Bulgarians living and working abroad have sent the most funds to their relatives and friends here in almost a year, according to data from the Bulgarian National Bank. In April, they transferred 159.4 million euros to Bulgaria compared to 130.1 million euros a month ago, as well as 104.2 and 112.8 million euros for the first two months of the year. This is the highest value of emigrant transfers since last May, when a record 172.2 million euros were transferred. This is the second highest value in history, surpassing the funds ordered last April and June - respectively 151.5 and 151.9 million euros. However, the current data is preliminary and subject to change. For the first four months of the year, at least EUR 506.4 million came into our country. The amount is a record, against the background of transfers for 474.5 million euros a year ago. For the first quarter of 2024, the largest remittances to Bulgaria come from the largest economy in Europe and the largest in the world. Our compatriots living and working in Germany and the USA sent the largest sums to us for the period January-March. They amount to EUR 70.1 million and EUR 64 million. The top 5 also includes Spain and Great Britain, from where 34.1 million euros and 33.4 million euros came, as well as Greece (21.8 million euros). More than 10 million euros were also sent from Italy (16.5 million euros), the Netherlands (15.7 million euros), Belgium (15 million euros), Austria (11.1 million euros) and France (10.9 million euros).

In 2023, cash and in-kind gambling winnings paid out grew by 147%, according to data from the National Revenue Agency. Legal operators paid out a total of nearly BGN 6 billion in 2023. The data covers sums over BGN 5 thousand. For comparison, the profits paid out were a total of BGN 2.34 billion. For comparison, in 2017, when a significant part of the population was trying to earn from gambling and from the so-called scratch tickets, the winnings over BGN 5,000 were paid out for a total of BGN 627 million. Despite the termination of lotteries without the state one, the turnover from legal gambling has risen about 10 times. Gambling operators declare to the tax administration every year the profits paid to individuals over BGN 5 thousand.

Tsvetan Simeonov was elected by the Management Board as the chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the fourth time in a row. At the 35th regular general meeting of the BCCI, a new Management Board was elected, consisting of 85 members. The former Chief Secretary of the Chamber - Dr. Vasil Todorov, was elected as Deputy Chairman together with Krasimir Dachev and Todor Tabakov. Vasil Todorov will combine two positions - deputy chairman and chief secretary. The new Executive Board of the BCCI will again include 9 people. In addition to the chairman and vice-chairmen, its members will be Valentina Zartova, Ivan Stoimenov, Lachezar Iskrov, Georgi Stoilov - chairman of the Pazardzhik Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who will be a representative of the regional chambers in the BCCI system, and Galina Niforu - chairman of the Bulgarian an association of wine exporters, which will be a representative of the branch organizations that are members of the Chamber.

The case for the scandalous assignment, for which the State Consolidation Company (SCC) paid nearly BGN 25 million, and then it turned out that it did not have documents for it, was postponed until the fall. The trial is currently being heard at the second instance by the Court of Appeal in Sofia. In the case, SCC is seeking the money from the private company "Kemira", once close to the bankrupt Corporate Commercial Bank (CTB). The company has been bankrupt for years. There is no prospect of the state getting its money back. In the first instance, the SCC has already lost the case. On Wednesday, the appeals court adjourned it, as the expertise was not ready. "Kemira" (currently bankrupt) was the former owner of part of the shares of the Ruse military plant "Dunarit", which subsequently became the property of businessman Emilian Gebrev. After the bankruptcy of CTB 10 years ago, debt consolidation began. At that time, the manager of "Kemira" was Biser Lazov, close to the owner of CTB Tsvetan Vassilev, and then - the main witness against him. After a series of cessions, Kemira became the owner of the weapons company's debts to other companies. Thus, the total amount of the liabilities swells to BGN 75 million. A new cession follows, through which the liabilities are transferred to the "Malaz" company. Then SCC bought this debt, paying Malaz 24.3 million BGN. In this way, the state is trying to become a shareholder in Gebrev's Dunarit and take it over. The attempt proved unsuccessful after the capital of the enterprise was increased. SCC files a lawsuit against "Kemira" in search of the obligations. However, at the trial of the first instance, it turns out that the contract for his receivables bought by "Malaz" is not legally valid. The document was not signed by a representative of "Malaz" and the court rejected it as a basis for the money claimed by SCC. Thus, at one point it turns out that the state has no reason to claim the money for the debts of Kemira, which it bought from Malaz, because there is a problem with the contract for their sale to Malaz. After the SCC lost the case at first instance, the then Minister of Economy Bogdan Bogdanov (as the principal of the SCC) announced that the DANS and the prosecutor's office had been referred to the case. The Ministry of Economy and Industry has already requested from the SCC all the documents for the cession, but they turned out to be missing, and all the employees remember only individual things and folders. The prosecutor's office opened a case, but has not announced that charges have been filed.

