Business Industry Capital
Bulgaria
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BNB Exchange Rates
(13.05.2019) |
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EUR |
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1.95583 |
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GBP |
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2.26763 |
USD |
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1.74161 |
CHF |
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1.71896 |
EUR/USD |
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1.1230* |
ECB exchange rate |
Basic Interest Rate |
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as of 01.05 |
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0 % |
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Financial news |
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Industrial production declined by 0.9% in March compared with February, but increased 2.8% compared to March 2018, preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI) show. A decrease compared to the previous month was registered in the mining and quarrying industry by 10.9%, and in the manufacturing by 1.2%; an increase of 1% in the energy sector. A more significant monthly decline was reported in the repair and installation of machinery and equipment - by 12.2%, manufacture of metal products, except machinery and equipment - by 11.8%, manufacture of computer and communication equipment, electronic and optical products - by 7.1%. A more significant increase was registered in the manufacture of tobacco products by 12.5%, manufacture of apparel and manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products - by 2.8% each. The annual growth was due to the increased production in manufacturing - by 5.5%, and mining and quarrying - by 2%, while in the energy sector there was a decrease of 7.6%.
According to preliminary seasonal data of the National Statistical Institute in March, the turnover in "Retail trade, except in motor vehicles and motorcycles" increased by 0.3 per cent at comparable prices compared to the previous month. In March 2019, the turnover in retail trade, calculated on the basis of calendar data, increased by 0.6 per cent compared to the same month of the previous year. In March 2019 there was a more significant growth of turnover compared to the previous month in the retail trade with computers and communication equipment - by 3.2% and in the retail trade of textiles, apparel, footwear and leather goods - by 2.7%. A more significant decrease was recorded in the retail trade in household appliances, furniture and other household goods by 3%. Source: Monitor
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Companies |
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The Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) allowed Postbank to acquire Piraeus Bank Bulgaria, which has overcome the last obstacle towards the creation of the fourth largest player in the banking market in Bulgaria. The EUR 75 million deal was negotiated in November last year but was awaiting regulatory approvals. Thus the expectation is that the transaction will be finalized by the middle of the year, which will lead to a merger of the two institutions. The decision of the antitrust authority was taken after examining the market positions that the future merged bank would have on the market as well as the views of stakeholders. The CPC established that after the transaction and the implementation of the plan for merging Piraeus into Postbank, the new structure would rank fourth in assets and have a 10% market share. In the retail banking in citizen and household deposits segment, the merger will place the new lender fourth with a market share of 11.5%, in the housing and mortgage loans segment - third with 17.9% market share, in consumer loans - fifth with 9% market share, in corporate loans egment - fourth with 11.2% market share. Source: Capital
Experian Bulgaria, a unit of Irish-based global IT services provider Experian, has invested over USD 4 million in relocation to a new office under a five-year lease, aiming to improve its operational performance. The new office, spreading on an area of 11,600 sq. m., is located in the Space Tower building close to Sofia Airport. Some 1000 employees of Experian Bulgaria are already working there. More than 20% of Experian's analytical capacity is based in its Bulgarian office. Experian provides analytical services and risk management solutions. It entered Bulgaria in 2004 and opened a research and development centre in Sofia in 2008. The company has offices in 37 countries and employs more than 16,000 people. Source: Capital
Milestone System software company extends its business. Part of its expansion includes the opening of a new office in Sofia. There are 150 employees in the new office, including part of the company's development team. According to Chief Financial Officer Lars Larsen, this step is being made at the right time after Milestone Systems announced its satisfactory financial results for 2018. The platform for network video surveillance software is planned to increase its capacity by 45 percent by the end of 2019, expecting its team in Sofia to contribute to this goal. The company has a plan to develop solutions in six key innovation areas. Investments for these purposes are distributed in Sofia, Copenhagen and Barcelona. Milestone Systems has offices in 22 countries. Milestone Systems, founded in 1998 as part of the Canon group, is a company specializing in the development of video surveillance software.
