Financial news

Bulgarians working abroad remitted USD 1,720 million  back home in 2014, according to World Bank figures. Bulgarian emigrants to Turkey remitted some 830 million dollars last year, equivalent to nearly 1.5 per cent of Bulgaria's GDP. Each emigrant there sent back an average USD 1,200. Next comes Spain with USD 198 million (0.35 per cent of GDP), Germany (USD 113 million), the US (USD 97 million), the UK (USD 74 million), Italy (USD 72 million), Greece (USD 68 million), Belgium (USD 31 million), Canada (USD 24 million), the Netherlands (USD 23 million), Austria (USD 22 million) and France (USD 21 million).

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has put forward amendments to the law which sets out requirements for foreign nationals who wish to start a business in the country. Changes will include conditions under which long-term business visas will be issued to foreign nationals. To be еligible for a long-term visa, anyone willing to carry out commercial activities will have to open up at least 10 jobs and have paid at least BGN 250 000 (EUR 127 000) to the state in a year, under to the proposed amendments to the Foreign Nationals Act in the Republic of Bulgaria. Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry believes it will curb transit entry of people affiliated to terrorist groups. The Council of Ministers is to vote on the proposed amendments at the end of October, and they will be submitted to Parliament upon approval.

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Concessions

Bulgaria gave the green light to Shell Exploration and Production (LIX) B.V. on Tuesday to conduct deep-water oil and gas exploration off its Black Sea coast. The permit for prospecting and exploration activities at Blocks Silistar 1-14 has been awarded for a period of five years, the government in Sofia said in a statement. Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova announced last month that Shell Exploration and Production (LIX) B.V. will invest EUR 18.6M, VAT excluded, in the exploration activities and pay EUR 4.9 M, VAT excluded, to the Bulgarian state as a bonus upon the signing of the agreement.

Companies

The four nationally-represented employers' organizations in Bulgaria - BIA, BCCI, BICA and CEIB – have asked the government to suspend payments above market prices for electricity generated by AES Galabovo and ContourGlobal Maritza East 3 power plants. The employers want the government to cap the purchase prices for electricity produced by the two plants at market levels until the European Commission decides on whether payments above those levels constitute illegal state aid. Bulgaria’s energy regulator DKEVR asked the EU Commission in the summer of 2014 to state its position on the preferential power purchase prices agreed with the two power plants. The employers associations asked the Commission the same question last month. The heads of the four employers’ associations alerted the Chief Prosecutor’s Office last week about alleged irregularities in the energy sector, including the sale of the two thermal power plants in the Maritsa Iztok coal mining and energy complex to the US-based investors. According to Vasil Velev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), Bulgaria is granting illegal state aid in the amount of BGN 333 M a year to the two power plants, thus increasing the electricity bills of Bulgarian industrial enterprises, investor.bg said.

Austrian producer of cranes Palfinger starts expansion of its production in Cherven brqg. Three new warehouses- welding, painting and assembly, assessed at nearly BGN 30 million will be constructed. After the investment is completed the Bulgarian subsidiary will be able to produce whole cranes, not only details as in does now. With the acceleration of its capacity the company plans to create more than 300 new jobs in the coming five years. The investment will be made in three stages that will be over in 2019. Palfinger Produktionstehnik Bulgarien has been operating in the country for 15 years now. It has two enterprises-one in the village of Tenevo neat Yambol, which produces cylinders, and another based in Cherven brqg. The latter produces metal components for cranes that later are transported to Slovakia and Austria so that they are varnished and mounted to ready lifting systems. Currently Machine Building Concern based in Salzburg has 1,024 employees in Bulgaria. Worldwide, the company has over 8 thousand employees. The idea is to expand to make the product ready for market and to complete the production cycle.

The European Commission (EC) adopted on October 12 an Operational Programme worth 102 million euro from the European Regional Development Fund to boost the competitiveness of Bulgaria’s small and medium-sized enterprises through increased access to finance, the EC said. Investments under this programme, in the form of bank guarantees, are expected to generate between EUR 400 million and EUR 600 million of fresh loans for SMEs, thanks to the leverage effect of private investment.

20-30 bcm of natural gas could transit through our territory. For this to happen, we must enhance gas connections with Greece, Turkey and Macedonia, and the Chiren storage facility has to be expanded, said Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who was an official guest at the opening of the reconstructed compressor station Ihtiman.  Six compressor stations of the network for transit of gas through Bulgaria to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia are being repaied at present. The total value of the project for the reconstruction is EUR 104 million, which includes the construction of low-emission gas turbine engines. The project for the rebuilt station in Ihtiman is worth EUR 17.7 million. After completion of the modernization the compressor stations in Bulgaria will meet the highest European environmental standards and requirements. Their use will be safer, reducing the risk of accidents, and they will cover the necessary parameters in the transmission of natural gas to consumers.

