Financial news

In the period of January – February 2015 Bulgarian exports to the EU increased by 12.2% compared to the corresponding period of 2014 and amounted to BGN 4.5 billion. Main trade partners of Bulgaria were Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece, Belgium and France which accounted for 69.5% of the exports to the EU Member States. In February 2015 the exports to the EU increased by 7.7% compared to the corresponding month of the previous year and amounted to BGN 2.2 billion. Bulgarian imports from the EU in the period of January - February 2015 increased by 3.3% compared to the same period of 2014 and added up to BGN 5.0 billion BGN at CIF prices. The foreign trade balance of Bulgaria (export FOB - import CIF) with the EU in the period of January – February 2015 was negative and added up to BGN 504.2 million. At FOB/FOB prices (after elimination of transport and insurance costs on imports) the trade balance was also negative and amounted to BGN 298.9 million.

Number of put into exploitation newly constructed residential buildings in the first three months of the year in Bulgaria is 558. As compared to the first quarter of 2014 buildings are by 26 mores or by 4.9%, while newly constructed premises in them are less by 37.4%. In accordance to distribution of newly constructed buildings in terms of types the greatest relative share is held by houses (75.3%), followed by residential buildings (13.2%). Built-up houses are 420 in the first quarter of 2015, as compared to 366 for the same period of the previous year. In that way this becomes the sole residential sector where there is serious stir-up. Most buildings were put into operation in the districts of Burgas - 64.

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

Companies

Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Agro Finance dropped the plans on its liquidation. It was scheduled to be voted on the general meeting of shareholders on May 4, and the cause was the introduced by Parliament fines for companies with foreign shareholders, which own agricultural land. The general meeting protocol, however, shows the owners have given up on these intentions by voting against the proposal. The reason - the parliament adopted an amendment, which eventually dropped out fines for public companies. The law provided a fine of BGN 100 per decare to offenders. Agro Finance is one of the largest funds for land with 140 thousand decares, which means that it would have to face a serious financial penalty that would actually suffocate the company, and all others in this sector. The most seriously affected would be several public fund (REIT) since they are traded on the stock exchange and have no real way of controlling shareholding structure, because everyone can buy their shares freely.

Prosecutors have started a probe for deliberate negligence against the conservators at the failed Corporate Commercial Bank (Corpbank), the Sofia City Prosecution Office said. They are suspected that in their capacity as conservators appointed by the central bank at Corpbank from November 2014 to March 2015, they failed to take good care and preserve the assets of the bank, thus causing considerable losses to the bank. The prosecutors believe that this was a case of gross intentional negligence. Corpbank suspended all operations on June 21 after a run by depositors left it illiquid. On the same day the central bank placed it under conservatorship and the conservator remained at the bank until March 25 when they were replaced by trustees in bankruptcy. Corpbank is not delicensed and declared bankrupt by a court. In mid-March, the head of the parliamentary finance committee, Menda Stoyanova, said that the Corpbank assets shrunk by BGN 1 billion during the conservatorship.

Bulgarian gas monopoly Bulgargaz said it plans to ask the regulator to approve a 6.61% decrease in the price at which the company sells natural gas to its wholesale clients in the third quarter of 2015. The tariff of BGN 489.10 per 1,000 cu m proposed by Bulgargaz does not include Value Added Tax and excise duties, the company said in a notice on its website. It reflects an expected drop in the price which Bulgargaz will pay for gas supplies in the July-September period, the company added. Bulgargaz will make public its final proposal for third-quarter natural gas prices on June 10, upon submitting it with the energy regulator. The adjustment in the wholesale tariff, made on a quarterly basis, must be approved by the energy regulator to take effect. Bulgargaz is a subsidiary of the state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding. Bulgaria imports almost all the natural gas it needs from Russia through a pipeline crossing the territories of Ukraine, Moldova and Romania.

National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) became part of the European Commission initiative to reduce the risks of cyber-attacks. NRIC was invited to join by Bulgarian Posts as the only representative from Bulgaria. The Advanced Cyber Defence Centre (ACDC) project is worth EUR 15.5 billion. The aim is development and implementation of innovative software to combat parasitic software like BOTNET, which penetrates into large networks of computers and access the contents of the computer without the knowledge of its owner. Software implementation of anti-botnet strategy in the network of Bulgarian Posts and interested parties will be the basis for solving the problem of cybersecurity at the national level.

