Labor costs of companies in Bulgaria continue to grow in the fourth quarter of 2018, Eurostat reports. Growth slows considerably - while annual growth was 8.9% between July and September, wage costs grew by only 5.1% in the last months of the year, which is the weakest pace since the third quarter of 2013. Thus Bulgaria is ranked 10th in the EU, and Romania is the leader with 13.1%, followed by Latvia by 11.8% and Portugal by 10.3%. Catching-up countries in Central and Eastern Europe are predictably leading the EU in terms of labor cost growth and remain well above average levels - 2.8% in the EU and 2.3% in the eurozone. In many of these countries, including Bulgaria, the driver of the increase is the higher minimum wages and salaries in the budget sector as well as the staff shortage. In the fourth quarter of 2018 data on labor costs in Bulgaria followed those for the average wages, with the largest growth being driven by those working in the information and communication technologies sector - 11.6% on an annual basis.

The insurance sector in Bulgaria reported record profits and premium income amid numerous scandals and imposed sanctions. The profit of non-life insurance companies jumped by nearly 50% and reached a record BGN 91 million in 2018. This shows the preliminary data on the state of the insurance market as of December 31, 2018, published by the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC). In the non-life insurance segment, premium income was also recorded. For the first time, the barrier of BGN 2 billion was broken, which compared to the previous 2017 is a growth of 20%. Compensation benefits paid in the past year amounted to BGN 1 billion, compared to BGN 846 million a year earlier. Crucial merit for good financial performance in non-life insurance is the drastic appreciation of mandatory Civil Liability last year. The most widely-spread insurance hiked from an average of BGN 220 to BGN 330 in just a few months. FSC data show that 70% of gross premiums written in non-life insurance are formed by car insurance, which includes Casco.

The acquisition of one the world-class ski and sports manufacturers Amer Sports is now officially approved. The buyer is the announced a few months ago Chinese consortium, Mascot Bidco, in which Anta Sports Products has a leading rolwe. The consortium of Anta Sports made an offer to the shareholders of the Finnish producer Amer Sports for a value of EUR 4.7 billion at the end of last year. So far, the assets of Amer Sports, which has dozens of factories in Europe, including a large Bulgarian production unit in Chepelare, were on the stock exchange and held by a number of shareholders. The Chinese consortium will acquire the largest 24% share in ski production in the world, which is currently held by Amer Sports. In addition, Anta Sports Products Limited, which owns 58% of the consortium, includes the FountainVest Partners, Canadian Anamered Investments and Chinese Tencent. Amer Sports entered Bulgaria in 2008 through the company Amers Sports Bulgaria by purchasing the old factory in Chepelare and undergoing its complete modernization and reconstruction. The factory in Chepelare, which employs over 700 workers, will continue to produce ski equipment.

Bulgarian diversified group Synergon Holding is seeking regulatory approval to acquire liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) retailer V-Gas Bulgaria. The transaction is expected to affect the LPG market segment. No further details were disclosed. V-Gas Bulgaria is a wholly-owned subsidiary of local Erast. Erast was the second-largest shareholder in Synergon Holding at the end of 2018, with a stake of 7.26%. V-Gas Bulgaria generated sales revenue of BGN 97.9 million in 2017, up from BGN 73.9 million the year before. The company ended 2017 with a net profit of BGN 753,000, which compares to BGN 305,000 in 2016. Synergon Holding was set up in 1996 as a privatisation fund under Bulgaria's voucher privatisation programme. The fund was transformed into a holding structure the following year. It has more than 25 subsidiaries and affiliated companies operating in various sectors of the Bulgarian economy.

Bulgarian diversified group Synthetica has received payment in full from local Transpekt for its stake in Union Ivkoni. On March 15, Transpekt completed all provisions of the final purchase agreement, signed in February, and thus the deal was finalised. Synthetica's decision to sell its stake in Union Ivkoni was prompted by the company's intention to focus on real estate investments with higher profitability. Transpekt became the sole owner of Union Ivkoni last month. On January 30, Transpekt completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in Union Ivkoni from Synthetica, followed by the purchase of the remaining 49% minority interest from private investor in February. Transpekt financed the deal through two loans from state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank with a total face value of EUR 41.1 million. Transpekt pledged its take in Union Ivkoni as collateral. In October last year, Transpekt received approval from Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition to acquire local bus companies Union Ivkoni and Grup Plus. Transpekt has a registered capital of BGN 50,000.

