendencies for 2008 in the tobacco sector are gradual return of the people in the tobacco production branch and increasing the land grown with tobacco, the executive director of Tobacco Fund Gursel Emin said. The tobacco from crop 2007 have been purchased and paid in due time. The highest price of BGN 7 is given for first class Basmi brand. Next year's crop will be the last one directly subsidized.

National Construction Control Directorate authorizes usage of ferry complex in Nikopol

The National Construction Control Directorate issued a permit for the usage of the Nikopol ferry complex, the Press Centre of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works said on Friday. The facility is likely to be set into operation in October.
The project on the construction of the complex was financed under the Phare-financed Romania & Bulgaria Cross-Border Cooperation . Its value is 6,200,000 euro.

 

The sex industry in Bulgaria generates �1 billion income

The turnover from the sex industry in Bulgaria is 1 billion Euro.This was announced by the ex Secretary of the police Tzvyatko Tzvetkov at a round table, BGNES reported. According to Tzvetkov the monthly income of a prostitute is 12-18 thousand Euro.It is necessary to ponder whether after the legalization of prostitution, sex traffic will increase and the sex-industry will expand. There are 300 clubs with prostitutes in Bulgaria  as 100 of them are in Sofia. Tzvetkov added that the prostitution business is third in Bulgaria after the drugs business and the stolen cars business.Therefore, a general decision for the entire EU must be taken, because when one country decides to solve its prostitution problem, sex traffic shifts to another country. In Bulgaria policemen protect prostitutes, trucks with cigarettes, drugs traffic and a solution must be devised for breaking police connections with crime.

New tenders for cancelled road projects

The National Road Infrastructure Agency (NRIA) will soon announce new tenders to choose companies to oversee the construction of the road from Kurdjali to Podkova and the connection of Hemus Highway with Sofia’s ring road, the director of projects co-ordination department of the Transport Ministry, Nelli Yordanova, said as quoted by Bulgarian-language daily Dnevnik. Both projects amount to 64 million euro.The two road projects were financed by Transport operational programme but the ministry froze the money when an inspection revealed that construction procedures had been violated. The Commission for Protection of Competition also concluded that the company, which constructed the section to Kurdjali, was not chosen in line with proper requirements. By the end of September, Transport Ministry is expected to sign an agreement with NRIA and the European Commission (EC) for conducting tenders for technical support also on the construction of Lyulin Highway near Sofia, which is part of trans European Transport Corridor IV of the trans-European transport network TEN-T. The EC cancelled the financing of Lyulin Highway’s construction and the money for technical support for road projects elaboration financed under the European Union pre-accession programme Ispa because procedures had been violated. The projects were evaluated at about 150 million euro. EC now wants Bulgaria to prove that it has effective supervision over the process and guarantee the absence of conflicts between the relevant parties. By November 24 the EC has to take a final decision on whether to continue financing the projects for roads construction under Ispa, Yordanova said. Before the decision is taken, NRIA and Transport Ministry have to sign agreements for managing the projects financed under Ispa and Transport operational programme. The new agreements envisage that three representatives of Transport Ministry partake in each tender commission.

Railroad carrier BDZ to receive � 613.6 M state aid until 2013

 

The state railroad company BDZ will receive BGN 1.2bn (EUR 613.6mn) from the state budget until 2013, transport minister Petar Mutafchiev informs. The funds will be spent on modernisation of the transport fleet and safety standards. The company may receive additional BGN 80mn from the budget this year due to significant overperformance. Several train accidents with fatalities and heavy injuries took place this year as a result of poor management and outdated vehicles in the state-run railway company.

