불가리아 주요 경제뉴스 (30 December 2011 – 6 January 2012)

BULGARIAN ECONOMIC TOP NEWS DIGEST

WEEKLY REPORT (30 December 2011 – 6 January 2012)

 

Sections/headline briefs:

 

 

MACROECONOMY:

Bulgaria's finance minister says 2011 budget deficit smaller than expected.

2011 Brought EUR 3.2 B in Revenues for Bulgarian Tourism

Bulgaria 12th in EU renewable energy share of gross consumption

 

 

INVESTMENTS:

EVN Bulgaria to invest EUR 65.4mn in 2012

EIB establishes fund to invest EUR 56.4mn in urban projects in Bulgaria

 

 

COMPANIES AND INDUSTRIES:

Sofia Airport to pay USD 38mn compensations to runway constructor

Solar Hold seeks license to build 76 MW solar park near Svilengrad

Bulgaria's Sopharma 2011 Sales Revenue Up 0.4% to 107 Mln Euro

Shell Bulgaria takes control of two petrol stations of Litex

Kozloduy N-plant generates record-high power output in 2011

Cement maker Holcim gets permission to acquire stakes in two concrete producers

Battery producer Monbat’s sales rise 16.7% y/y in Jan-Nov 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

Articles:

 

MACROECONOMY:

 

Bulgaria's finance minister says 2011 budget deficit smaller than expected.

Finance minister Simeon Daynkov said that the budget deficit has reached 2.1% of GDP in 2011, which is 0.4pps below the set in the budget law target, DarikFinance informs. According to latest data, the general budget posted a deficit of BGN 1.05bn (EUR 536.4mn) in Jan-Nov, down by 43.8% y/y, and accounted for 1.4% of the full-year GDP estimate as compared to 1.1% of GDP a month earlier and 2.6% of GDP at the end of November 2010. The government will target a budget deficit of 1.35% of the projected full-year GDP in 2012, down from 1.5% planned in the midterm framework. 

 

2011 Brought EUR 3.2 B in Revenues for Bulgarian Tourism

Tsvetan Tonchev, Chair of theBulgarian Tourist Chamber, has described 2011 as a good year for Bulgarian tourism. The sector saw good revenues in 2011 despite the financial crisis, Tonchev said in a Thursday interview. He pointed out that the past year had fetched EUR 2.7 B in revenuesfrom foreign tourists and BGN 1 B inrevenues from Bulgarian tourists. The Chair of the Bulgarian Tourist Chamber also told journalists that there was a very good outlook for the winter season. "Bulgaria deserves at least EUR 5 B in revenues from international tourism. This has already happened in other countries, for instance Croatia has already attracted EUR 8-9 B, Montenegro over EUR 3 B and Finland over EUR 5 B. Not to mention Greece and Turkey," he explained. Tonchev suggested that Bulgaria should develop rehabilitation- and sports-related tourism. He concluded by saying that he expected hotel construction to continue into 2012.

 

Bulgaria 12th in EU renewable energy share of gross consumption

Sweden tops the list with 46.9%, followed by Latvia (34.3%) and Finland (33.6%). The renewable energy share of Bulgaria's gross final energy consumption was 12.9% in 2010, ranking the country 12th among the EU member states, according to estimates published by EurObserv'ER.The Balkan country's renewable energy share was 11.6% in 2009.
Sweden tops the list with 46.9%, followed by Latvia (34.3%) and Finland (33.6%). The United Kingdom (3.3%), Luxembourg (2.6%) and Malta (0.3%) occupy the last three spots. In 2010, the renewable energy share accounted for 12.4% of overall gross final energy consumption in the bloc, as against 11.5% in 2009, which amounted to a 0.9-point year-on-year increase compared to 2009. From 2009 to 2010, gross consumption of final energy from renewable sources increased by 10.2% (+ 13.4 Mtoe), as against to a 2.1% increase (+ 24.4 Mtoe) of the overall gross final energy consumption. The EU members should produce an extra hundred Mtoe of final energy from renewable sources to achieve the 2020 target of 20% of renewable energies in the EU-27 final energy gross consumption. It equates to an extra annual average of 10 Mtoe of final energy from renewable sources.

 

INVESTMENTS:

 

EVN Bulgaria to invest EUR 65.4mn in 2012

EVN Bulgaria, part of Austria's energy utility EVN AG, plans to invest BGN 128mn (EUR 65.4mn) in the country this year, Dnevnik Daily reported. Since buying the power distribution units in Plovdiv and Stara Zagora in southeast Bulgaria in 2005, EVN has invested some BGN 900mn. The company reports BGN 21mn outstanding claims for purchases of electricity and heating. At the end of 2011, EVN raised its stake in its local subsidiaries to above 97% after the state offered for sale on the bourse its 33% shares in EVN Bulgaria Elektrorazpredelenie and EVN Bulgaria Elektrosnabdiavane. EVN Bulgaria services more than 1.5 million clients. 

 

EIB establishes fund to invest EUR 56.4mn in urban projects in Bulgaria

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement with a consortium, led by Societe Generale Expressbank, for the establishment of an urban development fund to invest in projects located in the cities of Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora and Pleven, according to information posted on its website. The consortium comprises also Elana Holding, Elana Investment and Balkan Advisors. The financing will reach a total of EUR 56.4mn, of which EUR 18.8mn of JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) funds and EUR 37.6mn own funds. The regional ministry set up a JESSICA Holding Fund within EIB in July 2010 with the aim to deploying EU Structural Funds for revitalisation investments in city areas. 

