The Ministry of Economy and the European Investment Fund finished negotiations on the launch of a new investment program with the attraction of additional venture capital from private equity funds investing in Bulgaria. The program has been funded with recycled resource from the implementation of the JEREMIE initiative and from the Fund. The Ministry of Economy through the JEREMIE Holding Fund and the European Investment Fund will mobilize a joint resource of up to EUR 110 million to finance InvestBG Equity investment programme. It is the first of its kind, combining recycled funds from the JEREMIE initiative and funds managed by the Fund for investments in support of Bulgarian companies. The resources of the program are expected to be divided into two directions: support for venture and equity funds investing in Bulgaria - up to EUR 100 million and co-investment, jointly with the venture capital and equity funds investing in Bulgarian companies - up to EUR 10 million (additional EUR 10 million guaranteed private co-investments). The new investment program InvestBG Equity also aims to attract significant private and institutional capital for investments in the expansion and internationalization of companies based in Bulgaria.

Gross domestic product growth of 3.1% on a year-on-year basis, according to the National Statistical Institute, was below expectations due to weak third and fourth quarters of the year. This is stated in the regular monthly economic review of Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) EAD, which commented on the data available in March, focusing on GDP. "On the demand side, the positive dynamics of the economy in 2018 was mainly influenced by the domestic demand, driven by both consumption growth of 6.0% and investment, which grew by 6.5%. In external demand, exports fell by 0.8% annually in 2018, with growth of 5.8% in 2017. On the other hand, the increase in imports also slowed down to 3.7% (7.5% in 2017), and consequently net exports shrank, moving into the negative area, no longer contributing to acceleration but to keeping the growth of GDP," said Emil Kalchev, economic analyst at Raiffeisenbank.

The deal for Nova TV is already a fact after the Commission for Protection of Competition approved the deal. The Swedish company MTG sold the Nova Brookcasting Group to the brothers Kiril and Georgi Domuschievs. MTG has signed an agreement to sell its 95% of Nova Broadcasting Group (Nova) in Bulgaria to Advance Media Group. The whole company is valued at EUR 185 million. Advance Media Group SPJSC is owned by Advance Properties LTD, which owns 117 companies in 23 countries. They operate in more than 10 industries including pharmaceuticals, shipping, port operations, property and energy. The group is owned by Bulgarian businessmen Kiril Domuschiev and Georgi Domuschiev. Nova TV is the largest commercial media group in Bulgaria with 7 channels and an additional online business, which reaches 74% of the Bulgarian population every month. It generated BGN 1.154 billion sales (SEK) and BGN 223 million operating income (EBIT) in 2018, it employs 650 people. MTG entered Bulgaria for the first time in 2007, investing in the Balkan Media Group, acquired Nova in 2008 and merged its business in 2009.

Telecommunications company Telenor Bulgaria, part of Dutch-registered investment group PPF, has received regulatory approval to act as an agent of French insurer Chubb European Group, Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission said. The regulator did not disclose further details in its statement. Telenor Bulgaria generated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of BGN 68 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 on the back of BGN 191 million of revenue during the quarter. PPF Group, through its unit PPF TMT Bidco 1, completed the acquisition of Norwegian mobile operator Telenor's telecommunications assets in Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia and Hungary for EUR 2.8 billion in July 2018. On the Bulgarian mobile segment, Telenor competes with A1 Bulgaria, the local unit of A1 Telekom Austria group, and Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), which operates under the brand name Vivacom.

