불가리아 주요 경제뉴스 (21 - 28 January 2011)

BULGARIAN ECONOMIC TOP NEWS DIGEST

WEEKLY REPORT (21 - 28 January 2011)

 

Sections/headline briefs:

 

 

 

MACROECONOMY:

• EBRD ups Bulgaria's 2011 GDP growth forecast to 2.6%
• Online shopping in Bulgaria doubles in 2010

INVESTMENTS:

·         Toshiba to invest EUR 35mn in Yambol solar park 

·         Toshiba Offers Bulgaria Massive Renewable Energy, Smart Grids Project

·         Swiss Alpiq to invest EUR 36mn in Bulgarian wind farm expansion

 

COMPANIES:

• Bulgartabac Holding posts EUR 3.24mn profit for 2010
• Sopharma's Latvian unit to buy Belarusian drugs store chain
• Euro Solar Parks to build solar plants in central Bulgaria
• Lithuanian MAXIMA to launch new retail chain in Bulgaria
• Gazprom, Bulgargaz mull direct gas deliveries as of 2013 - report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Articles:

 

MACROECONOMY:

EBRD ups Bulgaria's 2011 GDP growth forecast to 2.6%

The EBRD improved its 2011 GDP forecast for Bulgaria to a 2.6% growth in the January edition of its Regional Economic Prospects report from 2.4% in the October forecasts. The projections for 2010 remained unchanged at 0.4%. The economic prospects for Bulgaria have improved slightly in the recent months as distinct signs of a turnaround have emerged, the bank said. Strong exports in addition to stable expansion of key sectors, such as tourism agriculture made up for other weak sectors and low consumer demand,

 

Online shopping in Bulgaria doubles in 2010

The number of Bulgarians shopping online more than once a month almost doubled on the year to 22% in November 2010 from 13% in the same month of 2009, Dnevnik daily reported, quoting a survey. The survey was conducted among 800 respondents by research agency Gemius Bulgaria for online shopping firm Allegro Group. A total of 7% of the buyers made five or more purchases monthly. The percentage of men among online buyers is higher than that of women. The majority of the customers prefer to pay cash upon receipt of the purchased items. The purchases made vie mobile phones are still rather rare.

 

INVESTMENTS:

Toshiba to invest EUR 35mn in Yambol solar park

Japan’s Toshiba said it would invest around JPY 4bn(EUR 35mn) in the construction of a solar power plant near Yambol, southeastern Bulgaria, the economy ministry said in a note on its website. The information was released during a meeting between Bulgarian economy minister Traicho Traikov and Toshiba CEO Norio Sasaki. Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei daily has reported that Toshiba planned to invest over JPY 100bn (EUR 889mn) in the construction of the solar park near Yambol. Toshiba has also announced that it plans to carry out the project independently, the Bulgarian economy ministry said thus disproving earlier information that the Yambol solar park will be constructed by a joint venture. Toshiba is also considering the implementation of other similar projects in Bulgaria in the future as well as the potential acquisition of local companies, specialized in solar parks construction.

Toshiba Offers Bulgaria Massive Renewable Energy, Smart Grids Project

Japan's Toshiba Corporation has offered Bulgaria a large-scale project in the field ofrenewable energy, "smart electricity grids" and electric cars.

As part of a visit of a large Bulgarian government and business delegation in Japanled by PM Borisov, Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Traicho Traikov met with Norio Sasaki, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation.

The Toshiba management has confirmed that the company will construct a 10 MWphotovoltaic park near Bulgaria's Yambol, an investment worth EUR 37.6 M that will provide electricity to 2000 households.

Toshiba has declared it will pursue the project on its own, thus dispeling a report ofJapan's Nikkei business daily from last week that the corporation planned to set up a joint venture with Tokyo Electric Power and the Japanese government to build one of the world's largest solar power stations worth USD 1.2 B.

Toshiba's solar park investment in Bulgaria is part of a plan to develop similar projects in Europe and North America.

Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister Traikov has praised the project near Yamboleven though it ended up being much smaller than the media reports would have it.

"This Japanese company is a first class investor, which is a good sign for Bulgaria and our desire to see a boost of foreign direct investment in 2011," Traikov declared saying also that the future Toshiba solar plant near Yambol will help Bulgaria achieve the 16% target of renewable energy sources production by 2020.

An example of a large-scale Japanese investment in Bulgaria's renewable energysector is the 35-MW park Kaliakra Wind Power of the Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The wider-scale project that Toshiba has offered the Bulgarian government, however, focuses on the development of "smart grids" and the introduction ofelectric cars based on renewable energy sources, the Bulgarian Economy Ministry announced.

"This is totally in line with Bulgaria's desire to develop renewable energy and the introduction of electric cars. To do all that, we need the proper infrastructure managed by intelligent or "smart" electric grids. Unlike the existing grids, with smart grids, electricity is not only transmitted from a power plant in all directions but it can be moved from the source to the consumer and from the consumer to the source," Bulgarian Economy Minister Traikov explained.

Traikov pointed out that Bulgaria would not need new power plants if up to 20% of its cars were electric.

"When you have 20% of cars running on electricity, you can use them as a huge battery. You know, the greatest problem with electricity is that it cannot be preserved. When you have so many electric cars, you can charge them when there is a lot of cheap electricity, and then send electricity back into the grid when energy is expensive," Traikov said explaining that smart grids would necessitate massive investments in equipment, know-how, and management.

"We are currently making a commitment to start working together on this project," the Bulgarian minister said when asked about Bulgaria's specific commitments toToshiba's initiative.

