Apparently, Bulgarian industry is reporting growth in turnover, but according to the latest analysis by the Professional Association for Robotics and Automation (PARAi), a far harsher reality is hidden. Bulgarian production is not on the rise; it is in a state of complex metamorphosis, squeezed between disappearing cheap labor and energy insecurity. Beneath the surface of the numbers in the reports lies a worrying reality: physical production is collapsing, the old growth engines are exhausted, and the country is finding it increasingly difficult to compete with its European partners. The big trap of the 2021-2025 period turned out to be the “scissors” between turnover and the actual quantity of goods produced. In 2022, sectors such as energy and the production of intermediate goods reported cosmic increases in revenues, but they were not due to more work, but to the drastically increased prices of raw materials and energy. If we look only at the turnover of Bulgarian industry, the picture looks acceptable. The turnover index for 2025 stands at 122.2 points compared to the base year 2021. But this is where the paradox lies - the physical volume of production has fallen to 92.6 points, or Bulgaria produces less but sells at a higher price. In 2022, the turnover in the industry recorded an unprecedented jump of nearly 57% compared to 2021, while real production grew by only 13.3%. This imbalance proves that over 70% of the nominal revenue growth was due to price effects (inflation), and not to an increased volume of production sold. The gap between volume and value has deepened at the end of the period. Enterprises are caught in a classic scissors: raw material and labor costs are growing, but international buyers are not ready to pay infinitely more. The result is a contraction of margins and volumes. If the inflation factor is removed, it is seen that the physical volume of Bulgarian production is starting to shrink. Bulgaria can no longer rely on the old model – to be the “cheap workshop of Europe”. The data reveal a sharp division between two groups of sectors. On one side are metalworking, mechanical engineering, automotive and electronics – industries that are not only holding up, but are also finding ways to increase their export capacity and neutralize inflationary pressure through higher efficiency. The investment goods sector is the only one that showed growth even in the difficult 2023 and 2025. On the other side are textiles, clothing and leather processing. These traditional industries are losing the battle with rising operating costs and aggressive international competition. In non-durable consumer goods, the decline reaches -9.38% for 2025 alone. The most dramatic change in the five years is in the energy sector. In 2022, the country produced a record 50,385 GWh and exported 13,665 GWh. Just three years later, in 2025, production fell to 36,121 GWh – a drop of nearly 28%. Exports have collapsed by 52%, while imports have tripled, PARAi points out. Bulgaria is losing its competitiveness as a regional energy leader. Cheaper energy from neighboring markets (or from renewable sources in Greece/Romania) is displacing Bulgarian production, which is burdened by high coal prices and carbon quotas.” The price of coal has more than doubled (2025 compared to 2021), and electricity production from thermal power plants has become uncompetitive. The consequence is direct: energy-intensive industries can no longer rely on cheap local energy – one of the few competitive advantages that domestic industry relied on. Three structural problems block investments: Uncertain economic environment: 46.8% of enterprises cite the uncertain economic environment as the main obstacle to investments; The demographic crisis as a production problem: 34.5% suffer from an acute shortage of qualified labor – even with reduced production; Weak demand from abroad and at home: 24% do not have enough orders from abroad, a consequence of the slowdown in the Eurozone. Capacity utilization stands at 74 – 75% – below the optimal 80%, not so much because there are no machines, but rather because there are no orders and no people.

Government securities (GS) in the amount of 150 million euros will be offered by the Ministry of Finance at an auction scheduled for March 23 this year. The auction will offer 2-year GS from issue No. BG 20 300 26 111/21.01.2026 with a fixed annual interest rate of 2.25 percent. This will be the sixth auction for raising new debt on the domestic market since the beginning of 2026. This year, our country has taken on new debt in the total amount of 750 million euros. If the action scheduled for the beginning of next week is successful, the new debt raised in 2026 will reach 900 million euros.

Insurance companies in Bulgaria are managing an increasingly large financial resource. BNB data show that by the end of 2025, the sector's assets reached nearly 6.74 billion euros. This is an increase of 14.4% compared to a year earlier. However, two-thirds of the money was invested outside Bulgaria. According to statistics, by the end of 2025, the investments of insurance companies in Bulgaria were 2.31 billion euros, which is 34.2% of all assets of the sector. The rest are outside our country. The largest share is in other countries of the European Union. There, insurers hold assets for 3.78 billion euros, or 56.1% of all. Adding investments in the USA and other countries, the total amount of funds invested outside Bulgaria reaches approximately 4.4 billion euros. The structure of investments shows a clear preference for more conservative financial instruments. By the end of 2025, the money was invested mainly in securities and bonds, in shares and deposits. The currency structure of the portfolios also shows a strong European orientation. By the end of 2025, 46.9% of the assets were in euros, 29.9% were in levs, the rest were in dollars and other currencies.

