In April 2024, the car market in the European Union grew by 13.7 percent, with new registrations totaling 913,995 units, led by strong increases in all major markets - Spain, Germany, France and Italy, the European Association said of the car manufacturers (ACEA). The registrations of new cars in Bulgaria have grown compared to April 2023 by 51.3 percent to a total of 4,243 units. This gives our country second place in market growth after Cyprus. In February and March, our country was in first place according to this indicator, and in January it was again in second place after Croatia.

In 2023, Bulgarian municipalities generated a total of BGN 3.35 billion in own revenues, which is approximately 6.5% more than last year. The largest municipalities collected the most funds - Stolichna (BGN 962.1 million), Varna (BGN 208.6 million), Plovdiv (BGN 182.5 million) and Burgas (BGN 126.2 million . BGN), and Nessebar ranks directly after them with BGN 67.5 million. Own municipal revenues represent 26.9% of all revenues in the municipalities, and in 221 municipalities this share is lower. The largest municipalities generate a relatively high share of own revenues - Stolichna (42.2%), Varna (37.6%), Burgas (33.5%) and Plovdiv (32.8%). The municipalities of Trekliano (3.6%), Chuprene (4.9%) and Nedelino (5.5%) have the lowest share of own revenues from total revenues. In total for the country, 74.1% of local activities are covered by own municipal revenues, i.e. the remaining one quarter is financed through transfers from the central budget. In 9 municipalities, the coverage of local expenses with own funds exceeds 100%. With the highest values of the indicator are Sofia Municipality (111.6%), Pleven (111.5%), Chelopech (109.5%) and Sozopol (105.8%). Coverage is lowest in the municipalities of Strumyani (12.7%), Trekliano (13.1%), Kresna (14.2%) and Borino (15.2%). ime.bg

Of all the thirteen dioceses of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Sliven diocese owns the most properties, and that along the most attractive part of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast - from Burgas to the Turkish border. Most of the properties of the diocese as a legal entity were acquired by a decision of the land commission after 2015. At that time, an agreement was made between the diocesan council of Burgas and the former manager of the bank "Slavyani", which went bankrupt in 1997, Georgi Agafonov, to found and restored church properties that had been confiscated during the socialist period, in the process he would receive 45% of the properties and the church 55%. The properties belonging to the church that Agafonov and his team found and were able to start a restoration process on are over 300,000 acres of land, including 12,000 acres from Tsarevo to Lozenets, 50,000 acres of forest in the village of Bulgari, 78 thousand pastures near Sozopol, 28 thousand vineyards of Pomorie monasteries, as well as 10 thousand meadows, 12 thousand around the village of Emona, 40 thousand around Tololovgradsko, etc. On February 9 and 28, the Sliven Diocese concluded two agreements with MG Properties. The company is owned by Georgi Agafonov and his son, Georgi Agafonov, and daughter, Anna-Maria Agafonova, through a ring of companies. The sole owner of the capital is "Lex-consult 2010", which in turn is owned by "Este consult", which is owned by "Max Build", where the owners are the Agafonovi family. In the first of the agreements between "MG Properties" and the Sliven Diocese, for the modest sum of BGN 549,000, the Diocese sold 3,362 decares of the properties restituted in 2015. This deal covers several separate regions. The first expands the holdings of "MG Properties" in the territory of Chengene Skele and Otmanli along the southern coast to Burgas, where almost 300 decares were acquired in the "Rosenets" villa area - almost all the properties around the area. 45 decares of agricultural and forest land were acquired to the northwest of "Chengene Skele", which also include several agricultural buildings. Just a few hundred meters west of them, another 114.6 decares of forest land became the property of MG Properties. On the other side of the Republican road, Agafonov's company acquired 4.4 decares of the coastal strip of Otmanli beach, as well as 5.2 decares of the coastal strip starting 100 meters west of the beach of Ribarsko Selishte. In the same area, 72.6 decares of forest territory were acquired, which were part of the properties of the former state school for divers. All this happened against an average price of BGN 163 per acre. An amount that is many times lower than the market price for similar properties - for comparison, for example, the average price for agricultural properties in the region in 2022, according to NSI data, is BGN 1,042 per hectare. The deal also includes the entire shore of the lake east of Gorno Ezerovo - a total of 1,297 decares of land north of Meden Rudnik and west of "Strelbishte". The last place where there is a cluster of properties is in the "Poda" protected area, a short distance from Kraimorie. Near the water areas, the Sliven Diocese has sold 62 decares of land to the private company. The other agreement between the Sliven Diocese and "MG Properties" is for the voluntary division of 2,849 decares of land for BGN 139,000. The properties here include the same areas: all the forest territory up to republican road II-99 between the "Chernitsy" cottage areas and "Rosenets", as well as parts of the territory east of V.Z. "Rosenets".

