The National Assembly adopted amendments to the Law on Energy, related to the provision of bigger quantities of electricity to the stock exchange. The idea is to avoid price amplitudes. Starting July the energy exchange will include the small green power plants with power from 1 to 4 megawatts. Thus a part of the electricity will move from the regulated to the free market. "The watchdog will decide how to provide for the regulated market the quantity that is now transferred to the free market. Options include Kozloduy NPP, the U.S.-operated TPPs or another producer," explained Valentin Nikolov, chairman of the Parliament's Energy Committee. In addition, the import and export of electricity is planned to be eased, which will be done by abolishing the fees for this kind of trade. At the same time, industrial users will be able to use smart meters for real-time reporting. Smart devices would be deployed step by step. ERPs have been introducing such devices for household customers for years.

All state-owned enterprises will be managed by a new mega- agency. It will be called Public Enterprises and Investments Agency and will be formed by changing the name of the Agency for Privatization and Post-Privatization Control and merger with InvestBulgaria Agency. The move is described in a new Public Enterprises Act, which was put to public discussion. Improving the management of state-owned enterprises is part of Bulgarian government's commitment to enter the euro-waiting room. Initially, companies with over 50% state ownership will be run by relevant ministers, as is the case with previous practice. But the idea is for the Council of Ministers to gradually transfer the management of state-owned companies to the new Public Enterprises and Investments Agency in the future. The new Act will eliminate the current so-called ‘privatization prohibition list’, as all companies of over 50% state ownership would be privatized only after a parliamentary decision.

In 2019 Nestle will increase its annual investment in Bulgaria over 2.5 times. Normally, the company invests about BGN 5 million each year, but this year it will invest about BGN 13 million, the executive director of Nestle Bulgaria announced. The world food giant has 1,074 workers in Bulgaria, producing about 1,000 different products, 40% of the production is for export, last year's turnover is BGN 258 million and BGN the profit was 23.7 million. The output of the Bulgarian branch is exported to 35 countries, mostly in Europe. Investments this year will be directed in new areas for molding and packaging and replacing old equipment.

Bulgarian pesticides producer Agria is seeking anti-trust approval to acquire local pesticides wholesaler Campo 2007, the Commission for Protection of Competition announced. The deal is expected to affect the local pesticides market, a notice published on the regulator's website reads. In addition, Agria intends to acquire Lichtenstein-based Zenith Crop Sciences. Agria generated consolidated revenue of BGN 109.9 million in 2017 and closed the year with a net profit of BGN 15.1 million, according to its most recent annual financial statement. Campo 2007 booked revenue of BGN 10.3 million and a net profit of BGN 352,000 in 2017. The company is 50/50 owned by local companies MMS-99 and Ambus.

One of the leading suppliers of fodder and food additives Christa opened a new high-tech production of animal premixes in the city of Stara Zagora. The newly opened production line features modern and functional equipment and blending technology. Part of this is a highly sophisticated process control system and automation software. Bar code control is applied at all stages of production, ensuring full traceability. The process is closed with semiautomatic high precision packing equipment. Strict operating procedures and quality standards ensure the avoidance of human error. The official presentation in Stara Zagora was attended by customers - owners and top managers of companies that are industrially breeding animals in Bulgaria, officials from the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BNSA), partners and representatives of raw material suppliers from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Greece, England.

The team of the Bulgarian Starter Center (Centroida) is being acquired by the company for professional technology services, software engineering and digital transformation SсаlеFосus. Сеntrоіdа specializes in block technology, cloud technologies, artificial intelligence and machine training and has been named "Technological Start-up of the Year". At the end of 2018 SсаlеFосus acquired the Bulgarian company Uрnеtіх. Uрnеtіх is one of the 50 agencies in the world certified to develop Gооglе, focusing on digital transformation and sustainable web and mobile software solutions. Following successful integration of Uрnеtіх, SсаlеFосus continues to seek consolidation in the software industry to continue to exceed customer expectations in implementing the latest technology and best practices in the IT industry. SсаlеFосus is a European, high-tech company to deliver sustainable IT solutions. The company focuses on the delivery and integration of state-of-the-art, innovative technology solutions in Dіgіtаl, Dаtа и Сlоud services. Сеntrоіdа is a Bulgarian start-up set up in 2016.

Italy's UniCredit Group said that its consolidated profit from operations in Bulgaria rose by an annual 4.6% to EUR 31 million in the first quarter of 2019. UniCredit Group's operating income in Bulgaria also increased by 4.6% year-on-year to EUR 122 million in the first three months of 2019. Net interest income edged down 1.7% to EUR 70 million, while net fee and commission income added 8.0% to EUR 32 million. The group's operating costs in Bulgaria grew 3.2% to EUR 37 million, as payroll costs increased 8.1% to EUR 20 million. Other administrative expenses fell 1.3% to EUR 13 million. Customer loans increased by an annual 8.5%, while customer deposits added 6.7%. UniCredit operated 151 branches at the end of March, down from 156 a year earlier. UniCredit Bulbank was Bulgaria's largest lender by assets at the end of March.

Germany has opened its first-ever section of "eHighway," which allows hybrid cargo trucks to charge their batteries while they are on the move. On Tuesday, the German government introduced the technology on a 6-mile-long stretch of Autobahn near the city of Frankfurt. It uses 670-volt direct-current overhead cables that let electric trucks draw power and recharge their batteries on the go. The program, called Elisa (electrified innovative heavy traffic on the Autobahn), is an environment-ministry-sponsored project involving the electronics giant Siemens and authorities from the state of Hesse, where it is taking place. The trucks — which have conductor rods called pantographs added to the top of the cabin — must be going less than 56 mph to successfully make a connection. When they're connected, they run on electricity alone. When they rejoin the normal highway, they switch back to their hybrid engines. Siemens said the technology would save a 40-ton truck 20,000 euros in fuel costs over 100,000 km. It also said that if a driver swerved to the left or right while connected to the cables, it would not detach.

The U.S. goods and services deficit with its global trading partners widened slightly in March as demand for foreign goods buoyed imports, according to a government report published Thursday. The trade deficit rose 1.5% from February to a seasonally adjusted $50 billion in March, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expected the U.S. trade deficit in March to fall to $50.2 billion from a revised $49.3 billion in February. Though the trade deficit widened in March, it remains below the recent December high. The trade gap ballooned to $59.9 billion at the end of 2018, which was the largest gap in 10 years. On a year-to-date basis, the goods and services deficit decreased $5.8 billion, or 3.7%, from the same period in 2018; on a month-over-month basis, imports rose 1.1% to $261.97 billion, the Commerce Department said. Much of the bump in U.S. imports came from energy and crude purchases, which rose by about $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, a 39% surge in soybean exports in March helped drive American exports up 1%.

China's online retail giant Alibaba is reportedly revamping its business model for the purpose of competing with American rival Amazon in global markets. To achieve its goal, the company will implement reforms on its AliExpress website. The Chinese e-commerce behemoth has started allowing foreign retailers to become sellers on AliExpress. In particular, the firm has provided website seller registration for Russian, Turkish, Spanish, and Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The decision was made as part of Alibaba's efforts in expanding its reach and access permissions to globally competitive sellers whose products are reliable but need a bigger platform to grow their businesses. Last year, AliExpress recorded a 94 percent increase in sales. The massive development led its parent company to develop new schemes for both AliExpress and its Southeast Asian arm, Lazada. While the Chinese tech giant did not give exact numbers as to how many overseas businesses registered for AliExpress selling, Alibaba said a "good foundation" of entrepreneurs have joined the seller interface.