Financial news

In January - April 2015 Bulgaria’s exports to third countries has increased by 13.8% compared with the same period in 2014 and amounts at BGN 5.4 billion. Bulgaria’s main trade partners were Turkey, China, Serbia, Singapore, USA and Russian Federation, which made 51.0% of the exports to non-EU countries. In April 2015 exports to third countries have increased by 12.8%, compared with the corresponding month of the previous year, and amount at BGN 1.5 billion. Bulgaria’s imports from third countries in the first four months of 2015, on the other hand, have increased by 1.3%, compared with the corresponding period of 2014, and added up to BGN 6.2 billion. The largest amounts were reported in the goods imported from the Russian Federation, Turkey, China and Ukraine. In April 2015 Bulgarian imports from third countries have decreased by 0.8% compared with the corresponding month of the previous year and amounted at BGN 1.7 billion. The foreign trade balance of Bulgaria with third countries in the period January - April 2015 was negative and added up to BGN 799.2 million.

According to preliminary data, in April 2015 the index of production in the ‘Construction’ sector, calculated on the base of seasonally adjusted data, was 0.4% below the level reported in the previous month, show the data of Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute. In April 2015 working day adjusted data showed a decrease by 0.5% in the construction production, compared to the same month of 2014. In April 2015 the construction production, calculated from the seasonally adjusted data, was below the level of the previous month. Index of production of building construction marked a decrease by 1.0%, but the production of civil engineering increased by 0.3%.

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

Companies

Bulgargaz has proposed to cut natural gas price by 7.11% in the third quarter of the year. The state-owned gas supplier proposed to Bulgaria’s energy regulator EWRC to set the price at BGN 486.48 (EUR 248.73) per 1,000 cubic meters, which is a decrease of BGN 37.24 compared with the second quarter, Bulgargaz said in a statement. The price doesn’t include excise duty and Value Added Tax of 20%.

Commission for Protection of Competition authorized the Swedish media giant MTG, owner of the Nova TV in Bulgaria, to purchase several internet media. The company will acquire the majority stake in web companies Darik Net, Net Info and Darik News. MTG also has in its portfolio of websites the legal portal lex.bg, sports website gong.bg, 50% of the property site imoti.info, the video-sharing site vbox7, the largest Bulgarian e-mail abv.bg and news website vesti.bg. Nearly 30% stake in the acquired internet media will remain for Radosvet Radev, founder of Darik Net. Former owner of Net Info was the Finnish media group Sanoma.

Bottling company-Gorna Banya has invested BGN 6 million in construction of a modern line for production of carbonated beverages BBB in its factory in the village of Trudovets, region of Botevgrad. In June 2012 fruit juices and nectars BBB became part of the company’s portfolio. In that way 60 new jobs were opened. In the last two years the company has continued extending its production facilities, as the investments will go on in future, as well. With the opening of the new assembly line 40 new jobs will be created in the region. Besides traditional tastes that are well known at the market, the company will offer new ones, too: Mojito, Pineapple and Coconut, Tropic, Watermelon and Ice Frape.

Industry Development Holding JSC (also known as Development Industry Holding), managed by entrepreneur Alexander Alexandrov announced plans to acquire new companies. The main activity of Industry Development is related to the investment and management of other companies. Now its portfolio includes machine-building company Intransmash - Engineering JSC and textile enterprises Sport JSC, Alena - P JSC, Tony JSC, Adara JSC, Burya JSC and Fashion Clothes JSC, which were bought during the mass privatization. After the new purchases, Industry Development Holding will enter two new sectors - insurance and agriculture. Stefan Sofianski, who managed Lev Ins between 2001 and 2013 leading it to first place in the general insurance, might be appointed CEO in health insurance company Planet JSC – Sofia, after Intransmash - Engineering JSC, part of Industry Development Holding, finally acquire the company.

Producer of dried fruits, vegetables and products of them under the name of Natura Fit plans to extend its activity, as it increases sales in the retail sale stage in Bulgaria and abroad. The company was founded nearly three years ago. The new part of the enterprise was opened more than a year ago. Basic part of the produce –about 90% is for export and just small part of it is sold in the country. Realization of the company’s products at present is predominantly at the EU markets, as well as for international customers from other continents. The family company produces dried plums, apple chips, quinces, pumpkins, various peppers, tomatoes and flour from dried vegetables and fruits. The Hisarya-based enterprise has a capacity for processing of 7000-10 000 tons of raw material per season. Delivery of raw material is predominantly from local farmers, though it also relies on its own plantations. Natura Fit has 550 acres of orchards and 350 acres of vegetable fields. Expansion of orchards is also thought of. The Hisarya-based company was set up with an investment in "green" with the help of funding from the Program for Rural Development. The investment was to the amount of BGN 6 million, as funding is provided through First Investment Bank.

Europe

Allianz SE announced plans to cut annual sales costs and to invest in digitizing its German operations, which are the group's biggest, as the sector gears up for fresh competition from non-traditional players such as Google Inc. Europe's largest insurer by market value plans to reduce annual sales cost in Germany by 40 million euros from Jan. 1, 2016, shrinking its number of branches to 60 from the current 88. It will also cut 360 jobs in Germany, mainly in administration and management, equivalent to 1% of the 30,000 people it employs in its home country. Allianz said it plans to achieve the job reduction without compulsory redundancies and has started talks with labor representatives. In Germany, measures such as early retirement, part-time work and natural attrition are used to avoid compulsory redundancies. The cuts won't affect the insurer's 8,400 insurance agents in Germany who will be reassigned to the remaining branches, said a company spokesman.

America

The U.S. Justice Department is weighing charging General Motors Co. with criminal wire fraud stemming from the auto maker’s failure to recall millions of vehicles equipped with a defective ignition switch, said people familiar with the matter. Federal prosecutors in New York are focusing on the charge after determining GM likely made misleading statements and concealed information about the faulty switch, now linked to more than 100 deaths, the people said. They are hoping to reach a settlement with the company by the end of summer or early fall, though the timing could slip, they said. Prosecutors also could explore other kinds of possible criminal wrongdoing in the GM case, the people familiar with the matter said. They haven’t made any final decisions on which charges to bring, if any, they said. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra on Tuesday declined to comment on the possible wire-fraud charge but confirmed she met with Justice Department investigators last year.

Asia

Japan's government should lay the economic groundwork to implement a planned tax increase in 2017, a top-level advisory panel is set to recommend, bolstering the view that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is stressing growth over austerity as he tries to balance the budget. The increase in the national sales tax to 10 percent from 8 percent "will be implemented in April 2017 while preparing the economic environment" for the move, says a draft of the panel's report, seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Abe last year delayed the tax hike, the second since he took office in December 2012, when the economy sank into recession after the first increase. He has committed to raising the tax again to help trim government debt - the industrial world's heaviest, at more than twice the country's gross domestic product. But in recent months Abe has increasingly stressed boosting growth rather than spending cuts to reduce the debt as a percentage of GDP.

St. Toma Island

The St. Toma island is situated in the Black Sea gulf of Alepu, very close to the shore. It is named after St. Toma, because there was a small chapel bearing the name of the saint built on the territory of the island. Its area is 10 decares and is known to be the only place in Bulgaria, where wild cactuses grow. They were planted here some 60 years ago and have amazingly adapted to local conditions. The cactuses themselves are home to many birds. The island is also known for its many snakes, that’s why many call it the Snake Island. A part of the island is the Oil Cape, which is the farthest eastern part of the Strandja mountain and the third biggest cape in the Bulgarian Black Sea coastal area. Its steep slopes make it extremely hard to access. In the past, it had a bad fame of being a place, where many ships crushed. Since most of them were loaded with olive oil, the place was called the Oil Cape, and during the Turkish Yoke – Zeytun Borun (the same meaning in Turkish). Legends say that at that time, secret tunnels connected the Oil Cape and the fortress of Valchan Voyvoda. According to these legends, many pirate treasures were buried on the island.

On that day:  Matochina Fortress