The assets of investment funds operating in Bulgaria grew by an annual 10.6% to BGN 4.32 billion at the end of 2019, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said. Compared to the end of September, the assets of investment funds operating in the country were 1.1% lower at the end of 2019, the central bank said in a press release. The assets of resident investment funds increased 14% year-on-year to BGN 1.71 billion at the end of 2019, while the assets of non-resident funds rose by 8.6% to BGN 2.61 billion.

Fitch Ratings has re-affirmed Bulgaria’s sovereign long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘BBB’, with a positive outlook. The agency said that the country’s ratings were based on “strong external and fiscal sheets and credible policy framework, underpinned by EU membership and gradual progress towards euro membership”, but were “constrained by slightly lower income levels compared with the current ‘BBB’ median and unfavourable demographics.” Fitch forecast Bulgaria’s average real GDP growth at 3.3 per cent in 2020-2021, noting that “weakness in the external environment, and particularly in the euro zone, has not yet significantly affected” the country. But the agency cautioned that “ongoing external uncertainty and a projected recovery in imports” would likely lead to “sharper slowdown in headline growth” in the coming quarters. Fitch said that Bulgaria’s “strong external finance metrics” were a “rating strength” and provided a cushion against external shocks. The credit rating agency cited IMF balance of payments data that showed a current account surplus of 11 per cent of GDP through the first three quarters of 2019.

The Lafka pavilion chain is closing its sites in the country. It has more than 1,000 own stores and about 800 more franchises. They are expected to be closed following the ban on private lottery companies selling coupons, which were a main product sold at Lafka. Some of Lafka's stores were closed ten days ago - following charges against National Lottery owner Vasil Bozhkov and a subsequent legal change that banned private lotteries. Lafka is one of the main distributors of print media in the country. A few months ago, the government decided to include Bulgarian Post in the distribution business. The chain is also a concessionaire at the bus stops in Plovdiv. There is no message on website of Lafka about closing its sites. Lafka is owned by Blagoevgrad-BT, and according to the information in the Commercial Register, the Austrian Wolfgang Reckendorfer is the end owner of the company. The chain is part of Bulgartabac Holding, in which MP Delyan Peevski, a media publisher, is a shareholder.

The specialized prosecutor's office will check the signal of a member of the Senate of the Czech Parliament Lukas Vegentnecht for the sale of Varna TPP, which is currently majority owned by MRF Honorary Leader Ahmed Dogan. At the end of the year, the Czech politician addressed the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office for "common economic crimes" of the seller and buyer of the power plant, which was acquired at the end of 2017 by former Transport Minister in the Oresharski cabinet, Danil Papazov. "The file was sent to the special prosecutor's office," spokesman for the Sofia City Court Antoaneta Pancheva said. It is not clear why the signal against Varna TPP falls within the competence of the specialized unit of the State prosecution. Its spokesman, prosecutor Kiril Peychinov, declined to give details with the argument that he was unfamiliar with the case. According to the Czech senator, the deal between the state-owned energy company CEZ Group and Papazov two years ago was made at a price much lower than the actual.

Romania's financial supervision has revoked the insurance license of Certasig - Insurance and Reinsurance Company. The branch through which the Romanian insurer operates in Bulgaria has a minimum market share of 0.3%, the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) announced. The Insurer shall be obliged to notify the Insured of their opportunity to terminate the insurance contracts concluded with Chertasig - Insurance and Reinsurance Company AD. The contracts, which are not terminated, remain in force until their expiry, FSC reports. The revoke is not expected to affect a significant proportion of Bulgarians and institutions. The main activity of the branch in Bulgaria is insurance against fire and natural disasters, other property damage, general civil liability and guarantees. The license was revoked because of a lack of funds to cover the insurer's minimum capital requirement and the insurer's inability to make up for that deficiency. Bankruptcy status is established, the FSC explained

Bulgarian lender Expressbank, part of Hungarian group OTP, booked a net profit of BGN 105.7 million in 2019. In 2018, the company reported a non-consolidated net profit of BGN 109.9 million. Expressbank is seeking the approval of its shareholders to skip dividend distribution for 2019. The lender's shareholders are scheduled to put the proposal to a vote on March 26. Expressbank is currently in the process of being absorbed by its majority owner DSK Bank, which completed the acquisition of the majority stake from France's Societe Generale Group last year.

