Bulgaria's trade balance for June 2023 is negative in the amount of 52.2 million euros, with a deficit of 486.7 million euros for June 2022, reports the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). For the period January-June 2023, the trade balance was negative at almost EUR 1.055 billion (1.1% of GDP) against a deficit of nearly EUR 1.773 billion (2.1% of GDP) for the same period in 2022 Merchandise exports for June were almost €3.846 billion, down €491.5 million (11.3%) compared to June 2022. For January-June 2023, exports were almost €22.470 billion. EUR (23.5% of GDP), decreasing by EUR 272.6 million (1.2%) compared to the same period in 2022. Merchandise imports for June 2023 were EUR 3.898 million , decreasing by almost EUR 926 million (19.2%) compared to June 2022. For January-June 2023, imports were over EUR 23.524 billion (24.6% of GDP), decreasing by 990.6 million euros.

Legal changes in effect from August 5 significantly increase income from work, which cannot be seized due to arrears to the Budget. For debtors who work, an additional amount is provided to the previous income protected from garnishment in the amount of the minimum wage. This additional income is formed by subtracting the minimum wage from the average gross monthly salary for the country and dividing the resulting amount by two. With an average wage for the second quarter of BGN 1,957 and a minimum wage of BGN 780, this amounts to BGN 588.50, which is additional to the minimum wage. Thus, the non-sequestrable amount for debtors who work and receive labor remuneration becomes BGN 1,368.50. The higher amount protected from liens will be applied only to the labor income of natural persons. There is no change for income from pensions and scholarships - the amount that cannot be garnished remains the amount of the minimum wage - BGN 780 for this year. The higher non-sequestrable amount of labor income is not a constant value - it changes every quarter according to NSI data on the average gross salary in the country.

For the first six months of 2023, the Pension Insurance Companies in Bulgaria announced BGN 54.5 million net profit compared to BGN 37.4 million for the comparable period a year earlier. Two of the pension funds realized a positive financial result of more than BGN 10 million. These are POK Doverie and Allianz Bulgaria, which ended the half-year with profits of BGN 16.79 million and BGN 12.78 million. DSK-Rodina is also close to this limit, reporting a net profit of BGN 9.8 million. In the top 5 according to this indicator are CCB-Sila and POK UBB, reporting BGN 5.3 and 4.6 million profit for the period January 1-June 30. Higher assets under management also bring higher fund income. The current receipts, formed by fees and deductions, as well as management of own funds, grow to BGN 149.9 million against BGN 143.3 million for the first six months of 2022. The largest pension fund in our country - POK Doverie, announced the most large revenues for the period. They are BGN 37.9 million, while for Allianz Bulgaria and DSK-Rodina, the receipts amount to BGN 27 and 26 million. Saklesie and TsKB-Sila complete the top five with revenues of BGN 19 and 15 million. At the end of the second quarter of 2023, the net assets of the pension funds were worth BGN 21.08 billion. Compared to the end of last year, net assets increased by 9.7%, and compared to June 30, 2022 - by 14.08 percent. The fastest growing net assets of the universal pension funds, which report a growth of 15.1 percent compared to June 30, 2022. Followed by professional and voluntary pension funds with growth for the same period of 9.79 percent and 6.07 percent, respectively. The reported growth of voluntary pension funds under professional schemes for the period was 4.26 percent.

