Financial news

According to the preliminary data the Industrial Production Index, seasonally adjusted, decreased by 0.6% in February 2015 as compared to January 2015, Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute announced. In February 2015 working day adjusted Industrial Production Index rose by 2.3% in comparison with the same month of 2014. In February 2015 as compared to January 2015, the seasonally adjusted Industrial Production Index decreased in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply by 5.0%, while increases were seen in the mining and quarrying industry by 1.5% and in the manufacturing by 0.4%.

Bulgaria has a chance to receive funding for only one of the 18 projects, for which the country applied for funding under the so-called Juncker Plan of the the European Commission. This emerged from the report of the work group on the projects applying for funding under the Plan for strategic EU investment in 2015-2017. The work group includes representatives of the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and member states. The Juncker Plan envisages investments of EUR 315 billion in the economy of the EU countries. At the end of 2014 Bulgaria applied for funding of 18 projects worth over EUR 3.5 billion. Chances now are to get only EUR 38 million in the joint project with Greece - the construction of gas interconnection between the two countries. The official information of the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy of March, however, indicates that the value of the gas connection is set at EUR 220 mln.

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

Companies

Seizure of shares of owners in Litex motors are called for by the National revenue agency. Claims are not registered yet. On the 2nd and 3rd of April two bailiffs have imposed attachment of shares in Litex motors, owned by Watersea limited and Tereksim. The reason is future public claims. 38.6% of Tereksim’s shares in the cars plant are attached due to public claim with supposed amount of BGN 109 thousand. The other seizure is imposed to 60.4% of capital, owned by Watersea limited. Tereksim is owned by Ilia Terziev, Litex motors’ CEO. The car company was one of the largest borrowers of Corporate Commercial Bank, as up to 11 March 2015 the factory for cars was seized in the bank for a loan of EUR 15.9 million.

Swedish industrial group Trelleborg will become sole owner of Pernik-based factory for silicone goods, called Trelleborg steeling solutions Silcotech Bulgaria. So far the company has 50% of all stakes in its production base that was bought in 2011. The factory for silicone goods in Pernik has been working since 2007, as part of the group Silcotech. In 2011 Trelleborg acquired 100% of the Swedish company and 50% of the Bulgarian production which is renamed to Trelleborg steeling solutions Silcotech Bulgaria. Apart from the plant Trelleborg has another subsidiary in the country. This is Sofia-based Trelleborg steeling solutions Bulgaria, which is marketing, engineering and logistics center of the group in Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Production in Pernik is separate and works mainly for industrial solutions responsible for needs of individual clients who are engaged tightly in the process of goods’ development. In its biggest part produced goods are exported for customers in Germany and Switzerland. Basic clients of the company in Bulgaria are Ideal Standard and IMI’s factory in Botevgrad.

By the end of the year a new private company is expected to launch freight railway transport and also to cut almost 19% of the revenue of BDZ. It is predicted in the plan for stabilization of the state railway, presented a few days ago. The document points out TBL as the greatest threat to BDZ-Freight Services, which is expected to obtain a license for railway carrier. The company requested authorization over a year ago, but its issuance has been postponed until now because of various formalities. The company currently provides 41.3% of the loads of the state company. Now the state railway transports mainly coal and other raw materials for energy companies to the company in question. The loss of this huge volume of goods is impossible to compensate in such a short period, the stabilization plan of BDZ emphasizes. Simultaneously, however, it is stated that the threat of new entrants in the market is average. In the period 2005-2014 the market share of BDZ-Freight Services fell by a third from 95.6% to 62.6%.

US-based AES has welcomed the deal it signed with Bulgaria to amend the long-term power purchase agreement which its Bulgarian power plant AES 3C Maritza East 1 has with state-owned National Electricity Company (NEK). Under the framework set forth in the heads of terms agreement (HTA) signed on April 8 AES 3C Maritza East will cut its capacity price by 14% which will result in annual savings for NEK of some BGN 50 mln, NYSE-listed AES Corporation said in a statement. Cumulative savings for NEK will be about BGN 550 mln over the remaining term of the power purchase agreement which expires in 2026. In exchange, NEK will pay the lignite coal-fired power plant its full outstanding receivables, which as of March 31, 2015 were approximately USD 236 mln.

