The profit of the banking system in Bulgaria increased by 3.9 percent on an annual basis or by 107 million leva to a total of 2.8 billion leva by the end of September this year, according to data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). In the third quarter of 2025, the assets of the banking system increased by 8.2 billion leva (4.1 percent) and at the end of September amounted to 210.1 billion leva. Gross loans and advances on a quarterly basis increased by BGN 2.2 billion (1.7 percent) to BGN 133.9 billion. A decrease was recorded in receivables from credit institutions - by BGN 2.5 billion (17.7 percent) to BGN 11.6 billion. The gross loan portfolio of the banking system increased by BGN 4.6 billion (3.9 percent) to BGN 122.1 billion. Loans to households increased mainly - by BGN 3 billion, or 5.7 percent (including BGN 2.2 billion in loans secured by residential property). Growth was also recorded in loans to non-financial enterprises - by BGN 831 million (1.5 percent), to other financial enterprises - by BGN 429 million (4.6 percent), and to the general government sector - by BGN 329 million (38.9 percent). In the third quarter of 2025, deposits in the banking system increased by BGN 7.6 billion (4.4 percent) and at the end of September reached BGN 178.2 billion. Household deposits increased by BGN 4 billion (4.2 percent), non-financial enterprises - by BGN 3.7 billion (7.5 percent), and credit institutions - by BGN 782 million (4.8 percent). A decrease was recorded in deposits of the general government sector (by BGN 815 million, 17.3 percent) and of other financial enterprises (by BGN 140 million, 3 percent). Gross non-performing loans and advances at the end of September amounted to BGN 3.85 billion (BGN 3.94 billion at the end of June), and their share in the total amount of gross loans and advances decreased to 2.87 percent (2.99 percent at the end of June). The net value of non-performing loans and advances (after deducting their inherent impairment) at the end of September was BGN 1.79 billion (BGN 1.95 billion at the end of June) and its share in the total net value of loans and advances decreased to 1.37 percent (1.52 percent at the end of June). The equity capital in the balance sheet of the banking system at the end of September amounted to BGN 25.2 billion and compared to the end of June, it increased by BGN 613 million (2.5 percent), which is mainly contributed by the growth of current profit. The amount of expenses for impairment of financial assets that are not reported at fair value through profit or loss, compared to September 30, 2024, increased by BGN 34 million (7.6 percent) to BGN 485 million at the end of the period.

In 2023, the number of active enterprises in Bulgaria is 404,257, with 43,353 new ones, according to final data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI). According to the distribution of enterprises by statistical regions and districts, the largest number of active enterprises is located in the Southwestern region - 165,923, with the largest share of these enterprises in the Sofia (capital) district - 30.7 percent. The smallest number of active enterprises is in the Northwestern region - 27,091, and with the smallest relative share is Vidin district - 0.7 percent.

Plot of 111 decares with a newly built 4.9 MWp photovoltaic plant (56 decares) and an adjacent free plot (55 decares) with development potential at a key location in the city of Blagoevgrad