The 61-year-old businessman and millionaire Dobromir Gushterov has negotiated the sale of his company Danube Tours, whose main asset is the hotel "Danube" in the center of Silistra. The shares will be purchased by the company of the Silistra businessman Krum Krumov - the sole owner of the company Rockenrola Ltd, managing Ister restaurant. The price of the transaction is about BGN 5,700,000. The hotel was sold since 2014, and the price announced at that time was BGN 8 million. The transaction was finalized on May 16, and a mortgage was entered on the hotel to guarantee the payment of the shares by Krumov's company to Gusterov. quorum-silistra

The largest Bulgarian chain of restaurants, Happy, enters Romania with its first establishment in the capital, Bucharest, with an area of 730 square meters in the AFI Cotroceni mall. The company plans to open at least 5 restaurants in the next 5 years in Bucharest, and entering Romania is part of the global business plan for the development of the Bulgarian company, which aims to grow from 40 to 70 locations by 2030. In its nearly 30-year history, Happy Restaurants has reached over 40 locations in Europe. The company has restaurants in Bulgaria, Spain, Great Britain, and already in Romania.

The total liabilities of the state hospitals in Bulgaria as of 31.03.2024 amount to BGN 623,116,000, reports the Ministry of Health. Of these, the arrears amount to BGN 46,569,000. For comparison, as of the middle of last year, the arrears amounted to nearly BGN 60 million, and as of June 30, 2021, the state hospitals generated a total amount of arrears in the amount of 106,103 BGN 000. The Ministry of Health exercises the rights of the state in 61 medical facilities for hospital care, of which it is the sole owner of the capital in 35, and in 26 it is the leading shareholder - these are the regional hospitals. The total liabilities of the state hospitals, in which the state is the sole owner of the capital, amount to BGN 448,473,000 and form 72% of the total liabilities of the state hospitals. The arrears there are BGN 28,002,000, that is, 60% of the arrears of the state hospitals. The liabilities of the regional hospitals, in which the state is the leading shareholder, total BGN 174,643,000 or 28% of the total liabilities of the state hospitals, and the overdue liabilities BGN 18,567,000 or 40% of the overdue liabilities of the state hospitals. The state hospitals with the largest total liabilities as of 31.03.2024 are: 1. UMBAL "Alexandrovska" EAD - BGN 65,489 thousand. 2. UMBALSM "N.I. Pirogov" EAD - BGN 64,662 thousand. 3. UMBAL "St. Georgi" - Plovdiv EAD - BGN 56,922 thousand. 4. UMBAL "St. Iv. Rilski" JSC - BGN 37,693 thousand. 5. MBAL Lozenets EAD – BGN 28,048,000. State hospitals with the largest arrears as of 31.03.2024 are: 1. MBAL "Hristo Botev" JSC, Vratsa - BGN 8,273 thousand. 2. UMBAL "Alexandrovska" EAD - BGN 7,858,000. 3. MBAL Lozenets EAD – BGN 7,778 thousand. 4. MBAL - NKB EAD - BGN 7,315 thousand. 5. MBAL "Prof. Dr. P.Stoyanov" JSC, Lovech - BGN 6,582 thousand. The total liabilities of the municipal hospitals as of 31.03.2024 are in the amount of 205,552 thousand BGN, of which overdue - 13,491 thousand BGN. Municipal hospitals with the largest total liabilities as of 31.03.2024 are: 1. KOTC Plovdiv Ltd – BGN 26,976 thousand 2. KOTC Burgas Ltd – BGN 14,972 thousand 3. SBALO "St. Mina" Ltd Blagoevgrad - BGN 10,724 thousand 4. SBALOZ Varna Ltd – BGN 9,185 thousand 5. KOTC Shumen Ltd – BGN 8,816 thousand Municipal hospitals with the largest arrears as of 31.03.2024 are: 1. MBAL Pomorie Ltd – BGN 2,377 thousand. 2. SBALO Haskovo Ltd – BGN 2,184 thousand. 3. MBAL Tutrakan Ltd – BGN 2,130,000. 4. KOTC Veliko Tarnovo Ltd – BGN 1,722 thousand. 5. "St. Ivan Rilski" Ltd Kozloduy - BGN 849 thousand. Medical News

A private bailiff is making another attempt to sell the nitrile glove factory in Plovdiv. From the initial auction price announced two years ago, it has now fallen to BGN 165,733 excluding VAT, which is 85 percent of the total market value of the entire equipment. The nitrile glove factory is located in the Southern Industrial Zone, at 17 Kuklensko Shose Street. It was opened in 2022, and after a short period of operation, the owner PPS Manufacturing JSC-Sofia started bankruptcy proceedings. A special lien has been established on the entire property in favor of the claimants in the execution case. BGN 15 million have been invested in the production plant. In 2021, the Fund for Sustainable Cities approved financing for the project. Funds in the amount of over BGN 12 million were allocated, of which over BGN 7 million was co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Program "Growth Regions 2014-2020", provided through the Fund of Funds. Also in 2021, the company received a class A investment certificate in the amount of BGN 4.7 million. There is also a mortgage loan from UBB for over BGN 1.2 million.