Green innovations in the brewing sector in Bulgaria help to improve the sustainable development and eco-footprint of the industry. Thanks to the modernization of breweries in the country, for the past 20 years the average water consumption for the production of hectoliter (100 liters) of finished beer has decreased by almost 5 times, from 15 to 20 hectoliters of 3 - 5 hectoliters / 1 hectoliter of beer. As an extremely valuable resource, optimizing the use of water and energy is a leading pride for every beer maker. Compared to 2014, brewers, members of the Brewers Union in Bulgaria, reported a reduction in water use of 4-6% on average, with the aim of becoming more and more sustainable. Data show that for the last 4 years the average electricity consumption for the production of 1 hectoliter of beer also decreased by 8%. At the same time, large breweries are striving for 100% biological treatment of wastewater and generally introduce the so-called "Circular economy" with innovative "green" solutions.

CEZ has begun negotiations with a third candidate to acquire its Bulgarian assets. This was confirmed by the headquarters of the company in Prague. The news was announced by CEZ Vice President Tomas Pleskac. However, the management refuses to name the candidate. He is expected to make a specific offer in April, when the other candidate India Power will do so. Last year CEZ signed a contract with the Bulgarian company Inerkom, but the deal was not finalized due to the refusal of the Bulgarian anti-monopoly authority to give permission. "At the moment we have one signed contract and two candidates. We'll find out what's waiting for us in the coming weeks and months. We will then be able to appreciate the other two offers, which, I suppose, we will receive. According to their content, we will decide or we will continue with one of these two candidates in an exclusive phase to sign a new contract. That would mean excluding the old candidates," Pleskac added. He added, however, that Inerkom is still in the game, but the company must overcome the refusal of the watchdog for the acquisition of CEZ Bulgaria.

The Council today adopted rules aimed at preventing European political parties from misusing personal data in EP elections. The new rules take the form of amendments to the 2014 regulation governing the statute and funding of European political parties and foundations. They will allow for financial sanctions to be imposed on European political parties and foundations that deliberately influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of EP elections by taking advantage of breaches of data protection rules. A verification procedure will be put in place for determining whether a breach of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, established by a national supervisory authority, is linked to the political activities of a European political party or foundation in the context of EP elections. It involves referring the matter to the committee of independent eminent persons established under the 2014 regulation. The sanctions are imposed by the Authority for European Political Parties and Foundations after receiving an opinion from that committee. They would amount to 5% of the annual budget of the European party or foundation concerned.

Foxconn Technology Group Ltd said it will complete work on a new factory in Wisconsin to assemble liquid crystal display screens and start production before the end of next year. Foxconn said the next phases of factory construction will begin by this summer “and the facility will begin production in the 4th quarter of 2020.” Foxconn initially planned to manufacture advanced large-screen displays for TVs and other consumer and professional products at the Wisconsin plant. It later said it would build smaller Generation 6 LCD screens instead. The initial Gen6 facility will manufacture screens for education, medical and healthcare, entertainment and sports, security, and smart cities products, Foxconn said Monday. In February, Foxconn reiterated it would still build a factory in Wisconsin after the company’s chairman spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump, following a Reuters report the Taiwanese company was reconsidering its plans. Reuters reported in January that Foxconn was reconsidering making LCD panels at a planned $10 billion Wisconsin campus and instead intended to hire mostly engineers and researchers there.

China’s top legislature passed a highly anticipated new foreign investment law, paving the way for an overhaul of the country’s regulatory system for foreign investment that would offer investors greater access and better protection. The 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) voted to adopt the draft foreign investment law, in one of the most important legislative achievements from this year’s NPC annual session, which concluded on March 15. Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a presidential decree to promulgate the law. The new law would replace three existing laws on various types of foreign investment and become the first unified legal standard for foreign investment activities in the country. The law enjoyed overwhelming support at the NPC, with 2,929 deputies voting for the passage of the law, eight against and eight abstentions. The law will come into effect on 1 January 2020.