The gambling company "Telematic Interactive Bulgaria" plans to purchase 50% of the capital of "Palms Mercury Casino", which owns 11 gaming halls, 6 of which are in Sofia. According to the assessment presented in the motivated report on the transaction, it should be between BGN 43 and 52 million. "Telematic Interactive", which raised 16 million from BSE investors in February 2022, is behind the gambling brand for online bets PalmsBet - the third largest betting site in the country. Telematic will buy Bargame's 50% stake in Palms Mercury Casino. The remaining 50% is owned by Merkur Casino, which, according to information from "Telematic", operates 400 halls in Germany and another 800 in other European countries. The almost sole owner of "Bargame" is "RS Consult" (holding 98%), and the roads ultimately lead to Milo Borisov, founder of "Telematic Interactive" and Rosina Borisova. According to "AMRITA Consulting House", the business of "Palms Mercury Casino" is estimated at a value of about BGN 87 million, which means that 50% of the capital equals about BGN 43 million, and the accounts include dividends which "Telematic" is expected to receive, but will have to pay back the previous owners, which raises the bill to BGN 52 million. For 2022, Palms Mercury reported revenue of over BGN 31 million, but registered net losses of around BGN 7 million due to "extraordinary expenses", despite an operating profit of over BGN 7 million. Revenue and profit are growing compared to the previous year 2021 - 20 million revenue and 4 million profit, and by 2028 they are expected to swell to 56 million BGN turnover and 14 million BGN profit. According to the documents, "Palms Markur" manages 11 gaming halls in Bulgaria: six in Sofia and one each in Plovdiv, Ruse, Kazanlak, Stara Zagora, Ruse and Blagoevgrad. If approved, the deal will make three payments - half in 2023 and the rest in two tranches in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

The recently created Rezolv Energy - a subsidiary of the English multi-billion fund Actis, has concluded a deal with the Bulgarian company "YG Y Industries" of the Silistrian agricultural businessman Yavor Georgiev for the acquisition of the "St. George" project for a 229 megawatt solar power plant on the land of the former airport to Silistra, which is 1650 decares. The project will be able to produce more than 300 gigawatt hours per year and is due to start construction this year, with commissioning expected in early 2025. The plan is to sell the power to commercial and industrial users through long-term power purchase agreements (the so-called PPA). At the moment, there is also a competition for the selection of a company to build the solar park (EPC contract), and among the candidates are some of the biggest Bulgarian flour players. According to market estimates, the investment should exceed BGN 230 million and will probably be provided directly by the parent company Actis. Actis itself is an investment fund managing over $15 billion in assets, which is based in the UK and concentrates its portfolio in emerging economies around the world. Many of the company's deals are with African or South Asian countries. A 1,044 megawatt solar project was recently acquired in Romania, which would be the largest in Europe in terms of capacity if realized.

"Agria Group Holding" JSC reports a sharp drop in profit at the end of June compared to the end of June 2022 against the background of the sharp drop in the price of wheat on world exchanges. The company is increasing all major expense items, incl. and interest expense. The company also acquired the bioethanol producer "Almagest" in the first half of the year, which cost it almost BGN 40.9 million. Possible dividends from this subsidiary can be expected next year. In the individual report at the end of June, BGN 7.8 million in dividends were reported, compared to BGN 41.2 million a year earlier, which represents a drop of over 81% on an annual basis. Agria Group Holding's sales increased to BGN 334.021 million at the end of June compared to BGN 325.251 million a year earlier, or by 2.7%. Total revenues are BGN 341.759 million compared to BGN 329.704 million a year earlier, including financial revenues. At the same time, the expenses for the activity reached BGN 338.344 million for the reporting period compared to BGN 283.748 million for the same period last year, which is slightly more than 19% more on an annual basis. Thus, the company's net profit at the end of June shrank to 3.415 million BGN from 45.96 million BGN at the end of June 2022. In the last year, the shares of "Agria Group Holding" became cheaper by about 20%.

Toplofikatsia Sliven is in the process of building units for the production of electricity and heat from cogeneration. For this purpose, work is underway on the commissioning of 2 cogeneration modules, which are expected to start operating in the second half of 2024. The planned investment in a steam turbine and a steam-gas module has a total electric power of 50 MW. The option of using hydrogen with the new facilities is also being considered, which is achievable through a gradual increase in the period from 2026 to 2030. Currently, 2 coal-fired boilers and one turbine with an installed capacity of 30 MW are operating, and the company produces and supplies thermal energy to 14,000 households in the city of Sliven. It requires imported fuel and enriched energy fuel mined in Mini Maritsa East and processed in Brickell. Without the enriched energy fuel from Brickel, Toplofikatsia Sliven would operate in an unstable mode with more expensive production of heat and electricity.

