Domestic industrial producer prices in Bulgaria rose by 12.5 percent in July 2026 compared to the same month last year, according to initial Eurostat estimates. This is the third largest annual increase among European Union countries after Ireland with 14.8 percent and Lithuania with 12.9 percent. Only Luxembourg reported a decrease - by 7.3 percent. However, the annual growth of producer prices in Bulgaria slowed down compared to the 18.2 percent reported in June and 19.3 percent in May. On a monthly basis, producer prices in our country increased by 0.6 percent in July after a decrease of 1.3 percent in June. In the euro area, producer prices increased by 5.8 percent in July compared to the same month in 2025, and in the entire EU - by 5.6 percent. On a monthly basis, prices rose by 1.6 percent in the euro area and by 1.4 percent in the EU. In June, they fell by 0.3 and 0.2 percent, respectively. The highest monthly increases were recorded in Ireland - by 4.3 percent, Spain and Italy - by 3 percent each, and Cyprus - by 2.3 percent. The largest decline compared to June was recorded in Estonia - by 3.3 percent, Finland - by 1.6 percent, and Sweden - by 1.1 percent. The main contribution to the monthly increase was the rise in energy prices. Prices in this sector increased by 5.6 percent in the euro area and by 4.7 percent in the EU. In the euro area, prices of capital goods increased by 0.3 percent, while those of intermediate and durable consumer goods remained unchanged. Consumer non-durable goods fell by 0.1 percent. In the EU, prices of intermediate goods increased by 0.1 percent, capital goods by 0.3 percent, and consumer durables by 0.2 percent. Consumer non-durables fell by 0.2 percent. On an annual basis, energy prices rose by 12.9 percent in the euro area and by 12.5 percent in the EU. Prices of intermediate goods rose by 6.3 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

On August 31, the Minister of Energy Iva Petrova signed the separation of BEH and the creation of the Maritsa-Iztok holding, which includes Maritsa-Iztok Mines and Maritsa-Iztok 2 TPP. The change is being made due to the requirements for payments under the recovery plan. The documents for the establishment of the holding are to be submitted to the Registry Agency within a week. Over 700 million euros will be invested in the activities of the mines and the TPP in stages until 2030 for reclamation alone. 41 million will go to the restoration of 23,000 decares. They have not been damaged by mining activity, but will have to be rehabilitated. 353 million euros will be for the conversion of 20,000 decares, from which coal was extracted, into terrain that can be adapted for economic activities. 200 million euros of them are from the Just Transition Plan. This measure will provide employment for over 800 miners. There are also investments in long-term sustainability by a decision of the National Assembly, which decided to invest about 300 million euros within 4 years. This preserves coal activity and electricity production, and economic zones will be developed on the reclaimed lands. The mines have a project for a 20 megawatt photovoltaic park with batteries for their own needs. A subsidiary - "Rehabilitation of Mining Lands" plans to build a solar park for 150 megawatts and 600 megawatt-hours of capacity for storing electricity in batteries, which will cost about 150 million euros. Another 43 million are for a closed distribution network. This energy complex is planned to provide power to future industrial parks when the lands are prepared. TPP "Maritsa-Iztok 2" has a project for a wood chip combustion installation, which will cost about 20 million euros. The goal is to reduce carbon emissions. A future 80-megawatt solar park with 500 megawatt-hour battery storage is estimated at €150 million. The plant will also invest in a natural gas firing system for the boilers of units five and six, which will cost €10 million.

The government has approved an investment of 12.8 million euros, which will expand the existing Stryama industrial park near Plovdiv. The Council of Ministers approved a memorandum with six companies for the implementation of the priority investment project "Low-carbon Industrial Park" on the territory of the municipalities of Rakovski and Maritsa. The project envisages expanding the park, building internal infrastructure and introducing a sustainable management model. Parties to the memorandum are "Business Center 2", "Evmolpia Capital", "Evmolpia Capital Invest", "TIZ Invest", "Sienit Holding" and "Industrial Zone Stryama". "Industrial Park Stryama" is entered in the Register of Industrial Parks in 2023 as a private park type A - general, without specialization in a specific production activity. Its territory covers 1681.5 decares in the lands of Stryama, Kalekovets and Voivodinovo in the municipalities of Rakovski and Maritsa. The territorial expansion itself is already underway. In June, the Plovdiv regional governor authorized the development of an amendment and expansion of the specialized detailed development plan of the park, along with the connecting and internal infrastructure serving it.