 

EU subsidizes Bulgaria's business with BGN 185 M

The European Union will allot 185 million levs (1 euro = 1.95 levs) as a subsidy to the Bulgarian business enterprises."We are launching four new procedures for funds distribution under the EU Operative Program for Competitive Power by the end of September," European Funds and Competitive Power Administration Director Ivet Zhablianova said. Nearly 25 million levs have been earmarked Support for the Developing of Innovations and Introducing Them to the Economy. About 68,5 million levs will go for Technological Improvement of Small and Medium Enterprises. The same amount has been envisaged for the Technological Improvement of Large Enterprises program. All enterprises that were launched prior to 2007 will share out a subsidy of 19,5 million levs to meet international standards.

Bulgarian fruit production comes out the crisis

EU subsidies and investments are helping the Bulgarian fruit-growing sector recover from the crisis of the 1990s, shows an analysis of the farming ministry. New orchards added 30 pct to 8,800 hectares from 2005 to 2007. Fruit production edged up to 104,000 tonnes in 2007 from 99,000 tonnes in 2005 and the total fruit tree areas reached 36,000 ha. Cherry trees covered 22 pct of newly planted orchards due to strong demand, followed by apple trees with 19 pct, plum trees with 16 pct and peach trees with 11 pct. Bulgarian fruits make just 10 pct of the local market and 30-40 pct in the summer season over the lack of modern conservation and packing capacities. The only export fruit is raspberry. Bulgaria exported 80 pct of its 2007 raspberry output of 4,000 tonnes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENTS:

 

 

Green energy investments to top �500 М

Some 500 mln euro will be invested in wind farms in northeastern Bulgaria by the end of 2009, said Velizar Kiryakov, chairman of the association of eco energy producers.Another 100 mln levs will be spent on photovoltaic systems. The favourable climate in this part of the country helps recoup the investments within eight years on average. US company AES is developing the biggest wind farm project in Bulgaria. It is the investor in the Maritsa East coal-fired power plant and is building a 156 MW wind farm near Kavarna, on the northern coast. Spanish company Eolica will raise a 160 MW wind park locked between Suvorovo and Valchi Dol, near the northern coastal city of Varna. A few smaller projects of Austrian and Bulgarian companies with a total capacity of 105 MW will go online by the end of 2008. Kiryakov sounded the alarm that Bulgaria is lagging drastically behind global and European requirements on percentage of renewable energy. Some 11 pct of Bulgaria’s power output should come from alternative energy sources by 2013 and 16 pct in 2020, under a draft EU directive pending approval by the end of the year. The requirement for industrial producers to buy CO2 emissions will hike electricity prices to include greenhouse gas emissions, whose cost is expected to surge to 50 or 60 euro per tone. Now renewable energy makes 9.1 pct of Bulgaria total output with wind farms generating 9.0 pct of it. The remainder is produced by wind generators, photovoltaic systems and biomass.

PM says: Bulgarian FDI in past three years was �15 B

The 15 billion euro in foreign investment in Bulgaria in the past three year exceeds the sum of foreign investments in the preceding 15 years, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said on September 12 2008.Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) quoted Stanishev as saying this at the opening in Bulgaria’s Danube city of Rousse of French company Montupet’s new car parts factory.BNR said that the plant would start by making aluminum parts for Renault, Peugeot, Audi and Ford cars, and switch gradually to making cylinder heads for Dacia and Audi. So far French investment in Rousse has added up to 40 million euro, and in the next few years would grow to 53 million euro, according to a Montupet Group forecast. All the goods produced at the plant will be for export.The goal is to become the main base production unit of the company in Europe. The undertaking in Rousse will employ more than 500 people. Stanishev said that the Government had supported the Montupet investment by using Bulgaria’s investment promotion law to provide nine million euro in support through electricity, water supply, sewerage and roads.Stanishev said that there was no doubt that much more could be done to make Bulgaria more attractive to investments.He said that two days earlier, the World Bank report "Doing Business 2009" had placed Bulgaria in 45th place of 181 economies worldwide, including many advanced countries of the European Union, Italy, Poland, Romania and Slovenia. “We need to continue working tirelessly for the modernisation of he country, for a better business climate, for fair social conditions for workers to comply with all rules, so that we can achieve what we all want, Bulgaria as a modern and prosperous state,” Stanishev said.

