The funds accumulated in the State Fund for Ensuring the Sustainability of the State Pension System, better known as the Silver Fund, reached BGN 3.341 billion at the end of April 2021. This is about BGN 12 million more than in March, show data from the Ministry of Finance. In the last few months, the trend towards gradual increase of the funds in the fund has been maintained. Only BGN 2.4 million entered the Silver Fund from privatizations in 2019 and 2020, and from other sources, determined by law or by an act of the Council of Ministers as fines, property sanctions, penalties related to the privatization process - BGN 5.3 million. However, this year the revenues from concessions will be significantly higher - on April 20 the new concessionaire at Sofia Airport announced that it has made the first payment. Concession fee in the amount of BGN 660 million, with which the company becomes an official and sole operator of the airport.

At the end of March, the assets managed by local and foreign investment funds operating in Bulgaria amounted to over BGN 6.488 billion. The current statistics of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) show that their amount increased by 65.5% (BGN 2.569 billion) compared to the end of the first quarter of last year and by 10.2% (BGN 601.9 million) compared to December 2020. As a percentage of gross domestic product, the total assets of domestic and foreign investment funds in March were equal to 5.1% of GDP compared to 3.3% for the same month last year and 5% at the end of the fourth quarter. quarter. For one year the investment funds have increased by 411 and as of March 31 they are 1609, as the foreign ones are more by 471, and the local ones keep their number - 130. As of the end of March, the assets of local investment funds reached BGN 1.952 billion, increasing by 21.9% compared to the same month in 2020. On a quarterly basis, they grew by 9.4%.

Bulgarian electric cars with parts, most of which will be made in Bulgaria, will be assembled from the beginning of next year in a German plant near Munich. This happened almost two years after the German Volkswagen looked at Bulgaria as a place for a new plant, but later gave up its intentions. The plant is owned by the Ruse company Sin Cars, founded in 2012 by the entrepreneur Rosen Daskalov, which until recently was known mainly for the production of racing cars, which won many races at home and abroad. The news about the German plant came from the news that Sin Cars Industry JSC has published on the website of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, where it plans to go out on June 1, 2021. 2 million shares will be offered at BGN 1 each, as the collected funds will be used to complete the German plant and purchase machinery. For its part, the company already has a registered capital of BGN 18.5 million.

Like electricity, natural gas is about to set a record. For June 1, the public supplier Bulgargaz has submitted an application to the EWRC for a price of BGN 42.54 / mWh, without VAT and fees. And for July the forecast is for an even bigger increase - BGN 44.72 / mWh. The increase is sustainable and, according to experts, the trend will continue, as it is related to the quotations on European stock exchanges, where records are also reported. In its report, which will be considered at an open meeting on May 26, the energy regulator agrees with Bulgargaz's proposal for June (BGN 42.54 / mWh), while the tariff for July is still forecast and only next month, will be further specified. Part of the decision is related to the rapid construction of the interconnector with Greece, which will allow diversification of supplies from different countries (USA, Qatar, Cyprus, etc.) and correspondingly more competitive prices.

Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said that fuel retailer Shell Bulgaria is seeking approval to acquire five filling stations. Interested parties have until May 28 to submit their statements regarding the transaction to the regulator, the CPC said in a notice. The current owner of the five filling stations was not disclosed. Last year, Shell Bulgaria acquired four filling stations from Litex Commerce. Currently, there are around 100 filling stations under the Shell brand in Bulgaria, part of which operate under franchise agreements.

Experts from the consulting company IT Services Balkan Services build an application for business analysis, which facilitates and accelerates the process of monthly reporting of financial results - the so-called functional P&L. It is based on the world's leading BI platform Qlik. The BI reporting application replaces a complex process of exporting the necessary information from Excel, which is a particularly time-consuming process. The application allows financiers not only to prepare monthly reports more efficiently, but also to monitor the overall performance of the company, to check key performance indicators and to prepare reports and analyzes to the lowest level. One of the last successfully implemented applications is with Intersnack Bulgaria, part of a leading German group of companies on the European snack market and one of the undisputed leaders in the snack market in Bulgaria. The project was launched in early November 2020, and its implementation goes through several main stages and takes only a few months. The first phase covers an extract of data from the ERP system of Intersnack Bulgaria with which to "power" the new application for business analysis - including sales information, details of documents and invoices, accounting data, as well as characteristics by customers and items.

Bulgarian machine engineering company Hydraulic Elements and Systems (HES) said that its sales revenue rose by an annual 9.49% in the first four months of 2021, after generating sales of BGN 6 million in April alone. Sales in May are projected at BGN 5.4 million, which would result in a 18.51% year-on-year increase in the company's combined sales in the first five months of 2021. HES' preliminary gross profit amounted to BGN 3.4 million in the first four months of 2021. Yambol-based HES is a unit of local industrial group Stara Planina Hold.

Germany became the first country not only in Europe but also in the world to present a legislative framework governing the movement of unmanned vehicles on the roads in its territory. Members of the lower house of the German parliament adopted a legislative proposal that allows the use of driverless vehicles in some cases. The legislation allows the use of unmanned vehicles, including small buses and commercial vehicles for the transport of passengers and goods on predetermined routes. "This is the world's first law on unmanned driving in regular operation," said MP Ulrich Lange. Europe's largest economy is working to catch up with other leaders in the autonomous car segment, a technology that will revolutionize the market. So far, the United States and China have made progress in this direction with their developers of such technologies Waymo and Baidu. The normative act, adopted by the lower house, affects only vehicles that can move without a driver under certain conditions. As for unmanned cars, according to him, the participation of a person who can stop the vehicle in case of problems is required, as well as its inclusion in other cases.

Technology giant Google announced it will open its first physical store this summer. It will be located in New York and customers will be able to test devices and services. The move is key in the company's hardware journey, better known for its search engine, Android mobile operating system, Chrome browser, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. In the Google Store, people have the opportunity to view and buy a wide range of the company's products - from Pixel phones through Nest speakers to Fitbit devices. There is also an option to order online through GoogleStore.com, which can then be picked up from the store. The company has provided a variety of ways to "immerse" customers in the vast sea of products and services in the store. All this will be done through live testing. There will also be experts on site to help users, including troubleshooting, cracking screen or assisting with installations. The choice of location is not random. The store will be located in Chelsea, New York, where the technology giant has a campus with over 11,000 employees. The company has been present in the city for 20 years.

Global prices for industrial metals have fallen after Chinese authorities warned commodity companies in the country over pushing up prices. China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) urged the firms to maintain "normal market orders". The move comes after metal prices have surged in recent months as major economies emerge from the pandemic. The price of metals including three month copper and aluminium were among those affected. On the London Metal Exchange, copper dropped by 1.6% to $9,881 per metric tonne, while aluminium slipped by 1.09% to $2,370 per metric tonne. According to a report by state media outlet The Global Times, key Chinese companies in steel, iron and aluminium were among those "collectively summoned" on Sunday for interviews. The Global Times also quoted a statement by the NDRC saying the meeting was held due to the continuous and drastic increase of a handful of commodities. Commodity traders are also cautious after The White House said on Friday that it had cut back its infrastructure bill from $2.25tn to $1.7tn.