The Government approved the draft on Amendment and Supplement to the Bank Bankruptcy Act. The proposed bill introduces the provisions of Directive (EU) 2017/2399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 amending Directive 2014/59/EC as regards the recovery of claims on unsecured debt instruments in bankruptcy. Directive (EU) 2017/2399 partially harmonises the hierarchy of creditors in bankruptcy of banks and investment companies. Harmonization refers to the order of claims of holders of unsecured primary debt instruments that are eligible for the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) requirement under Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing a framework for the recovery and restructuring of credit institutions and investment companies and the standard for the general financial loss acceptance of the Financial Stability Board, and in particular the requirement for subordination.

At a regular meeting on February 20, Bulgaria’s Cabinet approved a draft memorandum of understanding on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) between the country’s Economy Ministry and the Romanian Ministry of the Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship. The document provides for the institutions of the two countries to be partners in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, providing real opportunities for expanding the business contacts between the companies from Bulgaria and Romania.

Bulgaria’s Government gave its approval for Spanish energy company Repsol to acquire a 20 per cent stake in the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) rights for the Khan Koubrat 1-14 block on the Bulgarian Black Sea shelf. The Cabinet awarded a five-year exploration licence for the block, renamed in 2017 and known prior to that as the 1-14 Silistar block, to a Dutch-registered subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell in February 2016. The name change, in April 2017, was accompanied by the transfer of the licence to another Shell subsidiary, based in Italy. In December 2018, the Cabinet also approved the transfer of a 30 per cent stake in the E&P rights for Khan Koubrat 1-14 to Australia’s largest oil and gas company, Woodside Energy. Bulgaria’s energy minister Temenouzhka Petkova was given a mandate to sign an annex to the E&P licence contract to reflect the change, with all associated costs to be born by Shell.

Bulgaria's agriculture ministry will set up a 50/50 joint venture with Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) which will support the competitiveness of the Bulgarian agricultural sector. The joint venture will support Bulgarian companies by providing them with access to renowned international organisations, which could help them with drafting a business plan and carrying out the necessary research. The company will also provide for increased business contacts and negotiations between companies from the two countries, which in turn is expected to attract investments to the agricultural sector. As a result, Bulgaria will benefit from an increased export potential, while Saudi Arabia will further strengthen the security of its food supply. The joint venture will be based in Bulgaria and will have a registered capital of BGN 784,000. SALIC is a joint stock company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The Public Investment Fund is a sovereign wealth fund carrying out investments on behalf of Saudi Arabia's government.

The Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) will migrate to the Deutsche Boerse's Xetra T7 trading platform on June 24. In relation to the migration, the exchange will shut down its Client Order-Book Online System (COBOS). The number of clients using COBOS, which was launched in 2003, has been drastically declining, as local investment intermediaries have developed their own platforms. Having in mind the falling client numbers, as well as the resources needed to rewrite the COBOS so it becomes compatible with Xetra T7, the stock exchange operator decided to discontinue its use, as it has already served its purpose. In November 2018, the BSE signed a seven-year deal with the Deutsche Boerse for the right to use the Xetra T7 platform to facilitate trading on its regulated market and the Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF). The platform was selected due to its low operating costs and minor functional differences compared to Xetra Classic, which the BSE uses currently. The BSE has forecasted a rise of around 19% in its expenses for hired services following the migration, as a result of the platform's higher operating costs.

Fintech company Lenno AD, which was a general sponsor of the Investor Finance Forum 2018, successfully raised a new BGN 2 mln to continue to offer new and innovative financial services and solutions. This is the first external investment for the company, and the deal valued it at over BGN 61 mln. Established between Plovdiv and Sofia, Lenno is a financial institution registered for the first time in 2013 with the BNB, which provides mainly alternative to bank mortgage and business loans and financing for traders since 2015. With over BGN 19 million in loans, the company ranks among the leaders in the niche of secure non-bank lending and an absolute innovator in financing for traders in the financial markets. A curious fact is that Lenno is the issuer with the most active bond issues in Bulgaria - ten, totaling EUR 10.7 million, which places the company on 19th place in Bulgaria at the total nominal value of the issued corporate bonds.