Bulgaria's largest photovoltaic power plant company Sunotec has begun construction of a large-scale electricity storage system in Germany, which, upon completion, will be among the largest such facilities in the country. The facility is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2027. The battery system will have a capacity of 100 MW and a storage capacity of 441 MWh of electricity. To connect the facility to the electricity grid, the German engineering company WT Energiesysteme is building a new 110 kV substation. Sunotec already has a significant presence on the European market for battery systems, with projects with a total capacity of 6.1 GWh. In recent months alone, the company has also implemented large-scale projects in Bulgaria. In June, the Bulgarian company and Sungrow announced the commissioning of a storage system with a capacity of 150 MW and a capacity of 600 MWh in Nova Zagora. In November 2025, Slovenian energy company GEN-I and Sunotec signed a five-year partnership to manage two large battery projects in Bulgaria with a total capacity of around 200 MW. In August this year, GEN-I took over their commercial management and market optimization, and the two companies expanded their partnership to nine more projects. In April, Sunotec also announced a strategic partnership with Blackstone Tactical Opportunities. The deal was structured as a partner capital investment from Blackstone funds and is aimed at accelerating the Bulgarian company’s international expansion and expanding its activities in the field of solar energy, battery systems and grid infrastructure. Founded in 2012 in Sofia, Sunotec has already implemented over 680 photovoltaic installations with a total installed capacity of over 15 GW, with the 124 MW Verila photovoltaic power plant among its landmark projects in Bulgaria.In addition to its main office in Sofia, the company has offices in Germany and the UK and employs over 2,000 specialists, whose scale makes it visible on the European market.

A fuel additive production plant will be built on the land of the village of Benkovski. An investment proposal has been submitted to the Regional Inspectorate for Environment, Water and Water Resources - Plovdiv by Auto Trade Chemicals Ltd. The production and warehouse base will be built on 925 sq. m., out of a total area of ​​5 acres. A two-story administrative building will also be erected next to it. An area for technical inspections is also planned. The site will produce AdBlue - a liquid reagent used to purify the exhaust gases of diesel engines. The final product will have a concentration of 32.5%. The main raw material is automotive technical urea, which is classified as a non-hazardous substance. It is imported from Germany, Poland and Slovakia. The fuel additive will be produced in an industrial mixer ProLine 9, originating in Poland. It is fully automated and specially designed for the production of AdBlue, in which no technological waste is generated. The production capacity of the mixer is 9,000 liters per hour. The finished product will be shipped by loading into packages or transport vehicles, including tanks, via a ramp for heavy trucks. The enterprise will operate in a single-shift mode with a production capacity of about 150 cubic meters / day and a finished product of about 75 cubic meters / day. 12 jobs will be created in the enterprise. The area for performing technical inspections is an operation center for trucks according to the requirements of the "Executive Agency of Automobile Administration", with an approximate area of ​​about 150 square meters. There are provided tractors, a service channel, a small workshop and a sink for servicing activities.

The former state-owned machine-building plant "Vipom" AD - Vidin now has a new owner -  US Corp EOOD. A series of deals for the acquisition of nearly 87% of the company's shares has been finalized, announced Petar Kicashki - an entrepreneur from Vidin, whose company is now the majority owner of the plant. The company "Vipom" AD is a world-famous company as one of the leaders in this part of the world in the production of pumps. The company will maintain its current production, expand them and add new activities. The new owner has the ambition to return the enterprise to the industrial map of the country: The enterprise has a railway infrastructure, with a road infrastructure that will be modernized."