 

Greek Titan Group may pour �200 M into Lovech plant

Greek cement maker Titan Group is mulling plans to invest up to 200 million euro into boosting its production capacities in the northern Bulgarian town of Lovech, Economy Minister Petar Dimitrov was quoted by Focus news agency as saying.The Greek company has so far invested 51 million euro in production operations in Bulgaria. It has units near Sofia, Zlatna Panega and Plovdiv.The company unveiled on September 13 a new production line at the Zlatna Panega factory, wrapping up the first phase of its investment strategy.Titan Group is ready to build another production line provided that the future national development plan recognises the sector’s economic and industrial growth, executive director Alexander Chakmakov said. The new facility will increase the company's production capacity for clinker, a key cement raw material, to 1.2 milion tons.

Greek firm to build logistic park in Sofia

Greek company Alpha Grissin plans to build a logistic park in Sofia’s Vrajdebna district, company representatives said. The project will emerge on a 28,000 sq m plot owned by the firm’s Bulgarian unit, Alpha Grissin Imoti, and will have a built-up area of some 29,000 sq m. Construction works are due to begin next year. No financial details were immediately available. The centre will offer storage and processing space and will be outfitted with temperature and humidity regulation equipment, telecommunications systems, etc. Alpha Grissin is developing a 5.0 mln euro multi-task project in Sofia’s Studentski Grad district. It has another logistic project outside Sofia and several housing buildings.

French Montuper to build plant in Rousse

The French company Montuper will build a plant for automobile spare parts in Rousse. The annual turnover of the new plant is expected to reach EUR 70 million in three years. The president of the company defined the investment as the second in production importance and the first in high technological aspect so far. The plant has opened 500 working places with plans to increase them to 1,300.

Agria Group Holding to invest � 25 M

The biggest project of Agria Group Holding agricultural company is building a plant for vegetable oils with capacity of 100,000 tons per year, its executive director Emil Raikov said for Pari Daily. The amount of the investment is EUR 20-25 millions. The company reports BGN 32.5 million consolidated revenues for the first half-year of 2008, which is 23% higher year on year. Net profit for the period is BGN 1.6 million, a 78% year-on-year increase.

Bulgaria to invest in small airports

The Ministry of Transport will most likely modernise the infrastructure of the airport at Gorna Oriahovitsa from the budget, the minister of transport Petar Mutafchiev said for Pari Daily. This is due to lack of interest from private companies to take the airport on concession. The main reason for this is the delay of procedure in transferring the ownership from military ministry to the transport ministry.

Willbrook to put �40 M in Bulgaria’s 1st green project

Real estate company Willbrook Management International will build a 40 mln euro housing complex in Varna, on the north coast, said the company’s executive director Daiana Voicu. Willbrook Diamond Residences will comprise 11 home buildings, recreation and entertainment facilities and a spa centre. It should be finished at the end of 2009. The complex will be designed, built and used by all eco standards and be Bulgaria’s first green project, Voicu said. It will use energy-saving light and air conditioning sources. Water-saving aerators will be mounted in the bathrooms to save water. Local green producers will be picked to supply the construction materials.A survey of consultancy firm Colliers International showed eco construction is just 2.0 pct costlier than the conventional method. Investors pay an average of $40 more per square metre while their direct financial benefits may exceed initial costs ten times.Willbrook Management International has earmarked a total of 250 mln euro to develop other projects in the Bulgarian capital, said Voicu without naming particular locations.

Lomsko Pivo to invest BGN 3.5 million

Bulgaria's brewery Lomsko Pivo AD, which is part of Enemona's portfolio, plans to invest BGN 3.5 million for improving the quality of its production, corporate policy director of Enemona Prokopi Prokopiev said for Pari Daily. New bottling and labelling machines will be installed. For the last year the company has invested BGN 1.1 million and has managed to decrease energy expenditure by 16%.