The revenue of the leading Bulgarian companies in the "Chemicals" sector is nearly 8% of GDP. In 2024, the ten largest companies recorded a decline of over 8% to 7.9 billion euros. The "Chemicals" sector includes companies that produce substances and materials such as petrochemicals, agrochemicals and plastics and preparations. The leaders in Bulgaria are mainly oil refiners and fertilizer producers. The largest company in the sector continues to be "Lukoil Neftochim" with a turnover of over 4.6 billion euros in 2024 (an increase of about 5% compared to the previous year) - more than the other nine companies in the ranking combined. The company recorded the weakest financial result of all companies in the sector with a loss of over 109 million euros. At the moment, the owner of the company continues to be the Russian "Lukoil", but since November Rumen Spetsov has been appointed as a special manager, which saved the refinery from US sanctions at least temporarily. The biodiesel and oil producer Astra Bioplant retains its second place in the ranking, but reports the largest drop in revenue in 2024 - over 43% to about 1.2 billion euros. Two years ago, the company transferred the production itself to a newly established company - Astra Greenplant, where the production staff also went - about 140 people, and it focuses on commercial activities. The three largest clients are Oberösterreichische Biodiesel Bulgaria, High Protein and Oleo Protein. All three companies are owned by Astra-finance - Stanko Stankov's company, which is also the sole owner of Astra Bioplant. The drop in revenue is mainly due to reduced biodiesel sales by over 63%. Despite this, the company made a profit of over 9 million euros. Third place continues to go to fuel producer Insa Oil. The company also reports a decline in revenue in 2024 by over 14% compared to a year earlier to 510 million euros, which is due to lower sales of products. The profit is only 5.6 million euros. The company also owns the second refinery in Bulgaria. Insa Oil's clients are over 200 companies in Bulgaria. The owner of the company is Georgi Samuilov through the company Insa Oil Bulgaria. The Devnia producer of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers Agropolychim. The company, which is owned by Philip Rombout and Iskar Iskrov, also recorded a decline in revenue by nearly 6% compared to a year earlier to 408 million euros, but recorded the largest net profit - over 36 million euros. The decline in revenue is mainly due to lower average selling prices of products despite the growth in sales volume. The manufacturer of polypropylene film and plastic packaging "Plastchim - T" has revenues of nearly 350 million euros in 2024 - a growth of over 70% per year. The company's profit is growing at a faster pace - nearly 10 times more than in 2023, and exceeds 6.2 million euros. The company of Aydin Faik Adem and his sons acquired the Italian film manufacturer Manucor in 2024, as well as the remaining 50% that it did not hold in Plastchim Ukraine. "Solvay Sodi" reduced its turnover from the production of soda ash and bicarbonate of soda by nearly 30% for 2024 to 264 million euros. In 2024, the company's plant produced more heavy (granular) and light (powder) soda ash than the previous year, which suggests that the decline in revenues is mainly due to a decrease in prices. The company's profit also took a hit and shrank by nearly 75% to just over 30 million euros. The company is owned by the Belgian Solvay, whose shares are traded on the Brussels stock exchange, with a minority stake held by the Turkish Sisecam. The Shumen-based manufacturer of cleaning, laundry and cosmetic products "Ficosota" reported a turnover increase of about 2% compared to 2023 and registered over 156 million euros in revenue and a profit of nearly 23 million euros. The group of the company, which is owned by Zhechko and Krasen Kyurkchiev, also includes the snack manufacturer "Ficosota Food". The manufacturer of ammonia, nitric acid and ammonium nitrate "Neochim" - Dimitrovgrad continues to operate at a loss in 2024. However, it decreased to under 2 million euros compared to 18 million euros a year earlier. This is against the backdrop of a decline in turnover of nearly 9% to 143 million euros. In all three production plants, the volume of production is increasing in 2024, which means that the decline in revenue is mainly due to a decrease in prices. The company does not have a majority shareholder. The largest share of Neochim is owned by Dimcho Georgiev's Eco Tech (about 24%), Petar Krastev's Euro Fert (about 24%), and since January last year, Agropolychim has also had a large minority share (also about 24%) through the companies Reya Ventures and Feboran. The turnover of the plastic caps and bottles company from the town of Saedinenie "Gotmar" increases in 2024 to 117 million euros and a profit of nearly 6 million euros. Nearly two-thirds of the turnover comes from sales of mineral water bottles, followed by packaging for milk and dairy products (about 13% of revenue) and oil and vegetable oils (about 9%). The company - owner of the brands "Bachkovo" and Derby, generates nearly 48% of its revenue in Bulgaria and another 41% in EU countries. The toilet seat manufacturer from Sevlievo "Hamberger" has a turnover of 96 million euros and a profit of 9 million euros. The company is fully owned by the German Hamberger Industriewerke GmbH and has over 1,000 employees in Bulgaria.

