Foreign direct investment in Bulgaria in 2018 stood at EUR 1.53 billion, the equivalent of 2.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), statistics from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) showed. In 2017, FDI was EUR 1.39 million, but the original amount reported by BNB last year was EUR 901.9 million, which was revised upward later. Investment in equity, including in the real estate sector, stood at EUR 565.5 million (compared to EUR 187.5 million in 2017) and re-invested earnings accounted for EUR 264 million (versus EUR 128.9 million a year earlier), according to preliminary data. Net receipts from real estate investments by foreign entities totalled EUR 7.9 million, compared to EUR 19.5 million in 2017. The central bank data showed EUR 703.3 million in investment inflows as debt instruments, recorded as the change in the net liabilities of Bulgarian companies towards their foreign investor owners, compared to EUR 1.07 billion in 2017. Such financial flows include financial loans, suppliers’ credits and debt securities, BNB said.

Bulgaria's current account surplus decreased to EUR 2.54 billion in 2018, from EUR 3.37 billion in 2017, the central bank said. The current account surplus in 2018 was equivalent to 6% of the country's estimated gross domestic product (GDP), the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly balance of payments report. In December 2018, Bulgaria current account showed a deficit of EUR 51 million, compared to a deficit of EUR 282.2 million in December 2017.

US-based pharmaceutical company Discovery Life Sciences has acquired Bulgarian peer Sofia Med for an undisclosed price. Through the acquisition, Discovery Life Sciences gets access to Sofia Med's extensive network of human biospecimen collection sites in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Discovery Life Sciences' expansion in Europe addresses the acute need for discovery, research, and development support services across the continent. In addition to the acquisition of Sofia Med, Discovery Life Sciences also acquired East West Biopharma, which maintains the largest biocollection network in Ukraine. Following the two acquisitions, Discovery’s clinical network will grow by more than 100 sites, to nearly 280. Discovery Life Sciences specialises in biospecimen analysis and procurement for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostics industries.

Bulgarian-American Credit Bank (BACB) is seeking anti-trust approval to set up a joint venture (JV) with the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), which operates under the Vivacom brand. BACB did not say what would be the new company's scope of business activity. According to data published on the Commission for Protection of Competition website, the regulator launched a procedure to study the effects of a planned deal between the two companies. The procedure launched by the anti-monopoly commission does not concern the acqusition of a stake in BACB by BTC or vice versa. No further details were immediately available.

The Bulgarian fintech company Payhawk.io attracted BGN 1 million in funding The Bulgarian fintech start-up Payhawk.io attracted funding of BGN 1 million. The main investor is the Eleven fund, including business angels, among which are the co-founders of Telerik and Telerik Academy Vasil Terziev and Svetozar Georgiev, Nedelcho Spasov and Stanimir Vassilev, who created Easy Asset Management, Perry Blacher, who advises Google and Barclays UK, etc. The round estimates the company at BGN 7 million. Payhawk.io was created six months ago by two former Telerik employees - Hristo Borisov and Boyko Karadzhov, and now has a total of seven employees. The company offers a fintech platform that makes it easier for small and medium-sized companies to manage their budgets. It issues corporate debit cards as well as a software application that collects and reads data from invoices and receipts, thus eliminating the need for cost statements.

Payment services provider Paysera Bulgaria, a franchisee of Lithuanian company Payseta LT, has opened a representative office in Romania. Paysera Bulgaria, which was established in 2016, has expanded its client base to over 15,000 individuals, 2,300 legal entities and 150 traders, company officials said during the conference. In 2018, Paysera Bulgaria conducted over 89,000 transactions worth BGN 540 million in total, which represents a 75% annual increase. Its revenue rose 111% year-on-year in 2018. In 2017, the company posted a net loss of BGN 20,000 on BGN 205,000 revenue. In October 2018, Paysera Bulgaria increased its registered capital to BGN 250,000 from BGN 10,000. Paysera Bulgaria has also opened an outsourcing centre in which it plans to hire 20 developers, two product owners and eight customer support officers.

The chairman of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG) Kiril Domuschiev won the Nova TV auction and the ownership of Net Info. The information was confirmed by a source requesting anonymity. One of the two biggest Bulgarian televisions was sought after by the biggest shareholder in Vivacom Spas Russev, as well. The deal came a little over a month after the current owner, the Swedish MTG, refused to sell Nova TV to Petr Keller, who acquired Telenor's assets in Bulgaria and the region. The refusal came after the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) decided not to allow Kellner to acquire the television with motives that caused comment. According to the regulator, Nova Broadcasting Group AD has a significant market share on the market of television broadcasts and between 40% and 50% of the value-based advertising market. ”The considerable number of mass media available to the united group would have given it a significant advantage over other media service providers," the CPC decision read.

Greece is at risk of not getting some 750 million euros next month that it won under a debt relief deal with the euro zone last year because it has not completed agreed reforms, euro zone officials said. The money is part of about 4.8 billion euros of profits from Greek bonds held by euro zone central banks, to be handed back to Athens by mid-2022 in semi-annual tranches and a waiver of the step-up interest rate margin on part of the euro zone loans. Together, the two measures add up to 750 million every six months. The money was designed as an incentive for Athens to continue with hard-won reforms adopted under its three bailouts since 2010, worth more than 280 billion euros in total. The European Commission will issue a report on Feb. 27 spelling out Greek progress in implementation of the agreed reforms. The conclusion of this report will be key for euro zone finance ministers to decide whether to allow the disbursement. “The report is likely to say that Greece has not completed the agreed reforms,” one euro zone official said.

A coalition of 16 US states led by California has launched legal action against Donald Trump’s administration over his decision to declare a national emergency in order to fund a wall along the Mexico border. The lawsuit was filed on Monday in the US district court for the northern district of California after Trump invoked emergency powers on Friday when Congress declined his request for $5.7bn to help create his signature policy promise. His move aims to let him spend money appropriated by Congress for other purposes. “Today, on Presidents Day, we take President Trump to court to block his misuse of presidential power,” California attorney general Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “We’re suing President Trump to stop him from unilaterally robbing taxpayer funds lawfully set aside by Congress for the people of our states. For most of us, the Office of the Presidency is not a place for theatre,” added Becerra, a Democrat. Three Texas landowners and an environmental group filed the first lawsuit against Trump’s move on Friday, saying it violated the constitution and would infringe on their property rights.

China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has raised its stake in top domestic investment bank China International Capital Corp’s Hong Kong-listed shares to nearly 12 percent, an exchange disclosure showed. The internet giant bought 117 million CICC H-shares - as those listed in Hong Kong are known - at an average price of HK$15.50. That indicates a total investment of HK$1.81 billion ($230.61 million), according to Reuters calculations based on the Hong Kong Exchange disclosure. The investment means Alibaba is now the second-largest stakeholder of CICC’s H-shares, with an 11.74 percent stake. Its arch-rival, social media giant Tencent Holdings, is the largest with a 12.01 percent stake, a separate exchange disclosure shows. China’s powerful tech firms have expanded aggressively into the booming fintech sector by partnering with traditional financial institutions. Counting two of China’s strongest internet firms as its major investors gives CICC more access to their extensive user data and advanced technology as it explores new growth areas. In a statement to Reuters, Alibaba said its investment in CICC will strengthen their longtime partnership.