In Britain, banks could be fined if they do not provide free access to cash withdrawals for consumers and businesses, the Treasury has confirmed. The ministry's new policy states that free cash withdrawals and deposits must be available within one mile (1.6 km) for people living in urban areas. In the countryside, where the concern is greater and the term "cash deserts" is often used, the maximum distance allowed is three miles (4.8 km). The move is unlikely to stop branch closures and a reduction in the use of cash. The Ministry of Finance specified that the distances were set to maintain the current level of coverage of free access to cash, through ATMs or face-to-face services. These limits may be extended if the use of cash declines in the future. Under the new guidelines, if a service such as an ATM or branch is discontinued and a replacement service is needed in the area, it must be done before the closure. An average of more than 50 UK bank branches have closed every month since 2015, statistics show.

Chinese real estate giant Evergrande Group has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in a Manhattan court, CNN reported. The goal is to protect the company's assets in the U.S. until an agreement is reached to restructure its debt. The Chapter 15 proceeding of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is intended to offer mechanisms to resolve bankruptcy cases involving more than one country. The conglomerate, which has accumulated more than $300 billion in debt, found itself in a difficult position in 2021 when Chinese authorities tightened controls on the real estate sector. The entrepreneur then defaulted and announced a program to restructure its foreign debt in March. Trading in its shares has been suspended since March 2022. In July, it announced a loss totaling $81 billion over the past two years after struggling to complete projects and pay suppliers and creditors. Net losses for 2021 and 2022 were 476 billion yuan ($66.36 billion) and 105.9 billion yuan ($14.76 billion), respectively - the result of asset write-downs, land parcel returns , losses from financial assets and financial expenses. The legal proceedings in the US come amid fears that the difficulties of China's real estate sector could "contaminate" the country's entire economy, whose growth is already faltering. Recently, Country Garden, which was among the nation's largest real estate companies, struggled to pay coupons on its dollar bonds and issued a profit warning. The huge real estate sector has long been a key driver of China's economic growth, contributing 30 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

China's securities regulator has announced a package of reforms in a bid to boost investment and trade after months of lackluster economic growth has dragged down market valuations for Chinese stocks and bonds. The measures, whose purpose, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (CSRC), is to "increase investor confidence in the capital markets", are an expression of concerns about the economic and financial health of the national economy after a weak recovery from strict anti-pandemic restrictions last year. The CSRC said on August 18 that it was considering extending trading hours in local stock and bond markets and promised to lower transaction commissions for brokers. The regulator also plans to encourage share buybacks to help stabilize stock prices. According to experts, the increase in trading hours will have a real impact on market sentiment. The package of regulatory measures is part of the plan to support the national economy. In the early hours of August 18, the People's Bank of China stepped up its efforts to stem the depreciation of the yuan, which comes days after it surprisingly cut interest rates to boost local consumer confidence. The decision comes after disappointing financial results in Chinese markets, with the country's benchmark CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed shares down more than 2 percent since the start of the year, compared with a 14 percent rise in the U.S. S&P 500. Low bond yields are a sign of the lack of confidence in the broader economy against the background of the recently published unconvincing data on trade and individual consumption. Foreign investors have pushed down Chinese stocks and bonds in recent weeks, frustrated by the failure of Chinese rulers to support growth. Shortly after the CSRC's official announcement on August 18, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges confirmed that they would cut by roughly a third the commissions they charge brokers for transactions and slightly lower fees for bond traders as well. The regulator will also reduce the stamp duty that applies to all securities transactions after getting the go-ahead from higher authorities, a move that will help boost trading turnover. The exchange commission also promises to take measures to ensure a "rational speed" of initial public offering and refinancing deals to slow the endless stream of listings in China this year that are draining liquidity from the country's secondary securities market. The CSRC is also exploring ways to limit the high level of leverage of listed companies with poor financial performance to limit their lending when their shares are trading below their initial public offering valuations. The possibility of more buybacks of corporate bonds will help boost confidence in the short term, although it will not completely eliminate the "disease" in the Chinese markets. Because share buybacks are a purposefully market-driven way to stimulate positive market sentiment and boost the share prices of undervalued companies.