불가리아 주요 경제뉴스 (3 - 10 June 2011)

BULGARIAN ECONOMIC TOP NEWS DIGEST

WEEKLY REPORT (3 - 10 June 2011)

 

Sections/headline briefs:

 

MACROECONOMY:

Ø  Bulgaria’s Economy among the Leading in EU

Ø  Bulgaria's Jan-Apr 2011 Exports to Non-EU Countries Up by 50.4% Y/Y

Ø  Bulgaria's Q1 2011 Exports to EU Up by 56.4% Y/Y

 

INVESTMENTS:

Ø  Bulgaria's mining, IT sectors most attractive to US investors

 

 

COMPANIES AND INDUSTRIES:

Ø  Sofia Picks Bulgarian-Austrian Tie-up To Build 34.4 Motorway Section - Media

Ø  AES inaugurates 670 MW power plant

Ø  Chelopech Mining launches upgraded gold factory 

Ø  Car battery maker Monbat opens EUR 13mn recycling plant in Romania

Ø  New car sales rise 20% y/y in Jan-May 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Articles:

 

MACROECONOMY:

Bulgaria’s Economy among the Leading in EU

Bulgaria has occupied one of the leading places in the whole EU in terms of economic growth. In the first trimester of 2011, the growth of Bulgaria’s GDP is 3.4% compared to the same period of 2010, the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute reported. only eight EU states have registered a better score than Bulgaria. For the first trimester of 2011, Bulgaria’s GDP is 15,9 billion levs which makes 1,084 euro per capita, which is a 0.6% growth compared to the last trimester of 2010. The growth of Bulgaria’s economy is mainly due to the country’s industry which registers a growth by 2.2% as well as the sectors hotels, transport and trade with a growth of 3.2% and financial sector - 6.5% growth. The agricultural and construction sectors and some services register a drop in the first trimester of 2011. The growth of Bulgaria’s economy is also due to the improved export which grows by 20%, shows the data of the NSI.

Bulgaria's Jan-Apr 2011 Exports to Non-EU Countries Up by 50.4% Y/Y

In the period January-April 2011, Bulgaria exported goods worth a total of BGN 12.5 B to non-EU countries, posting an increase of 50.4% on the year. In April 2011, total exports came in at BGN 3.1 B, up by 35.4% year-on-year. In the first four months of 2011, goods worth a total of BGN 13.5 B (at CIF prices) were imported into Bulgaria from third countries, posting an increase of 27.4% compared to the same period in 2010. In April 2011, total imports from third countries increased by 20.5% compared to April 2010, reaching BGN 3.7 B. The foreign trade balance of Bulgaria (export FOB - import CIF) with third countries in the period January-April 2011came in negative, totaling BGN 1 041.0 M, or BGN 1 273. 1 M less than the foreign trabe balance in the first four months of 2010. The trade balance at FOB /FOB prices (after elimination of transport and insurance costs on imports) was also negative and amounted to BGN 243.7 M. In April 2011, the foreign trade balance of Bulgaria (export FOB - import CIF) with third countries was negative and reached BGN 346.5 M.

Bulgaria's Q1 2011 Exports to EU Up by 56.4% Y/Y

In the period January-March 2011, Bulgaria's exports to the EU increased by 56.4% compared to the same period a year earlier, totaling BGN 5.7 B, the National Statistical Institute reported (NSI). The main trade partners of Bulgaria were Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece and Belgium, which accounted for 67.3% of the country's exports to EU member states. The most significant increase was registered in exports for Portugal, Belgium and Denmark. Declines were reported in export rates to Slovakia and Latvia. In March 2011, Bulgaria's exports to the EU increased by 56.2% on the year, surpassing BGN 2 B. Imports to Bulgaria from EU countries in the period January-March 2011 went up by 24% year-on-year, totaling BGN 5.7 B at CIF prices. The biggest increase was registered in imports from Malta, while the biggest decline was recorded in imports from Spain, Portugal and Denmark. In March 2011, Bulgaria's imports from EU countries rose by 16.7% on the year, totaling BGN 2.1 B at CIF prices. Bulgaria's foreign trade balance (export FOB - import CIF) with EU in the period January - March 2011 was negative and amounted to BGN 13.0 M. At FOB/FOB prices (after the elimination of transport and insurance costs on imports) the trade balance was positive and amounted to BGN 266.3 M Bulgaria's exports to the EU, distributed according to the Standard International Trade Classification, show that the first three months of 2011 have witnessed an increase in exports in all sectors, compared to the figures for the same month in 2010. The biggest growth was registered in the following segments- "Crude materials, inedible (except fuels)", "Mineral fuels, lubricants, and similar products", and "Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material". As regards import from the EU, the biggest growth was achieved in the sectors „Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes", "Crude materials, inedible ( except fuels) and "Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" and the lowest in the sector "Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials".

