The state-owned company, National Company of Industrial Zones (NKIZ), has transformed from a company that manages industrial zones into a major real estate seller. NKIZ is the legal successor to the state-owned company Serdika-1, which was subsequently liquidated. NKIZ is under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy and, according to its charter, its main activity is the creation, construction, management and development of industrial zones and parks. The company holds 100% of the shares of three companies - Free Zone Ruse, Industrial Lands and Warehouses - Bozhurishte and Economic Zone Dobroslavtsi, as well as smaller shares in Industrial and Logistics Park - Burgas (67.88%), Industrial Zone Zagore (41.55%), Santoku Engineering and Transit Trade Zone - Varna (46%). In 2023, the profit amounted to 9.1 million. BGN, with revenues of BGN 26 million specifically from the sale of properties. In 2022, the profit was even greater – nearly BGN 11.2 million, and revenues from the sale of properties and rights to them amounted to BGN 35 million. In February 2021 – just months before the end of Borisov’s third cabinet. With its decisions of February 18, the government gave permission to include in the company’s capital two huge properties – 150 decares of land in the “Sinjirli Geren” area in Burgas, with the status of agricultural land, and 153 decares in the “Gorna Drachevitsa” area, Simitli, with 10 buildings built on it. The market valuations for the property in Burgas at the time of the contribution are BGN 146,200 – less than BGN 1 per sq. m., the one in Simitli is valued at BGN 714,400. However, both properties were sold to the same investor – International Armored Group BG, owned by Bulgarian entrepreneur and emigrant Anton Stefov. In Burgas, he is building an enterprise for armoring and production of military equipment, and in Simitli, armored vehicles for the army, police, banks, etc. will also be produced. The property in Burgas was bought after an auction in which no other participant appeared, according to media reports, and this is confirmed by the achieved bidding step – only one. The property was sold at a price of 2,105,570 leva – 20,848 leva above the initial price of 2,084,722 leva. The property in Simitli from the 2021 aport was bought only in August this year at a price of 950,000 leva - for all 153 acres with 10 buildings built on them. Particularly active in 2024 and 2023 is the subsidiary "Industrial and Logistics Park - Burgas", which managed to sell a series of attractive properties. Among them is a plot of 13,970 sq. m. in Burgas, bought this summer at an auction from "Kozloduy" Ltd after one step of bidding at a price of 1,075,200 leva, and a property of 12,834 sq. m., again in Burgas, bought in the summer after one step of bidding from "Fire Security". The "Kozloduy" company produces pipelines and large metal structures to order. "Fire Security" is the sole property of Pavlin Boshnakov, who is mentioned in publications as being close to Valentin Zlatev. A similar sized plot of land in Burgas was purchased a year earlier by the newly established company “Augusta Vulgarika” with the main activity of managing tangible, financial and virtual assets. The company was registered a few months before the announcement of the tender - in May 2023, the announcement of the upcoming tender is from August 2023. The owner of the company also has registrations in other companies and associations with activities in the field of media, advertising, production of metal equipment. There was only one bidding step for this property, and the final price was 1,070,600 leva. At the beginning of 2023, “Industrial and Logistics Park - Burgas” still managed to hold an auction with the participation of two participants - for a plot of land of 18,574 sq. m., bought by “BRK-Logistic” for 1,420,870 after two bidding steps. One of the most successful deals of NKIZ - from 2022 is for 28,878 sq m, in Plovdiv. The market valuation of the property is 4,089,200 BGN, and in reality the land was bought by "Bulpharma" for 8 times more - 33,122,520 BGN. Here "Bulpharma" competed seriously with "Tarameh Ltd", because the bidding step is 408,920 BGN. A very large plot of land in the area of ​​the "Bozhurishte" industrial park was also purchased from NKIZ in 2022 by "Lidl Bulgaria". In an auction without competition, the company acquired 195 acres for 21.2 million BGN.