The Financial Supervision Commission has approved Sonia Slavcheva as an independent member of the supervisory board of "DZI - General Insurance" EAD and "DZI - Life Insurance" EAD, respectively. Currently, the Supervisory Board of "DZI - General Insurance" includes Grigoriy Vazov, Petar Andronov and Isabel Ida W. Bugers. The capital of "DZI - General Insurance" is BGN 66,586,779, and the sole owner is "DZI - Life Insurance". The Supervisory Board of "DZI - Life Insurance" includes Grigoriy Vazov, Petar Andronov and Isabel Ida W. Bugers. The capital of this company is BGN 136,391,500, and KBS Insurance NV, Belgium is the sole owner. DZI is the company with the longest experience on the Bulgarian insurance market, founded in 1946. The company, the leader of the insurance market in Bulgaria, has been part of the Belgian banking and insurance group KVS since 2007. DZI develops and offers a full range of products in the areas of "General Insurance" and "Life Insurance", as well as products related to covering health risks. DZI experts have developed dozens of innovative services in the product portfolio and customer service. They are offered both through the commercial network and through digital solutions available on the company's electronic portal.

The Financial Supervision Commission approved Elina Selenska as a member of the management board of "GRAVE Bulgaria Life Insurance" EAD - Sofia. Currently, Gabriela Genova, Nadezhda Shtereva and Kenan Kulich are on the Management Board of the company. The capital of the company is 12,400,000 BGN. "GRAVE Bulgaria Life Insurance" is 100% owned by one of the leading Austrian insurance companies "Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung" AG. Its field of activity is related to transactions in the field of life and accident insurance. In 2023, its premium income is in the amount of BGN 43.99 million, constantly growing in recent years. "Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung" AG has established more than 20 subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe in recent years and continues to grow even now. The sole owner of the company's capital is the concern GRAWE Insurance Group, founded in 1828 in Graz, Austria.

Agria Group Holding JSC will pay shareholders a total of BGN 680,000 in dividends from the profit for 2023, or BGN 0.1 per gross share. The dividend will be voted on at a general meeting of shareholders scheduled for June 27 in Varna. The company realizes over BGN 8.8 million in profit in 2023, but a significant part of it is formed by revaluations. In the last year, the shares of "Agria Group Holding" increased in price by more than 4% to BGN 23.5, and the market capitalization is slightly below BGN 160 million.

Last year, Mexico surpassed China as the US's top trading partner. Foreign investment has registered a record in 2023, reaching $36 billion. Fears of an economic cold war between the US and China are increasing the appeal of Mexico, and it seems that high-ranking officials have realized that it is better to locate their production chains in Ciudad Juarez than in Shenzhen. Among the companies that have already announced that they are expanding their operations in Mexico are Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn (a supplier to Apple), Danish toy maker Lego and Mattel ), the American manufacturer of Barbie dolls. On the other hand, Tesla's investment of 5 billion dollars for the construction of a "mega plant" near Monterey, for now remains only at the disclosure stage. A site near the city has been reserved by the electric car maker, but construction has yet to begin. National Council of Export Processing Industries (INDEX) President Humberto Martinez expects about $9 billion in foreign investment in manufacturing alone this year. The new world economic order strengthens the traditional advantages of Northern Mexico - cheaper labor, attractive tax policy, a free trade agreement in force since 1994, revised in 2021.

For 2023, China has become the largest exporter of cars in the world, overtaking the historical leader - Japan. And the supply of Chinese cars continues to grow for now. For example, in the January-April period, passenger car exports rose 34.8% to a total of 1.539 million vehicles, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). To a large extent, the volume of car exports from China is aimed at the Russian market. The European Association of Motor Carriers (ESG) calculated on the basis of CAAM data that in January-February 112,000 new cars were delivered to Russia from China. This is the main supply volume. To the second most popular destination for the export of Chinese cars - Mexico - the cars delivered are half of those to Russia - 66 thousand units. At the same time, the geography of Chinese car exports also includes Europe - so Belgium is in third place in terms of volume of deliveries for the specified period (42 thousand new cars). For the first quarter, the import of Chinese cars in Russia reached 141 thousand units, which is 66.4% of the total import of new cars in Russia. In April alone, another 54,300 new cars from China arrived on the Russian market. According to Automotive Logistics data, for the period January-February, the companies that exported the most cars manufactured in China are: Chery, SAIC, Changan, Geely, BYD, Great Wall and Tesla. Of these brands, only Tesla is not officially present in Russia. The rest of the companies have official distributors in Russia in one way or another.