Denmark's Brunata Bulgarian unit plans to build �2 M  plant for heating substations

 

The Bulgarian unit of Danish heating and water billing solutions provider Brunata plans to invest around 2.0 million euro ($2.8 million) to build a plant for heating substations, a company official said on Wednesday. We are awaiting a building permit. The factory will open after six months at the earliest," a company manager in charge of the plant's construction, who wished to remain unnamed, told SeeNews. The factory will have an annual capacity of 2,000 heating substations. Part of its output will be exported, the manager said without elaborating. Brunata set foot in Bulgaria five years ago. Its production capacities are sufficient to meet local demand, the manager said. The company has supplied 6,000 heating substations to Bulgaria's key steam-heating company, Toplofikatsia Sofia, which is more than 50% of the total substations in the heating network of the capital. It has also supplied substations to the steam-heating company of Serbia's capital Belgrade. Brunata (www.brunata.com) has licensed partners operating in a dozen countries in Europe and China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

German electrical equipment manufacturer Eichhoff opens �2.4 M plant in Bulgaria

 

German electrical components and systems manufacturer Eichhoff has invested 2.4 million euro ($3.4 million) to build a plant in Vidin, in northwestern Bulgaria, a company official said on Wednesday. "We were previously renting premises. Now, we will increase staff and capacity," Mimi Marikova, managerial agent of Eichhoff Components Bulgaria, told SeeNews from Vidin, without elaborating. The plant has a design capacity of nine million electrical constrictors which it plans to reach shortly, the company's manager Manfred Arndt told Bulgarian business daily Dnevnik in a recent interview. The company will expand its production range in Bulgaria with capacitors, transformers and electric components for LPG-powered vehicles and industrial equipment, Dnevnik reported earlier. The Vidin plant manufactures components for Phillips, Siemens and Bosch. Part of its output is exported to Russia, China and Japan. Eichhoff ( www.eichhoff.de) set foot in Bulgaria in 2003.

US financial crisis may attract non-transparent investors in Bulgaria

 

According to Bulgarian economic analysis, due to the financial crisis in USA, the share of non-transparent investors here my increase at the expense of transparent ones. one of the risks facing the Bulgarian economy is a drop of its growth down to 5.5 per cent in 2009. Analysts further predict an insignificant increase of interests on mortgage loans and a change of the country's lending policy. These opinions were voiced by economists from Industry Watch, the Centre for Economic Development (CED) and the Institute of Market Economy interviewed by BTA.The financial crisis in USA of the past few days will have an indirect effect on the country's economy because the financial resource, used by Bulgarian companies, comes mostly from the banking sector, Bulgarian economic experts say. The latter is formed mostly by European banks, which, currently, are not considerably affected by the crisis. According to CED Co-Chairaman Alexander Bozhkov, certain tightening of the conditions for extending loans, reconsidering of the country's lending policy and drop of the volume of mortgage loans are inevitable.Industry Watch experts say that interests on mortgage loans are expected to increase up to one per cent in the next six months.CED analysts predict an inflow of non-transparent investors in Bulgaria. Bozhkov differentiates between two types of investors: transparent - using investment resource from the European or US capital market, and non-transparent - using resource outside this market. The first type of investors will see considerable limitation of their resource and their number will drop, which will naturally create a niche for the non-transparent investors, he explains. This is why Bozhkov recommends to the institutions to tighten their control over the origin of incoming funds.Industry Watch expert Krassen Yotov says that Bulgaria started to feel the effect of the world financial crisis already in August 2007. The problems of the US investment banks will not affect tangibly the Bulgarian banking sector as far as the latter has not invested in high-risk assets. In this context Yotov expects an increase, insignificant albeit, of interests.In Yotov's view the crisis will not affect tangibly the inflow of investments. "Even if we witness a delay in the economic development, the growth will be still over 6 per cent," he believes. The third quarter growth is expected to be over 7 per cent and the one of the fourth quarter will be largely dependant on the distribution of the budget surplus.According to Dimiter Chobanov, Chief Economist at the Market Economy Institute, the cumulative effect of the US financial crisis may result in a decrease of the national economy growth rate down to 5.5 per cent. He attributes this to the likely drop in the demand for Bulgarian goods due to the delayed economic activity in the Eurozone.

