Financial news

Three European Union member states – Bulgaria, Estonia and Sweden – had exceeded their renewable energy targets for 2020 in 2013, the bloc’s statistics board Eurostat said on March 10. EU’s Europe 2020 strategy envisions that 20 per cent of the bloc’s energy consumption by 2020 should come from renewable energy sources, although individual countries were set their own targets, based on their different starting positions, renewable energy potential and economic performance. In Bulgaria’s case, this target is 16 per cent, which the country matched in 2012. A year later, the share of renewable energy in total consumption rose to 19 per cent – despite routine restrictions put in place by grid operator ESO on solar power producers to prevent grid overload. Bulgaria’s task was made easier by the fact that its target is lower than those set for 16 other EU member states and the bloc average. Still, the country ranks 11th in the EU in terms of the share of renewable energy in domestic consumption.

According to the preliminary seasonally adjusted data in January 2015 the turnover in ‘Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles’ at constant prices decreased by 0.1% compared to the previous month, Bulgaria’s National Statistical institute announced. In January 2015 the working day adjusted turnover in ‘Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles’ grew by 4.3% in comparison with the same month of the previous year. In January 2015 compared to the previous month the turnover increased in the ‘Retail sale of automotive fuel’ by 2.6%, in the ‘Retail sale of textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods’ by 1.8%, in the ‘Retail sale in non-specialised stores’ and in the ‘Retail sale of audio and video equipment; hardware, paints and glass; electrical household appliances’ by 0.6%. A decrease was registered in the ‘Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet’ - 15.0%, in the ‘Retail sale of computers, peripheral units and software; telecommunications equipment’ - 4.5%, in the ‘Dispensing chemist; retail sale of medical and orthopaedic goods, cosmetic and toilet articles’ - 2.8%, in the ‘Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco’ - 0.2%.

	Mineral Fuels, Tailoring Products, Canning, Perfumery and Cosmetics, Furniture, Meat Products, Wine, Wood-processing Industry

Companies

Manufacture of rubber products BEIS rating Top 10 companies by Net sales for 2013 (thous. BGN)       1   Standard Profile Bulgaria SPJSC - Stara Zagora   79 464     2   Teklas Bulgaria JSC - Kurdzhali   69 387     3   Vidachim JSC - Vidin   54 338     4   Primex SPLTD - Kaspitchan   44 649     5   Bulmat SPLTD - Dobrich   32 811     6   Tucai Bulgaria SPLTD - Ajidemir   27 741     7   Techno Actash JSC - Kouklen   26 344     8   Ekon 91 LTD - Rousse   23 974     9   Kauchuk JSC - Sofia   21 696     10   RIS Rubber Bulgaria JSC - Kula   9 762   Make your own Bulgarian companies rating in BEIS		Bulgarian Stock Exchange - Sofia - 10.03.2015   Total turnover (BGN): 217 506.68   Traded companies: 36 Premium 69 655.83 Standard 105 918.75 REIT 22 435.34 Bonds 18 271.50 Rights 1 225.26 Biggest change Corporate Commercial Bank JSC - Sofia 10.00 % Elhim Iskra JSC - Pazardzhik -6.45 % BaSE - Shares: 104.13 BaSE - REIT: 480.00
		СЕРТИФИЦИРАНИ БЪЛГАРСКИ ФИРМИ

Bulgarian-based textile company E.Miroglio intends to take full control of consumer electronics retailer Technomarket Bulgaria, the country’s competition regulator said. The company has applied for regulatory clearance for its takeover plans, the Commission for the Protection of Competition said on its website. No further details were immediately available. Technomarket Bulgaria increased its capital by BGN 7 million to more than BGN 11.4 million in December following a BGN 2.7 million hike in October. After the capital hike in December, local media reported that E. Miroglio owner Edoardo Miroglio indirectly holds half of the shares of Technomarket Bulgaria via his company and his son Franco Miroglio. Technomarket operates 60 stores throughout Bulgaria. E.Miroglio operates seven production and corporate units in Sliven, Yambol and Svishtov in Bulgaria as well as in Alba and Valli del Pasubio in Italy. Since Miroglio merged his largest company, Luxemburg Holding, with his company in Bulgaria, its headquarters have been moved to Sliven, in southeastern Bulgaria.

US pharmaceuticals company Express Diagnostics International is planning to enter the Bulgarian market, according to the company’s managers. Express Diagnostics International’s plans include the launch of production facilities in Bulgaria, was announced after a meeting with the company’s chief executive officer, Paul Johnson, and international sales manager, Harald Braun, in Sofia. The US company was set up in 2004 and is privately-owned. It employs around 200 people.

Pleven Heating Utility’s debts to Bulgargaz have accelerated by BGN 27.994 million in 2014. In that way the company’s overall debt to the national gas distributor has reached BGN 50 million. The heating utility’s business plan for the present year says that money owed to Bulgargaz has to be covered by direct payments made by National Electrical Company (NEK) for the power it gets from the company. Due to NEK’s bad financial state, part of these transfers are retarded which finally affects Bulgargaz. The largest heating utility in the country, the one based in Sofia also has BGN 20 million current obligations to Bulgargaz. For the period 2015-2019 Pleven Heating Utility has envisaged BGN 13.610 million investments, which is by BGN 8 million less as compared to the preceding four-year period. Money will be used mostly for projects focused on reduction of production costs. Repair work will take up another BGN 12.704 million. The company plans growth in generated electrical energy by 7% annually.

