불가리아 주요경제뉴스 (31 December - 7 January 2011 )

BULGARIAN ECONOMIC TOP NEWS DIGEST

WEEKLY REPORT (31 December - 7 January 2011 )

 

Sections/headline briefs:

 

MACROECONOMY:

Raiffeisenbank: Bulgaria's Economy to Grow by 3% 2011

Bulgaria's Construction Registers 2,6% Growth November 2010

PI up by 11.1% y/y in Nov

Bulgaria among EU states with highest annual retail trade decline in Nov

Gas, heating priPces down by about 5% as of Jan 1

Bulgaria's cigarette sales down by 35% in 2010

 

INVESTMENTS:

 

Bulgarian-Italian consortium wins upgrade of key railway section

 

COMPANIES:

Varna port ends 2010 with EUR 2mn profit

Sopharma gets quality certificate for drug plant in Ukraine

Competition watchdog okays pharmaceuticals merger

Kozloduy nuke exceeds 2010 output target by 1.7%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Articles:

 

MACROECONOMY:

 

Raiffeisenbank: Bulgaria's Economy to Grow by 3% 2011

Raiffesen Bank Bulgaria has dropped its expectations for the county's economic growth in 2011 from 3% to 2.7%. The bank's monthly analysis states that the external economic environment is favorable for the development of Bulgaria's economy, but that the recovery from the financial crisis will hardly be felt in the internal market. In 2010's third quarter, the country saw a 1% economic growth year on year, in comparison to 0.5% in the previous quarter. The main reasons for that was the fast increase in exports and the development in the agricultural and service sectors. The consumption in Bulgaria has worsened, which has led to savings increasing to as much as 22% of GDP between October 2009 - September 2010. In comparison, the percentage was 9 in 2007. According to Raiffaisen Bank Bulgaria, the tendency of increased household savingshas probably brought about a further drop in interior demands, which is expected to have led to a 0.2% decrease in GDP. The GDP is estimated at BGN 194 B. on Wednesday, Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov stated Bulgaria'seconomy will register growth between 2% and 3.6% in 2011.

 

Bulgaria's Construction Registers 2,6% Growth November 2010

Bulgaria's construction sector registered a 2,6% growth in November 2010, compared to the same month in 2009, according to preliminary seasonally adjusted data from the National Statistics Institute (NSI). The monthly working day adjusted data for November 2010 showed an increase of 0,8% of the construction production, year-on-year.The growth of building construction production was 1,1%, while the growth of civil/engineering construction is 2%, according to the seasonally adjusted data. on an annual basis, the increase of the construction production in November 2010 was defined mostly by the positive growth of the civil/engineering construction, which is 13,2%, on monthly working day adjusted data by NSI. on the other side, the building construction registered a 8,9% decrease in November 2010, compared to 2009.

 

PPI up by 11.1% y/y in Nov

The industrial producer price index (PPI) rose by 11.1% y/y in November, accelerating from 10.1% y/y in October, statistics office data showed. The growth sustained for a tenth month in a row after declines in the previous ten months. In monthly terms, prices went up by 1.1%. The acceleration of the overall price index in November was due to price hikes in all of the three subsectors: mining (17.7% y/y), utilities (12.1% y/y) and manufacturing (10.1% y/y). In another classification, PPI rose in basic metals - by 19.6%, repair and installation of machinery and equipment - by 7.7%, food products and paper and paper products - both by 7.4%. Deflation was observed in the manufacturing of other non-metallic mineral products - by 2.9%, and wood and wood products, except furniture - by 1.1%. 

 

Bulgaria among EU states with highest annual retail trade decline in Nov

Bulgaria was the EU member state with the second biggest decline in retail sales in November - 5.2% y/y, Dnenvik daily reported, quoting Eurostat data. Romania witnessed the biggest retail trade deterioration with 8.9% y/y. The retail trade volume in the EU decreased by an average of 0.8% y/y. 

 

Gas, heating prices down by about 5% as of Jan 1

The state utilities watchdog decided to cut gas and heating prices by about 5% starting January 1, Dnenvik daily reported. The heating prices in Sofia will fall by 5.1% after being raised by 18.65% six months earlier. Prices will also decrease in Pleven by 5.7% (which is the biggest decrease for the country), in Vratza - by 5.42%, in Burgas - by 5.2%, in Pernik - by 0.67% and in Sliven - by 0.46%. Gas will be sold for BGN 509.61 per 1,000 cubic metres as of January, which is a decrease by 5.7%. The new price is below the BGN 527.81, requested by the state gas supplier Bulgargaz. 