The Burgas construction company "Artstroy 1 Investment" will build a new mega-building on the site of the former "Vitosha" plant in Sofia. The land on "Cherni vrah" Blvd. (30.2 decares) is the only "thing" left of the largest sewing enterprise in the country, which was privatized a quarter of a century ago, with many years of experience in the production and sale of uniform, protective and work clothing. In 1999, the enterprise was acquired by Holding "Sveta Sofia", established in 1996 as a privatization fund. For the acquired block of 81,869 shares, the new owners paid just over $245,000. A new impressive complex with four 16-story towers will rise above the former sewing workshops, which will be 54 meters high and will "combine" residences, offices, retail outlets, a kindergarten, underground parking and an indoor park. The total built-up area of ​​the above-ground development will be 107,000 square meters, and at the underground level - 62,000 square meters. It is planned to build 547 apartments, of which 219 will be one-bedroom, 254 - two-bedroom, 62 - three-bedroom, and 12 will be luxury three-bedroom and penthouses. The investor's intentions are to erect four more buildings. Each of them will have a cornice height of 50 m and a ridge height of 54.5 m, which practically means over 15 floors. The one new building will appear in the eastern part of the property and will have mainly residential functions - residences and commercial establishments. The second new building will be in the southern part and will have a mixed function - housing, offices and commerce. It will consist of three bodies, also with a maximum cornice height of 50 m for each of them. The buildings will have a common ground floor with a non-residential function and a maximum cornice height of six meters. The third new building will have the same maximum height and mixed function. It will rise in the western part of the property, along the local parking lot on Cherni Vrah Blvd. The last building will be non-residential - offices and trade - and will be to the north. In addition to a high part, it will also have a single-story building with a maximum cornice height of 8 meters.

The Varna group "New Capital Management", known for its grain trade through "Agrix", wants to acquire the Vidin sunflower oil producer "Olimex". The buyer - the "New Capital Management" group, has 11 subsidiaries that are engaged in domestic and foreign trade in grain and sunflower, but also in seeds, and there is also a large unit related to construction and real estate. From 2021, it also trades in refined and unrefined oil and sunflower meal. The ultimate owners of "New Capital Management" are Kevork Krikorian and Krasimir Dimov. For 2022, the group reports almost 413 million BGN consolidated revenues (17% growth compared to 2021) and a net profit of just under 5 million BGN. In fact, in the year in question, over 99% of the turnover is from trade in the agricultural sector (in companies that - often contain "Agrix" in their name), but the company started construction of a residential complex "Varna View Residence" of 11 buildings with a built-up area of ​​over 49 thousand square meters. The purchased agricultural produce forms over 90% of the holding's income - the activity is in Northern Bulgaria, we work with many producers, and the quantities are then sold to international traders. The oil accounts for 2.6% of the group's sales, which is exported to the EU, but the report does not make it clear from which company it is being bought. The seller - the Vidin family company "Olimex" produces refined and unrefined oil, including under its own brand "Vida", as well as peeled sunflower seeds, sunflower meal and husks. It was registered in 1995, partners are Andriyan Alexandrov and Miglena Alexandrova. But the business started three years before with a crude oil production line that Andriyan Alexandrov and his father bought from an exhibition in Vidin. Over the years, Olimex has repeatedly invested in buildings and new technologies at its base in the village of Pokraina, with part of the funds coming from the Rural Development Program. There are 98 employees in the company, and production is waste-free - all ingredients are processed into a final product. For 2022, the company reports BGN 53 million in revenue (3.7% growth compared to 2021) and BGN 5.9 million in profit. In 2022, the Bulgarian sunflower oil plants broke a record - they exported production for over BGN 3 billion. There are 107 facilities for the production and/or bottling of vegetable oils in Bulgaria, of which 27 are only for bottling vegetable oils.