According to the ranking of "Capital 100", the total revenues of the largest 500 companies in our country reach 214 billion leva. The average growth of the hundred largest companies is 2.8%, and profitability - 9.5%. At the same time, the profits of the hundred largest companies decrease by 5.3%, reaching 7.2 billion leva. Here are the ten largest companies in Bulgaria by 2025: 1. LUKOIL NEFTOKIM BURGAS is a leading producer of petroleum products and petroleum derivatives in Bulgaria. In 2024, the company reported revenues of BGN 9.134 million, an increase of 5.7% compared to 2023. Despite the growth in revenues, it ended the year with a loss of BGN 213,450 thousand, after the previous year it had a profit of BGN 203,089 thousand. 2. AURUBIS BULGARIA is engaged in the production and processing of copper and other metals. In 2024, the company's revenues reached BGN 8.949 million (+22.63%), and the profit increased to BGN 455,633 thousand, more than twice as much as BGN 219,469 thousand a year earlier. 3. LUKOIL-BULGARIA is a fuel trading and gas station management company. Revenues in 2024 are 5.935 million BGN, which is a decrease of 5.96%, but profits increase to 136,852 thousand BGN compared to 107,635 thousand BGN in 2023. 4. AXPO BULGARIA is engaged in the production and trade of electricity. The company impresses with a growth in revenues to 4.127 million BGN (+68.13%) and returns its profit to 1,487 thousand BGN, after having a loss of 14,337 thousand BGN in 2023. 5. NATIONAL ELECTRICITY COMPANY manages the production, transmission and supply of electricity in the country. Its revenue in 2024 is 3.283 million BGN (-7.17%), and profit increases to 139,090 thousand BGN from 95,020 thousand BGN a year earlier. 6. BA GLASS BULGARIA produces and trades in glass products for industrial and consumer needs. The company reports a decline in revenue to 2.684 million BGN (-10.89%) and a decrease in profit to 161,923 thousand BGN, after the previous year it was 269,010 thousand BGN. 7. LIDL BULGARIA operates a network of supermarkets and fast-moving consumer goods stores. In 2024, the company's revenue reached 2.622 million BGN (+15.19%), and profit increased to 121,090 thousand BGN compared to 89,496 thousand BGN a year earlier. 8. KAUFLAND BULGARIA is engaged in retail trade and management of large supermarkets. Revenue in 2024 was 2.567 million BGN (+5.3%), and profit reached 129,280 thousand BGN, increasing from 116,623 thousand BGN in 2023. 9. ASTRA BIOPLANT produces and trades in fuels and petroleum products. The company experienced a decline in revenue to 2.281 million BGN (-43.47%), but managed to report a profit of 17,753 thousand BGN, after the previous year it had a loss of 146,824 thousand BGN. 10. DAFNA GROUP is engaged in the production and trade of cigarettes and tobacco products. Revenues in 2024 increased to 2.207 million BGN (+23.28%), and profit reached 30,453 thousand BGN compared to 27,030 thousand BGN a year earlier.

The market of private courier companies is growing by nearly 14% annually, while the share of the state-owned company "Bulgarian Posts" is falling by almost the same percentage, it became clear from a report of the Communications Regulation Commission on the postal services market in the country. Overall, the postal services market in Bulgaria is estimated at 937.4 million leva in 2024, which is an annual growth of 12.4%. Last year, postal services were provided by 86 operators. The postal market has two main segments - the universal postal service and non-universal postal services. In 2024, revenues from the universal postal service assigned to "Bulgarian Posts" are a modest 28.5 million leva, which is 12% less than the previous year. "Bulgarian Posts" is committed to serving all consumers in the country at affordable prices, even in the most remote and difficult-to-reach areas. At the same time, the second type of postal services - non-universal ones - dominate with revenues of BGN 908 million in 2024. They include postal money transfers, courier services, direct mail advertising and the "hybrid mail" service (the transmission of information electronically and its delivery to the recipient as a postal item). The largest share of them is held by courier services with revenues of BGN 875 million in 2024 and an annual growth of 14.5%. In addition to losing market share, the state-owned company "Bulgarian Posts" also suffers losses from providing the universal postal service, for which it has a license until 2030. The state owes the company nearly BGN 90 million in unpaid compensation. For the last three years, 67 million leva of liabilities have been accumulated, and this year the underfunding will be 25-30 million leva. In addition to the commitment to serve the most remote and hard-to-reach areas, the state-owned company is also tasked with the task of paying pensions to elderly people in small settlements. For this purpose, Bulgarian Posts maintains 3,700 branches in the country, with costs growing every year.

For the first ten months of the year, the turnover of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) exceeded 1 billion leva, which is the highest level in the last 12 years, the exchange operator reported. Compared to the same period last year, when the turnover reached 706 million leva, the growth is 42 percent. The turnover of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange for the nine months was 859 million leva (439 million euros) and marked a growth of 29% on an annual basis. Four public companies – Shelly Group (its shares are also traded in Frankfurt), Sopharma, Speedy and Chaikapharma High-Quality Medicines, already have a market capitalization of over 1 billion leva.

