Financial news

Overdue tax payments at the end of October reached a total sum of BGN 2.254 billion, up by 75 million compared to end-September. The number of debtors to the budget increased by 207 over a month coming to 5,792 entities and individuals. Ban for leaving the country has been imposed to 68 owners and managers of corporate structures, while 70 international passports have been sequestered.  

The manager of Russia-based Transneft Mr. Semion Vainstock described the project for Bourgas – Alexandroupulis pipeline as “wrong and economically unjustified”, according to a publication in the online edition of the Vremia Novostei newspaper. He claimed that the project was not to be implemented until someone guaranteed the scheme deliveries. A month ago during the Russian PM Mr. Mihail Fradkov’s visit in Bulgaria a green light was given to the project. Last week Russia, Bulgaria and Greece signed a memorandum for the pipeline’s construction in Athens.

The average monthly income per capita in Bulgaria was BGN 176.83 (about EUR 88) in September, the National Statistical Institute said. Year on year, income has risen by BGN 26. The total household income in September was BGN 454, increasing by BGN 44.  At the same time monthly expenses have surged from BGN 153.10 a year earlier to BGN 177.71 in September.  

The Supreme Administrative Court rejected the claim of the EcoGlasnost National Movement against the Cabinet's decision on resuming the construction of Belene, this country's second nuclear power plant. The judges grounded themselves on the fact that there was no decision made by the Cabinet on the resumed construction of the second nuke. Sources from the Council of Ministers elaborated that the decision is only being mounted to be taken. 

Privatization

Bulgartabac’s companies abroad will not be liquidated for the time being, although they are in extremely bad financial state. Instead of subsidiaries of the local tobacco plants, which are currently being restructured, they will be transformed into assets of the holding, which will be the last to be sold. These measures are a part of Bulgartabac’s privatization strategy.

All four candidates, certified by Bulgaria’s Privatization Agency (PA) to become strategic buyers of 95 per cent from the capital of Boyana Film, have submitted tentative offers. The companies which have been allowed to submit binding offers are Ealing Studios, Nu Image, Dragon International Studios, and Bavaria Film.

Companies

The second base REFA-course for this year, organized by BIC Capital Market Ltd. – exclusive representative of REFA in Bulgaria, which was held in the town of Bankya, ended. All participants in the course successfully passed the final exams and were awarded internationally acknowledged REFA-certificates, giving them the right to apply all methods studied during the course in their practical work. Participants in the course came from companies such as Plena-Bulgaria SP Ltd., Palfinger Productionstechnik Bulgaria SP Ltd., Centillion Ltd., MIM-Bulgaria Ltd., and SFB Capital Market JSC.

Local railway carrier BDZ registered a BGN 2.5 mln profit for the third quarter of this year, the state-owned company reported. This is the first positive financial result, posted by the group since 2001. For the first nine months of 2004, however, BDZ registered a loss of BGN 14 181 mln. For the whole year 2003, the financial result was a loss of BGN 33 mln, compared with a loss of BGN 45 mln in 2002.

The Bulgarian Pirdop copper plant of Belgium's Umicore is on track to produce a record 225,000 tons of copper anodes this year, and Umicore expects to be able to boost output to 255,000 tons by 2007, Reuters reported on November 15. The company has revised its earlier forecast for flat y/y output. The Pirdop smelter posted an output of 100,000 tons in January-June despite a scheduled repair-related work stoppage in April.

Eight companies will bid for the concession on Bulgaria's airports in coastal Varna and Bourgas. The concessioner will be clear in the spring of 2005, deputy prime minister Mr. Nikolay Vassilev said in Varna but declined to name the candidates. The procedure was opened on September 24, 2004. By the November 12 deadline a total of eight consortiums submitted applications for admission to the tender. 

Germany’s LogicaCMG has signed a EUR 1.1 mln contract with the local GSM operator Globul for the building of a Next Generation Short Message Service Centre (SMSC). Since it was associated back in 2001, Globul has invested in Bulgaria some EUR 500 mln. LogicaCMG works with 250 mobile operators, including Mobiltel, in more than 70 countries.

Revitalization programme of the international insurance company Evropa has been nearly completed, Mr. Sofroni Atanasov, said. A report has been submitted to the Commission for Financial Supervision. If every of Evropa's agencies manage to sign the insurance contracts it plans to, Evropa will generate a profit for 2004, covering its reserves and capital at 100 per cent.  

The best young entrepreneur is to be awarded USD 6000 in the annual contest of Bulgarian-American Credit Bank, Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund and Jobtiger. The winners will be announced today. The two second prizes are at USD 3000, and the three third ones – at USD 1500.

Nine companies will take part in the competition for delivery of computers in 700 local schools as a part of Ministry of Transport’s “i-Bulgaria” programme. The auction is for delivery of 7000 personal computers, 700 servers, 700 inkjet printers, 700 laser printers, and 700 UPS-devices. The candidates are Kontrax, Risk Electronics, Prosoft, Infoguard, Stemo, Systems&Technologies, CADC Progress, Specialized Business Systems, and S&T. The results will become clear by the end of this month.

ARC Fund organised the first National Innovation Forum at the Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan on October 22nd, 2004. The event was organised in cooperation with Ministry of Economy and the World Bank Sofia Mission, with the support of DG Enterprise of the European Commission, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bulgarian Industrial Association, GIS – Transfer Centre Foundation, and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The Forum was held under the auspices of the President of the Republic, Mr. Georgi Parvanov.

Europe

Allianz reported a better-than-expected profit in the first nine months of 2004 and said Dresdner Bank, its problem child, would break even after restructuring costs by the end of the year. The German insurer more than doubled net profits to 1.83 billion euros (USD 2.4 billion) in the first nine months of the year, beating all analyst predictions in a Reuters poll where the highest estimate was 1.75 billion.The group made 539 million euros in the third quarter of the year, also beating all analyst forecasts in a Reuters poll of 17 analysts.

USA

Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal, said it is to buy online news site operator MarketWatch Inc. to grow the revenues it derives from the Internet. New York-based Dow Jones will pay USD 18 per fully diluted share for MarketWatch, or about USD 519 million. Including the USD 56 million of cash MarketWatch has on hand, the net price is USD 463 million, the companies said in a statement on Monday. 

Asia

Honda Motor Co. said it would build a second auto plant in Guangzhou, which, along with other expansion plans, would almost double its production capacity in China by 2006.  It said earlier its Chinese joint venture, Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., which is 47.5 percent owned by Denway Motors Ltd., would invest some USD 265 million in the new plant to give it an annual production capacity of 120,000 units. It is expected to be operational in the second half of 2006. 

Tsar Samuil Fortress

Tsar Samuil fortress is located some 15 km away from the town of Petrich, at the foot of the Belasitsa mountain. It is situated on an upland right next to the right shore of the river of Strumeshnitza. Exactly here, back in 1014, one of the biggest tragedies in the history of Bulgaria took place. In a battle near the fortress, the Byzantine emperor Basil II, called the Bulgaroctone, crashed the Bulgarian army, headed by Tsar Samuil and took into captivity almost everyone. Tsar Samuil and his closest followers managed to escape in the last moment. According to the Christian doctrine, all captured Christians should be released after the end of the war. The Byzantine emperor violated this military rule and blinded 14,000 prisoners, leaving one man in every hundred with the sight in one eye to lead his comrades home. The Samuil fortress is a national monument, which will always remind to the future generations of the heroic fight of Samuil and the Bulgarian people for our country’s independence.