Bulgarian producer Litex Motors will begin to produce and offer in the country luxurious brand of the Chinese company Great Wall, which is named Haval. Haval has existed as an independent brand from 2013. It focuses mainly on the production of crossovers, offering almost complete range of small, medium and large SUV-cars. The ambition of the Chinese company is to become the largest producer of such cars in the world in the next few years, as now it occupy tenth place. Promoted models of Haval are eight, as in Bulgaria H2 will be released. Models of Havel will be manufactured in the factory of Litex Motors near Lovech by the middle of next year. They are also expected to be released in sale. Brand of Haval is popular on foreign markets, as currently is present in Russia, Brazil, Chile and more recently in Australia.

Europe

The UK government says it has raised £591.1m from selling its final stake in Royal Mail at 455p a share. The money was raised from selling a 13% stake in the business, while a 1% stake was awarded to Royal Mail workers. The sale means the government has received a total of £3.3bn from the Royal Mail privatisation. The privatisation of Royal Mail began in December 2013, but it was criticised after the shares almost doubled from their initial price of 330p. Last year, a report commissioned by the then Business Secretary, Vince Cable, found that the government made £180m less from the initial sale than it could have. It said the shares could have been valued up to 30p more than the flotation price because of the high level of demand from banks and individuals. Following the latest stake sale, Business Secretary Sajid Javid said it was "a truly historic day for Royal Mail". "We have delivered on our promise to sell the government's entire remaining stake, which means that for the very first time, the company is now wholly owned by its employees and private investors." The government said all proceeds from the sale would be used to pay down the national debt. It also said that employees now owned a 12% stake in Royal Mail. However, the Communication Workers Union said the sale was a "disgrace".

America

The United States House of Representatives passed a bill to lift the U.S. oil exports ban. According to Energy and Power Subcommittee, the House Rule 702, which would remove restrictions on the export of crude oil from the United States, authored by Representative Joe Barton, was passed by a vote of 261 – 159. The H.R. 702 would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, which came as a U.S. response to increases in oil prices and massive gasoline shortages in the U.S. after OPEC imposed an oil embargo in retaliation for the United States support of Israel in the Arab-Israeli War in 1973. Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman, a Kentucky republican Ed Whitfield expressed his delight that bill passed the House saying the legislation would allow America to tap into its energy abundance and natural resources. He said it would put an end to the outdated restrictions on the export of American oil. “I applaud Mr. Barton and the rest of our Energy and Power Subcommittee for all of their hard work on this legislation that will provide a major boost for jobs and the economy, and help keep gasoline affordable for everyone,” Whitfield said.

Asia

China's exports fell less than expected in September, with monthly figures showing recovery, but a sharper fall in imports left economists divided over whether the country's ailing trade sector is showing signs of turning around. On the surface, the trade data on Tuesday reinforced views that the world's second-largest economy is still slowly losing momentum, putting more pressure on Beijing to roll out further stimulus measures and keeping global markets on edge. But the numbers did not suggest a greater risk of a hard landing, either, as some investors have feared. Exports fell 3.7 percent from the same period last year, less than a 6.3 percent drop forecast by economists in a Reuters poll and moderating from a 5.5 percent decline in August. However, imports by value tumbled for the 11th straight month, losing over 20 percent year-on-year in September due to weak commodity prices and soft domestic demand, which will continue to complicate Beijing's efforts to stave off deflation. Economists had expected a 15.0 percent drop, after a 13.8 percent decline in the previous month. Highlighting persistent weakness in demand at home and abroad, China's combined exports and imports fell 8.1 percent in the first nine months of the year from the same period in 2014, well below the full-year official target of 6 percent growth.

St. Petka Day

On October 14, all orthodox Christians celebrate the day of St. Paraskeva-Petka Elivatska. She was born in XI century in a Bulgarian family, living in the Thracian town of Epivat, which is between Silivria and Constantinople. Her parents were very religious, and after they died St. Petka gave all their property to the poor and strictly devoted herself to the monastic life and committed her life to God in a small temple in Irakli. Five years later, she went to the Holy land (Palestine) to live in the desert of Jordan. In her old age, she returned to Epivat, where she died. Two centuries after her death (in 1238), the Bulgarian ruler Ivan Asen decided to move St. Petka’s relics from Epivat to Tarnovo, the capital of Bulgaria.  After the Turkish occupation of Bulgaria, there relics were moved again – first to Vidin on the Danube river, and later – to Belgrade. In 1521 after the mighty Sulleyman II conquered Belgrade, St. Petka's remains were moved to Constantinople. There her remains were received with great respect and solemnity. Numerous miracles occurred there, which caused the holy Mother Petka-Paraskeva also to be worshipped by Muslims. In 1641, with permission from Constantinople's patriarch Partenije I, the pious Moldavian ruler Vasilije Lupul brought St. Petka's remains to the Romanian town of Jash, where they still rest. According to traditional Bulgarian believes, the day of St. Petka marks the end of the summer and the beginning of winter. On this day, all people called Petka, Petko, and Petkana celebrate their name day.

On that day:  St.St. Theodor Tyron & Theodor Stratilat church - the village of Dobarsko