Other potential joint projects that Traikov discussed with the Toshiba management include nuclear energy and the production of nuclear turbines and the opportunities for building a new thermal power plant in Bulgaria.

In Traikov's presence, the Toshiba Corporation and the Bulgarian Energy Holding, a government megastructure uniting the largest state energy companies in Bulgaria, signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation on Energy Development.

Toshiba has made a commitment to help Bulgaria with preliminary studies of infrastructure and closer cooperation in nuclear, hydro, and thermal power.

Traikov has pointed out the fact that Toshiba has already completed successfully projects in Bulgaria such as the rehabilitation of the state-owned Maritsa Iztok 2thermal power plant, rehabilitation of equipment at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, and providing equipment for the Chaira hydropower plant.

 

Swiss Alpiq to invest EUR 36mn in Bulgarian wind farm expansion

Swiss power firm Alpiq will invest EUR 36mn in the expansion of its wind park in Bulgaria by a further 22.5MW, the company said in a statement on its website. The company put into operation its EUR 80mn Vetrocom wind park, consisting of 20 wind turbines with a combined installed capacity of 50MW and an annual output capacity of 144GWh in November. The wind farm, located near Kazanlak in central Bulgaria, was connected to the grid and started supplying green electricity. The board of directors approved the capacity expansion on the favourable wind conditions and the existing infrastructure. The construction works will start in spring 2011, while the new facility is expected to be put into operation in Q4 2011. 

 

 

COMPANIES:

 

Bulgartabac Holding posts EUR 3.24mn profit for 2010

 Local tobacco company Bulgartabac Holding ended 2010 with a profit of BGN 6.34mn (EUR 3.24mn), up 98.5% y/y, the company said in a statement on its website. The company also reported a continuing growth in net sales revenues, which stood at BGN 4.2mn in the first quarter of 2010 and reached BGN 20.1mn in the last quarter of the year. The positive financial results are attributed to efficient cost cutting measures. Bulgratbac reduced personnel costs by 22.35% in the course of 2010 to BGN 2.6mn, while spending on third party services was reduced by 23.79%. The state controls 79.83% in the capital of the tobacco company, which has been included in the government’s 2011 sell-off programme. The company controls some 50% of the domestic tobacco market, according to economy ministry estimates.

 

 

Sopharma's Latvian unit to buy Belarusian drugs store chain

Latvian drug distributor Briz, a subsidiary of Bulgarian drug maker Sopharma, has inked an agreement to acquire Belarusian drug store chain Interpharm, Sopharma said in a statement. The first stage of the deal, which included the acquisition of 44% in Interpharm, was closed by January 27. No financial details about the deal were disclosed. According to the statement, Interpharm is Belarus’s eighth largest drug retailer in terms of sales. The company has 19 drug stores and employs 87. In 2010 Interpharm’s turnover stood at around EUR 3.7mn. Sopharma acquired over 51% in Briz in 2009. Briz is the eighth largest drug distributor in Latvia and has a market share of around 14%. In 2010 Briz carried out talks to acquire several drug retail assets and some of the deals are expected to be closed in the first half of 2011. Sopharma is one of Bulgaria’s leading drug producers. In the third quarter of 2010, the company posted consolidated net profit of BGN 37.8mn (EUR 19.3mn)

 

Euro Solar Parks to build solar plants in central Bulgaria

US-based solar power specialist Euro Solar Parks, Inc. has acquired two land plots of approximately 11,560m2 in Bulgaria for the development of small-sized solar power plants of up to 0.7MWp, the company said in a statement on its website. The land plots, which are located in the Karlovo municipality in central Bulgaria, were acquired through the acquisition of 100% in Bulgarian Consulting and Development Firm FOREIGN SUPPORT AND CONSULTING LLC (FSC), an advisory firm specializing in the support of foreign companies seeking assistance to enter the Bulgarian energy market. FSC will be renamed into EURO SOLAR PARKS BULGARIA, LLC, and will become the first local subsidiary of Euro Solar Parks that will be responsible for the further development of the operational business in Eastern Europe, the statement read. The construction of solar power plants on the two plots is expected to start by the end of 2011.

 

Lithuanian MAXIMA to launch new retail chain in Bulgaria

Lithuanian retailer MAXIMA will launch a new chain of small stores, named T MARKET Express, the company’s Bulgarian subsidiary said in a statement on its website. The new shops will be complementary to MAXIMA’s T Market supermarkets chain across the country. The first T MARKET Express shop will be opened in Sofia on January 25. The small shops will have areas of 100-250 sq m and will be located within residential districts. The company plans to expand the number of its outlets in Bulgaria to 50 in 2011.

 

Gazprom, Bulgargaz mull direct gas deliveries as of 2013 - report

Russian gas supplier Gazprom and its Bulgarian peer Bulgargaz mull switching to direct gas deliveries, excluding intermediaries, in 2013, Dnevnik daily reported, quoting Russian media RIA Novosti. Bulgargaz executive director, Dimitar Gogov, is currently on a visit in Moscow and has met with Gazprom CEO, Alexey Miller. Gazprom expects from Bulgargaz to sign a gas delivery contract with Gazprom Export, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Russian company, on June 30, 2011. Thus, the deliveries will be carried out without the participation of intermediaries as of January 2013. Currently, Bulgaria gets gas from two intermediaries, Overgas and Wintershall, in addition to the supplies from Gazprom Export. Russian gas supplies cover some 70% of the Bulgarian gas demand. According to preliminary data from Gazprom, Russia has exported 2.6bn cubic meters of gas to Bulgaria in 2010 from 2.4bn in 2009.