BILLA Bulgaria had a successful year in 2014, as its turnover increased by 4.8 % compared to the previous year, reaching BGN 614.8 mln. The financial results of the company for 2014 were significantly better than the initial expectations. In order to continue its successful path of development, the company plans to invest nearly BGN 200 mln in Bulgaria in the forthcoming years. BILLA is the first international chain of supermarkets in Bulgaria and is leader in the sector, creating added value not only for its customers, but also for the Bulgarian economy. Over one million Bulgarians are regular customers of BILLA and are in possession of their personal loyalty cards. According to BILLA Bulgaria, 94 % of its turnover is generated by goods from Bulgarian suppliers, while 92 % of the items in its shops are supplied by Bulgarian companies. The company has initiated series of projects and initiatives, which are directed towards supporting the Bulgarian economy and local production.

Europe

Industrial production in Italy rose 0.6 per cent in February, offering comfort that the eurozone’s third-largest economy would this year emerge from three years of recession. The increase in factory activity marks a rebound compared with a 0.7 per cent decline in January that had raised concerns about the ability of Italy’s manufacturing sector to help drive the recovery. The government of Matteo Renzi, Italy’s prime minister, is forecasting that Italy will return to growth this year of 0.7 per cent — and that the pace of the gross domestic product expansion will accelerate further in 2016. If such a revival, albeit a modest one, were to happen, it would help shore up the country’s strained public finances, and could lead to a drop in Italy’s high debt to gross domestic product ratio of more than 130 per cent. While business and consumer confidence surveys have posted encouraging gains in recent months, offering hope of such an upswing, so-called hard economic data have been less conclusive.

America

Shareholders in the biggest US companies stand to receive a record $1tn in cash this year, as blue chips' concerns over the global economic outlook have diverted cash away from investment and is driving a boom in buybacks and dividends. Shareholder returns reached more than $903bn in 2014, with $350bn in dividends and $553bn in buybacks, official data from S&P Dow Jones Indices show. It expects buybacks to rise at a "double-digit" rate this year. Dividends have climbed on average 14 per cent annually over the past four years. Many strategists expect this pace of growth to continue this year, which would put returns at just above $400bn. Goldman Sachs forecasts buybacks to reach $604bn. Combined, returns would surpass the $1tn mark for the first time in US history. The combination of slowing emerging market economies, concerns about the pace of the recovery in some developed markets and falling oil prices are driving down expectations for capital investment growth.

Asia

The Chinese government has said Taiwan will not be a member of a new regional bank, but would be welcome in the future under a different name. China is leading the set-up of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a project opposed by the US. Taiwan, which split from China in 1949, wanted to join the bank as an independent nation. But China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and was expected to reject any move which suggested otherwise. Taiwan's government has reportedly said it will continue to press the case for its inclusion. The bank was created in October with 21 members. Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, confirmed a recent report that Taiwan would not be a member. He said that the bank "is open and inclusive, and welcomes Taiwan to join under an appropriate name", and added that they would be "open to suggestions from all sides".

Nicopolis ad Istrum

Nicopolis ad Istrum is one of the most thoroughly explored Roman towns on Bulgarian territory. The City of Victory was founded by Emperor Trayan in honour of his victory over the Dacians in 102-106 A.D. It lasted till the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 17th century – in that period the town was devastated by the invasions of the Avars and the Slavs. Nicopolis was built on a flat area near the river of Rositza, where the lands were fertile and important roads crossed. This was an important prerequisite for the town’s future prosperity in the end of II – the beginning of III century. Nicopolis ad Istrum was given the honour to cut coins. More than 900 types of coins bearing its name are known to the world. Images of gods, buildings, gates, are depicted on them. However, the town was ruined in the end of the VI century. The first excavations on its territory were organized in 1900. Since 1975, Sofia’s Archeological Museum and Veliko Tarnovo’s Museum of History are researching the ruins of the town, helped by students from the university of Veliko Tarnovo. In 1985, joint archeological projects with the British Academy and Nottingham University were held. The archeological reserve Nicopolis ad Istrum is located 20 km north from Veliko Tarnovo and 3 km south from the village of Nicupe.

On that day:  Museum of History in Teteven G. S. Rakovski National Defence Academy Official Holiday