Financial news

Bulgaria’s industrial production index dipped by a preliminary 0.7% month-on-month in July, the country’s statistical office NSI said on Tuesday, citing seasonally adjusted figures. The industrial production index rose by 3.4% on the year in July 2015 adjusted for the number of working days, the NSI said in a monthly statistical report. In July 2015 as compared to June 2015, the industrial production index decreased in the mining and quarrying industry by 3.0%, in the energy supply by 0.9% and in the manufacturing sector by 0.4%. Compared with year ago, Bulgaria’s industrial production index increased in July in the mining and quarrying industry and in the manufacturing sector, each by 3.6%, and in the energy supply sector, by 2.3%, the NSI said.

The government took up a new loan of BGN 150 million in the form of securities. The Finance ministry re-opened emission of 3-year government securities maturing in January 2018. At the auction that took place on the 7th of September securities with a nominal value of BGN 150 million were offered, while total value of the rendered orders reached BGN 323 million, which corresponds to a coverage ratio of 2.15. The achieved average weighted annual yield is 0.49%. For comparison, the reported yield of the previous auction of 25 May 2015 on the same issue was 0.68 percent. The greatest amount of bonds at the auction acquired banks - 75.50%, followed by pension funds - 8.67%, and the contractual guarantee funds - 7.17%, and other investors. In September, the government plans to raise a total of BGN 300 million by issuing 3-, 5- and 10-year government securities.

REFA qualification course Module 1: 05-16 October 2015 Module 2: 27-30 October, 04-07 and 11-12 November 2015 Corporate organization and management and optimization of the production processes First module:"Work Systems and Process Design" Topic: Workplace Design and Ergonomics Ergonomic Workplace Design Work Load and Demands and Their Consequences Workplace Design - Anthropometry and Work Means 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

Concessions

According to a decision of Communications regulation Commission from the 31st of August, published at the site of the authority, it announces intention to organize tender for issuing of a permit for utilization of a spectre in the the frequency band 2500-2690 MHz. Permits are four in the range 2500-2570 and 2620-2690 MHz with method for access FDD, three of them are for 2x20 MHz bands and one for tape 2x10 MHz. Separately plans are to have five licenses for frequencies in the range 2570-2620 MHz in TDD mode, as a resource for each of them will be 1x10 MHz. (FDD and TDD modes of operation are of telecom equipment for sending and receiving signals.) The period in which companies wishing frequencies in these bands can submit an application is 14 days, and it expires at the end of next week

Companies

Software company Cobuilder Bulgaria will get EUR 154 thousand grant under the program "Innovation in the green industry" of the Norwegian state agency Innovation Norway. Allocations are 40% of the value of the exploratory project called Green Construction Products into BIM, which has a total value of EUR 385 thousand. It will be completed in a partnership with the Norwegian start-up Canteda. The end purpose of the project is development of construction software up to April 2016, which represents a programme for management of the construction process. The project with which Cobuilder Bulgaria won co-funding by the Norwegian fund is focused on environmentally-friendly construction and development of BIM technologies (building information modeling software or enabling participants in the construction process to access all project data). Under the project Green Construction Products into BIM until April next year system by which path of "green" products to the end customer can be monitored will be developed. The first results of studies and reports on activities will be announced this fall, the company said. Cobuilder Bulgaria is a subsidiary of the Norwegian company CoBuilder As, which has nearly 20 years of experience in developing software solutions for the construction sector.

From the start of 2016 Visteon Bulgaria is moving its office in newly completed building Capital Fort. The technological center will take up an area of 7300 square meters in the building. The deal was signed with the mediation of consulting company for business properties Forton. Capital Fort is located on Tsarigradsko shosse Boulevard. Visteon Bulgaria is one of the largest employers in the IT sector. For the last year the company has increased its teams with more than 150 people.