The project of "Cliff Golf Holiday Club" JSC from 2007 for the construction of a golf village in the "Tabiyat" locality, Balchik municipality, included the intention of the investor to build a village on a total area of ​​963 decares with sports golf courses, a service center (hotel complex and swimming pools), a sports complex, an amusement complex, an equestrian facility and a residential part of separate neighborhoods scattered throughout the property. The construction companies "Balkanstroy" AD and "Barrage and Co" EOOD and the Gibraltar-registered company "Triacom" owned the largest share in the created joint-stock company. This is how the "Lighthouse Golf Resort"http://beis.bia-bg.com/index.php?lang=en&p=shortp&prt=endaily&selcomp=35645 complex was born. The Bulgarian investment is in the amount of 70 million euros, and in the complex - apart from the 18-hole course, there is a 5-star hotel and 5 residential areas with over 800 apartments, houses and villas. Bulgarian companies are "withdrawing" from the venture. And in 2011, the legal successor of "Cliff Golf Holiday Club" AD - "Lighthouse Golf Resort" AD now has foreign owners from Gibraltar. And the new major shareholder - "Bauhaus Project Management Limited" - is registered "even further" - all the way to the Caribbean. And in particular – in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (ie the Lesser Antilles). Only for color, with a minimal percentage of shares remains "T. Trendafilov" EOOD, owned by Tihomir Trendafilov. Very soon his properties began to sell off for next to nothing as financial claims for arrears and defaulted contracts began to pile up. The following is the lengthy procedure for declaring the company bankrupt, which began back in 2011 and finally ended on May 21, 2020. On June 20, the liquidator announced for public sale the properties of the bankrupt company with the initial auction price of BGN 2,461 million. It is about 33 independent objects in the complex, from 60 to 130 square meters. Even if all of this is sold off, the company's debts will hardly be able to be paid off. The 17-page list of creditors' claims of Lighthouse Golf Resort accepted by the syndic from May 2019, published in the Commercial Register, speaks for this. The largest among them is "Eurobank Bulgaria" AD - with a loan of nearly BGN 7.5 million, granted in 2008. And if we add to this the interest for delay, which by 2019 will exceed BGN 9 million, the bill becomes quite salty. The National Revenue Agency is also listed as a serious creditor. Only the public receivables for unpaid taxes amount to about BGN 800,000. Plus the unpaid insurance of the workers here, which with the interest already exceeds BGN 500,000. Creditors will be waiting for positive news for a long time, even more so when it should come from Gibraltar or the Virgin Islands, where in 2021 the last company that owns the bankrupt company - Hanap Investment and Finance - was registered.