The almost state-owned company "Information Services" is holding out on its private shareholders to buy out their shares by the end of the year. The reason - the company, which is a national system integrator and maintains the country's information and communication systems, must be 100% state-owned. Otherwise, there is a risk to cybersecurity and it cannot benefit from in-house contracting. For this reason, the European Commission has initiated a criminal procedure against Bulgaria for violating public procurement rules in the direct contracting of activities to "Information Services". After the opening of the criminal procedure in the summer of 2025, "Information Services" undertook an unprecedented search for 2,692 owners and their heirs, who hold 11,598 shares - 0.5% of the capital, in order to buy them out at a price of 12.91 euros. So far, the national system integrator has managed to acquire 60% of the shares intended for repurchase. In order to redeem all shares, the deadline has been extended until the end of 2026.The remaining shareholders who wish to sell their shares can do so at the offices of the licensed investment intermediaries "UniCredit Bulbank", "Elana Trading" and "Karol". All costs of transferring the shares, including the fees and expenses of shareholders and heirs related to the procurement of the necessary documents for the redemption, are at the expense of "Information Services". The company is currently engaged in the upcoming parliamentary elections on April 19, as it is responsible for processing the election results.

A change in the sole owner of the capital of "TBI Bank" and the members of the Supervisory Board of the credit institution has been entered in the Commercial Register. "Bago" (Luxembourg) S.à.r.l. acquired 100% of the bank's share capital, which was entered on March 13. Mr. Gauthier Van Wedingen and Mr. Kieran Patrick Donnelly have been removed from the Supervisory Board of "TBI Bank". Mr. Markus Bodo Krause and Mr. Chongor Bulcu Nemet have been entered in their place. On February 13 of this year, the European Central Bank issued approval for the acquisition by the private equity fund Advent International (through its subsidiary Bago (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l.) of a majority stake in TBI Bank EAD from 4finance Holding S.A. The deal was finalized on March 2, 2026.

The renewable energy installation design company Tok Invest AD is making a sharp turn towards organic livestock farming, which has recently been included as an independent intervention in the Strategic Plan. The Regional Inspectorate for Environment, Water and Water Varna has approved the company's investment intention to build a cow farm for organic breeding and reproduction of 818 cows and calves in fields of nearly 56 acres in the land of the village of Asparuhovo in the Varna region. The structure of the cow farm is planned according to the rules - a barn for cows, a barn for maternity and sick animals, a calf pen, in which the calves will not be in cages, but in group boxes, another barn for calves between 4 and 28 months, a milking parlor, a selection department for the veterinarian's work, feed warehouses, a lagoon and others. Tok Invest AD is headquartered in Blagoevgrad and its main activity is the design, construction and operation of power plants, including renewable energy. The company is connected through its owners to "S&G Solar" Ltd., which is a contractor for energy projects. sinor.bg

HR Capital has issued its first convertible bond issue on the BEAM market of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. The company raised over EUR 5 million through a public offering. The funds raised through the bonds will be used to increase HR Capital's stake in eBag, one of the leading Bulgarian technology and logistics businesses in the e-commerce sector. The deal to acquire shares in eBag was announced in November 2025.

10.7% of Europeans aged 16 or over used some form of public transport every day, and 11.6% used it every week. This is according to data from the European statistical office Eurostat for 2024. According to them, 10% of people living within the EU used public transport every month and 17.1% used it less than once a month. Among EU countries, the share of people who did not use public transport in 2024 was highest in Cyprus - 85% of the population, followed by Italy (68.0%), Portugal (67.8%), France (65.1%), Slovenia (61.6%) and Greece (61.3%). At the other end of the scale are Luxembourg, where 15.7% of people did not use public transport in 2024, Estonia (26.6%) and Sweden (26.7%). Regarding those who used public transport every week, Luxembourg registered the highest share with 23.1% of people, followed by Latvia (19.2%) and Estonia (18.2%). Eurostat data for Bulgaria shows that in 2024: 15.3% of Bulgarians used public transport every day, 11.8% used it every week, 7.6% used it every month, 9.8% used public transport less than once a month.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB, the country's central bank) significantly increased its foreign exchange interventions in 2025, purchasing foreign currencies worth 5.2 billion Swiss francs (around 5.75 billion euros). In comparison, in 2024, the central bank acquired a net currency worth 1.2 billion francs, which highlights the sharp increase in its intervention in the foreign exchange markets. The interventions were aimed at maintaining "appropriate monetary conditions" and limiting the excessive appreciation of the Swiss franc. The national currency is traditionally seen as a "safe haven" in periods of global uncertainty, leading to increased demand and appreciation pressure. However, an excessively strong franc can have a negative effect on the Swiss economy, reducing the competitiveness of exports and putting pressure on prices. With the increased foreign exchange purchases, the central bank is signaling its readiness to intervene actively in the market to limit the effects of global shocks and stabilize the domestic economic environment.