"Telematic Interactive Bulgaria" AD is preparing a secondary listing on a suitable European stock exchange, with the aim of reaching a wider range of international investors and increasing the liquidity of its shares. As an intermediate step towards a potential secondary listing, it is planned to increase the free float to 17-20% by releasing part of the shares of the majority owner. In the first half of 2026, "Telematic Interactive Bulgaria" AD reported total revenues of EUR 37.2 million, or a growth of 16% year-on-year. The casino segment contributed EUR 32.3 million (+13%), while sports betting revenues increased by 31% to EUR 4.3 million. Net profit increased by 24.1% to EUR 5.35 million, with a margin of 14.4%. For the first eight months of the year, the company paid out 5.9 million euros in dividends, and the share price has increased by 16% since the beginning of 2026. The sports platform of Telematic Sport AD is already operating successfully in Kenya, and new live casino solutions are being developed through 7Mojos Interactive and Palms Royale Casino, including branded tables, Green Screen technology and live streaming. In parallel, Palms Bet presented its updated digital platform, developed with React and with a new approach to navigation and user experience. After the completion of the five-year partnership with PFC Levski, the company is expanding its support for regional sports, Matev specified. Among the new partnerships are the football clubs PFC Beroe (Stara Zagora), FC Marek (Dupnitsa) and OFC Bdin-1923 - Vidin. The company also continues to support Bulgarian rhythmic gymnastics, volleyball, basketball and individual athletes.

A new study commissioned by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and supported by Aurum Exploration Limited shows that Europe needs to dramatically increase its spending on exploration for critical raw materials. According to the analysis, presented in July 2026, annual investment needs to increase from the current €200 million to €2 billion over the next five years. This significant increase in funding is a key step towards achieving the objectives set out in the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). According to it, by 2030 the European Union should secure at least 10% of its annual consumption of strategic raw materials through its own extraction. This would significantly reduce the bloc’s dependence on third countries and strengthen its economic security. The European Union currently attracts a small share of global investment in mineral exploration. The data for 2024 are indicative – while Canada has attracted 20% of the global exploration budget and Australia – 16%, the EU’s share is only 3%. There are also encouraging examples within the union. Countries such as Finland and Sweden demonstrate that highly developed and modern mining is entirely possible in Europe, contributing to economic growth and strategic autonomy. Greece is also making efforts to strengthen its position on the European map of critical raw materials. According to data for 2025, the country already has two projects that have been officially designated as strategic. Approval for five more Greek proposals is expected in 2026. The new projects are related to existing deposits and development opportunities in certain public mining areas. They cover a variety of critical raw materials, including: Copper, Germanium and Raw Material Recycling. Recognizing these projects as strategic will provide them with a significant advantage in accessing funding under various European programs. These include the European Structural Funds, InvestEU, REPowerEU, as well as direct financing from the European Investment Bank.

The Dutch central bank (DNB) has moved 86 tons of its gold reserves, previously stored in the United States and Canada, to London. The decision was dictated by growing geopolitical instability, reports Agence France-Presse. The Netherlands is the latest European country to reallocate part of its gold reserves outside the United States. France has already withdrawn the last 129 tons of gold from the Federal Reserve in New York, bringing all 2,437 tons of the country's reserves to France. Calls are also being heard in Germany and Italy for the gold to be returned to Europe. The DNB explains that the move is part of measures to increase the country's preparedness for a possible crisis. According to the bank, gold can be traded more easily and quickly from London than from New York or Ottawa. The Netherlands' total gold reserves amount to 612.4 tons, and by the end of 2025 their value was estimated at 72.2 billion euros. Before the redistribution, 31.3% of the country's gold was in New York, and another 19.7% in Ottawa. After the operation, the share of reserves stored in the US and Canada decreased to 18.5% for each of the two countries. On the other hand, the amount of gold in London increased significantly - from 18.1% to 32.1% of the total reserves. The Netherlands itself stores 30.8% of the gold. The transfer was carried out through a combination of purchase and sale transactions and physical transportation of the precious metal. More than 27 tons of physical gold were transported from the US and Canada to the Dutch city of Zeist, and then to London. This avoided the melting of the bars. The central bank points out that the combination of purchases, sales and physical transfer allowed the risks of transporting such a large amount of gold to be distributed.