INVESTMENTS:

Bulgaria's mining, IT sectors most attractive to US investors

Bulgaria's information technology (IT) and mining sectors are among the industries with the largest potential to attract investors from the USA, according to participants in a forum about the prospects of trade and economic relations between the the US and Bulgaria, organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria and Trade Office at the US Embassy in the country. "Mining is the rising star of the Bulgarian economy," Alex Nestor, head of corporate and external relations at Chelopech Mining, said. The company is owned by Canada's gold miner Dundee Precious Metals, which is active in gold extracting near the village of Chelopech, western Bulgaria. The segment is promising because it is not well-developed, he added. According to Georgi Randelov, manager of Microsoft Bulgaria, information technologies also have the potential to draw investments, given their wide use. In addition, the country has already attracted a vast number of large companies active in the sector, he said. However, the lack of systematic information for activities in research, as well as the worsening quality of education, are among the obstacles to luring investors in that field, Roman Vassilev, general manager of automotive electronics company Johnson Controls, said. The US Ambassador to Bulgaria, James Warlick, said that the country's advantages as an investment destination were the attractive tax policy, as well as its skilled and well-educated workforce.

 

 

 

 

COMPANIES AND INDUSTRIES:

 

Sofia Picks Bulgarian-Austrian Tie-up To Build 34.4 Motorway Section – Media

A Bulgarian-Austrian tie-up has won the tender for the construction of a 34.4-kilometre section of the Maritsa motorway, Bulgarian media reported on Wednesday. The Maritsa Highway consortium comprising Bulgarian company Patnostroitelna Tehnika and Austria's Porr Technobau und Umwelt, has offered the lowest price of 122.1 million levs ($90.8 million/62.4 million euro), outbidding 10 other candidates. The price does not include Value Added Tax. If the selection of winner is not appealed, construction works will begin within a month, local business daily Dnevnik (www.dnevnik.bg) quoted Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev as saying. The tendered motorway section links Dimitrovgrad with Harmanli, in southern Bulgaria. In March, Italy's Cooperativa Muratori e Cementisti offered the lowest price of 133.1 million levs for the construction of another section of the motorway, from Orizovo to Dimitrovgrad. The tender procedure was appealed by another bidder and currently the regional development ministry is awaiting a supreme court ruling for assigning the contract, Dnevnik quoted Plevneliev as saying. The Bulgarian government plans to complete by 2013 the construction of the Maritsa motorway, part of pan-European transport Corridor 4 and the Trans-European Motorway.

 

AES inaugurates 670 MW power plant

US energy company AES launched its coal-fired power plant at the Maritsa East mine complex, AES Galabovo, with installed capacity of 670 MW (600 MW net capacity) on Friday last week (June 3, 2011), investor.bg informed. The investment is estimated at EUR 1.2bn and the financing has been secured by a consortium of 29 local and international banks, the main of which are the EBRD, BNP, ING and Credit Agricole CIB. AES Galabovo will buy some 30% of the Maritsa East Mines output (some 9mn tons of coal annually) and will provide about 9% of the country’s installed energy capacity. It will sell the produced power to the National Electricity Company under a 15-year contract. AES Galabovo employs 360 workers and has opened some 2,400 jobs in supplying sectors. The plant is expected to produce electricity over a period of 40 years. AES has also built a EUR 93mn waste depot facility at its thermal power plant. According to the initial plans, the plant should have been opened in 2009.

 

Chelopech Mining launches upgraded gold factory 

Chelopech Mining, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian mining company Dundee Precious Metals, launched its upgraded enrichment factory for manufacturing of copper-gold concentrate, investor.bg informed. The annual processing capacity of the plant is seen to double after the upgrade to 2mn tons of ore. The total value of the modernisation project stands at USD 150mn. So far, USD 95mn have been invested, USD 23mn of which in the enrichment factory. In December, the EBRD and Bulgaria's Unicredit Bulbank said thay would provide a USD 66.75mn loan to finance the project. The EBRD explained that the investment would bring considerable environmental benefits to the mine's operations by optimising the production process and reducing to a minimum the dependence on external sources of water. Also, Chelopech Mining was expected to cut its fuel consumption by approximately 50% per tonne of ore mined.

 

Car battery maker Monbat opens EUR 13mn recycling plant in Romania

Bulgaria’s largest car battery producer Monbat has opened a used batteries recycling plant in Romania called Monbat Recycling Romania, the company said in a stock exchange filing. The investment in the plant amounts to EUR 13mn. Construction works started three years ago. The plant’s initial annual output is to reach 15-16,000 tons of lead and alloys. The plant employs 65 workers. Monbat opened a similar plant of the same capacity in Serbia in September 2010. The net consolidated sales of Monbat increased by 19.9% y/y to BGN 69mn (EUR 35.3mn) in Jan-Apr and the pre-tax profit rose 19.4% y/y to BGN 6.9mn. 

New car sales rise 20% y/y in Jan-May 2011

New car sales increased by 20% y/y to 8,800 units in Jan-May, according to data of the local car importers association quoted by Dnevnik daily. The upward trend continued for seven months in a row but the rate of increase decelerated from some 24% y/y in Jan-Apr. The chairperson of the association Stoyan Zhelev explained that the growth was due to re-exports abroad as the prices of new cars in Bulgaria are lower. New car sales to local agents remained largely the same as compared to a year earlier. Sales of new cars, buses and trucks in Bulgaria fell by 25% on the year to 20,085 in 2010, as the market was still facing a slump in demand due to the financial crisis. Sales in the last two years plummeted 65.3%, after rising for nine straight years. 

 

 

Reported by:

Georgi Iliev

KOTRA Sofia

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency

Commercial Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea