With 226,513 purchases and sales of buildings, parts of buildings and land, 2025 remains in third place for Bulgaria for the last five years after the post-Covid peak in 2021 (247,937 transactions) and 2022 (242,624 transactions). The records from the property boom in 2006, 2007 and 2008 remain unsurpassed. Better than 2025 in terms of the number of transactions were also 2015 and 2016, and the closest to it was 2013. In 2025, transactions in Bulgaria increased by 6.5% compared to a year earlier (13,768 transactions more). For the Sofia market, 2025 is the strongest in 17 years. With 40,629 transactions, it is very close to the result of 2008 - 40,906 transactions. 2006 and 2007 remain unsurpassed, with 41,586 and 45,015 transactions on the capital market, respectively. The average annual growth in Sofia compared to the previous year 2024 is 15.2%. In 2025, 9,114 transactions were recorded in Burgas, which is only 4.7% more than the previous year, when purchases and sales were 8,704. During the peaks for the country 2021 and 2022, the transactions in Burgas were 8,399 and 8,241, respectively, and these are the only cases in the last two decades in which they exceeded eight thousand. For Plovdiv, 2021 was better than 2025. Then the transactions were 852 more than the current 18064. The other strong period for the city's property market was 2005 - 2007. The increase in transactions in Plovdiv in 2025 compared to the previous year was 12.7%. It was generated entirely in the second half of the year. In the third quarter, the growth was 8.3%, and in the last it reached a remarkable 34%. In the first and second, the market was quite sluggish - 3.5% and 1.1% above the previous year's level, respectively. For Varna, 2025 is also the strongest in the last three years. Last year, purchases and sales were 14,955, which is only 27 more than the previous year, during which the growth on an annual basis was expressed in 806 more transactions. The strongest years for Varna remain 2006 - 2008, with the city's record of 18,483 purchases and sales set in 2007.

In connection with the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, the phased conversion of the registered capital of commercial companies in the Commercial Register and the Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities at the Registry Agency has begun. Throughout January 2026, the Registry Agency will ex officio convert the amount of the capital of commercial companies. The correctness of the conversion made in relation to the capital and its distribution should be monitored. As a result of the conversion, changes may occur in the distribution of the capital of some companies. In view of this, it should be assessed what would be the optimal solution for protecting the interests of the partners. The submission for publication of a copy of the updated founding act / partnership agreement / statutes is carried out simultaneously with the submission of the first subsequent application for entry, deletion or publication in the Commercial Register. By the end of 2026 at the latest, commercial companies must amend their articles of association / articles of association / statutes, reflecting the currency conversion of their capital in the Commercial Register in accordance with the requirements of the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as, if necessary, reflect the relevant changes in other corporate documents, Ernst & Young specifies.

The outgoing government adopted a decision to approve the participation of "Bulgarian Energy Holding" in the implementation of the project for the search and exploration of oil and natural gas in the area "Block 1-21 Khan Asparuh". The Bulgarian state, through the Bulgarian Energy Holding, enters into the rights to search and explore in the deep Black Sea, together with the companies OMV and "New Med". The percentage with which the state is involved is 10%. In the negotiations, an agreement was reached that the Bulgarian state will no longer owe costs for the three drillings carried out in the deep Black Sea, and will invest together with the two companies in the new two drillings, the first of which is currently being carried out.

UniCredit and the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, have signed a new guarantee agreement under the InvestEU programme, which will significantly increase support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe. The new guarantee of EUR 445 million increases and broadens the scope of the uncapped InvestEU guarantee facility opened in 2023. This is the largest InvestEU transaction ever implemented by the EIF. With the availability extended until the end of 2027, the facility is expected to provide up to EUR 890 million in additional financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. The expanded programme will focus primarily on projects aimed at sustainability and innovation and will continue to offer small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) improved financing conditions, including more competitive prices, longer maturities and reduced collateral requirements. The expanded agreement introduces mini-bonds as an eligible financing instrument, supporting SMEs' access to the debt capital market, thereby diversifying sources of financing beyond traditional bank lending, according to the press release.