The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) has approved a prospectus for an initial public offering of warrants to be issued by Sever Holding JSC, Varna. The issue is for up to 3,060,000 dematerialized, registered, freely transferable warrants, with an issue value of BGN 0.01 each warrant, with ISIN code BG9200005247, which entitle the warrant holders to exercise their right to subscribe for the corresponding number of shares of the underlying asset of the warrants within a 5-year period at an issue value of BGN 4.70 per share, with a warrant/share conversion ratio of 1:1. The prospectus for an initial public offering of warrants to be issued by Dobrudzha Holding JSC, Varna, has also been approved. The issue is in the amount of up to 12,741,760 dematerialized, registered, freely transferable warrants, with an issue value of BGN 0.001 each warrant, with ISIN code BG9200006245, which entitle the warrant holders to exercise within a 5-year period their right to subscribe for the respective number of shares of the underlying asset of the warrants at an issue value of BGN 7 per share, with a warrant/share conversion ratio of 1:1. The FSC also approved a prospectus for admission to trading on a regulated market of an issue of bonds issued by Synergy Invest Holding JSC, Sofia. The issue is in the amount of BGN 26,000,000, distributed in 26,000 ordinary, dematerialized, registered, interest-bearing, freely transferable, secured, non-convertible bonds, with a nominal value of one bond in the amount of BGN 1,000, with a floating interest rate in the amount formed by 6-month EURIBOR with a premium of 1.25%, but not less than 2.50% in total and not more than 5.50% in total per annum, payable in 6-month periods, with an issue date of 24.07.2024 and a maturity date of 24.07.2033, with ISIN code BG2100033245. FSC has approved Ivan Kostov as a member of the board of directors of "EUROINS INSURANCE COMPANY" AD and entered "BIP - BRO" EOOD in the register of insurance brokers. Administrative proceedings have been opened for the issuance of an individual administrative act for the deletion of the insurance broker "CORPOREX BG INSURANCE BROKER" Ltd, in liquidation, from the register of insurance brokers.

Sewing company "IPL Bulgaria" Ltd. in Byala Slatina successfully implemented a project under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan (RSP). Through the investment, a new production facility was set up, which covers the entire process of creating women's clothing. Each asset is of the latest generation and allows working with more fabrics - silks, laces, veils, leathers, etc., which require specific treatment and work. Each of the purchased assets has led to a reduction in scrap, an increase in the quality of production, automation of processes, a reduction in processing time and an increase in technical capacity. "IPL Bulgaria" Ltd. is positioned in the textile sector with its main activity being the production of women's clothing. The production process in the company goes through: modeling, cutting, sewing, ironing, quality control and packaging. It carries out its activities in its own buildings, built on a production site owned by the company, in Byala Slatina and Berkovitsa. The new business site in Byala Slatina is equipped with 12 different types of automated systems and machines that will cover the cycle of creating women's clothing: cutting (laying and cutting) and sewing (straight, connecting and decorative seams; buttonholes; attaching sleeves, linings and wadding; gatherings, etc.). The project "Technological modernization in the enterprise" is financed under the procedure BG-RRP-3.004 under the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan. The value of the contract is 1,368,986 BGN. The grant is in the amount of 684,493 BGN, and the own financing is 684,493 BGN.

"Sopharma" JSC reported a decline in sales in October of 8 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, including a 2 percent decline in domestic sales and a 10 percent decline in export sales. For the period from the beginning of 2024, "Sopharma" JSC realized a decline in sales of 8 percent, including a 4 percent increase in domestic sales and a 14 percent decline in export sales. "Sopharma" produces active substances and medicinal products, as well as carries out activities related to research, development and implementation in the field of phytochemistry, chemistry and pharmacy, provides production and other related services.

The rights for the warrants of Eurohold Bulgaria JSC will be traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) from November 25, 2024. On the same day, the extraordinary general meeting of the company's shareholders is to be held, at which an option to increase the capital with warrants up to BGN 1 billion and issue ordinary bonds up to EUR 1 billion will be voted on within 5 years after its holding. Eurohold plans to issue 260,500,000 warrants with an issue value of BGN 0.5. The same number of rights are issued for their subscription. One right gives the right to purchase 1 warrant. The subscription will be considered successful only if at least 78,150,000 of the offered warrants are subscribed and paid. The warrants entitle their holders to exercise within a 10-year period the right to subscribe for the corresponding number of shares – the underlying asset of the warrants, at an issue price of BGN 2 per share and a ratio of 1:1. The final date for trading the rights on the stock exchange is November 28. The rights can be transferred in the period November 25 – December 2. The procedure is handled by Focal Point Investments JSC.