Bulgarian ethanol producer Almagest is planning to carry out an initial public offering of preference shares, the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) said. The financial regulator has asked Almagest to provide further information and documents regarding its request for approval of an IPO prospectus. The regulator did not provide further details. Almagest narrowed its net loss to BGN 3.1 million in 2017 from BGN 4.7 million in 2016. Sales revenue fell to BGN 48.3 million in 2017 from BGN 54.5 million the year before. The company's registered capital amounts to BGN 35.35 million, divided into 441,866 shares of BGN 80 in par value each. Almagest, established in 2007, operates an ethanol production plant near Sofia with an annual output capacity of 30 million litres of ethanol and 24,000 tonnes of distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) - a byproduct of the distillation process, which serves as animal feed. Source: investor.bg
Bulgarian Rose expects higher revenue from sale of cosmetic products in the second quarter of the year and a drop in tobacco sauces and flavors sales. The company's sales revenue fell to BGN 829,000 in the first three months of the year from BGN 854,000 in the comparable period of 2018. The company’s tobacco sauces and flavors sales will be negatively impacted by Blagoevgrad-BT’s decision to discontinue its operations. Blagoevgrad-BT, which operates a cigarette factory in Blagoevgrad, is a unit of diversified group Bulgartabac Holding, which sold its leading cigarette brands to British American Tobacco in 2017 in a deal worth more than EUR 100 million. Karlovo-based Bulgarian Rose, established in 1948, manufactures cosmetic products for face, body, and hair using rose oil and locally-grown herbs. Bulgarian Rose, part of blue-chip industrial group Stara Planina Hold, has stores in nine cities across Bulgaria.
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Bulgarian Industrial Association
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World
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Europe |
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UK economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of this year, driven by the highest quarterly pick-up in manufacturing since the 1980s as the original Brexit deadline loomed. Companies rushing to be ready for March 29 by completing orders and stockpiling parts helped gross domestic product (GDP) growth rose to 0.5 per cent between January and March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This compares to 0.2 per cent growth in the previous quarter, when car manufacturing declined at its steepest rate in just under a decade. In comparison with the same quarter a year ago, GDP was up 1.8 per cent. Production output increased by 1.4 per cent in the quarter. This was boosted by a 2.2 per cent rise in manufacturing, the industry's highest output since the third quarter of 1988. The ONS noted that many manufacturers had delivered orders early, indicating a rush of activity as companies cleared out the order books in advance of the March 29 Brexit deadline. Inventories were also a contributing factor, as some businesses stockpiled parts due to concerns over supply disruption if the UK crashed out of the EU without a deal. The rate at which inventories increased was the highest for any G7 country, the ONS said.
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America |
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Uber Technologies Inc. raised $8.1 billion in its initial public offering after pricing shares near the bottom of their marketed range. The ride-hailing company sold 180 million shares for $45 each, according to a statement Thursday. It had marketed them for $44 to $50 apiece. Based on the amount of stock outstanding after the offering, the IPO price gives San Francisco-based Uber a market value of $75.5 billion, just below its last private market value of $76 billion. The fully diluted value, including restricted stock units and other shares, could be about $82 billion. Uber has prioritized selecting shareholders -- particularly institutional investors -- that it thinks will hold on to the stock for a long time, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company is hoping to avoid the tumultuous first weeks of trading in rival Lyft Inc., whose shares fell below its $72 IPO price within days of listing and closed 23 percent below that price Thursday.
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Asia |
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Chinese exporters of all sorts of products, from power adapters and computers to vacuum cleaners, are anxiously hoping trade talks in Washington this week will yield a deal that might stave off higher U.S. tariffs on imports from China. Companies across China are bracing for a tariff hike on Friday after President Donald Trump, complaining Beijing was backtracking and the talks on a festering trade dispute were taking too long, said he would raise import duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%. Amber Chen, sales manager for a vacuum cleaner manufacturer based in southern China, says her company has $100 million in exports to the U.S. at stake. The trade dispute erupted last summer with the first round of U.S. tariff increases. It deepened with Trump’s announcement via Twitter on Sunday that he plans to raise tariffs and have them cover all products imported from China, as of Friday. Source: Market Watch
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Indexes of Stock Exchanges 10.05.2019 |
Dow Jones Industrial |
25 942.37 |
(114.01) |
Nasdaq Composite |
7 916.94 |
(6.35) |
Commodity exchanges 10.05.2019 |
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Commodity |
Price |
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Light crude ($US/bbl.) | 61.61 |
Heating oil ($US/gal.) | 2.0600 |
Natural gas ($US/mmbtu) | 2.6200 |
Unleaded gas ($US/gal.) | 1.9900 |
Gold ($US/Troy Oz.) | 1 284.50 |
Silver ($US/Troy Oz.) | 14.70 |
Platinum ($US/Troy Oz.) | 854.70 |
Hogs (cents/lb.) | 90.75 |
Live cattle (cents/lb.) | 108.90 |
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Archive Business Industry Capital |