Construction of a new business building has started in Plovdiv. Galaxy Investment group is investor in Office Park Plovdiv. The company manages Royal City Business Park, as well. Office Park Plovdiv represents a complex of buildings with a total area of 15,400 square meters and with a total capacity of 2000 people. Construction will go on at two stages, as the first building is expected to be ready in the beginning of 2016. It will be a seven-floor building, comprised of six floors of offices and a ground floor. It is expected that the new building will respond to increased demand for business properties in the city. Office Park Plovdiv is located next to Mall Plovdiv

Bulgarian company ITCE introduced cloud services for business users from ServiceNow, which transformed the modern business processes in global companies through automation, standardization and consolidation of IT. Among the advantages of ServiceNow are single user interface, single code base and data model that ensures easy and automated upgrades. As a licensed provider and partner, ITCE will provide subscription service SreviceNow in 11 countries – Albania, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Lebanon, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. The consultants will assist the company in business use, implementation, customization, configuration and integration software. ServiceNow customers are a quarter of the companies awarded in the traditional ranking Global 2000 of Forbes.

The assets of Corporate Commercial Bank (CorpBank) decreased four times in nine months. According to its consolidated report by December 31, 2014, their value was BGN 1.9 billion, compared to BGN 7.3 billion by March 31, 2014. The sharp decrease is due to the write off of BGN 4.057 billion from the bank’s balance. Another BGN 177 million was lost due to the revaluation of bonds and real estate. By December 31, 2014, there was BGN 467 million available at CorpBank, but since the beginning of the year the nine banks engaged with the operation paid BGN 326 million in guaranteed deposits. The bank still has huge liabilities – a total of BGN 5.64 billion.

Europe

EU lawmakers agreed to impose caps on card payments in Europe following a vote in Parliament on Tuesday (10 March), applying to cross-border and domestic card-based payments. On 24 July 2013, the European Commission proposed a revised Payments Services Directive (PSD2) and submitted a proposal for regulation on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions. The payments, known as multilateral interchange fees or MIFs, are charges during transactions between the merchant and buyer’s banks. Member states can lower the charge ceiling if they wish. The Parliament voted to cap interchange fees at 0.2% of transaction value for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards. Member states have the discretion to exclude three party schemes in certain circumstances - for example when they license others to issue their cards - rather than making their inclusion compulsory.

America

The head of Argentina's tax authority has demanded that HSBC repatriate $3.5bn in funds that it says HSBC helped its clients move offshore. Ricardo Echegaray said that HSBC's actions threatened the stability of the Argentine government. "HSBC built a platform to help clients evade tax," said Mr Echegary in a press briefing at London's Argentine embassy. HSBC said it had "been cooperating fully with Argentine regulators, including AFIP (the tax authority"). It also said it was working with the Argentine judiciary, since the allegations were first made public last year, and it would continue to do so. Mr Echegaray said British tax authorities had asked for details about Argentina's case against HSBC. "Without tax collection, there is no government, there is no public policy, there is no State, that is to say there is no country," said Mr Echegaray. Last November, Argentina accused HSBC of helping more than 4,000 clients evade taxes, but HSBC denied the charges, saying it respected Argentine law.

Asia

China’s auto sales accelerated in the first two months of this year, led by demand for sport utility vehicles and minivans. Retail deliveries of passenger vehicles increased by 16 percent to 3.49 million units in January and February, the China Passenger Car Association said on its website today. Sales of SUVs and minivans surged 66 percent and 20 percent, respectively. The first two months of sales data are taken together to rule out the impact of the week-long national Lunar New Year holiday, which falls on different days each year. The faster pace of growth marks a strong start to a year when sales are forecast by the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers to increase 8 percent to 21.3 million vehicles. That compares with the target of about 7 percent economic growth announced by Premier Li Keqiang, the slowest annual expansion for China since 1990.

Veliki Preslav

Veliki Preslav was founded by Khan Omurtag in 821. Its name acquired the prefix "Great" after it became the capital of the First Kingdom, during the reign of Tsar Simeon (893-927) - although it began to eclipse the original capital, Pliska, at an earlier date. According to records of that time, tenth-century Preslav was the most populous town in the Balkans, with extensive suburbs surrounding a walled inner town containing "large buildings of stone on both sides, decorated with wood". In the town there was also a palace, a royal School of Translators, the Patriarchate and other "churches ornamented with stones, wood and paintings, marble and copper, silver and gold". Preslav's downfall began when it was captured by the Kievian prince, Svetoslav, causing the Byzantine Empire to respond by razing the town in 972, and although it later revived (the palace was occupied as late as the Asenid dynasty), Preslav never regained its former size and was subsequently surpassed by Veliko Turnovo. Eventually it was burned down by the Turks, who used the remains to construct their own buildings.

On that day:  St. Sofronii Vrachanski Koznitsa - the reserve of the wild goats