For the first time in its history, Bulgargaz announces an auction for non-Russia natural gas supplier, Nikolay Pavlov, CEO of the company announced. The auction was announced on March 15th. "There are clearly defined criteria and requirements for participants in the procedure, all are invited to submit their offer," he said after the discussion of new gas prices to be set by the energy regulator on March 28th. The head of Bulgargaz described the competition as "something new and important, which will be in the interest of Bulgarian consumers". Asked why Bulgargaz is launching this auction right now, Pavlov replied that currently there are conditions for purchasing blue fuel at a lower price. The company has asked the regulator for a price increase of about BGN 45 per megawatt hour from April 1. This is an increase of 0.83% and the demand is due to the situation on the international markets.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Thursday that it has extended a risk-sharing facility of up to EUR 75 million to Bulgaria's UniCredit Bulbank in support of local businesses. The EBRD will guarantee up to 65% of each individual sub-loan provided by UniCredit Bulbank to eligible clients. This is the second risk sharing facility launched by the EBRD in Bulgaria. The Risk Sharing Framework (RSF) is one of the three components of the EBRD's Small Business Initiative - a programme dedicated to supporting and developing private companies in the economies where the EBRD invests. The EBRD has invested nearly EUR 3.9 billion in 253 projects in Bulgaria to date. UniCredit Bulbank, a unit of Italy's UniCredit, was Bulgaria's largest lender by assets at the end of January.

Bulgarian construction company Trace Group Hold will merge two of its wholly-owned Serbian subsidiaries - Trace Serbia and Vior Velika Morava. Trace Serbia will absorb Vior Velika Morava, increasing its capital to USD 9.5 million. Trace Group Hold owns a 100% stake in Trace Serbia directly, and controls 100% of Vior Velika Morava through another wholly-owned unit - Trace International. Trace Group Hold's activities include rehabilitation, reconstruction and construction of roads, highways, airports, underground stations and underground railways, ground railroads and facilities, urban infrastructure and road marking.

British retail sales rose slightly in February 2019, with strong growth in non-store retailing and fuel, according to data released Thursday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Figures showed that the quantity bought grew by 0.4 percent in February, compared with the previous month, with a decline of 1.2 percent in food stores. In the three months to February, the purchase volume increased by 0.7 percent, compared with the previous three months, with strong growth in non-store retailing and fuel. In February, purchase volume and online sales increased by 4.0 and 9.4 percent year-on-year, respectively. "Retail sales continued to bounce back in the three months to February with increase in fuel sales and online shopping," said Rhian Murphy, head of retail sales for ONS. British independent economist Julian Jessop tweeted "UK retail sales volumes rose 0.4% m/m in February, against expectations of 0.4% fall (after strong January)." "Consumers continuing to spend, despite Brexit, helped by buoyant labour market and recovery in real incomes," Jessop said.

American whiskey exports slumped in the second half of 2018, taking a blow from higher duties by the country’s trading partners following President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, an industry group said. Canada, China, Mexico and the European Union slapped import duties ranging from 10 percent to 25 percent on U.S whiskey and bourbon last year, resulting in a 11 percent drop in U.S. whiskey exports in the second half, according to a report from the Distilled Spirits Council. For the first six months of 2018, whiskey exports grew 28 percent compared to the same period in 2017, partly helped by companies like Jack Daniels maker Brown-Forman Corp, fast-tracking shipments overseas, especially to Europe, before the tariffs kicked in. Overall for the full-year 2018, whiskey exports rose 5.1 percent to $1.18 billion, a significant drop from the 16 percent rise seen in 2017. Exports to the European Union fell 13.4 percent in the second half of the year, after rising 33 percent during the first six months. The European Union, which imposed a 25 tariff on American whiskey, is the largest market for the liquor, accounting for nearly 60 percent of total exports, according to the Council.

Hong Kong will spend around $80 billion to build one of the world’s biggest artificial islands. Secretary for Development Michael Wong said in a speech Tuesday that around 1,000 hectares of land would be constructed to deal with Hong Kong’s “serious shortage of land supply.” The project’s total cost will be around 624 billion Hong Kong dollars ($79.5 billion), Wong said. The new “land” will be formed near the existing island of Lantau, and will provide up to 260,000 residential units, he added. Seventy percent of the new homes will be public housing. Hong Kong is home to about 7.4 million people. The territory has its own laws and currency, while traditions of transparency, low taxes and light regulation have helped make it a major global financial center. High demand and short supply have driven property prices to “unaffordable” levels in recent years. Although Wong said the new island would help Hong Kong “withstand the increasing pressure of the population,” the plans have faced criticism.