US army awards $61 M project for construction at Novo Selo training area

 

The US Army has awarded a two-year, 61.15 million dollar project for construction at the Joint Training Facility in Novo Selo, Bulgaria, the US Embassy in Sofia said in a press release.Eleven of the thirteen companies winning contracts for the project are Bulgarian. The other two companies are American and Italian."This is a great moment for the US-Bulgaria partnership. This project will facilitate our cooperation, both bilaterally and as NATO allies. It will enhance our joint training and make us more effective in facing the challenges that confront our common security," US Ambassador Nancy McEldowney said, quoted in the press release."This is the largest construction project the US military has ever organized in Bulgaria and it will inject 61 million dollars into the Sliven district. This money will provide economic opportunities for many Bulgarian companies and jobs for even more Bulgarians," the Ambassador also said.The project provides funding for simple structures to be used in future joint military training activities. Primary facilities include 23 barracks to support about 2,500 soldiers, as well as administrative, operational, maintenance, storage, dining, and medical facilities. Work on the contract is expected to begin in November and be completed by summer 2011.In May 2008, the US Army awarded a 6.5 million dollars contract to build a temporary facility as part of the joint training currently taking place at Novo Selo. Around 900 US and 300 Bulgarian service members are participating in the current training, which will leave Bulgaria by the end of October 2008.

Portugal's Martifer Renewables to develop wind parks in Bulgaria

 

Portuguese renewable energy firm Martifer Renewables has bought Bulgarian alternative energy firm Vesto to develop wind power generation parks in the European Union newcomer, one of the former Vesto owners said on Thursday. Martifer Renewables has recently bought 100% of Vesto," former co-owner Stoyan Malkochev told SeeNews from the Black Sea port of Varna, where Vesto is located, but declined to reveal the deal price. Portuguese diversified group Martifer said on Wednesday that Vesto is currently developing a 12.6 megawatt (MW) wind farm in northeastern Bulgaria. Malkochev declined to elaborate. The construction of the wind farm is expected to begin next year and it is estimated that annual production will reach 34,000 MWh, Martifer said. Vesto will also seek further wind farm development opportunities in the country. Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007, should generate at least 11% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and 16% by 2020 under agreements with the bloc. At the end of 2007, Bulgaria had wind farms totalling 29 MW in operation with another 700 MW under development and to achieve the targets the country will need to install 1,450 MW of wind farm capacity, according to Martifer. This doubling of installed capacity will be an opportunity for wind farm developrs like Martifer Renewables in this region," the company said. Martifer Renewables is already present in Portugal, Germany, Spain, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, the USA and Brazil. Its renewable energy projects portfolio stands at 3,300 MW.

 

 

 

Volvo opens new BGN 2.8M  maintenance centre in Bourgas

Volvo Bulgaria has invested a total of 2.8 million leva in its new truck maintenance centre in the Black Sea city of Bourgas, the company said in a statement on the opening day of the venue on September 18 2008.The money are part of the 8.6 million leva earmarked by the company for developing its maintenance network throughout the country in 2008. The next maintenance centre the company will open will be in Sofia, followed by one in Plovdiv.For the first eight months of the year, Volvo Bulgaria has registered a 41 per cent increase of sales compared to the same period in 2007. As of end of August, the market share the company has in Bulgaria was 21 per cent, Volvo Bulgaria said.The company entered the country 10 years and is owned by Volvo Truck Corporation.According to data of th the Association of motor vehicle importers and their representatives in Bulgaria, the number of new buses and trucks sold in Bulgaria in the fist seven months of 2008 was 2651, an increase of 65.7 per cent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMPANIES:

