Financial news

Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov sent a letter to the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici to expresses his strong concern that Athen's introduction of a 26% withholding tax on all transactions with a source from Bulgaria, as well as from Ireland and Cyprus, is discriminatory and disproportionate to the pursued goal. According to the letter, the tax provisions adopted by Greece are incompatible with the law of the European Union and infringe the fundamental principles laid down in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Thus it is assumed by presumption that the transactions are performed with the purpose of tax fraud or tax evasion only on the basis of the fact that the corporate taxation regimes in these three countries are more favourable than the taxation regime in Greece. The corporate income taxation cannot be considered as an isolated issue as it is part of the tax system model that each Member State establishes in accordance with national and common European goals and priorities while complying with the EU law.

Producer Price Index on Domestic Market in February 2015 increased by 0.7% compared to the previous month. The domestic prices rose in the manufacturing by 1.1%, in the mining and quarrying industry by 0.7%, and in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply the prices by 0.1%. In the manufacturing, compared to the previous month the prices went up in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products by 1.9% and in the manufacture of textiles by 0.5%, while a price decrease was reported in the in the repair and installation of machinery and equipment by 1.3% and in the printing and reproduction of recorded media by 0.4%. Producer Price Index on Domestic Market in February 2015 decreased by 1.2% compared to the same month of 2014. The domestic prices fell in the manufacturing by 4.2% and in the mining and quarrying industry by 3.1%, while prices increases were registered in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply by 4.2%.

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

Companies

Bulgaria’s Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) said on March 30 that it has asked several local companies, including telecom operator Vivacom, to provide information regarding the proposed ownership change. Earlier this month, Luxembourg-registered special-purpose vehicle LIC33 said that it would buy stakes owned by Tsvetan Vassilev – the former majority shareholder in Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB) – in several companies, including 43 per cent in Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (which operates under the Vivacom brand), as well as majority stakes in telecom infrastructure firm Nurts and multiplex operator First Digital, audience research firm Garb, as well as military plants Dunarit and Avionams. Private equity investor Pierre Louvrier, who said that he was the sole owner of LIC33, told reporters that his firm would buy the assets for one euro, but had committed to refinancing debt worth EUR 900 million.

The business plan of Port Varna SPJSC for 2015 envisages investments of around BGN 6.5 M, according to CEO Petar Seferov. Seferov, as cited by the Cherno More newspaper and investor.bg, informs that the money will be spent on new equipment and facilities, depending on the anticipated cargo. “A total of BGN 6 M is to be invested in infrastructure, despite the fact that this is mainly the job of the State Enterprise Port Infrastructure,” the CEO of Port Varna SPJSC said. He informs that the amount of cargo processed at the two terminals of the port, Port Varna East and Port Varna West, stands at around 10 million tonnes, adding that export shipments traditionally account for around 70% of the cargo. Seferov notes that the volume of containers has increased by 46 000 tonnes, while their share has gone up by 2%. In his words, the amount of containers processed in 2014 exceeds 132 600 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit). Bulk containers make up an average of 65% of the cargo. Port Varna East reports 90% of bulk shipments, while Port Varna West reports 55% of bulk shipments and over 1 million tonnes of liquid cargo. The amount of general cargo processed at the port stands at over 700 000 tonnes, including large diameter pipes.

A company for sale of food and beverages via vending machines under the name of Breaktime will expand via investment to the amount of more than EUR 1 billion. The funds will be granted by the fund for risk capital NEVEQ II. Breaktime is founded two years ago. Its basic owner is Tsvetan Lujanski with a stake of 62%, who was manager of companies such as Royal foods, Devin, Plastchim-T. The smaller stake in the company is held by Svetodar Yordanov (33.4). The young company is already operating with 300 machines in Sofia, Plovdiv and zone around the two towns. So far BGN 3 million has been invested in the company. Vending machines are set in offices, hospitals, schools and other buildings. Besides the classic machines, the company offers such with healthy products under the brand of Greentime.

KNM textie Ltd.will invest EUR 2.1 million in construction and equipping of a new textile plant for production of knitwear in the town of Pleven. The company is founded in 2011. It produces all kinds of knitwear and garments mainly for export, as its main customers are from France. KNM textie Ltd.works with popular brands such as American Vintage, La Redoute, Armorlux, Armand Thiery that sell their goods all around the world in Asia, North and South America and Europe. Construction of the plant started last year and is expected to be ready by the end of the present one. Plovdiv-based company Metallic - Ivan Mihaylov is engaged with the construction, as supervision is entrusted to Lazarovi 2002. Funding is realized through European initiative for sustainable urban development JESSICA. The furture production and warehouse complex with administrative building will be located in the West industrial zona next to the production building of Milkana.

