Government measures to support business during the corona crisis have not been successful, even after some of them were redesigned and new ones launched. In July and August, they reached the lowest percentage of business - even lower than in March, when measures were just beginning to take shape, NSI data show. In August, only 6.6% of Bulgarian companies benefited from state aid, but their share was slightly higher than in July (5.6%). According to statistics, the greatest interest in the measures was in May, when the state of emergency was lifted. This was largely due to the launch of the grant scheme for micro and small enterprises, for the resources of which companies competed to apply, as this was the first grant program, and the ranking and disbursement of funds was subsequently done according to the principle "first in line, first by right". Although the program started four and a half months ago, the financial support coming from the Operational Program "Innovation and Competitiveness" has not yet reached all approved companies. According to the Ministry of Economy, to date, the number of companies approved for the grant is 15,500, and it remains to be paid to about 800 more companies.

The growth of the well-being of Bulgarians, which has been observed in the last decade, will slow down in 2019, according to the Allianz Global Wealth Report 2020. The net financial assets of people increased by only 4.1%, lagging behind the long-term growth of 10.1%. Bulgaria is taking a step down in the ranking of the richest countries and ranks 36th (financial assets per capita) from a total of 60 countries. With a slight increase last year, the financial assets of Bulgarians reached nearly BGN 18,700 (EUR 9,586). Although this value is still significantly below some Western countries, it has more than doubled in the last ten years. The increase, albeit slight, last year was mainly due to an increase in money in circulation and the volume of deposits. The portfolio of Bulgarian households from financial assets is dominated by securities, which hold a 46% share, followed by deposits with 35% and insurance and pensions with a share of 11%. In addition to the slowdown in the well-being of Bulgarians last year, their liabilities grew by 8.7%, well above the average for the last decade of 3.1%.

The deadline for completing the construction of the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector could be extended to the second half of 2021 from April 2021 currently. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the disruption of international travel and supplies, the company tasked with the construction of the pipeline - Greece's AVAX, has asked for an extension of the deadline, business news outlet Capital.bg quoted the executive officer of the ICGB project company from the Bulgarian side. The extension has not yet been approved by the project company. Until recently, representatives of the ICGB project company and the Bulgarian government claimed that the project is on track to be completed ahead of schedule, by the end of 2020. The pipeline, which has a total estimated cost of EUR 220 million, will connect the Greek gas transmission system in the area of Komotini to the Bulgarian gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora. The projected capacity will be up to 3 billion cu m per year in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria. The planned length of the pipeline is 182 km - 151 km of the interconnector will be laid on Bulgarian territory, while 31 km will be laid in Greece.

Bulgarian drug trader Sopharma Trading said that its shareholders have approved its plan to acquire local pharmacy chain SCS Franchise. Sopharma Trading will acquire assets worth up to BGN 25 million via the transaction. The deal was approved by the Commission for Protection of Competition in July. The acquired pharmacies will be integrated into Sopharma Trading's existing SOpharmacy chain. Sopharma Trading shares ended flat at BGN 5.15 on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange on Friday but were the most traded stock with deals for some BGN 2.8 million throughout the trading session. Sopharma Trading is a unit of local drug maker Sopharma.

JYSK Bulgaria, a unit of Danish bedding and furniture retailer JYSK, will open a new store in the town of Dupnitsa in December, and plans five more launches next year. So far this year the retailer has opened five new stores - in the capital Sofia, Kyustendil, Kazanlak, Blagoevgrad and Haskovo, local business news outlet Capital.bg quoted Alexandru Bratu, country manager JYSK Bulgaria and Romania, as saying. JYSK Bulgaria currently operates 35 stores and employs over 500 people. The company's sales revenue dropped in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, but returned to its normal levels the following month. Online sales, which usually form 6-8% of JYSK Bulgaria's total sales revenue, peaked in April. Last year, Bratu told SeeNews that JYSK Bulgaria plans to double the number of its stores to 50 within four years. JYSK Bulgaria's profit before taxes fell by an annual 11% to BGN 4 million in the fiscal year 2019 ended August 31, while turnover rose by an annual 27.5% to a record BGN 59 million.

Retail Park - Yambol is almost completed. The modern shopping center will be officially opened in early November 2020, investors from Trade Center Yambol stated. The city will have its preferred shopping center, which meets all European standards. The aim of the project is to improve the urban environment. Investors have built a bridge over Tundzha worth BGN 1.2 million, which they donate to the municipality of Yambol. The bridge creates a direct connection between the residents of the Vazrazhdane and Kargon neighborhoods. The Municipality of Yambol undertakes to build the road after the bridge and roundabout in the neighborhood. There is currently no working mall in Yambol. The investment in the shopping center in Yambol amounts to BGN 12 million, partially secured by a loan with public-private funds. Retail Park - Yambol is located on 33.6 decares near the central part of the city. According to the project there are 10 shops and a children's playground with a total floor area of ​​10 thousand sq. m., the largest site is Lidl - on 2230 square meters, contracts have been signed with DM, KiK, LC Waikiki, Mat Star.

The Bulgarian carrier Karat S JSC will start operating courses of FlixBus - the largest provider of intercity bus services in Europe, on October 1. More than 15 connections will be made from Sofia, the German company announced. Travelers can choose between destinations in Austria and Germany to cities such as St. Poelten, Linz, Innsbruck, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Dortmund. Tickets can be purchased through the FlixBus website, the mobile app and at nearly 30,000 offline locations in Europe. Later in October, additional destinations to the Czech Republic are expected to enrich the companies' overall offering. For now, Karat S buses will retain their original branding, but will have a "In collaboration with FlixBus" sticker to make them more recognizable.

Bulgarian printing and advertising company Billboard said that its non-consolidated net profit fell to BGN 58,000 in the first half of 2020, compared with BGN 182,000 in the same period of last year. The company's total revenue decreased to BGN 3.3 million in the January-June period of this year from BGN 4.2 million in the corresponding period of 2019. Billboard's expenses declined to BGN 3.2 million in the review period from BGN 4.1 million a year earlier, mostly due to lower expenses for materials and hired services. Billboard, established in 2001, offers wide format digital printing, offset printing and branding of vehicles.

Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a right-wing party’s attempt to scrap a pact allowing the free movement of people from the European Union, opting for stability amid the economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) had forced a referendum on the EU agreement in a bid to curb immigration to the country where foreigners make up a quarter of the population. The measure lost, as expected, by a 62%-38% margin. “The bilateral path is the right one for Switzerland and for the EU. The Swiss people have confirmed this path again today,” Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter told reporters in Bern. “Today is a great day for the relations between the European Union and Switzerland,” European Council President Charles Michel tweeted. “The Swiss people have spoken & sent a clear message: together we have a great future ahead of us.”

A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that was set to bar Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google from offering Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok for download. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington issued the preliminary injunction in a brief order late on Sunday. He declined “at this time” to block restrictions set to take effect on Nov. 12 on technical and business arrangements which are crucial for the app to function properly. Nichols’ detailed written opinion is expected to be released as soon as Monday. The Commerce Department said in a statement it “will comply with the injunction and has taken immediate steps to do so.” The statement, which defended the TikTok order and Trump’s executive order demanding owner ByteDance divest its TikTok U.S. operations, did not specify whether the government would appeal. The injunction comes at a time when negotiations are underway to hammer out terms of a preliminary deal for Walmart Inc and Oracle Corp to take stakes in a new company, TikTok Global, that would oversee U.S. operations. Trump has said he had given the deal his “blessing.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party's Central Committee have laid out a plan for a ‘new era’ in which the party has better control over private business in China. The plan was detailed in a 5,000-word statement – and all regions and departments in the country have been told to follow the new guidelines. This was the top story on Wednesday's CCTV Evening News – how the president had issued “important instructions”. It had a long-winded title: "Opinion on Strengthening the United Front Work of the Private Economy in the New Era". The ultimate goal is for the party to have ideological leadership of private enterprise. The statement seeks to improve CCP control over private enterprise and entrepreneurs through United Front Work “to better focus the wisdom and strengthen of the private businesspeople on the goal and mission to realise the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” Xi's instructions were issued ahead of a conference today on this very topic. The party wants to see a "united front" between private enterprise and government business.