Bulgaria's financial regulator said it declined to approve plans by investment fund Alpha Bulgaria to raise its capital by BGN 3.9 million. The Financial Supervision Commission did not elaborate on the reasons for its decision. Alpha Bulgaria planned to raise its capital through the issue of 3.9 million shares with a nominal value and issue price of BGN 1 each. Alpha Bulgaria is an investment fund operating in various areas including real estate, leisure, healthcare, infrastructure, energy and technology.

Russian entrepreneur Alexander Viktorovich Talanov will build a plant for the production of hot air balloons in the village of Banya near Razlog. The investment is expected to be about BGN 1.5 - 2 million and the plant will be built in the area of Koneshitsa. For this purpose he purchased a plot of 9.5 decares from the Sofia-based company Eco View for EUR 250,000. The transaction was carried out in the spring of this year, and the deed is registered in A. Talanov’s company - Scientific-production enterprise Rusbal OOD. The land is located next to the stadium in the village, near the municipal swimming beach. Razlog municipal council has given consent for the preparation of Detailed plan and the procedure for the design of the plant has been initiated. The conceptual design is for the construction of an administrative building and industrial plant of between BGN 1.5 million and BGN 2 million, which will employ 30 workers. Alexander Talanov is the general designer of a company in Russia, whose activity is directed entirely to the production of hot-air balloons.

Europe

Greek banks' bad loans, which peaked after capital controls were imposed in late June, have dipped to around 45 percent of their loan books and are likely to fall further. The figure for bad loans - defined as credit more than 90 days in arrears or likely to fall into that category - was 40.8 percent at the end of the first quarter, according to latest official figures. The picture worsened in July, when in addition to capital controls banks were closed for a week, and when only about 15 percent of borrowers who had been repaying their loans normally in the past made monthly payments. But 80 percent resumed timely repayments in August and bankers are expecting further improvement this month. Under Greece's third bailout, which it agreed in July, up to 25 billion euros ($28 billion) were allocated to recapitalize the banks. Insiders say the sum required is more likely to be in the 10 billion to 15 billion euro range.

America

United Continental's CEO and two other top executives are out following a company investigation related to an ongoing federal probe. Jeff Smisek, the company's CEO and chairman, stepped down "in connection with the company's previously disclosed internal investigation related to the federal investigation associated with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey," the company said in a statement Tuesday. United said it is cooperating with the government probes. Smisek will walk away with a $4.8 million "separation payment," according to a public filing from the company. He was paid $12.7 million in 2014. United (UAL) disclosed in February that a federal grand jury had subpoenaed information from its executive officers. The subpoenas requested records and testimony related to individuals formerly associated with the Port Authority.

Asia

Metro AG, Germany’s largest retailer, is forming an alliance with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to develop e-commerce on the Chinese online retailer’s website. Metro will sell private-label products to Chinese consumers through Alibaba’s site, the companies said Tuesday in a statement. The retailers will also explore ways to cooperate in sourcing and using data. “Alibaba Group and Metro Group will work together to help more European consumer brands establish fast-track solutions for expanding into the Chinese market,” Alibaba Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang said in the statement. Metro has been expanding in Asia and said last month it’s hunting further targets after agreeing to buy Classic Fine Foods Group, a Singapore-based supplier of gourmet products, for as much as $328 million.

The Assumption of Holy Mary church – Byala

The Assumption of Holy Mary is one of the churches in the town of Byala (southern part of the Varna district). The temple is dated back to 1876. The legend says that on the Christian Celebrations for the Virgin Mary’s Day, when the church was to be sanctified, the Ottomans sent army by sea. It should destroy the temple and avoid it being sanctified. All of a sudden a snowstorm burst out, and the people considered it as a sign so that the Ottomans did not dare to land. They left back and this encouraged the Christians to continue the celebrations. Each year after this people made boiled mutton for health on the patron saint’s day. Presently the church was opened until the 80s of the 20th century, and then it was abandoned and started ruin. In the beginning of the 21th century a foundation was established to restore the church. In 2003 it managed to collect funds and to initiate the construction of the new temple. The idea is to destroy the church and to build it again using the stones and bricks of the old one.

On that day:  September 9, 1944