Major investor Anton Stefov will start large-scale construction of his innovative base in the industrial zone of the city of Simitli within a month. Anton Stefov will build between 20 and 30 enterprises on an area of ​​about 200 acres, where various parts for armored vehicles will be produced, drones and robots for the military industry will be made. He has an idea for his contractors to also open workshops in the city. Canadian businessman Anton Stefov has Bulgarian roots. He is the manager and owner of "International Armored Group" /IAG/ - a leading manufacturer of fully protected armored cars with over 1,000 employees on five continents. Stefov has worked for the military industry for more than 30 years and has world-class developments. His company provides specialized machines for state-level organizations such as the UN, NATO and has production bases in countries around the world.

New state funding for the construction of the Hemus highway has increased the revenues of the state-owned company "Automagistrali" by 16% for the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier, reaching over 96 million euros (or 189 million leva). Its profit for the period reached about 760 thousand euros, or 1,522 million leva. The state-owned company, whose principal is the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW), receives its revenues entirely from the state through the Road Infrastructure Agency. The company continues to use and pay significant amounts to subcontractors. A large part of its expenses are to external contractors - for construction and repairs, as well as "renting mechanization". The amounts paid under these items are almost 50 million euros for the nine months. At the end of 2018, the then GERB government awarded the construction of part of Hemus without a tender (the so-called in-house) for over 650 million euros (or 1.34 billion leva). However, since the company does not have the necessary capacity of people and equipment to build the highway alone, it concludes contracts for "mechanization rental" with private construction companies, which are practically disguised subcontracting contracts. Thus, contrary to the law, it transfers a large part of the work to private construction companies - hiring subcontractors is prohibited under in-house contracts. Although this practice is prominent and well-known, over the years "Avtomagistrali" has received more contracts for Hemus, also for the construction of the Vidin - Botevgrad road and for strengthening landslides. Thus, since 2018, when the first in-house contract for Hemus was signed, Avtomagistrali's contracts with internal awarding have officially amounted to more than 4.6 billion leva, or 2.3 billion euros with VAT. The Road Agency has not yet paid the company invoices from 2022 for nearly 40 million euros, or 77.7 million leva. As of June 30, the amount was over 85 million leva and has decreased minimally. The increase in revenue for the nine months seems to be mainly due to new financing for Hemus. If by September of this year, Avtomagistrali had received just over 7.6 million euros (14.9 million leva), for the same period in 2025 the amount has grown 4.5 times - to 34.3 million euros (67.1 million leva). The maintenance of highways, especially "Trakia", is also a major part of the state-owned company's business. In just nine months, over 31 million euros were paid for repairs on the southern highway. The company's expenses - 95 million euros (186.8 million leva), with the largest item in the expense section being external services - 58 million euros (113 million leva). This includes 32.4 million euros (63.5 million leva) for construction and installation works and 16.4 million euros (32 million leva) leva for rented machinery. Thus, the company clearly continues to use and pay significant amounts to subcontractors. The next large group of expenses is materials, where over 29 million euros (57 million leva) were paid. By September 30, 2025, the company had an average of 363 employees, and about 7 million euros were spent on salaries.

At its meeting on 13.1.2026, the FSC decided: 1. Approves Nedyalko Chandarov as a member of the Supervisory Board of "ZEAD "BULSTRAD LIFE VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP" EAD. 2. Deletes "BROKOM-2000" OOD from the register of insurance brokers. 3. Refuses to consider in substance the application submitted by "Ethereum" EOOD with a request for issuance of a license to carry out activities as a provider of crypto-asset services due to incompleteness of the submitted documents and information. 4. Sends a letter to the management company "EF Asset Management" AD with a request for additional information and documents in connection with the issuance of a permit for organizing and managing a mutual fund.