Last year, the company "Alepu" EOOD (currently renamed "Arkutino Friends") cut down 30 acres of a 50-year-old oak forest in "Natura 2000" meters from the notorious hotel - a retaining wall, which became an emblem of the outrages by the sea. This happened with a bunch of violations of laws, European directives, the restrictions in the area, which is in the protected area of ​​the Ropotamo reserve and with a complete ban on cutting down trees there, an investigation by "Bivol" showed. The violations were confirmed, but the Regional Inspectorate for Environment, Water and Forestry-Burgas reached an agreement with the company's representatives and the fine was 3,500 leva, although the timber alone is estimated at at least 200,000 leva. This year, the case received an even more scandalous continuation. In August, the deforesting company received the green light from the same environmental inspection to build a large resort complex on the cleared terrain. The reason - there is no longer a forest there ("the terrain is anthropogenically influenced") and there is no need to conduct an ecological assessment of the resort complex. "Green Movement" sent a complaint to the Minister of Environment and he returned the decision for a new assessment. The main arguments for this are that the documentation on the file contains contradictory information and the facts regarding the likely impacts of the change on the two protected areas have not been clarified. Three parties demanded the resignation of the head of the environmental inspection Pavel Marinov - "Middle European Class", "Green Movement" and "Unity" due to lack of control, inaction on signals, and concealment of problems. Among the main signals are about the air quality in Burgas and the lack of real inspections, excess of powers and arbitrary interpretation of the law, neglect of key processes in the work of the inspection, failure to implement orders and instructions from the Ministry of Environment and Water.

Eng. Martin Georgiev joins the Electrohold Trade team as Chief Operating Officer and member of the Board of Directors. In his new role, he will be responsible for upgrading and optimizing the company's existing leading portfolio of products and services in Bulgaria with a focus on implementing innovative technologies in managing RES producers and energy storage systems. In the period May 2022 - March 2025, Eng. Georgiev held the position of Executive Director of the National Electricity Company (NEK). Under his leadership, key projects for the rehabilitation of important capacities were implemented, including hydro unit 2 of the Chaira HPP, and the construction of new pumped storage capacities was launched. During this period, NEK achieved excellent financial results. Previously, Martin Georgiev held the position of Regional Manager for the Southern Balkans at the Swiss energy company Alpiq and is a member of the board of its joint venture with the Greek Public Power Corporation. Eng. Georgiev worked as a Key Account Manager at Atel (Switzerland), as well as a consultant at E.ON Energie (Germany), where he participated in the restructuring processes of the company's operations in Bulgaria.

The Ministry of Finance has conducted an outrageous public procurement - for part of the information campaign for the introduction of the euro, for the selection of a company/agency that will educate Bulgarians about the eurozone and the benefits of our membership in it through social networks. The information activities are not only hopelessly late - there are only 60 days left until the arrival of the euro, but will also be assigned in a vicious manner. On October 21, the Ministry of Finance announced a public procurement for the distribution of educational materials about the euro on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, etc. similar channels. The estimated value is 1.4 million leva excluding VAT. The application deadline is absurdly short - 10 days. In addition, the ministry has decided, instead of a transparent competition of offers, to conduct direct negotiations to select a contractor. And it has invited only five companies for negotiations - selected according to unknown criteria: "Digital ID" AD, "Digitaleil" OOD, "IT Design 2020" EOOD, "Dir.BG" AD and "Agency Villa" EOOD. The companies in question are not among the leading communication agencies in the country and do not have experience in implementing campaigns of public interest, which casts doubt on their professional qualifications, while at the same time recognized companies in the industry have been ignored, claim the Bulgarian Association of PR Agencies (BAPRA), the Bulgarian Association of Communication Agencies (BACA), the "Interactive Advertising Bureau Bulgaria" association and the Bulgarian Society for Public Relations (BDVO).

"Mebel Stil" Ltd. in Targovishte has started developing two new business projects on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. The company has invested a total of about 11 million leva in a company for the production of wooden houses and a medical and aesthetic center. The company specializes in the production of upholstered furniture and mattresses. The management of the two subsidiaries remains in the Iliev family. "Modera House" Ltd. was founded by his son Ivo Iliev, who runs the company together with Dinko Danev - the entrepreneur's son-in-law. The "Finess" medical center is entrusted to Ilko Iliev's wife - Maria. The development of "Modera House" began two years ago, but the procedures for starting real work in the workshops have been taking a long time. The first sample house was assembled only twenty days ago. The company is the only one in the country engaged in the production of prefab wooden houses. In factory conditions, the panels for the houses are produced at 90 percent readiness. They work with the highest class of machines and special wood imported from Germany and Austria. Due to the specifics of the activity, the team draws experience from similar companies in Austria and Germany, and soon one will be in Switzerland. The great advantage of prefab wooden houses is the short implementation time, which makes them predictable in terms of price. And the price per square meter currently starts at 1,500 leva excluding VAT. The palette of procedures offered by the Finesse Medical Center is innovative and non-invasive, said the Ilievi family during its presentation. The center opened in July of this year and is already noticeable and recognizable in the Targovishte region, the owners shared. It offers over 170 services, most of which the citizens of Targovishte and the region cannot find elsewhere in the area.

