Financial news

Only 7 per cent are the bad credits to the banks, according to the statistics of BNB. In 1997 the unpaid loans were 58 per cent, said the Governor of the Central Bank Mr. Ivan Iskrov. The share of the credits in the bank assets for 2003 is over 50 per cent and in 1997 it was 22 per cent, announced Mr. Petar Andronov from Bank supervision department. By the end of the year BNB is going to make changes in Decree 8 for the capital adequacy. The changes will become efficient as of 2005.

Privatization

Veliko Turnovo-based Toplofikatzia VT is among the 14 companies in the State, which will be sold on the stock exchange, was reported from PA. The stakes for sale and the investment mediator have not still been chosen. It is not certain how the change of the property will guarantee the social engagements of the heating stations, said the Executive Director of Toplofikatzia VT Mr. Krassimir Ignatov. Within a week the company is going to announce a procedure for public procurement in connection with the project for gasification of the station. According to preliminary calculations, the approximately amount of the project is BGN 1.2 million. It will be finance by the Ministry of Energetics and with own funds.

Royal holiday submitted a complaint in the Supreme Administrative Court against the sale procedure of Artstroy tours. The case is appointed for April 22. Royal holiday was graded at the second place in the bidding for Artstroy tours. Because of a technical error, in the documents was signed 963 399 company’s shares would be sold, which is 100 per cent of the capital. The team of the agency corrected the error and in the memorandum was signed the real number - 96 399 shares and this did not change the per centage of the sold company. In complaint is pointed that the change was not published but PA claims that the new information was published in two major daily newspapers as the Law requires.

Companies

Financial Supervision Commission adopted the prospect for public offering of shares from the capital of the open type investment company Advance invest. Within the next few weeks investors will be able to purchase securities from the offices of the managing company – Karol Capital Management in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Bourgas, Rouse and Vratza. The investment companies are the Bulgarian version of the mutual funds. Their advantage as compared to other forms of investment is that the incomes are free from tax burden.

Bulgargas and Cabletel are going to construct a national optic infrastructure. The two companies signed a frame agreement for strategic cooperation. They did not point any concrete projects and ways, on which they will work because at the moment the details are still discussed. The investment programme of Bulgargas envisages an investment of BGN 3 million in the optic infrastructure, said the Director of the gas company Mr. Kiril Gegov.

Pleven-based poultry farm has a new Director. The former Chief Accountant Mr. Mitko Borissov is appointed for a Manager of the company for a term of 2 years. The former Manager Mr. George Peev submitted an application for dismissal. At the moment Mr. Borissov is developing a reconstruction programme that will be presented today to the Managing Board.

Bulgarian American Credit bank issued the fourth consecutive issue of mortgage bonds. The issue is in amount of 10 000 bonds with face value of EUR 1000 each. The bonds are for a term of five years, ordinary, interest-bearing, paperless, personal and transferable. The bonds are with fixed interest rate of 6.125 per cent annually. With this issue the total amount of the mortgage bonds reached EUR 28.7 million, which makes it the leading issuer of bonds in Bulgaria.

The biggest Greek company for manufacture of frozen fruit and vegetables – General foodstuffs – Barba Statis is going to buy its Bulgarian branch General frozen foods. The amount of the deal will be BGN 340 000 and the objective is the Greek company to strengthen its positions on Bulgarian market. The deal will be finalized by April 15. After that Bulgarian company will be renamed to Agroteam SP Ltd. Barba Statis announced a while ago that it would invest between EUR 6-8 million in its Bulgarian branch.

BTC-NET offers a stake of promotional prices for a big part of the services for the Easter holidays. The voice services through Internet are lower with 20 per cent in comparison with the current prices. 

Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) issued a license to Health Insurance Company Bulgaria Health JSC to operate in the field of voluntary health insurance. The commission also approved BNB’s list of commercial banks, which would be included in the list of pension funds custodians. These are Municipal bank. EIBank, Roseximbank, First East International Bank, Corporate Commercial Bank and CB Investbank.

On April 14 - 15, in Sofia is giong to take place the "Bulgaria Investment Forum - Projects and Financing"

Europe

Sales in Nokia, the world's largest supplier of mobile phones, fell unexpectedly in the first quarter, taking investors by surprise and driving global technology stocks sharply lower. Nokia said in the three months to March 31 sales were estimated at EUR 6.6bn (USD 7.9bn) - a decline of 2 per cent year on year - and well below its guidance for an increase of 3-7 per cent. Earnings per share were expected to be EUR 0.17, at the bottom of its EUR 0.17-EUR 0.19 guidance range, it said. The news knocked EUR 13.8bn off the company's valuation, with its shares falling 17 per cent to EUR 14.47 in Helsinki. Nokia blamed the sales fall in Europe and Asia on lower-than-expected volumes and its lack of attractive handsets in the key middle-market range.

USA

International Business Machines is to acquire Daksh e-Services, the third biggest call centre in India, for USD 160m to USD 170m in a deal likely to strengthen corporate America’s commitment to offshore outsourcing. The US technology company’s acquisition is the largest deal of its kind in India’s technology services industry and comes as the controversy over outsourcing has moved to centre stage in the US election campaign.  Analysts say the initiative could trigger similar mergers as foreign technology companies seek to acquire low-cost service bases in India. India’s business process outsourcing sector has been growing 55 per cent or more in the past three years and revenues in the fiscal year to the end of last month are set to reach $3.6bn.

Asia

American auto giant Ford Motor Company plans to set up its second China production base in Nanjing, capital of eastern Jiangsu Province, Cheng Meiwei, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China Ltd. said Tuesday. Cheng told an international manufacturing forum, which opened Tuesday the company has signed an agreement on the construction of the base with the Jiangning economic development zone in Nanjing, but he did not disclose any details the plan. Ford has listed China as one of its principal parts providers, second only to the United States, as it plans to purchase more than 1 billion US dollars worth of auto parts in China in 2004, he said. Ford set up its first production base in Chongqing, southwest China, in April 2001 and it has five joint ventures in China.

April 8, 1992 - first public trading session

Bulgarian capital market celebrates 12 years since its revival. On April 8 1992, Sofia Stock Exchange (currently SFB Capital Market JSC) organized the first public trading session in Bulgaria’s new economic history. In 1997, Bulgarian the capital market integration process was completed and Bulgarian Stock Exchange – Sofia JSC officially started operating on October 21.

On February 21 1912, Parliament adopted the first Law on the stock exchanges, which was promulgated in the State Gazette on February 28 the same year. Sofia Stock exchange obtained official permit to start operating and started effective activity on July 28 1914, only a few days before the beginning of World War I. On May 25 1915, the Stock Exchange Regulation was adopted by a Decree. All issuers of securities, such as banks, production and trading companies, were invited to register for participation in the stock trade.  On December 18 1917, the Sofia Stock Exchange issued a Regulation for the Internal Order of the stock exchange and decided three trading sessions to be conducted each week. On January 20 1918 the stock exchange was officially opened. It was the sole stock market in Bulgaria until its nationalization on December 27 1947 when it was transformed into a department of the Bulgarian National Bank and discontinued its activities until 1992.