Morningside Hill Association will provide risk financing for technology companies with public resources through the state Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria. The manager will have to invest a total of BGN 67 million over the next five years, with the expectation that the resource will be used to support at least 16 companies. A 6.2% minimum rate of return will also be pursued. Competitors in the procedure were a total of four participants, the final being a union of experts from the Black Peak and NEVEQ funds. The venture capital fund will be created with a resource of EUR 24.1 million from the Innovation and Competitiveness program. The manager will have to provide additional funding - through own funds and with the involvement of private co-investors. Morningside customers will be high-tech, innovative small and medium-sized enterprises located in an early stage of development - up to 5 years after their foundation. They will be able to rely on a support of EUR 750,000 to EUR 3.5 million.

The Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and its subsidiaries Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz have announced procedures for the selection of credit institutions to issue bank guarantees in favor of the European Commission (EC) to secure the fine of EUR 77 million imposed at the end of 2018. The penalty of the so-called gas-case filed by the EC following an Overgas complaint for refusal of access to the gas transmission network will not actually be paid until the due date of 19 March 2019. The reason is the intention to appeal as the EC decision itself, which was subject to the fine for abuse of a state gas monopoly and the amount of the sanction. In case of failure, the corresponding interest for the late payment will be charged, with which the final amount due can increase significantly. If in some way Bulgarian state-owned companies manage to rebut the conclusion of the EC, they will only be offset by the costs of issuing and maintaining bank guarantees.

EU supports the energy projects implemented in South Caucasus and interested in supplying Caspian hydrocarbon resources to Europe, as it comprehends diversification of the sources necessary to ensure Europe's energy security. The Southern Gas Corridor is a game changer for the European Union since it will deliver by 2020 for the first time gas coming from the Caspian Sea, the European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Günther Oettinger said in an interview with Trend. "In this sense, the project will open a new supply route and helps the EU to diversify its gas sources in line with the EU Energy Security and Energy Union Strategies," he said. The EU commissioner pointed out that the current capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor can technically still be expanded in future, which would allow the EU to still receive additional gas from the Caspian region. Oettinger further added that he sees the future of energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU very positive. "The Southern Gas Corridor links Azerbaijan and the EU closely together. Azerbaijan and the EU have already agreed on so-called Partnership Priorities.

U.S. oil output from seven major shale formations is expected to rise 84,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March to a record of about 8.4 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report. The largest change is forecast in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, where output is expected to climb by 43,000 bpd to a record 4.024 million bpd in March. A shale revolution has helped boost the United States to the position of world’s biggest crude oil producer, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia. Overall crude production has climbed to a weekly record of 11.9 million bpd. Production increases in the Permian, the biggest oilpatch in the United States, and the Bakken has led overall output increases in the country over the past year. In North Dakota’s Bakken region, shale production is estimated to rise about 13,000 bpd to a record 1.45 million bpd in March. In the Eagle Ford region, output is expected to edge higher by 9,000 bpd to about 1.44 million bpd, which would be the highest monthly output since Jan 2016.

A PetroChina test oil well at a shale field in western China could finally mean a strong commercial potential for shale oil for the first time in the world’s top crude importer, according to Morgan Stanley. PetroChina achieved a daily production rate of 100 tons of oil, or 733 barrels, from the Jimsar oil field in the western Xinjiang province, which suggests that shale drilling could finally have a true commercial potential in China, Bloomberg quoted a Morgan Stanley note as saying. “We believe the Jimsar shale oil discovery is likely to trigger China’s shale oil revolution,” Morgan Stanley analyst Andy Meng wrote in the report. The potential for more drilling would likely increase capex for shale this year and benefit onshore oilfield service companies, the investment bank said. The shale boom in China, however, would be just a fraction of the U.S. shale revolution—Morgan Stanley expects Chinese shale oil production could be 100,000 bpd-200,000 bpd by 2025, which is nothing compared to the millions of barrels of oil pumped in the U.S. every day. According to EIA estimates, the seven key shale regions in the U.S. produced 8.117 million bpd in January, and a 62,000-bpd increase is expected for February.