Bulgarian and Turkish companies have launched a joint project to increase energy efficiency in the food industry. The project "Business Model for Energy Efficiency in a Cross-Border Region" GREEN FOOD is funded under the Interreg VI-A IPA Bulgaria - Turkey 2021-2027 Cross-Border Cooperation Program and aims to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint in enterprises in the region. The project is implemented by "Chicken Group" Ltd. - a leading partner from the Bulgarian side, and "Aytac" Ltd. from the Republic of Turkey. The two companies operate in the food industry. The total budget of the project is nearly 400,000 euros, with the financing being entirely free of charge. The duration of the implementation is 12 months. Both companies will modernize their technological equipment, with "Chicken Group" implementing new refrigeration equipment and a heat recovery system providing hot water from the waste energy of the cooling chambers. The investment will reduce primary energy consumption by 63.66 percent and reduce carbon emissions by 230 tons per year. In addition, the quality of production and the energy efficiency of the enterprise will improve. Currently, Chicken Group exports production to Greece, Romania and Germany and expects the project to contribute to increasing exports. The cold storage rooms will allow for larger volumes and guaranteed quality of production, and the investment in recovery will improve production processes and increase the competitiveness of the enterprise. On the Turkish side, Aytac will deliver new meat processing machines with high energy efficiency. The expectations are for a 30 percent reduction in energy consumption and over 50 tons per year less carbon emissions.

The deteriorating global geopolitical order, the need for countries to find independent and stable energy sources, and the growing demand for electricity from the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and the electrification of the car fleet are fueling the idea of ​​a new nuclear power renaissance. There are 407 reactors in operation worldwide, 64 under construction and 33 in the process of being shut down, according to the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Reports. They generate about 9 percent of the electricity consumed on the planet. The majority of new facilities are concentrated in Asia (mainly in China and India), although construction is also underway in Turkey, Egypt and Russia. The United States, the world’s largest nuclear power producer, is extending the lives of its aging plants, and President Donald Trump wants to quadruple production over the next 25 years. Italy, which decided to close its plants in 1987, a year after the Chernobyl disaster, is rethinking the installation of small modular reactors. Even Poland, ignoring the fact that it borders a country at war like Ukraine and another openly hostile like Belarus, has decided to proceed with the construction of its first nuclear power plant on the Baltic Sea coast. So are Finland and Sweden, which recently organized a bilateral summit to discuss how to make progress towards their goal of tripling nuclear power generation by 2050. They plan to make it easier for private operators to obtain financing and construction permits. With 30 percent of the world's total nuclear power generation, the United States is a superpower in the sector, although much of its facilities are old and its production is relatively cost-effective, considering that it provides only 19 percent of the electricity the country uses, compared with 60 percent from fossil fuels and 21 percent from renewables. But President Donald Trump wants the 94 reactors currently in operation to be more productive. In May, he signed three executive orders to boost the sector, aiming to ensure a stable energy source.

The White House announced an agreement between the United States and China on economic and trade relations. The agreement commits China to stop the flow of precursors used to produce fentanyl into the United States. China will strictly control the export of certain chemicals to all destinations around the world. Beijing will remove export controls on rare earth elements and other critical minerals and will end retaliatory measures against American semiconductor manufacturers and other major American companies. China's market for U.S. soybeans and other agricultural products is reopening. China will purchase at least 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans. China will issue general licenses valid for the export of rare earth elements, gallium, germanium, antimony and graphite for the benefit of end users in the United States. In addition, China will resume purchases of sorghum and logs from the United States. The United States will reduce tariffs on Chinese imports imposed to curb fentanyl flows by removing 10 percentage points from the cumulative rate, effective November 10, 2025, and will maintain the suspension of increased reciprocal tariffs on Chinese imports until November 10, 2026. The current reciprocal tariff of 10% will remain in effect during this suspension period.