In 2024, renewable energy sources generated 47.5 percent of gross electricity consumption in the EU, an increase of 2.1 percentage points (pp) compared to 2023, according to data from the European statistical office Eurostat. Renewable energy generation has almost tripled (+30 pp) since the start of the relevant statistics in 2004. The share was 15.9 percent then, increased to 28.6 percent in 2014 and jumped to 47.5 percent in 2024. Wind (38.0 percent of the total) and hydroelectricity (26.4 percent) account for almost two-thirds of the total electricity generated from renewable sources. This is followed by solar energy with 23.4 percent, solid biofuels and other renewables with 5.8 percent and 6.4 percent respectively. Solar energy is the source with the fastest growing share: in 2008 it accounted for just 1 percent, and has seen strong growth from just 7.4 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2008 to 304 TWh in 2024. The data shows that in 2024, over 75 percent of the electricity consumed was produced from renewable sources in Austria (90.1 percent, mainly from hydropower), Sweden (88.1 percent, mainly from hydropower and wind power) and Denmark (79.7 percent, mainly from wind power). Shares above 50 percent are also recorded in Portugal (65.8 percent), Spain (59.7 percent), Croatia (58.0 percent), Latvia (55.5 percent), Finland (54.3 percent), Germany (54.1 percent), Greece (51.2 percent) and the Netherlands (50.5 percent). At the other end of the scale, the share of electricity from renewable sources is less than 25 percent in Malta (10.7 percent), the Czech Republic (17.9 percent), Luxembourg (20.5 percent), Hungary and Cyprus (both 24.1 percent) and Slovakia (24.9 percent). Bulgaria reports a share of energy from renewable sources of 34 percent.

U.S. mortgage rates fell to one of their lowest levels in years last week, sparking a wave of buying and refinancing, offering hope for a sluggish housing market, Bloomberg reported. The interest rate on a typical 30-year mortgage fell 7 basis points to 6.18% in the week ended Jan. 9, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's the lowest level since September 2024 and one of the lowest since 2022. The rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell nearly half a percentage point to 5.42%, one of the lowest levels since May 2023. On the back of lower home financing costs, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of purchases rose nearly 16% last week to its second-highest level since February 2023. The index of refinances jumped more than 40%, its biggest gain since September. Still, the data showed some relief in a housing market that has been plagued by tight affordability in recent years. Government data showed that the annual pace of new home sales in October was nearing its highest since 2023, helped by incentives for builders and price cuts. In hopes of improving housing affordability, U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed banning institutional investors from buying single-family homes. He also ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion worth of mortgage bonds in an effort to lower the cost of financing homes. The association's survey, conducted weekly since 1990, uses data from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and savings and loans agencies. The data covers more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the United States.

China’s export growth in December sharply exceeded expectations, pushing the country’s 2025 trade surplus to a record high, while imports rose at their fastest pace in three months. Exports jumped 6.6% in U.S. dollar terms last month from a year earlier, data from China’s customs showed, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of 3% growth and accelerating from a 5.9% jump in November. Imports rose 5.7% in December from a year earlier, beating expectations for a 0.9% gain. That was the biggest gain since September last year, when they rose 7.4%, according to LSEG data. China’s exports for the full year rose 5.5% while imports remained flat, pushing Beijing’s trade surplus to $1.19 trillion, up 20% from 2024. Exports to the United States fell 30% in December from a year earlier, the ninth consecutive month of decline. At the same time, imports from the country fell 29%, customs data showed. Amid the tariff tensions, China’s exports to the United States are set to fall 20% in 2025, while imports are set to fall 14.6%. In December, Chinese authorities pledged to expand imports and work to balance trade. China’s exports to the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose 12% and 11% respectively in December, while imports from European countries rose 18% and from Southeast Asian countries fell 5%. The nearly $19 trillion economy is struggling to shake off deflationary pressures as a deepening housing slump weighs on household demand and a weak labor market weighs on consumer confidence. Consumer prices in the country are set to remain flat in 2025, falling short of the official target of about a 2 percent increase.