Producer prices in Bulgaria increased on a monthly and annual basis in February for the third consecutive month, according to the latest data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI). The overall producer price index increased by 2.8% in February compared to January. Higher prices were observed in the extractive industry - by 6.5%, and in the manufacturing industry - by 4.2%, while a decrease was recorded in the production and distribution of electricity, heat and gas - by 1.2%. The NSI recorded an increase in prices in the manufacturing industry in: the production of food products - by 13.1%, the production of wood and products thereof, excluding furniture - by 6.5%, the production of electrical equipment - by 4.6%. A decrease was recorded in the production of furniture - by 17.9%, the production of tobacco products - by 7.8%, the production of general and special-purpose machinery and equipment - by 1.7%. The overall producer price index last month was 16.2% above the level of February 2024. Price increases were recorded in the production and distribution of electricity, heat and gas - by 42.6%, in the mining industry - by 30%, as well as in the manufacturing industry - by 11.4%. Higher prices in the manufacturing industry are observed in: the production of basic metals - by 36.2%, the production of food products - by 23.5%, the production of computer equipment, electronic and optical products - by 15.1%.

In March, the overall business climate indicator in Bulgaria decreased by 0.5 points compared to February (from 20.9% to 20.4%), with a decrease in the indicator registered only in industry, the National Statistical Institute reports. The composite indicator "business climate in industry" decreased by 3.9 points (from 18.4% to 14.5%), which is due to the reserved assessments and expectations of industrial entrepreneurs about the business situation of enterprises. The main factors limiting activity in the sector remain the uncertain economic environment and the shortage of labor, indicated by 56.8 and 30.7% of enterprises, respectively. In March, the composite indicator "business climate in construction" increased by 0.9 points (from 23.3% to 24.2%) as a result of the more favorable assessments of construction entrepreneurs about the current business situation of enterprises. The composite indicator "business climate in retail trade" increased by 1.1 points (from 35.4% to 36.5%), which is due to the more optimistic expectations of retailers for the business situation of enterprises in the next six months. The majority of retailers do not foresee a change in selling prices in the next three months. In March, the composite indicator "business climate in the services sector" increased by 3.5 points (from 8.9% to 12.4%) as a result of the positive assessments and expectations of managers for the business situation of enterprises.

A large-scale reconstruction of the busiest road border crossing in Europe – “Kapitan Andreevo” is expected to begin within three months. According to the plan, the activities should be completed within a year, after which the throughput will increase by 25%. The reconstruction will cost 100 million leva, which is twice as much as the one set in the public procurement for engineering (design, construction and author’s supervision), published by the Customs Agency in January last year (49.5 million leva excluding VAT). The contractor of the project is “Glavbolgarstroy”, for which an advance payment has been provided, without specifying its value. After the reconstruction, the crossing will have additional entry and exit routes, the capacity for light freight traffic and the possibilities for reversal routes will be expanded. The last announced tender for the reconstruction of the station was from January 2024, when the coalition government of GERB, PP-DB and DPS was still in power, with an estimated value of just over 49.5 million leva excluding VAT. 7 participants submitted bids, 6 of which were eliminated. Thus, the only suitable bid was from DZZD "Kapitan Andreevo 2024", with participants "Ecoengineering" Ltd, "Espa Systems" Ltd and "Enchevgroup" Ltd. The proposed bid was about 20 thousand leva lower than the estimated price. Subsequently, the tender was terminated on the grounds that there was only one suitable bid, which, however, did not ensure the principle of competition and adversarial nature. The complaint submitted to the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) was not upheld. The Public Procurement Register does not contain any other movement of documentation on the tender. There is no subsequent one announced. Glavbolgarstroy did not participate in the terminated tender.

Work is progressing on the new "Radnevo Industrial Park" of "Bulmarket Group". With an area of ​​over 600 acres and 22 industrial buildings with a total gross floor area of ​​over 80,000 square meters, the industrial zone should breathe new life into the bankrupt enterprise "Remotex - Radnevo". For half a century, it was engaged in the maintenance of the heavy mining equipment of "Mini Maritsa-Iztok", but eventually ceased operations. "Bulmarket" initially only wanted the equipment of the plant for the needs of its railway plant in Ruse. However, it turned out that they could not acquire the assets from the creditor bank without the terrain, and this gave rise to the idea of ​​a new high-tech industrial zone, for which a detailed development plan has already come into force and registration as a private industrial park with the Ministry of Economy. The industrial park has electricity, water, internal roads, the possibility of gasification, railway tracks, including - to some of the halls, a connection to the Radnevo station and is located near the Trakia Motorway. At this stage, the plans are to introduce clean production into the former "Remotex". "Bulmarket" is applying for funding under the Just Transition Fund in Stara Zagora, and if approved, they will use the funds specifically for the development of the project.

Nine years after buying the business, the investment funds Empower Capital and KJK Capital are selling the majority stake in the facility management company "Mundus Services", which will become part of the leading Greek player in the Cordia Group segment. At the end of 2015. they acquired the two leading local companies from the sector "Viki Comfort 2004" and "Facility Optimum Bulgaria". The amount invested then was 5 million. euro, as against it, the fund took a majority share (42.5% each) from the newly established "Mundus Services". The second 15% remained with the founder of "Viki Komfort 2004" Lchezar Petrov, and the previous owner of "Facility Optimum Bulgaria" - the largest Bulgarian holding for investments in businesses related to real estate, AG Capital, sold its entire share. An hour and a half later, Empower and KJK bought two more medium-sized facilities of the company - specialized in technical support for building electrical equipment "E.E.S.E. - Bulgaria" and the official distributor of Johnson Controls for Bulgaria "VM Automation". Two new deals were financed with two increases in capital - initially with 1 mln. euros from both funds, and subsequently with another 280 thousand. euros, written entirely by one of the founders of "Ey.Es.Es. - Bulgaria" - Hristo Doichinov, who acquired 3.9% of the shares in "Mundus Services" against them. Shares in the fund respectively decreased to 41.9%, and those in Lchezar Petrov - to 12.3%. After almost two hours, in 2019, he left the business, as at the moment of the current transaction, the Empower and KJK funds each hold a little under 44% of the shares, and the rest is distributed among the management of the company - executive directors Hristo Doichinov (9%) and Diana Ivanova (2%) and Ivaylo Ivanov (1%), who is the director of "Cleaning and auxiliary services". Now the Greek Cordia Group acquires a full stake in both funds and Ivaylo Ivanov, while Hristo Doichinov and Diana Ivanova will retain 20% of their participation, or a little over 2% of the shares in "Mundus Services". Last year, the Bulgarian Business Association generated a turnover of 39 mln. BGN For comparison, a year earlier, the number was 31 with an EBITDA of 2 million. BGN The companies from the group work with over 300 corporate clients, including all telecoms in the country, almost all banks, business buildings, manufacturing enterprises, etc. There are over 4,000 serviced facilities throughout the country, and the number of employees is over 1,200, with the majority of them engaged in cleaning activities. The new owner Cordia Group is the largest provider of facility services in Greece. The group has over 4,000 employees and generates an annual turnover of over 100 million. euros, as in recent years it has focused on solutions for energy efficiency and charging stations. The biggest competitors in the sector on the Bulgarian market are "Wright Cleaning" (where, however, most of the turnover comes from selling machines and renting out cleaning equipment), "Bonanza Bachorski", "Borivan", "Sherita". Among the major competitors in technical support are Veolia, First Faciliti, and companies such as Ataro Klima, for example, which, apart from selling and installing equipment, also deal with maintenance. By Wednesday of the year, the transaction with the Greek buyer is expected to be completed following regulatory approval. Some activities in which Cordia has expertise - such as energy efficiency, e-charging stations, photovoltaic systems - will probably be added to the services of the Bulgarian company.

The Health Investment Company for a Children's Hospital has a new acting director. Dr. Vlatko Gligorov has been dismissed from his post due to identified problems in the management of the project for the construction of a National Children's Hospital and difficulties in communication with the unit in the ministry and with the Public Council. The temporary acting director will be Desislava Malinova, who has experience in management positions, including in medical institutions, the ministry said. She will hold this position until a competition is held. Within 15 days, the European Investment Bank and the consulting consortium will prepare a final version of the functional program and the equipment plan for the future National Children's Hospital.

A foundry for aluminum billets in the Industrial Zone of the town of Sandanski is planned by Sandanski resident Stoyan Harizanov and his Georgian partner Vladimir Mouratidis. Their company "Supral" Ltd has targeted a production and warehouse base on a plot of 1228 sq.m. The building will house a furnace with a volume of 1 sq.m. and a capacity of 2.5 tons of processed aluminum per day. The entire base will be rebuilt to have sections for raw and finished products, a purification facility to reduce air emissions, offices with service rooms for personnel, a gas supply site, etc. The gas furnaces for melting and tempering the castings will operate with methane, the metal melts at 700 degrees Celsius, which, according to the investor, means that no flue gases from the combustion process with above-normal values ​​are expected. The facility will operate year-round with 3 service staff.

The Municipality of Bansko is taking measures to collect debts from 198 hoteliers, including the famous Russian millionaire Hovhannes Melik-Pashaev, whose company "New Bansko" Ltd. owes 31,375 leva. A public sale of part of a hotel in the Parceleto area of ​​the town of Bansko gives the municipality hope that it will be able to collect part of the huge debts to it, accumulated by unscrupulous debtors. A private bailiff has announced the sale of the ground floor of the building, owned by "Prokofitrade" Ltd., which is intended for sports and entertainment activities. The starting price for the bidding for the area of ​​315 sq. m. is 158,688 leva. "Prokofitrade" Ltd. is a Sofia company owned by Tsvetan Mitov and is one of the more modest debtors of the municipality with unpaid taxes and garbage fees in the amount of 13,014.40 leva. The company was included in this year's list of debtors of the municipality, in which the number of incorrect payers has increased to 198, and their total debt to the municipality amounts to tens of millions of levs. At the top of the list is "Manhattan Group" Ltd with manager Maria Luka from Cyprus, which owes 500,004.36 levs. Last year, the municipality issued a writ of execution and several properties of the company were announced for public sale, but without success. The company, whose real owner is an Israeli, has been in Bansko for more than 20 years, where it built one of the first aparthotels. "GB - Britain Saint Davids" Ltd of Valentin Mavrakov is indebted to Bansko with 495,670.59 levs. For 7 years, both the municipality and the bank have been trying to sell off the company's properties, but there are no potential buyers. Among the large debtors of Bansko are "Fin-IN-64" Ltd of Ivelin Georgiev from Sofia - 299,736.67 leva, "Pirin Tours" Ltd with manager Svetoslav Gerizovski - 284,064.69 leva, "Crystal Springs Assets" EAD of Richard Post from the USA - 267,405.95 leva, "Rodina Tourist 97" of Bina Todorova from Sofia - 210,109.22 leva, "BP 21" Ltd of Emil Balev - 178,698.34 leva, etc. The construction company "Diana 7" Ltd of Georgi and Emilia Shimbovi owes 7,636 leva. Among the debtors is also the tourist company "Vihren-1925" with 6,704 leva, there are quite a few tour operator agencies, several sole proprietors and many others. The properties of the Irishman Joseph Sullivan, whose name years ago appeared as a partner in "Dobrinishte Ski" Ltd together with Yambol businessman Boyan Bonev and the Irishmen Neil Oliver O'Reilly and Aaron Tracy, were put up for public sale several times. The company owes the municipality several tens of thousands of leva. Due to debts to the municipal treasury, the properties of "Balkan Homes" Ltd , represented by the British man Terence Elliot, are also being sold.

"Webit Investment Network" JSC wants to attract up to 15.5 million leva through the issuance of 12,364,797 shares, each with an issue value of 1.25 million leva. The increase will be considered successful upon the sale of 1,564,664 shares at 1.25 leva, or a total of 1,955,830 leva (exactly 1 million euros). II "Karol" JSC has been chosen as an intermediary for the increase, and the issue will be traded on the beam market of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, as well as the existing shares of the company. Currently, "Webit IN" JSC has 5,887,999 shares issued, and the same number of rights will be issued, each of which will give the right to subscribe for 2 shares. At the moment, the company's investments are in 6 companies, 2 from the USA and one each from Ireland, the UAE, Israel and France. The sectors are diverse, agrotechnology, media and entertainment, education, healthcare and others. A change in the company's charter provides that the executive director will receive an annual remuneration of 2.5% of the equity, including ordinary shares, preferred shares and premium reserves when issuing securities. Now this is 6.05 million BGN, of which 2.5% is 151.25 thousand BGN per year, or 12,604 BGN per month. The manager is a person nominated by "Webit Management" EOOD. At a general meeting held on March 20, 2025, it was also decided to issue 1 Class B preferred share, which will give the right to 20% of the profit (guaranteed dividend), if the achieved internal rate of return on investment (IRR) is above 15%. In addition to the Class B preferred share, the company also has one Class A share and a third Class B share, as well as 5,887,999 common shares. The Class A preferred share gives its owner the right to a decisive vote in making a number of important decisions. This Class B gives the right to a dividend of 20% of the positive result for the year, excluding revaluations. But now the privilege on the Class B share is eliminated and there will be one only on the Class B share.

EU soft wheat exports from the start of the 2024/25 season to March 23 this year were just 15.46 million tonnes, down 35% from last year's 23.75 million tonnes, according to European Commission data. EU maize exports also halved to 1.520 million tonnes between July 1, 2024 and March 23, 2025, while barley exports fell 21% year-on-year to 3.644 million tonnes between July 1, 2024 and March 23, 2025. Romania emerged as the biggest exporter in the area so far with 4.367 million tonnes of wheat, 592,000 tonnes of maize and 1.539 million tonnes of barley. Imports of common wheat fell by 14 percent to 6.119 million tons, while those of corn grew by 12 percent to 15.369 million tons. The main importer in the EU is Ukraine, with both wheat and corn declining. The new agreements between the US and Russia may change the market situation. On the one hand, there is talk of guaranteeing the security of shipping in the Black Sea and of cargo ships berthed in Ukrainian ports, on the other - Moscow wants sanctions against its large agricultural bank and some of the big names in its agricultural sector to be lifted. Such developments would "unclog" the exports of both warring parties and return them easier and cheaper access to solvent markets.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting a slowdown in U.S. economic growth this year due to higher import tariffs, but it does not expect a recession in the foreseeable future. “Significant policy changes have been announced and incoming data suggest that economic activity will slow from very strong growth in 2024,” said IMF Communications Director Julie Kozak. “But all things considered, a recession is not part of our baseline scenario.” U.S. President Donald Trump has already imposed a number of import tariffs since taking office. On Wednesday, he announced a decision to impose a 25% tariff on all foreign-made cars and promised to increase tariffs on the EU and Canada if they cooperate to the detriment of the U.S. economy. Published data showed that the U.S. economy grew by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. That's faster than the previously expected 2.3% but significantly slower than the third quarter, when growth was 3.1%. In January, the IMF forecast the U.S. economy would grow 2.7% this year after expanding 2.8% in 2024. The new forecasts are expected to be released on April 22.

Global tin production in 2024 decreased by 2.7% to 371.2 thousand tons, according to preliminary data from the International Tin Association (ITA). The ten largest producers account for almost 63% of global metal production. Together, they increased their production by 14.3 thousand tons (7%), Interfax reports. China's Yunnan Tin Co. (YTC) retains its leading position in the world in terms of production by a significant margin. Peru's Minsur remained in second place, and another Chinese company, Yunnan Chengfeng, is in third place, ITA data shows. Indonesian company PT Timah, which has been losing positions in the global ranking in recent years, increased its production by 23.3% in 2024. This allowed the company to climb to fourth place, displacing Malaysia Smelting Corp. in fifth place. The Malaysian company recorded the most significant drop in production of the companies in the top 10 - by 21.4%. Chinese companies Guangxi Huaxi (formerly known as Guangxi China Tin) and Jiangxi New Nanshan remained in sixth and eighth place. Bolivian EM Vinto retained seventh place, increasing its production by 26.3% to a record 12,700 tons. Thailand's Thaisarco climbed to ninth place in tin production, displacing Belgium's Aurubis Beerse to the last position in the top ten. Production of refined tin in mainland China grew by 4.6% to 194 thousand tons last year. This is partly due to strong growth in metal recycling (by 14.9%). According to ITA estimates, in 2024 there was a deficit of about 2.2 thousand tons of tin on the global market. At the same time, the association expects a slight oversupply of the metal this year due to higher production. ITA (formerly ITRI) was founded in 1932 in London and unites companies involved in the production and processing of tin worldwide. Its members produce about 73% of the world's production of this metal.

On March 28, the annual session of the Boao Forum for Asia was closed, attended by 2,000 participants from over 60 countries. At the forum, China put forward a four-point proposal: to strengthen solidarity and cooperation by enhancing trust, promote economic globalization through openness and integration, promote prosperity and development through mutual benefit and a win-win situation, and safeguard peace and stability through peaceful coexistence. Over the past decade, the share of Asian economies in the world economy has been continuously increasing. According to a report presented at the forum, in 2025, the economic growth rate in Asia is expected to reach 4.5%, which is higher than 4.4% in 2024, and the share of Asian economies in global GDP is expected to increase from 48.1% in 2024 to 48.6% in 2025. This is a clear indication that Asia will continue to be the "engine" and "stabilizer" of global growth, despite growing uncertainty. At a time when security is a global deficit, China, which opens its doors ever wider, will continue to bring stability, be a desirable and reliable destination for foreign investment, and a stage for mutually beneficial cooperation.