Financial news

Investment projects in Bulgaria decreased by half in 2009, compared to a year earlier. Projects numbered 60 in 2008 and dropped down to 27 twelve months later, showed data from European Investment Monitor 2010, the latest survey conducted by Ernst & Young. Moreover, despite ranking eighth in terms of the number of jobs created, two years later Bulgaria slumped to the 19th position among European economies. In 2008, we were the leader with respect to job creation, with 117% or 6,709 jobs. A year later, the number of jobs created in Bulgaria declined to 1,321, ranking Bulgaria at the unenviable position of having created a mere 1% of jobs in Europe.

"Bulgarian cabinet would not decrease salaries and pensions," Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov said. "Pensions in Bulgaria are lower than in Romania and now we don't plan any cutdown, minister Dyankov commented. "I have restricted administration expenses and the number of people working in the public sector was decreased by 11%, said Dyankov. The personnel and budget outlays downsizing are part of the anti-crisis measures, which would lead to a one-percent growth of the Bulgarian economy in 2010, stated the vice PM. In his opinion, the situation with the budget deficit is still hard. After two or three months at the latest public revenues will start to grow, Dyankov says.

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Concessions

After two years of court wrangling, Bulgarian river shipping company BRP, part of blue-blooded industrial conglomerate Chimimport, won the concession of Vidin North port terminals and Vidin ferry complex, the government decided on Wednesday. In end-2007, the Cabinet of former prime minister Sergey Stanishev awarded the concession contract to the consortium Vidin Port Complex between local steel mill Stomana Industry, part of Greek metallurgical group Viohalco, and Germany's Peter Preimesser GmbH & Co. BRP and the tie-up Fiman-Port, which ranked second and third, respectively, filed an appeal against the selection of Vidin Port Complex. In January 2010, the tender committee invites the three candidates to submit declarations for extending the validity of their bids.

Companies

The Bulgarian State will draw a BGN 1.65 mln dividend for 2009 from the power utility EVN, the company informs. The amount was voted during the shareholders meeting. It represents 10% of the profits of the utility, which serves southeastern Bulgaria. The other 90% of the BGN 50 mln profit will be reinvested in the company's network, as it has been done for the 5 years after it entered the Bulgarian market, when the utilities were privatized. The Bulgarian State owns 33% of the EVN shares in the country. EVN had invested in 5 years BGN 600 mln for repairs of the electric power supply network and customer service. Its investment program provides for a total of BGN 180 mln in Bulgaria's energy sector in the next few years.

The renovation of the Bulgarian railways communication networks and the transition from analogue to digital systems will cost EUR 25 mln, stated representatives of Nokia Siemens Network, offering new technologies for railways. The company estimated that the construction of a 40 km-long pilot section will cost EUR 5 mln but, after completing the network, it will cost less. The introduction of GSM-R lowered the operating expenditures of Dutch railways by 80%, said Alexander Beck, Head of Customer Team Railways at Nokia for West and South Europe. The situation in Bulgaria is different and requires tremendous changes, stated Nokia Siemens Network representatives. Overall, five trans-European corridors go through Bulgaria and an urgent rehabilitation of the railway tracks is needed. To that end, we should absorb around EUR 580 mln by 2013.

Lithuanian discount retailer T-Market has put back to the front burner plans to expand its Bulgarian store network after halting launchings last year, said Vygintas Sapokas, general manager for owner Maxima Bulgaria. He announced that the retailer plans to grow a 50-strong store network in Bulgaria within a year from 30 outlets scattered in ten cities at the moment. Maxima will focus on larger cities such as the capital Sofia and the second city of Plovdiv. The new stores will pop up on company’s owned sites, Sapokas said, adding that the chain in is in talks to snap up stores currently owned by other companies. In the long term, Maxima plans to have stores in all Bulgarian cities with a population of over 10,000.

A forum of producers of grapes and wine took place in Plovdiv. Winemakers and growers from across Bulgaria have formed a national association Free Winemakers Union. The assembly, chaired by the Executive Director of Villa Lyubimets and Villa Hisar Anna Tashkova, adopted a statute of the association and a managing board headed by the owner of the winery Vinivel - Julian Yamantiev. One of the most important objectives of the association is to defend the interests of Bulgarian wine in cases of administrative errors. The statute of the new union clearly says it will work to promote the traditions of production and consumption of quality wine and will provide any kind of support for the producers of wine and grapes.

73% of companies in Bulgaria believe that to accelerate the environmental investments, the state should offer tax incentives, shows a study of the global supplier of solutions for office space Regus. Tax incentives will help very much, and furthermore, by accelerating the transition to green technologies, will support the establishment of a mass market, where unit prices fall, said Gary Gyurtler, Vice President for Regus for Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The survey reveals that only 37% of companies in the world actually measure their emissions, and less than one-fifth of them (19%) measure the carbon remains of their business.

Europe

Germany's government agreed to widen a ban on speculative trades, expanding restrictions on naked short-selling to include all shares. The planned legislation, which must pass both houses of parliament, adds to regulations set up last month in a campaign by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to curtail financial speculation, which it blames for intensifying the euro zone debt crisis. Naked short selling -- which Germany had originally banned only for shares in its biggest banks, euro government bonds and related credit default swaps (CDS) -- involves selling securities without owning or borrowing the underlying assets in the hope of buying them back at a lower price. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, speaking at a news conference, said he expected the new ban to pass through both houses of parliament by early-July.

America

Top US car firms enjoyed a double-digit jump in domestic sales in May, cashing in on an economic recovery after a bumpy ride that saw giants like General Motors and Chrysler thrown into bankruptcy. Toyota, reeling from a recall crisis, also saw its sales modestly rise as Americans continue to have faith in cars produced by the Japanese giant. The best performer in May was Chrysler, posting a 33 per cent increase in year-on-year sales about a year after emerging from bankruptcy protection. GM, which reported last month its first post-bankruptcy quarterly profit in three years on the back of cost-cutting measures, said its sales rose 16.6 percent. Ford, the strongest of the local auto giants, said its sales soared 21.9 percent - the sixth month in a row its sales increased more than 20 per cent.

Asia

Prudential abandoned an agreement to buy AIG’s Asian business after the board of the US insurer voted against cutting the purchase price from $35.5bn. This puts further pressure on Tidjane Thiam, the chief executive, to resign for failing to renegotiate the deal. AIG’s board went against the view of Robert Benmosche, chief executive of the US state-owned financial group, and voted 10-2 against a proposal to cut the price of AIA to $30.375bn. Instead, it favoured reviving plans for a partial sale of AIA in an Asian stock market listing. The board’s decision effectively killed the deal, as Prudential investors holding as much as 20 per cent of its shares had signalled they would not support the AIA purchase in a vote on June 7 unless the price was renegotiated.

Skravena village

Skravena is a village in Western Bulgaria, Botevgrad municipality. Skravena keeps one of the 100 National Tourist Sites of the Bulgarian Tourist Union – the Charnel House of the Botev’s rebels. The history of the village is related to the destiny of the 10 of the Botev’s rebels from the detachment of the Georgi Apostolov. On June 3, 1876 10 decapitated and impaled heads were brought to the village, and the local people bought them off and buried. Today the remains of the Botev’s rebels are laid down in the Charnel House opened in 1982. The building itself is located in the main square and anyone who wish could visit it. The Charnel House is a cultural monument. The monasteries St. Nicholas and The Transfiguration are also located here.

On that day:  The Vulchitrun Gold Treasure King Ivan Shishman (1371- June 3 1395)