A tender for the supervision of the design and the construction of a 23 km section of Bulgaria's Struma motorway with an indicative value of BGN 7 million has attracted nine bids, the Bulgarian regional development ministry said. Bids for the supervision of the design and construction of the Kresna-Sandanski stretch were filed by Bulgarian companies Rutex and Patinvest Engineering and seven tie-ups comprising local and foreign companies, including a tie-up led by UK consultancy Mott MacDonald, the regional development ministry said. The works envisaged in the contract should be completed within 60 months. The Struma motorway, with a total length of 173.28 km, connects the capital Sofia with the Greek border. It is part of pan-European transport Corridor IV.

Bulgaria will have an information tourist centre in Tokyo after an agreement to this effect was signed by Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova and President and Representative Director of the Japan-Southeast Europe Business Association (JSEEBA) Kihachiro Nishiura. The financing of the centre will be provided by JSEEBA. The agreement shows the intention of the two countries for lasting partnership and cooperation in tourism and in promoting Bulgaria as a tourist destination in Japan. In 2014 Bulgaria was visited by 12,000 Japanese tourists, which is 7 per cent more than in 2013.

Europe

German imports climbed more sharply than exports in March and industrial output dipped, suggesting that Europe's largest economy might have grown less than economists expected in the first quarter. The figures from the Federal Statistics Office contrasted with generally buoyant sentiment indicators and with news on Thursday that demand for goods made in Germany had climbed by 0.9 percent in March. Gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the January-March period are due be published next Wednesday and economists have been forecasting a modest reduction in growth to 0.6 percent from the robust 0.7 percent registered in the last three months of 2014. Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING, said the picture was "more mixed" than bullish sentiment indicators had suggested, given that net exports appeared to have been weak. "This leaves the German economy only with consumption and strong activity in the construction sector as significant growth drivers for Q1 GDP growth."

America

TPG Capital is in advanced discussions to buy commercial property brokerage Cushman & Wakefield Inc from Exor SpA for about $2 billion, and an agreement could be announced as soon as next week, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. Still, Bloomberg said one person cautioned there was no certainty of a deal being completed. David Bonderman's TPG would combine the Cushman brokerage with DTZ Group, which it bought last year, to create one of the world's biggest real estate services firms. Italian holding company Exor SpA hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley to find a buyer earlier this year. TPG has been competing against a range of other private-equity and strategic bidders, Bloomberg said, citing a person familiar with the matter. Last month, Exor said it had received several non-binding expressions of interest for the real estate company, in which it holds an 81 percent stake.

Asia

China overtook the US as the world’s biggest importer of crude oil in April, the culmination of a seismic shift in global energy flows over the past decade. Chinese customs data showed crude oil purchases from overseas hit a new high of 7.4m barrels a day in April, equivalent to roughly one in every 13 barrels consumed globally and topping US imports of 7.2m b/d. The US routinely exports about 500,000 b/d. While China’s imports are not expected to consistently surpass those of the US until the second half of this year, the move illustrates how the US shale revolution has cut the country’s reliance on oil from overseas — and how China’s demand has grown even as its economy slows. Colin Fenton, managing partner at Blacklight Research, said China’s imports increased as it stockpiled oil. “It’s begun,” Mr Fenton said. “China’s crude imports have been above trend in four of the past five months.”

Stobski Pyramids

The famous Stobski Pyramids are located near the village of Stop, in the western foot of Rila’s Southwestern part. In 1964, they were declared a natural landmark. Their average height is 6-10m, but some of them reach 10-12 m. Some of the pyramids are sharp and needle-shaped, but most of them are pyramidal or conical, and end with a stone “hat”, which makes them look like mushrooms. Their picturesque compositions have different names – the Towers, the Fairy Chimneys, the Pinnacles, the Rocky Peaks, the Brothers. There is an interesting legend about the most popular composition called the Matchmakers. Once upon a time, a group of matchmakers from the mountain village of Kolibite took a lass from the village of Stop. According to local traditions, young couples married without knowing each other. It was only after the wedding that the groom was allowed to see the bride. On the way to Kolibite, while the matchmakers were passing by the rocks, a strong wind blew and lifted the heavy veil covering the face of the bride. Everybody was amazed at her beauty and the best man was so astonished that he wanted to kiss her. Terrified by the sin the best man was about to commit, all matchmakers petrified, and this is how they stand until today.

On that day:  Hisarya Official Holiday of Bratsigovo