 

 

Globul rolls out Samsung’s iPhone rival

Bulgarian cellphone operator Globul, owned by Greece's OTE, launched a prepaid plan bundled with iPhone’s alternative, Samsung i900 Omnia handset.The offer taps on the fact that no Bulgarian carrier got the rights to sell the smartphone on the market, the sole place in the EU where it is still unavailable. Samsung’s official representative and importer for Bulgaria is local company K&K Electronics. The company said Globul does not have exclusive rights to sell the phone so its competitors can offer it as well. The device is priced 1,000 levs. Mobiltel said it will launch a couple of smartphones by the end of the year in response to iPhone without naming particular manufacturers.

Deutsche Bank acquires nearly 30% of Postbank

 

The biggest German bank, Deutsche Bank is going to acquire a 29,75% share of Postbank for nearly EUR 2,8 B, according to an announcement made by both companies.This way Deutsche Bank becomes the bigger shareholder of Postbank, 50% of which currently belong to Deutsche Post. The deal is going to be closed during the first trimester of 2009, pending approval. The estimated value of Postbank is over EUR 9 B.Deutsche Bank is the biggest German bank by the value of its assets while Postbank has the most customers in the area of small banking.This is just one of the several big deals in the German banking sector. Just two weeks ago, the second largest bank in Germany Commerbank AG purchased Dresdner Bank from Allianz.

 

Bulgaria 13 companies included in Deloitte CE Top 500 ranking

 

LUKoil Neftochim is the largest Bulgarian company, ranking 29th in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the recently published Deloitte's CE Top 500 list.The Deloitte Central Europe Top 500 charts companies' progress in the region, which stretches from the Adriatic to the Baltic and the Black seas and contains a raft of countries, all of which have either already joined the European Union or are at various stages of the EU accession process.The Deloitte report advises that reform policies and, above all, privatization, must be pursued by governments in Central Europe. only then will the region be able to maintain its impressive five percent growth rates that far outpace western Europe's economic performance and to catch up the countries in western Europe.The CE Top 500 ranking charts the fortunes of the largest 500 companies in the region by revenue, profits, employment and capitalization.The ranking shows little change from the previous year with PKN Orlen, Poland's oil refiner and petroleum distributor, still at the top of the list with other energy companies including MOL of Hungary and CEZ of the Czech Republic close by.The other top slots are filled by automobile manufacturers led by the Volkswagen owned Skoda from the Czech Republic followed by Audi in Hungary and Volkswagen's own subsidiary in Slovakia.Telekomunikacja Polska, the telecommunications provider from Poland is the only non-energy related, non-auto company in the region's top 10.The biggest foreign investors by revenue are Volkswagen, the auto manufacturer, Arcelor Mittal, the multinational steel group, and Metro, the retailer. CEZ, the Czech energy giant leads the market capitalization ranking followed by two banks in Poland, Pekao SA, and PKO BP.Thirteen Bulgarian companies are also included in the CE Top 500 list, six of them are in the energy sector, three - in the industrial one, another three in the "Technologies, Media and Telecommunications" sector of and one in the trade and business sector.The top ten Bulgarian companies with their ranking are: Lukoil Neftochim (29), Lukoil Bulgaria (71), NEK (124), Cumerio Med (142), Petrol (258), Mobiltel (285), OMV (328), BTC (363), Kremikovtsi (381), Cez Electro (425).

Visitors of EXPO 2008 interested in Bulgaria

Half a million visitors have visited the Bulgarian pavilion at Expo 2008 held from June 14 to September 14 in Zaragoza, announced the organizers of the Bulgarian presentation at the International Plovdiv Fair. During Expo 2008 more than forty official delegations and celebrities, among them the world chess champion Veselin Topalov, visited the Bulgarian exposition. Guests from all over the world were inquiring about tourism in Bulgaria, the curative power of Bulgarian mineral springs and the possibilities to invest in business. The Bulgarian pavilion was one of the best equipped with advanced technology - audio-visual effects and megagraphics, water curtains. on video walls were shown films about Bulgaria.