 

 

COMPANIES AND INDUSTRIES:

 

Sofia Airport to pay USD 38mn compensations to runway constructor

The International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris has ruled that Sofia Airport should pay USD 38mn in compensations to the consortium Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi and Sons, which constructed the runway on Terminal 2 of the airport, investor.bg reported, quoting an interview of transport minister Ivailo Moskovski for Bulgaria on Air magazine. The value of the project was set at some USD 40mn. The consortium claimed USD 20mn in compensations upon the completion of the project in August 2006 saying that it received construction permits with delay and the volume of the field works exceeded the contract. The transport ministry refused to pay due to lack of invoices for costs incurred. 

Solar Hold seeks license to build 76 MW solar park near Svilengrad

Sofia-based Solar Hold has asked the state energy commission to issue a 35-year license for electricity production from a solar power park, which is to be built near the southern town of Svilengrad, according to a report of the commission. The overall capacity of the facility will reach 76 MW. It is to be constructed and inaugurated by November 2012. The value of the investment in the power park has not been unveiled so far. 

 

Bulgaria's Sopharma 2011 Sales Revenue Up 0.4% to 107 Mln Euro

Bulgarian drug maker Sopharma [BUL:3JR] said on Thursday its sales revenue inched up by 0.4% to 210 million levs ($137.8 million/107.4 million euro) in 2011. The company's revenue from sales on the domestic market increased by 3.3% last year, while exports dipped by 0.9%, Sopharma said in a statement filed to the Sofia bourse. In December alone, Sopharma's sales revenue rose by 38% on the year, including 48% annual growth in domestic sales and 29% increase in exports. The economic and political environment in Europe, the echo of the world crises and a number of administrative obstacles limited the growth rates during 2011," the statement added. During the second half of 2011 we came across a number of administrative problems, which disrupted our exports to Russia and other significant markets. After some of these issues were solved in December we managed to realize double digit growth for Caucuses and Middle Asia, the Balkan region, Moldova, as well as growth in the export sales for the Ukraine and the Baltic states," the statement quoted Sopharma's executive director Ognian Donev as saying. In 2010 the company reported 13% annual increase in sales revenue, driven mainly by exports.

 

Shell Bulgaria takes control of two petrol stations of Litex

The state antitrust regulator allowed fuel retailer Shell Bulgaria, part of Netherlands' Shell Petroleum N.V., to take control of two petrol stations of its local competitor Litex located in the capital city of Sofia, according to the decision posted on the website of the regulator. Shell will have the right to use the two facilities for a continuous time period, which has not been unveiled by the commission. The retailer has also acquired construction permits regarding the terrains of the two petrol stations. The concentration aims to gain economies from scale, to improve the quality of the fuels and the offered services, to raise the profitability to keep high investment costs. The regulator does not expect the concentration to affect the market adversely. Shell Bulgaria was the first foreign retailer which set foot in the country in 1991 and opened its first fuel station in 1993 in Dragichevo, some 20 kilometres away from Sofia. Shell runs 112 petrol stations in the country, including 26 franchised units, servicing more than 1mn clients per month.

 

Kozloduy N-plant generates record-high power output in 2011

The usage rate of the installed capacity at Kozloduy in 2011 exceeded 93 per cent. The two 1,000 MW power units of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, reactors 5 and 6, generated the record-high 16,314,271 MWh of electricity in 2011, overshooting the previous record in 2008 by 549,166 MWh, sources from the plant said. The 2011 output of the facility places it among the top world achievements of nuclear power plants working with VVER reactors. The usage rate of the installed capacity at Kozloduy in 2011 exceeded 93 per cent, which too is a record-high figure in the life of the two generating units. Kozloduy fulfilled its production target for 2011 set at 15,267,560 MWh on December 11.

 

Cement maker Holcim gets permission to acquire stakes in two concrete producers

The state antitrust regulator allowed Holcim Bulgaria, the local subsidiary of the Swiss Holcim Group, to acquire two local concrete producers Transport Stroy and Encon, according to the decision of the regulator posted on its website. Holcim will acquire 30% of Transport Stroy in two stages and will hold an option to take over the full stake in it. The company will also acquire 48% of Encon. Holcim will expand the scope of offered products on the market in Sofia. Also, Transport Stroy and Encon have considerable outstanding liabilities to Holcim. The regulator does not expect negative impacts from the concentration. 

 

Battery producer Monbat’s sales rise 16.7% y/y in Jan-Nov 2011

The net consolidated sales of Bulgaria’s largest car battery producer Monbat increased by 16.7% y/y to BGN 194.7mn (EUR 99.5mn) in Jan-Nov decelerating from 17.9% y/y in Jan-Oct, according to information posted on the website of the local stock exchange. In November alone, sales went up by 6.6% y/y to BGN 19.9mn slowing from the 12.5% y/y expansion in October. The pre-tax profit of the company rose by 8% y/y to BGN 20.2mn in Jan-Nov as the indicator almost doubled in November (up by 90.6% y/y to BGN 2.5mn). Monbat projects net sales in the amount of BGN 176.3mn, net profit of BGN 21.7mn and EBITDA of BGN 34mn in 2011. The consolidated results comprise those of Monbat and its unit Monbat Recycling. In April 2010, Monbat decided to spin off its recycling operations in order to improve its efficiency and make its activities more attractive to potential foreign investors. 

 

 

Reported by:

Georgi Iliev

KOTRA Sofia

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency

Commercial Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea