Financial news

According to the preliminary seasonally adjusted data, the turnover in 'Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles' at constant prices increased in May 2015 by 0.2 per cent compared to April, Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute reported on Wednesday. In May 2015, the working-day-adjusted turnover in 'Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles' grew by 0.8 per cent in comparison with the same month of 2014. Month on month, the May 2015 turnover increased in 'Retail sale of automotive fuel' by 1.1 per cent, in 'Dispensing chemist; retail sale of medical and orthopaedic goods, cosmetic and toilet articles' by 0.8 per cent, in 'Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet' by 0.7 per cent, in 'Retail sale of computers, peripheral units and software; telecommunications equipment' by 0.6 per cent, and in 'Retail sale of textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods' by 0.4 per cent. The turnover decreased in 'Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco' by 0.6 per cent and in 'Retail sale in non-specialised stores' by 0.3 per cent.

Bulgarian exports to other European Union countries were 12.3 per cent higher in January to April 2015 than in January to April 2014, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on July 9. In the first four months of 2015, Bulgarian exports to other EU countries added up to BGN 9.3 billion, the NSI said, citing preliminary figures. The main trading partners of Bulgaria were Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece, Belgium and France which accounted for 69.8 per cent of the country’s exports to other EU member states. In April 2015, exports to the EU increased by 13.2 per cent compared to the corresponding month of the previous year and amounted to BGN 2.4 billion.

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

Companies

A record growth of mortgage lending is expected in Bulgaria in June. So far the Greek debt crisis has not had any effect on the bank market here, analysts and credit consultants commented. The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB)'s month-on-month statistics for June have not been released yet, but preliminary estimates show a 30 per cent increase in mortgage loans, credit analyst Tihomir Toshev said. A growth is also expected in July and August, although smaller because of the summer holidays. Most probably, there will also be even a more tangible growth in lending by the end of the year, the highest in mortgage loans, followed by corporate loans and consumer credit, he forecast. Experts of one of the large commercial banks in Bulgaria have similar expectations. They, too, forecast that interest in this type of financing will probably increase in the second half of the year. The market trend of gradual decline of interest rates on new loans for households persisted in the first half of the year.

Bulgarian companies are planning major investments abroad. This became clear at a meeting of the Minister of Economy Bozidar Lukarski with over 40 commercial attachés abroad. A Chinese company arrives in late August in Kazanlak with a project for setting up a production of rose oil, said commercial attaché in Beijing Stoyan Nikolov. A Bulgarian company has stated investment project for EUR 100 mln to build a solar power plant in Kazakhstan as the modules will be manufactured in Bulgaria, said the commercial counselor in Astana - Momchil Dimitrov. Another Bulgarian company is already building a production plant for facade cladding in one of the free zones in Kazakhstan. Lukarski define as particularly promising the markets outside the EU. Such markets are the US, the Middle and Far East, the most serious are India and China, as well as former Soviet republics of Central Asia. There are serious opportunities for Bulgarian companies in Brazil, where outsourcing production can be operated throughout South America.

A Greek company under the name of Lalizas plans to open a factory for auxiliary equipment in the town of Pernik. Balloons for breathing under water, rescue boats and metal parts for yachts and ships will be manufactured there. Investment will be completed by Oceanfenders SPLTD. The company is registered in October last year and is owned by Lalizas Holdings Limited. The Greek company is specialized in production of marine life-saving equipment and has its headquarters in Piraeus. The new production facility has to become operational by the end of the present year, after repair and renovation of the purchased production base is made. The plant will be located in the building of the ex-sewing factory Demo and will have an area if 13 500 square meters. Lalizas bought the property by Erste Group Immorent Bulgaria. The deal was completed last year at a price of BGN 3.8 million. Between 100 and 200 employees are expected to be hired in the new factory. The company investor Lalizas has over 30 years of tradition in the production of rescue equipment and marine equipment and is selling its products in 106 countries.

A new player on the market of meat products opens officially today, 10th of July. The meat-processing factory Novira SPLTD is located in Sofia’s neighbourhood of Orlandovtsi. The company is registered in the beginning of last year and since then has been operating. The enterprise is set up with European funding under the program for development of rural areas 2007-2013. The investment is assessed at BGN 2.3 million. The production facility has an area of 3000 square meters. It disposes with detached lines for processing, as it has the capacity to produce both chilled and frozen products of beef, pork, lamb and chicken meat. The production cycle is entirely closed, as the production capacity reaches 5000 kg daily. The company operates under the brand of Vitoro, as it offers sausages, boiled-smoked, minced meat and preparations. The products are positioned in the middle and high price segments

Bulgarian drug maker Sopharma said that it has increased its stake in medical products maker Momina Krepost to 92.62% following a buyout. Thirty shareholders accepted the buyout, as a result of which Sopharma acquired a total of 221,991 Momina Krepost shares, Sopharma said in a bourse filing. Momina Krepost's capital consists of 1,691,184 shares with a par value of BGN 1 a piece. In March, Sopharma increased its stake in Momina Krepost to 80.09% after it acquired 458,250 company shares in a buyout. A general shareholders' meeting, held on June 4, voted to cover the company’s 2014 loss of BGN 108,000 with funds from undistributed profit.

Europe

The French government launched the sale of fourth-generation mobile spectrum on Thursday and confirmed it plans to raise a minimum of 2.5 billion euros ($2.78 billion). Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron and Axelle Lemaire, junior minister for the digital economy, confirmed in a statement that the government aims to sell six blocks of 4G spectrum in the 700 megahertz frequency band for at least 416 million euros each. The government has set caps on the total amount of 700 MHz spectrum that can be held by each of France's four telecom operators, with none allowed to possess more than three blocks. France is seeking to encourage investment in communications infrastructure by Orange, Numericable-SFR, Bouygues and Iliad.

America

The White House said it was open to working with Congress on a bill that would invest in disease research and would be paid for with sales of oil from U.S. emergency reserves. The House of Representatives is considering a bipartisan bill that would increase funding for the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration to boost research and approvals of new treatments for rare diseases. Funding for the measure would come from selling 80 million barrels of oil a year over eight years from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, emergency stockpiles that currently hold more than 690 million barrels of oil. The White House expressed general support for the bill but expressed concern about increasing funding without addressing mandatory spending caps known as sequestration. "The administration reiterates the critical importance of making the investments necessary to modernize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and ensure it continues to support U.S. energy security," the White House said in a statement.

Asia

Chinese investors have bought between 50 billion rubles ($875 million) and 60 billion rubles worth of Russian domestic treasury bonds this year, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday. Moscow has increasingly looked east for investors, including for its domestic debt, after the West imposed economic sanctions on Russia last year over its role in the Ukraine crisis. "I think that after purchasing such a volume and realizing that this is a good, profitable, reliable investment, our Chinese partners will expand the volume of their investment into the Russian economy," Siluanov said in an interview with Rossiya 24 television on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in the Russian city of Ufa. President Vladimir Putin, whose country needs investment to pull out of a recession spurred by sanctions and falling oil prices, has been shifting his economic and political focus toward Asian markets and toward China in particular.

Duhlata cave

Duhlata is the longest cave in Bulgaria. It is located in the south-western part of the Vitosha mountain, near the village of Bosnek, some 45-min drive away from Sofia. The exploration of the over 18-km long cave started as early as 1965 and is still ongoing. Around 15 km of the cave have been explored. 50 incredibly beautiful halls with gorgeous limestone forms and sparkling lakes in them have been found. Duhlata consists of 6 cave levels and numerous narrow galleries, called “tesnyatzi” (from “tesen” – narrow (in Bulgarian)), forming a unique labyrinth. It took decades for scientists to make a map of this natural phenomenon. There are all sorts of interesting legends related to the cave. According to one of them, Al. Strezov saw parts of the so-called “Akademishka duhla” in his dream before they were found. Another legend says the road through “The Throat of Hell” was shown to speleologists by a flight of bats…
Duhlata, with all of its stalactite and stalagmites, ciboriums and draperies, little lakes, etc., is considered to be one of Bulgaria’s most beautiful caves.

On that day:  Chirpan Monastery St. Athanasius