Financial news

The effects of financing employment in Bulgaria with EU funds are temporary and partial, according to analysis by experts from the Institute for Economic Research at BAS contribution of EU funds for the development of production in the country by HRD OP "Competitiveness". GDP growth in the use of EU funds ranged from 0.1% in 2007 to 0.61% in 2014. Employment has achieved a key change. The long-term unemployment (over 1 year) should be 4% in 2013 and reported level of 7.4%. Training of people without livelihood should not be linked to the actual needs of the labor market, and the courses focus on acquiring a profession.

According to the preliminary data, the Industrial Production Index, seasonally adjusted, has increased by 0.2% in April 2015 as compared with March 2015, show the data of Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute. In April 2015 working day adjusted Industrial Production Index rose by 1.5% in comparison with the same month of 2014. In April 2015 as compared to March 2015, the seasonally adjusted Industrial Production Index increased in the mining and quarrying industry by 3.1% and in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply by 2.6%, while in the manufacturing a decrease by 1.0% was seen. The most significant decreases of production in the manufacturing were registered in the manufacture of other transport equipment by 10.6%, in the repair and installation of machinery and equipment by 10.3%, in the manufacture of paper and paper products by 10.1%, in the manufacture of tobacco products by 6.1%, in the printing and reproduction of recorded media by 5.3%. There were increases in the manufacture of basic metals by 10.8%, in the manufacture of furniture by 9.1%, in the manufacture of leather and related products by 8.1%, in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products by 5.7%

REFA qualification course 29.06-03.07.2015, 13.07-17.07.2015, 20.07-31.07.2015 Corporate organization and management and optimization of the production processes Second module: Production Data Management Topic: Production Data Management The production organization Planning and control of production Workplace analysis European legislation on safety and health at work http://refa.bia-bg.com/, tel. 981-45-67, Sofia

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

Companies

The Commission for Protection of Competition allowed BTC to acquire control of NURTS Bulgaria JSC (NURTS). The Commission Decision will allow BTC to acquire 100% stake in NURTS. The planned transaction would not lead to a change in the "co-location" market and all partners NURTS will continue to use the service in conditions of full equality and transparency, said a statement of the CPC. Co-location is a service by which telecom operators provide space in their facilities to third parties (eg. TV and radio stations, mobile operators, ISPs, operators of microwave links, etc.) Analysis of CPC market has shown that the penetration of pay-TV reached 58% in 2013, the largest share of cable TV - 27.6%, followed by satellite TV - 25.5%, and IPTV - 4 , 8%. According to the CPC pay-TV market in Bulgaria is well developed and due to competition between cable, satellite and IP television.

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes of the World Bank (ICSID) has registered an arbitration claim for EUR 54 million filed by Czech-owned ENERGO-PRO electricity distribution company against Bulgaria. On July 20, 2013, ENERGO-PRO, owner of the electricity distribution company in Northeastern Bulgaria, proposed to Bulgaria an amicable agreement over an investment dispute by way of mutual understanding and negotiations concerning the proposed new regulation of electricity prices, the resulting reduction in the operating costs of the electricity distribution companies, and compensation for the costs of purchasing green energy imposed by law. The EUR 54 million claim was registered on May 26. The dispute between the Czech investor and Bulgaria resulted from the energy regulator's policy of electricity pricing and compensation for the State's obligation to buy electricity from renewable sources.

Mines Maritsa Iztok is looking for a working capital loan with a limit of BGN 40 million in the form of overdraft for a term of one year, becomes clear from announced in the beginning of June public tender. Funds are needed for insuring temporary financial resource in case of shortage of money. In that way, current activities in relation to payment of taxes, suppliers of goods and services as well as payments of obligations to employees are to be covered. Forecasted value, pointed by Mines Maritsa Iztok for granting of the loan is BGN 1.124 million, VAT included. The state company’s public order is divided into three detached lots, one with a limit of BGN 8 million and the other two of BGN 12 and BGN 20 million respectively. Candidates may hand out offers for one or more of the announced lots. There are no requirements for their economic or financial capacity. Main requirement, under which participants will be ranked, is the proposed lowest price. Towards the end of 2014 Mines Maritsa Iztok has loans to a total of seven banks, assessed to BGN 34.575 million.

Finnish investment fund KJK Capital is considering investing in five Bulgarian companies operating in the industrial services and the food industry. "[...] I hope that we have at least one or two [more] investments in Bulgaria by the end of the year," KJK Capital managing director and founder Kustaa Aima said. The fund is interested in companies generating annual sales of EUR 10 - 50 million, which are willing to share their profit with their shareholders, treating both small and big shareholders equally, Aima added. Through its two investment funds focused on Southeast Europe, KJK Capital owns stakes in Bulgarian insurer Eurohold Bulgaria, drug maker Sopharma and power utility CEZ Distribution.

Burgas-based mall Galeria terminated in Friday its contract with the holder of franchise rights of the chain-KMB Bulgaria due to its negligence by the tenant. Carrefour delayed payments. The mall’s owner-Polish company GTC will seek its due under the contract in court. The Burgas site is the first large store, which is closed by Carrefour. The chain remains with nine hypermarkets, basically located in malls, as well as with 12 smaller stores. KMB Bulgaria is owned by the Greek Marinopoulos. By the way merger with Picadilly, announced in the autumn of last year has a great chance not to happen at all. Management of the Bulgarian retailer announced that if Marinopoulos do not compete negotiated for June capital increase of KMB Bulgaria by BGN 46 million, there will be no deal. In the meantime suppliers pointed out that Picadilly is also retarding payment, after the chain negotiated loan of EUR 11.8 million for paying off with them. At the place of the huge hypermarket three new stores will appear. Two of them will be of fashion brands, while the third one will be of a local chain of supermarkets.

Europe

Some 52 per cent of the world's tourists visit Europe and 11 per cent (125 million people annually) come to the Danube Region, World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said in Sofia Monday. Rifai was addressing a meeting of the Danube Region countries entitled "Sustainable Tourism through Cooperation with EU Funds and Investments." The Secretary-General further said that the Danube River, other natural assets and the cultural heritage combine to make the Danube Region a blessed area which can support a booming tourist industry serving the purposes of regional development and cohesion. According to him, the region's strength lies in offering multiple-destination tourist services. Europe should brace itself for a shrinking market share because tourism is a global game and everyone wants to take part, but Europe's lead should remain a permanent goal, Rifai said.

America

In Mexico's elections for Congress, President Enrique Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party and its allies look set to retain control. On current projections, the PRI will win around 30% of the vote and see its number of seats drop slightly. An independent candidate has won a state governorship for the first time since legal change allowed that. The run-up to the poll was marked by violence with drug cartels blamed for the deaths of several candidates. The head of the National Electoral Institute, Lorenzo Cordova, said that the president's party and its allies look set to win between 246 and 263 seats in the 500-member lower chamber. The opposition conservative National Action Party has won around 22% of the vote, he said. The government suffered some setbacks. It lost the governorship of the northern state of Nuevo Leon to an independent, Jaime Rodriguez Calderon.

Asia

In its strongest push outside of China, Alibaba has struck a series of partnerships to bolster its global cloud offerings, putting it in direct competition with the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft. The deals – including one with Intel – will see Aliyun, Alibaba's cloud division, use existing data centers built by the partner companies to push its own services. By not building new data centers Alibaba will save money and through the partnership be able to localize its cloud offering and tap potentially new markets. "There are more and more storage problems and more and more clients are in need for bigger storage capabilities," Simon Hu, President of Aliyun, said. The executive said Alibaba's move is aimed at giving small and medium-sized business the right infrastructure needed to harness the power of data and analytics. "We want to be the enabler of other businesses. We want to change the industry," Hu said.

Monument of Tsar Samuil in Sofia

In the city center of Sofia, in the garden in front of the basilica "St. Sofia "solemnly and honorably opened the monument of Tsar Samuil (997-1014g.) on the occasion of the 1000 anniversary of the death of the Bulgarian ruler. The monument is the work of sculptor Alexander Hajtov and designers Rosen and Mary Gurkova. The funds were donated to him by the "Bulgarian Memory" chaired by Dr. Milen Vrabevski.

On that day:  The Town Clock in Sliven History Museum in Pazardjik Rozhen monastery