The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) strongly opposes postponing the Fuel Act's entry into force by 6 months as proposed by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. According to BIA and the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association (BPGA), such an action would be a further blow to the legality and the implementation of effective measures to fight the grey economy and smuggling. BIA insisted that the Council of Ministers withdraw their proposal and rethink their overall conduct in connection to the creation of legislation and leave the legislative work in the hands of the National Assembly, as the Constitution of Bulgaria intended. The members of BPGA also expressed their indignation that the delay has been proposed without consulting the affected branch. BPGA is also disappointed by the actions of KRIB, to which the association is a member. Due to KRIB's violation of their statute, the Management Board of BPGA decided to terminate their collective membership to KRIB at a board meeting on Wednesday.

Bulgaria's industrial production growth held steady in November, preliminary figures from the National Statistical Institute showed. Industrial production climbed a working day adjusted 1.2 percent year-on-year in November, the same as in October. Manufacturing output grew 2 percent annually in December after a rise of 2.2 percent in October. Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply fell by 3.9 percent and mining and quarrying output declined by 2.6 percent in November. Month-on-month, industrial production rose 0.4 percent from November, when it rose 0.6 percent in October. The agency also revealed that, the construction production fell 1.8 percent annually, in November after a rise of 1.9 percent in October. Output dropped 1.2 percent following a 3.3 percent increase.

The Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria (FNF) has launched market consultations with potential financial intermediaries and key stakeholders in the investment environment of the country and abroad as part of the preparation of a procedure for the implementation of a new financial instrument - Technology Transfer Fund (TTF). Through this process, the Fund aims at achieving the optimum structure of the financial instrument, taking into account current market needs and the widest possible range of stakeholders, as well as meeting the objectives set out in the Operational Program "Innovation and Competitiveness" 2014-2020 (OPIC) , which is financing it.

New investments in Bulgaria over the next two years are planned by 60% of the Austrian companies operating on the Bulgarian market and 55% of them are expecting an increase in turnover in 2019 after the previous year has brought them more orders and corresponding revenues. This was shown in the annual survey of the Austrian Commercial Representation in Sofia held in the end of 2018 among nearly 100 Austrian companies in Bulgaria. According to the companies, in order for Bulgaria to become an even more attractive investment market, a sufficient number of well-qualified workers, better infrastructure and a predictable economic policy must be provided. Among the major Austrian subsidiaries in the country are A1, EVN and OMV, Raiffeisenbank, Billa, Kronospan, Knauf and others. Predominantly their main activity in Bulgaria is related to the trade of Austrian products and the provision of services, and 26% of the companies - with production.

The water utility company serving the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Sofiyska Voda, said that it has signed a BGN 5.1 million deal with local Raicommerce Construction, which envisages the construction of new water supply infrastructure and replacing existing one. The deal was signed on December 20. Two companies submitted offers in the public procurement procedure for awarding the contract. Sofiyska Voda was established in October 2000 under a 25-year concession contract for the operation and maintenance of Sofia's water supply and sewerage system. France's Veolia Water owns 77.1% of the company's capital, while the Sofia municipality holds a stake of 22.9%.

Bulgarian state-owned lignite coal mining company Mini Maritsa Iztok said it has signed a BGN 13.8 million contract with local rubber products maker Kauchuk for the supply of conveyor belts. The public procurement procedure for awarding the contract attracted four offers. Mini Maritsa Iztok's coal mines in southern Bulgaria sell their output mainly to three thermal power plants located nearby, two of them owned by ContourGlobal and AES, and the state-owned TPP Maritsa Iztok 2. The two power plants owned by ContourGlobal and AES generate around 30% of Bulgaria's electricity output.

Мost financial reports of state-owned companies from the military-industrial complex show пromising results. If the trend is maintained, it is likely that the military will record 2018 as an extremely successful year. TEREM EAD’s profit jumps 107% annually - from BGN 1.52 mln a year ago to BGN 3.16 mln. The results of the Plovdiv-based Avionams repair workshop continue to improve significantly. For the nine-month period the company reported the impressive profits growth of 1780% - from just over BGN 350 thousand to BGN 6.5 mln. Kintex also impresses. The company specialized in the sale of military property rerported that the profit jumped by 70% at the end of September - from BGN 17 million a year ago to BGN 29.4 million. However, the situation is not so good in the case of Vazov Machine Works EAD (VMZ-Sopot), the company's profit for the third quarter amounted to BGN 2.2 million from BGN 151 million for the same period of 2017. Revenues from the activities of the development company NITI also decreased, reaching BGN 1.8 million for the third quarter of 2018, compared to BGN 2.3 million a year earlier.

Italy’s far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and the leader of Poland’s ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, discussed the possibility of forming a eurosceptic alliance to contest the European Parliament elections in May. The visit to Warsaw, initiated by Polish Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski, comes amid broader efforts by eurosceptics across the continent to unite that could fundamentally shift the direction of the European Union after the elections. “(The election) will show whether the eurosceptic voices within Europe are on the rise or if the rise has been curtailed for the moment,” said Michal Baranowski, the head of the German Marshall Fund’s Warsaw office. Salvini has repeatedly criticized the EU and says the May elections are vital for creating a “reformist” bloc that can overhaul the Brussels institutions from within. He has even hinted he might be a candidate to head the EU executive, the European Commission. Kaczynski says Poland, the biggest beneficiary of EU infrastructure funds, should remain a member of the bloc it joined in 2004 but wants reforms to bring more power back from Brussels to national capitals.

Uncertainty over the outcome of China-U.S. trade talks as both sides kept mum about what lies ahead. Most Asian markets opened lower after the talks wrapped up the day before without clear indications of whether progress was made on resolving a dispute over Chinese technology policies that has the world’s two biggest economies embroiled in a bruising trade war. The three-day talks that started Monday were the first face-to-face meetings since Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed Dec. 1 to suspend further action against each other’s imports for 90 days while they negotiate over U.S. complaints that Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued a statement saying the two sides had “detailed exchanges” and would “maintain close contact” but gave no details. A statement from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t characterize the tone of the talks or say what would happen next. It said U.S. negotiators would await “guidance on the next steps” after reporting back to Washington.

German chemicals giant BASF said it had selected the port city of Zhanjiang in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong as the site for its $10 billion petrochemicals complex. The company had previously said that the facility, China’s first wholly foreign-owned chemicals complex, would be in the province without giving the exact location. China is allowing greater access to its massive chemicals markets for global majors and local independents as it looks to feed fast-growing demand for plastics, coatings and adhesives from industries such as consumer electronics. “By 2030, China’s share of global chemical production will increase to nearly 50 percent,” BASF Chairman Martin Brudermüller said in a statement issued. “Guangdong is a growing market for innovations from chemistry, and our new site will support customers in multiple industries.” The company on Wednesday signed a so-called ‘framework deal’ taking the project beyond the ‘memorandum of understanding’ that was previously agreed.