Every third firm in Bulgaria involved in grey economy

Every third company in Bulgaria works in the grey economy, specialist from the Market Economy Institute and the Open Society Foundation say. Given that Bulgaria's GDP for this year is 63 billion levs, the companies evade paying taxes on 21 billion levs. The evasion social insurances payment is the most common breach of business regulations that the company managers commit. Each year, some companies in the sectors of tourism and construction evade paying social insurances in the size of two billion. "Statistics show that the average monthly salaries of the waiters and the construction workers range between 300 and 500 levs. Practically, they are paid at least three times more," Georgi Angelov from the Open Society foundation said during an extraordinary sitting of the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee. "If we lower the insurance premiums and the income taxes, the share of the grey economy will shrink and the revenues to the budget will rise," he says. VAT is another source of finances that feed the grey economy.
"Many companies evade paying VAT, although the share of VAT evasion is considerably smaller than that of social insurances evasion," Angelov says. To his words, there are three ways of reducing the share of grey economy: first, by introducing lower taxes; second, by convincing the business that tax paying really makes sense and third, by showing the people good results of the state budget spending. "An efficient spending of the state budget may materialize in improvement of the healthcare and pension systems and an increase in the credit rating of the law enforcers," Angelov goes on. Over the first year since the introduction of ten-percent flat tax, the revenues to the budget from Corporate Tax increased by half a billion levs. The decrease in the social insurance premiums by three percent has resulted in an increase in the revenues to the Fisc by 370 million levs.

 

 

 

Over 130 companies to participate in BalPex

The autumn issue of BalPex real estate exhibition will take place in October 10-12 in Inter Expo Centre and will offer apartments in Sofia at EUR 30,000. Traditionally the emphasis is on residential and vacation properties for both corporate and individual clients. More than 130 companies from different areas will take place: building and investment companies, real estate agencies, financial institutions etc.

Bulgaria creates new energy giant

 

Bulgaria said Thursday it was pooling its main energy assets into a single company, Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), to boost its position in regional and European energy markets. The ministry of economy and energy said in a statement it had started transferring to BEH the assets of Bulgaria's state-run electricity and gas companies, the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, the main thermal heating plant and the largest coal mines. "With the establishment of the new holding structure, Bulgaria already has one of the biggest energy companies in the region," the statement said.BEH would be a national energy leader with consolidated assets of around 8.5 billion leva (4.3 billion euros, 6.2 billion dollars), annual revenues of some 3.6 billion leva (1.8 billion euros) and a combined workforce of 21,000.Bulgaria's right-wing opposition in parliament and the industry attacked the move when it was announced in February, seeing it as retrogressive at a time when Europe breaking up energy monopolies in order to boost competition.
Critics aryge the move will strengthen the monopoly already existing in the sector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANALYSIS:

 

 

Bulgaria pays through the nose for high profits

Author: Emil Harsev, Financial analyst

Publication: Standart Daily

After yet another downward spiral of the mortgage crisis - the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch into Bank of America - panic on the financial markets is unavoidable and national economies will for sure suffer significant losses. As for Bulgaria, the natural result of the world recession will be more limited access to bank loans and growing interests rates. on the other hand, foreign investments will not dry out, the trend is just the contrary. In my opinion, the investments into certain spheres of economy will even grow heavier. The reason is that Bulgaria is implementing priority projects worth even more than the hitherto made investments. Part of the money invested into the Black Sea resorts development, in real estates across the country and stock exchange assets have already been drawn out. The foreign investments in securities have dwindled by almost a half. The capital spending on the realty market in the mountain resort of Bansko, at the seaside and elsewhere across Bulgaria will also shrink even at a cost of financial losses, because they are not yielding the expected profits. The big international companies will for sure reduce their net investments into Bulgaria's economy. At the same time, however, the direct foreign investments into huge infrastructure projects that are underway in Bulgaria will be swelling. The Belene nuke and new pipelines alone will swallow several billion euro. Consequently, Bulgaria may expect heavier foreign investments than those that have been drawn out. So, in the long run even if I expect a slowdown this year, new large-scale projects will set a positive trend. In my estimation, the turndown will be about 20-30 percent this year but the trend will reverse already in 2009, only the structure of the investments will change.

