The Bulgarian National Bank is revising its projected inflation forecast in 2019 in its latest issue of quarterly Economic Review. In the March issue, the central bank macroeconomists projected inflation to be 2.6% at the end of this year (measured through the harmonized price index). The chance for the annual inflation rate to increase at the end of this year in the range of 1.1% to 4% is up 60%. For the third time the Bulgarian National Bank revised its inflation expectations, with experts forecasted inflation at 2.2% this year in their earlier estimates. The reason is the rise in international food prices and the services that are rising due to higher labor and consumer demand. Annual inflation, for which international oil and food prices in EUR are significant influence, will weaken slightly at the end of this year, after which it will gradually slow down to 2.1% by the end of 2020.

Bulgaria's government has approved a draft agreement with Greece for establishing a fixed corporate tax regime that will apply to ICGB - the project company developing the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnection The fixed tax regime will apply in Bulgaria and Greece for 25 years from the start of the interconnector's commercial operation. The proposed intergovernmental agreement also concerns avoiding double taxation and other tax-related issues. The agreement must be endorsed by the parliaments of Bulgaria and Greece to enter into force. The construction of the interconnector is expected to begin later on Wednesday. The estimated cost of the project is EUR 240 million. The Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria will connect the Greek gas transmission system in the area of Komotini to the Bulgarian gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora. The project is being implemented by the joint venture company ICGB, in which BEH and Greece-registered IGI Poseidon hold equal shares. Greek public gas corporation DEPA and Italian energy group Edison own 50% each of IGI Poseidon.

The UK's Manchester Airports Group (MAG) said that, as part of its bid for a 35-year concession of Sofia Airport, it is proposing to build a new stadium worth EUR 600 million near Bulgaria's largest airport. MAG submitted an offer in the tender for the 35-year contract to run Sofia Airport earlier this month, in a consortium with China's Beijing Construction Engineering Group. The proposed project is outside the scope of the consortium's main investment offer, which envisages investments of nearly EUR 1.5 million. The construction of the new stadium is part of the consortium's plan to develop the Sofia Airport region by building a stadium, commercial properties, logistics facilities, etc, dubbed Airport City Sofia. The new stadium, which will meet UEFA's requirements for a category 4 stadium, could potentially benefit the country's planned joint bid with Romania, Serbia and Greece for hosting the FIFA World Cup 2030. Earlier this month, Bulgaria's transport ministry said that the MAG-led consortium offered the highest planned investments in Sofia Airport, but also proposed the lowest concession fee - EUR 19.9 million per year. Manchester Airports Group operates three airports in Great Britain - Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands. The combined annual passenger traffic of the three airports totals nearly 60 million.

A company specializing in the production of tanks and pressure storage tanks started the construction of a modern production facility in the Industrial and Logistic Park - Burgas. Citygas Bulgaria will invest BGN 5 million in its new facility, which will produce all sizes of cisterns and tanks, barometers, pellet dryers, pressure vessels with non-standard shape and others. The engineering company will open 50 new jobs in its new production facility. The company relies on state-of-the-art equipment, equipment for technological preparation of materials, test stands, cameras for preparation and laying of any coatings.

Balkan Agrikalcaral will invest EUR 14 million in a warehouse and production facility in Trakia Economic Zone (TEZ) in the area of the village of Kalekovets. This was announced by the mayor of Maritza Municipality Dimitar Ivanov and engineer Plamen Panchev, CEO of TEZ. The investment will take place in two stages. The first is the construction of a logistics center and a specialized warehouse for fresh fruit and vegetables with a total area of 55,000 sq.m. and a built-up area of 1,000 sq.m. The estimated value is EUR 4 million. A processing plant for the production of fruit and vegetable concentrates worth EUR 10 million is the second investment stage. It will be located on 45,000 sq.m., of which 7,000 sq.m. built-up area. The plant will have high-tech Italian equipment and will process vegetables to puree. Balkan Agricultural already has one factory near Pazardzhik. The selection of the plot for the second factory in Kalekovets was made after studying the conditions offered by Trakia Economic Zone and the Maritsa Municipality.