Three new brands for car rental will enter the Bulgarian market, announced Autotechnica, which will be their official representative. These are the US-based Thrifty Car Rental, Dollar and FireFly. They will complement the portfolio of Autotechnica, which is the official representative of Hertz in Bulgaria. The new brand will cover mid to low segment car rental, the services will be aimed primarily at tourists and "cost-conscious customers." Autotechnica expects their market share to increase after the inclusion of the new brands, because the range of services will expand. Hertz brand is in the higher segment of the market and it will remain mainly aimed at corporate clients. Middle segment will be served by Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar, as FireFly will hold the lowest for people with modest financial means. The company leases cars for 3-4 years as currently around 2000 have been leased so. Among their biggest customers are Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company and Hewlett-Packard Bulgaria. Autotechnica is a subsidiary of the Greek Autohelas, which is the largest franchise of Hertz Rent-a-car in Europe.

Europe

The European Central Bank may have to tweak the rules of its massive bond-buying program because German debt is in short supply. The ECB plans to buy EUR 60 billion of assets each month until at least September 2016 to kick-start the region’s economy. German government bonds form a cornerstone of the program, accounting for about EUR 11 billion in monthly purchases. The ECB has said it would buy bonds from two to 30 years in length as long as the yield is above its deposit rate of -0.2%, and that it doesn’t expect any problems finding them. But yields on many German bonds are already lower than that. The ECB’s own rules prevent it from buying 42% of already-issued German government bonds, compared with 28% shortly before March 9 when the stimulus program began, according to Tradeweb data. Many traders say the central bank will run out of road unless the central bank changes some terms of its bond-buying. “If the ECB needs to execute the full program, it is going to be challenging if it stays like this,” said Elie El Hayek, global head of rates and credit trading at HSBC.

America

Volvo Cars will invest $500 million in its first U.S. assembly plant under plans announced on Monday, plugging a longstanding gap in the Swedish carmaker's manufacturing base as it pursues a global comeback under Chinese ownership. Volvo is in advanced talks with several U.S. states and will announce a location within weeks, Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson said in embargoed comments made before the announcement. Production will begin in 2018. Following its sale to Zhejiang Geely by Ford in 2010, Volvo has stepped up investment in new models and production, adding a pair of Chinese factories to its two older European plants. North American manufacturing is "the last piece in establishing our global footprint", Samuelsson said. The plant will serve export markets as well as the United States, where Volvo is aiming for a return to annual sales of 100,000 vehicles. Reuters reported in January that a factory investment was being considered.

Asia

In 2015, the volume of non-financial direct investment from China's will be increased by 10%. The size of Chinese investments in the economies of other countries will exceed $ 500 billion by 2020, announced the President Xi Jinping, speaking at the opening of the annual Boao Asian Economic Forum on Hainan Island. "The Chinese economy has entered a new stage of development that will benefit all countries of the world," – he said, quoted by the BBC News. According to China's forecast for 2015, the volume of non-financial direct investment from China will increase by the 10% this year – up to USD 3 billion. During his speech, Xi said that the Chinese economy "has necessary capacity and flexibility, and a set of political leverages." "It is impossible to estimate China's economy only in terms of growth rates," – he said. This year, the PRC authorities expect GDP growth slowed down to 7% compared to 7.4% in 2014.

Starosel Tomb

In August 2000, a sensational discovery occurred near the village of Starosel, in central Bulgaria. Archaeologists found the enormous temple/grave of what is believed to be a Thracian ruler, possibly Sitakes I, the first king of a combined Thracian empire. The site, 100 miles east of Sofia, has been dated as from the fourth or fifth century BC. The grave and its surroundings are thought by archaeologists to have been an important religious site for Thracians dating from the stone age. The two-chamber tomb is approached by stairs and a corridor. It is surrounded by a 263-yard long wall made out of some 4,000 stone blocks and was hidden under a 20-meter high mound of earth. The stone blocks of the surrounding wall/facade were largely undisturbed because they were fastened on the other side with iron clamps, which had lead poured over them. To the south it is crossed by a parade staircase flanked by two smaller staircases, climbing to an 11-yard roofless doorway with 5.5-yard high walls leading to the facade. The round stone wall symbolises the Sun, while the temple itself stands for the goddess of Earth who lived in a cave, according to Thracian beliefs. The interior consists of a rectangular entrance and a round vaulted main hall, whose ceiling is supported by 10 Doric semi-pillars, each carved with 10 vertical flutes. The inner walls are covered by ornate stone plates. The dome is decorated with a stone frieze in red, black, green and blue colours. Within, archeologists found a magnificent trove of relics, including a large gold funerary wreath, other gold jewelry, bronze shields, helmets and swords, and two sets of silver decorations for horses. The grave and its surroundings are also thought to have been an important religious site for Thracians

On that day:  Kozya Stena (Chamois Wall) Reserve The Kremikovtsi Monastery St. George March 31 - Julius Pinkas Pascin born in Vidin