 

Bulgaria's cigarette sales down by 35% in 2010

Bulgaria's cigarette market contracted by over 35% to 10.6bn pieces in 2010, Dnevnik daily reported, quoting data from domestic local tobacco producers. In comparison to the pre-crisis 2008, the sales more than halved from 19bn pieces. State-owned tobacco producer Bulgartabac attributed the decline in sales to smuggling and the ban on smoking in public places. According to calculations of the customs authorities, the illegal cigarette sales amounted to 7bn pieces, similar to the estimates of the tobacco firms of 8bn pieces. The main reason behind the increase is the cigarette excise tax hike. The growth is significant compared to the 2.85bn pieces of illegally traded cigarettes in 2008.

 

 

INVESTMENTS:

 

Bulgarian-Italian consortium wins upgrade of key railway section

A consortium between Bulgarian road companies Trace and SK-13 and Italian peer GCF won the tender for the upgrade of a key railway section in southern Bulgaria with a BGN 317mn offer, the transport ministry said in a statement on its website. The consortium defeated eleven other bidders. The railway section stretches between Plovdiv and the Black Sea port of Bourgas and goes along the Trakia motorway. The upgrade is expected to double the maximum speed of travelling of trains to up to 160 km/h. The project got financial support under the EU cohesion fund. This was the ministry’s second attempt to award the railway modernisation after all bids in the previous tender exceeded the indicative price of BGN 366.5mn. 

COMPANIES:

Varna port ends 2010 with EUR 2mn profit

Bulgaria’s northern Black Sea port of Varna generated a profit of some BGN 4mn (EUR 2.05mn) in 2010, BTA news agency reported quoting Danail Papazov, director of the port. No comparative figures were available. The port handled 8mn tonnes of cargo in 2010, up by 12% compared to a year earlier. Investments in 2010 reached BGN 3mn. Varna port had a net profit BGN 1.6mn in 2009, down from BGN 2.5mn in 2008, according to information on the company’s website. Port Varna is the country's largest sea port and consists of two units - Varna East and Varna West. It is controlled by the state.

 

Sopharma gets quality certificate for drug plant in Ukraine

Bulgarian drug maker Sopharma has received a certificate of quality for the drug laboratory at its Vitamini plant in Ukraine, the company said in a bourse filing. The certificate will allow the laboratory to perform analysis in line with the Ukrainian quality standards. In 2009, Vitamini's licence for producing pharmaceuticals was extended until 2012. Vitamini is Ukraine’s 12th largest drug plant by market share. Sopharma bought the plant in 2008. Currently the company is building two more drug plants in Sofia and in Belgrade. It will invest BGN 70mn in the Sofia plant, expected to start operations in mid-2012. Investments in the Belgrade plant are estimated at EUR 8mn. The drug maker exports 60% of its output to 28 countries. Its main export markets are Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia and Estonia.

 

Competition watchdog okays pharmaceuticals merger

Bulgaria’s competition watchdog has approved the merger of leading drugs maker Sopharma with smaller peer Unipharm, Dnevnik daily reported. The merger will happen at a later stage, as for now no changes in the two companies will be made, Sopharma said. As of end-September, Sopharma controlled 49.85% of Unipharm, compared to just 5.34% at end-2009. Unipharm shares trade at BGN 5.45 on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, valuing Sopharma’s stake in the company at BGN 16.3mn. The merger is part of Sopharma’s efforts to consolidate operations as a few months ago the company’s Sopharma Logistics merged with Sopharma Trading. Sopharma said on January 5, its sales rose by 13% on the year in 2010, as exports grew by 20% while domestic sales shrank by 1%. In December alone, sales contracted by 4%, with exports falling by 1% and domestic sales by 6%.

 

Kozloduy nuke exceeds 2010 output target by 1.7%

Bulgarian nuclear power plant Kozloduy generated 15,249 TWh of electricity in 2010, exceeding its output target for the year by 1.7%, BTA news agency reported. The full-year power generation plan was fulfilled on December 26. The plant’s performance was not affected by the delayed rehabilitation of its 1,000 MW unit 6. The unit was shut down for a planned maintenance, which took longer than expected due to problems with 31 of the 61 tubes in the protective system. The Kozloduy nuke plant, located by the Danube river, closed four 440 MW generators, two of which in early 2003 and two in the last day of 2006. At present, it operates two 1,000 MW units providing between 25% and 30% of the country's power production. The extension of these two units is among the priority energy tasks for the country.