Cosmetics producer Bulgarian Rose generated sales revenue of BGN 269,000 in January, slightly below its forecast for sales of BGN 295,000. Bulgarian Rose ended January with a preliminary loss of BGN 68,000. Sales in February are projected at BGN 160,000. Karlovo-based Bulgarian Rose, established in 1948, manufactures cosmetic products for face, body, and hair using rose oil and locally-grown herbs. Bulgarian Rose, part of blue-chip industrial group Stara Planina Hold, has stores in nine cities across Bulgaria.

Berlin is freezing the rents of 1.5 million apartments for the next five years starting this Sunday in a controversial move to control the exploding costs that have forced many to move outside Germany's capital city. Berlin is the first German city to influence the rental prices so directly and the law has been both celebrated as a step toward more fairness by its supporters and ripped apart as a socialist method by critics. "It is correct that Berlin tries to stop the spiraling rent costs," Ulrich Ropertz, the head of the German Tenants Association, told German news agency dpa. "The federal legislature has missed the opportunity to pass effective measures in recent years." Only a minority of Berliners own their homes or apartments - as in the rest of the country, the majority of people traditionally rent their homes. In recent years, rents have skyrocketed in the city of more than 3.7 million inhabitants, pushing middle class families from Berlin's central residential neighborhoods like Mitte or Prenzlauer Berg to the outskirts. Even traditionally working class and immigrant neighborhoods have become so gentrified that long-time tenants can no longer afford therisingrents.

Franklin Resources announced a deal to buy rival asset manager Legg Mason, a tie-up that could help each navigate a worldwide shift in investor preference away from active money management. Franklin said in a press release that it agreed to acquire Legg Mason for $50 per share, or $4.5 billion, in an all-cash deal and that it would assume about $2 billion of debt as part of the purchase. That price represents a 23% premium above where Legg Mason stock closed on Friday, around $40 per share./ The company expects its purchase of Legg Mason to add to per-share earnings as soon as fiscal 2021. Shares of Legg Mason soared 23% immediately after the opening bell following the announcement while Frankin stock jumped 12.6%. “This is a landmark acquisition for our organization that unlocks substantial value and growth opportunities driven by greater scale, diversity and balance across investment strategies, distribution channels and geographies,” said Greg Johnson, executive chairman of the Board of Franklin Resources.

PepsiCo Inc has agreed to buy Chinese snack brand Be & Cheery from local jujube maker Haoxiangni Health Food Co Ltd for $705 million, the companies said. The U.S. multinational food and beverage maker said the acquisition of Be & Cheery, which sells snacks from nuts to dried fruits mainly on Chinese e-commerce platforms, was an important step in its goal to become China’s leading consumer-focused food and beverage company. “Be & Cheery adds direct-to-consumer capability, positioning us to capitalize on continued growth in e-commerce, and a local brand that is able to stretch across a broad portfolio of products, through both online and offline channels,” Ram Krishnan, CEO of PepsiCo Greater China, said in a statement on Sunday. “We also expect to leverage Be & Cheery’s innovation and consumer insights capabilities to drive innovation in other key PepsiCo growth markets.” Haoxiangni, which is based in the eastern city of Hangzhou, said in a separate filing that it had decided to sell as it wanted to focus on the jujube business. Founded in 2003, Be & Cheery is one of the largest online snack companies in China and reported revenues of about 5 billion yuan ($711.7 million) in 2019, the companies said.