Agricultural output in Europe fell by 1.5% in 2023, the first decline in a decade, Eurostat data showed. In 2023, agricultural output in the EU was estimated at €577.1 billion at basic prices, a decrease of 1.5% compared to 2022 (€545.4 billion). This decline, although slight at first glance, compared to the peak production value in 2022, marks the end of the upward trend that began in 2010. The change in nominal value reflects the balance of the decline in production volume (-2.3%) and the slight increase in the nominal price of agricultural goods and services (+0.8%). The data and trend summary come from information from the Economic Accounts for Agriculture for 2023, published by the Statistical Office of the European Commission. It shows the volume of agricultural production in the EC in 2023. It was slightly lower than in 2022, with 10 EU countries showing higher volumes. The highest growth rates were in Hungary (+26%) and Slovakia (+12%). The remaining countries experienced declines, most notably in Greece (-16%), Estonia, Latvia, Spain (all -9%) and Sweden (-8%). Just over half (51%) of the value of EU agricultural output in 2023 will come from crops (€273.6 billion, -6% compared to 2022), and 40% from livestock and animal products (€214.3 billion, +2% compared to 2022). The remaining share will come from agricultural services and secondary activities. The EC's expenditure on agricultural raw materials, not related to investment (intermediate consumption), was 3% lower in 2023 than in 2022. Changes in the value of agricultural production and intermediate consumption in 2023 are expected to increase by 0.5% of the gross value added generated by agriculture. According to Eurostat data, the area used for organic farming in the EC continues to increase in 2022. reached an impressive 16.9 million hectares. This is an increase from 15.9 million hectares in 2021 and 14.7 million hectares in 2020. This means that by 2022 organic farming will account for 10.5% of the total utilised agricultural area (UAA) in the EU. Between 2012 and 2022 The area used for organic farming has increased in almost all EC countries. The most significant growth in this period was observed in Croatia (+306%), Portugal (+278%) and Bulgaria (+182%). Despite the growth, our country continues to be at the bottom of the European ranking. In five EU countries, the share of organic farming remains below 5% in 2022, with the lowest values ​​recorded in Malta (below 1%), Bulgaria and Ireland (both 2%).

The US government has finalized a grant agreement with chipmaker GlobalFoundries (GF) to support its investment in semiconductor manufacturing, AFP reported. The binding contract provides up to 1.5 billion. dollars in direct funding and is part of the Chip and Science Act (SCA), a package of incentives to promote research and semiconductor manufacturing in the US. The US produces only about 10% of the world's chip supply. The final award follows a preliminary agreement announced in February and means funds can start flowing in when milestones are met. The announcement comes about two months before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has previously been critical of the EPA. The award is intended to support broader investments worth around 13 billion. dollars by GF over the next 10 years or so at its manufacturing facilities in New York and Vermont, the Commerce Department said. The sites produce semiconductor technologies in key areas such as automotive, aviation and defense as well as communications. "Currently, there are only 4 companies outside of China that provide foundry capabilities on the scale of GF," the commerce ministry said. GF is the only one of these firms headquartered in the US. The company's investment is expected to create around 1,000 manufacturing jobs at the two sites.

The largest importers of diamonds in India as of September continued to be the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong and Belgium. At the same time, Hong Kong, which until 2022 was second only to Russia in terms of diamond supplies to the country with the most population in the world, continues to increase its share. In September, Hong Kong imported diamonds worth $ 448 million (5% less than in the same month in 2023). Imports from the UAE fell by 12% year-on-year, and from Belgium - by 16%, to $ 581 million and $ 186 million, respectively. Imports of Russian diamonds began to decline on an annual basis from April this year. Previously, the dynamics were different: in March, imports were 2.3 times higher than in 2023, amounting to 728,000 carats, in February - 85% higher year-on-year (1.81 million carats), and in January - 14% higher (400,000 carats), which market participants attribute to the sale of stocks before the entry into force of G-7 sanctions against Russian diamond production. Imports of diamonds from Russia to India in September collapsed by 96% (almost 25 times) compared to a year earlier, to 37,000 carats, according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India. A year earlier, 917,000 carats were imported. The volume in monetary terms is estimated at $ 1.5 million, compared to $ 112 million a year earlier. India's total diamond imports in September were just 23% lower than a year earlier at 1.43 million carats. The diamond industry is currently in a prolonged crisis, although Russia's Alrosa expects demand to recover by the end of the year as inventories at polishing plants normalize.