U.S. industrial production rose moderately in February, supported by gains in manufacturing and mining for a second straight month, Bloomberg reported. The 0.2% increase in output at factories, mines and utilities followed a 0.7% gain a month earlier, the Federal Reserve said in a report released on Monday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a 0.1% increase. Manufacturing output, which accounts for three-quarters of total industrial output, rose 0.2%, helped by higher activity in motor vehicle assembly. Mining and energy output rose 0.8%, while utility output fell for the first time in three months. At the same time, factory employment has fallen almost every month for the past two years, and the sector remains weighed down by higher raw material costs linked to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The war in Iran has led to a sharp rise in energy prices in recent days. The report also shows that capital spending expectations are the most optimistic in more than three years.

Chinese businesses are expanding their presence abroad, in both rich and poor countries, and across a growing number of industries. This latest wave of international expansion is remarkable in both speed and scale. In 2024, publicly traded Chinese companies generated 15 trillion yuan ($2.1 trillion) in overseas sales, up from 11.6 trillion yuan in 2021. Chinese companies are now investing more abroad than foreign companies in China. Even more striking, however, are the changes in the way Chinese companies approach international expansion, seeking to build a larger physical presence abroad amid a tense geopolitical environment. The latest wave, which began with China’s reopening after the pandemic, is partly a result of the country’s bleak economic conditions. Growth is slowing, and fierce price wars are common. Between 2019 and 2024, the average operating margin of publicly traded Chinese companies will fall from 12.4% to 11.2%. Analysts at investment bank Goldman Sachs believe that the margins that Chinese companies achieve abroad are typically higher than those at home. After carefully watching foreign multinationals operate in their home market, Chinese companies have learned to produce all kinds of sophisticated products, from industrial robots to medical equipment. To thrive abroad, Chinese companies are finding that they must rethink the way they do business. Most of them, until recently, sought to keep as much of their operations in China as possible. This explains why in 2024 the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) was just 17% of GDP — much of it going to infrastructure and resource projects in developing countries — compared with 38% for America and 57% for Japan, according to the Institute of International Finance, a Washington-based think tank. China’s share of global FDI is just 4% of the world total — about half that of the Netherlands. That is starting to change. Driven by rising labor costs and Western tariffs, Chinese companies are aggressively building factories abroad, many of them in the global South. Cloud service providers such as Alibaba, which serves a growing number of foreign customers, including the international branches of other Chinese companies, are building more and more data centers overseas. To boost their brand recognition, Chinese companies are also increasingly opening stores abroad. They are also tapping into local distribution and supply chains. All of this requires a new approach to hiring. Chinese companies with operations abroad have until recently had a habit of sending their own workers instead of hiring local talent. This has sometimes caused resentment in host countries because it has meant fewer new jobs on the ground. But now, companies are hiring more local talent for positions like sales, customer service, public relations, and even management, notes a partner at a global consulting firm (though he adds that senior finance roles are often considered too sensitive to be entrusted to foreigners). An ecosystem of consultants is also emerging who can help Chinese companies expand internationally. Many of the world’s leading professional services firms are Western-based and have traditionally focused on helping companies from America, Europe, and Japan enter China, not the other way around. Chinese multinationals also have to navigate the suspicion of their own government. Chinese officials complain about complex cross-border structures, where only parts of the business fall under their jurisdiction. Local tax authorities have already noticed that many companies that appear to be struggling in the Chinese market and paying little tax are actually thriving abroad and keeping their profits offshore. In some cases, they are pushing for more tax transfers. The Chinese government is particularly wary of companies that suddenly relocate their staff and set up headquarters in places like Singapore. Manus, a popular artificial intelligence company that moved to the city-state last year, is one such example. Regulators in Beijing are investigating its proposed acquisition by U.S. social media giant Meta and could block the deal. Still, many Chinese companies seeking to enter the global market are likely to receive state support, especially those whose activities are not considered risky. Officials appear to be recognizing the importance of global brands. State media is already touting Labubus, plush toys created by PopMart, a Chinese company that is taking the world by storm, as evidence of a growing cultural power. The central government could start to loosen approval requirements for foreign investment, which are currently extremely strict, says Denis Depue of Roland Berger, a consulting firm. Consumers around the world can expect to encounter even more high-profile Chinese brands next year.