Cosmetics producer Bulgarian Rose said that it pocketed sales of BGN 541,000 in April, exceeding its forecast for BGN 512,000 in monthly revenue. The company's accumulated sales in the first four months of the year amounted to BGN 1.37 million, Bulgarian Rose said. Sales in May are projected at BGN 300,000. Bulgarian Rose generated revenue of BGN 1.30 million in the January-April period of 2018, and a further BGN 413,000 in May. 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.

Telecommunications company Telenor Bulgaria, a unit of Czech-owned PPF Group, said that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by an annual 19% to BGN 89 million in the first quarter of 2019. Telenor Bulgaria's total revenue increased by 5.4% year-on-year to BGN 179 million in the first three months of 2019. Average revenue per user (ARPU) grew 8.4% to BGN 15.0 in the January-March period. Sales of high-end smartphones also positively affected the company's total revenue. Telenor Bulgaria's clients decreased slightly during the review period, and numbered 3.04 million at the end of March. On the Bulgarian mobile segment, the company competes with A1 Bulgaria, the local unit of Telekom Austria and Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), which operates under the brand name Vivacom.

Having banned unfair trading practices and improved producer cooperation, the Commission is presenting the third element to improve fairness in the food supply chain by introducing greater transparency in the way prices are reported throughout the chain. The European Commission today tabled a proposal that will make available crucial information on how prices are determined as agri-food products move along the food supply chain. Buying and selling price differences can provide information about intermediary costs (such as transport, insurance, storage, etc.) between seller and buyer. Greater transparency can support better business decisions and improve trust in fair dealing between the stages in the food supply chain. Having access to timely and easily accessible information about market developments is also key to compete effectively in global markets. While there is a large amount of information available about developments in agricultural markets (prices, volumes of production, stocks, etc.), there is almost no market information about other key markets in the agri-food supply chain, namely those that operate between farmers and consumers at the food processing and the retail level.

The Brazilian owner of the Body Shop has agreed to buy Avon Products in a deal that values the US cosmetics company at more than $2bn. Natura Cosméticos was expected to announce the takeover as early as Wednesday, the Financial Times reported. After the deal, Natura would control more than three-quarters of the combined group. The remaining shares would be owned by Avon shareholders. Avon, founded in 1886 and known for its doorstep-selling model, has its headquarters in London but is listed in New York with a market value of about $1.4bn. In January, the company announced plans to cut about 2,300 jobs – or 10% of its global workforce – as it sought to find cost savings of almost $100m. The company has struggled to keep pace with changing consumer tastes and habits and competition from rivals that have capitalised on the growth in online beauty sales. Both boards have agreed to the all-share deal after months of talks. Avon would give São Paulo-based Natura Cosméticos a bigger share of the market in Brazil and other Latin American countries, as well as in Europe and Asia.

China is cutting taxes on its fledgling software and integrated circuit industries as U.S. export controls threaten to handicap Chinese tech companies. The Finance Ministry's announcement Wednesday comes amid a spiraling tariff war with Washington over Chinese technology ambitions. Most smartphones, tablet computers and other electronics are assembled in China. But its manufacturers usually use U.S., Japanese or Taiwanese microchips and other components. Beijing is developing its own suppliers to capture more of the industry's profits and reduce what the ruling Communist Party sees as a security risk in relying on foreign vendors. Integrated circuits, or microchips, are among technologies China has targeted for state-led development in official plans that helped to ignite Beijing's tariff battle with President Donald Trump. The United States, Europe, Japan and other trading partners say those plans violate China's market-opening obligations. Chinese officials have offered to alter details but are unlikely to abandon a strategy they consider a path to prosperity and global influence. Under the new measure, software and integrated circuit companies founded by the end of 2018 will owe no income tax for two years and the rate will be cut by half for three years after that, the Finance Ministry said.