Bulgaria must limit its budget expenditures below 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and keep the level of public debt within reasonable limits in the medium term. This is what the European Commission insists on, which has issued four recommendations for the economic development of our country this year and next, in order to preserve its fiscal sustainability. The European Commission will require Bulgaria to take action by presenting the medium-term fiscal and structural plan in time. In accordance with the requirements of the reformed Stability and Growth Pact to contain spending, the state must reduce its spending growth in 2025 to a percentage that corresponds to maintaining the General Government sector. The EC expects our country to accelerate the implementation of the programs of the cohesion policy and the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, which guarantees the completion of the reforms with the investments foreseen by it by August 2026. This can be done by improving the work and increasing the capacity of the administration, including at the regional level, by ensuring the quality of public procurement and procedures, by strengthening the independence and functioning of the regulators, the EC advises. The Commission expects our country to complete the REPowerEU plan for energy infrastructure, which provides for the implementation of renewable energy sources in the provision of central heating, including from wind generators. The recommendation to our country is to improve the possibilities of energy storage and the power transmission network, as well as to support energy-poor citizens.

In May, for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, gas imports to Europe from Russia outpaced American supplies, despite the Old Continent's efforts to abandon Russian fuels. The turnaround was driven by one-off factors and yet it underscores the European Union's difficulty in reducing the bloc's future dependence on Moscow, which remains a major supplier for some Eastern European countries, the Financial Times said. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow cut its pipeline gas supplies to Europe, and in response the region increased imports of liquefied natural gas, which is delivered by specialized ships, with the United States as the main supplier. The United States overtook Russia in gas supplies to Europe in September 2022 and has accounted for about a fifth of the region's supplies since 2023. But in May, gas and LNG supplies from Russia reached 15% of the total for the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, according to ICIS data. According to the same consultancy, US liquefied natural gas accounted for 14%, its lowest level since August 2022. The change comes amid a general increase in European imports of Russian liquefied natural gas, despite several EU countries pushing for sanctions. In mid-2022, Moscow stopped supplying gas through pipelines passing through northwestern Europe, but continued supplies through Ukraine, Turkey and Bulgaria. May deliveries were affected by one-off factors, including the breakdown of a major US LNG export facility and more deliveries via Turkey ahead of scheduled maintenance in June. Gas demand in Europe also remains relatively weak, with inventories near record highs for this time of year. In the summer, Russia will be able to supply LNG to Asia via its Northern Sea Route, and this will likely reduce the amount sent to Europe, while US LNG production will increase again. A transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia also expires this year, putting flows along the route at risk. The European Commission supports efforts to create an investment plan to expand pipeline capacity in the Southern Gas Corridor between the EU and Azerbaijan. A senior official from the bloc has argued that supplies via the route are not enough to replace the 14 billion cubic meters of Russian gas that currently pass through Ukraine to the EU each year.

Turkey's increased interest in the BRICS organization, which unites Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, is due to its desire to be part of the growing economic potential of the organization, which offers new opportunities for cooperation and development, according to Turkish analysts quoted by by Xinhua Agency. During his official visit to China in early June, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed his country's desire to seek new opportunities for cooperation with various partners in platforms such as BRICS. Fidan also attended the meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod on June 10-11. It is currently uncertain whether Turkey will join the organization at this point, but as the economic bloc continues to grow, Turkey will want to take advantage of the development opportunities it provides. "BRICS is likely to dominate the world economy in the coming decades, and Turkey wants to be part of the huge opportunities the bloc provides in a multipolar world," Ali Oguz Diriyez, who teaches international relations at the TOBB University of Economics and Technology, told Xinhua. TOBB) in Ankara. The world economy is increasingly oriented towards the South Pacific region, where growth is significantly higher. That is why Turkey cannot remain indifferent to these processes, added Diriyoz. Meanwhile, he emphasized that "any potential decision (to join BRICS) will not be taken against Europe, as Turkey is a long-standing member of NATO and European institutions." Turkey's interest in BRICS is part of an economically oriented diplomacy that does not want to miss the growing economic power of Asia in particular. Turkey does not see BRICS as an alternative to the European Union, which is its main economic partner. However, Turkey's frustration with the loopy process of joining the European bloc is prompting it to explore different options and alternative platforms. dir.bg