 

 

 

Bulgarians not concerned about Russia’s role as an energy provider, survey shows

Publication: Sofia Echo Daily Bulletin

 

A Transatlantic Trends 2008 survey shows that 46 per cent of the Bulgarians are not concerned about Russia’s role as an energy provider. The results reveal that Bulgaria was the least concerned out of 13 countries. In comparison, only 13 per cent of the Polish, 21 per cent of the Germans, 23 per cent of the Romanians and 24 per cent of Britons and Italians each say they are not concerned. The percentage of Bulgarians who are concerned is 44, compared with 81 for Poland, 78 for Germany, 74 for Italy and 72 for Great Britain. The study, which examines American and European attitudes on a number of pressing international issues, was presented in Bulgaria on September 16 2008. It also reveals Bulgarians have the warmest feelings towards Russia, rating it 66 out of a possible 100, while Turkey scored it only 18. Save for Bulgaria, only one other country polled gave Russia more than a score of 50: Slovakia, with 52. During the presentation, organised by the Bulgarian edition of Foreign Policy magazine, experts slammed Bulgaria's lack of initiative and passivity in international affairs, which were revealed by the survey results. “Bulgaria thinks of itself as a recipient rather than a generator of policies,” Ivan Krustev, Foreign Policy editor-in-chief and head of the Centre for Liberal Strategies said, explaining Bulgaria's conduct was a typical of a poor country wanting only to receive and not to give. “In Bulgarian society there is a total lack of value-based approach towards matters of international policy,” Tipping Point's Svetoslav Bozhilov said and added that “if the data from the poll is presented to a person who doesn't know Bulgaria is a Nato and European Union member state, they'd probably assume it is a neutral country.” Other key findings, as summarised in a statement posted on the Transatlantic Trends website, show that nearly half of Europeans (47 per cent) believe that relations between the United States and Europe will improve if senator Barack Obama is elected the next US president, compared with only 11 per cent believing that transatlantic relations will improve if senator John McCain is elected. Conducted prior to the latest developments in the Caucasus, the survey reveals that Europeans continue to express concern about Russia’s behaviour toward its neighbours and are more willing than Americans to provide security assistance for neighbouring democracies like Ukraine and Georgia and to increase support for democratic forces inside Russia. However, Europeans are less willing than Americans to support restrictions in co-operating with Russia in international organisations. Overall, the majority Americans and Europeans desire a closer transatlantic relationship and possess common values on a wide spectrum of issues that could lead to co-operation on international problems, the poll reveals. It shows there are shared concerns over a Russia reasserting itself internationally, that Nato support is on the rise in Europe and that Turkey is warming to the EU and US, but wishes to act alone on the international stage. Also, the majority of Europeans favour Obama, while Americans are split along party lines, the number of Europeans who want closer relations with the US is on the rise, terrorism and economic problems top the transatlantic agenda and Europeans continue to be more critical of president Bush than of the US. The Transatlantic Trends 2008 survey is a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and Compagnia di San Paolo (Italy), carried out with the additional support from the Fundacao Luso-Americana (Portugal), the Fundacion BBVA (Spain), and the Tipping Point Foundation (Bulgaria). It measures broad public opinion in the US and 12 European countries and annually gauges transatlantic relations.