Bulgaria's gross external debt totalled EUR 33,740.3 million at the end of March 2019, the Bulgarian National Bank said. Year on year, the gross external debt grew by EUR 100.9 million (0.3%). Long-term liabilities totalled EUR 25,328 million (75.1% of the total debt, 42.8% of GDP) at end-March 2019. Year on year, long-term liabilities decreased by EUR 326.6 million (1.3%). Short-term liabilities stood at EUR 8,412.3 million (24.9% of the total debt, 14.2% of GDP). Year on year, they grew by EUR 427.5 million (5.4%). The General Government's gross external debt totalled EUR 5,439.4 million (9.2% of GDP) in end-March 2019. Year on year, it decreased by EUR 204 million (3.6%), the central bank said.

High-tech companies can get between BGN 1.5 and 7 million thanks to a contract signed between the Fund of Funds manager and the Venture Capital Fund. The goal is to help companies with a pronounced risk profile who need substantial funding to consolidate and grow. The total funding budget is BGN 67 million, of which over 47 million are public funds. The sectors in which investments are planned are in the production of goods using new technologies, software, hardware, e-commerce, as well as products not yet present on the domestic market. The fund manager is expected to begin work in the summer market. Currently, the Fund of Funds manages the funds of BGN 1.2 billion under four operational programs and financially supports business and public institutions with the management of financial instruments.

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Pernik, part of the Swedish group Trelleborg, will double the production of silicone products this year with the new workshop in the city. The investment in the project is over BGN 4 million and is completed for a year. Due to the growing demand for silicone products worldwide, the company is already preparing for its next expansion by buying an additional plot in close proximity. The new workshop will add 1200 sq m of production and warehouse space to the existing plant, bringing production capacity double by the end of 2018. This investment will create 60 new jobs over the current 160, said the manager of the company. The turnover of the company for 2018 is about BGN 12 million, which is a 20% increase compared to 2017 when there was also such an increase. Over 90% of the output is for export, mainly in Western Europe, but also in China. In Bulgaria, the company delivers products only to Ideal Standard - Vidima. The plant in Pernik, formerly called Silkoltech, was created by a Swiss family business. In 2011 Trelleborg bought 50% of it, and from 2015 is the sole owner. Apart from this, the group also has a trading company - Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Bulgaria, which is based in Sofia. Trelleborg operates in five main areas, offering industrial solutions based on polymers for sealing, insulating and protecting critical applications. The Group has 120 manufacturing companies in 51 countries and over 24,000 employees. Its turnover for 2018 is EUR 3.2 billion.

State-owned enterprises and commercial companies with state-owned capital must contribute 50% of their profits for the financial 2018 in favor of the state. For the Bulgarian Development Bank the percentage is 80%, the Council of Ministers has decided. This is done in accordance with the parameters laid down in the State Budget Act for 2019. The deadline for submission of the deductions and the dividends for the state is June 7, and for the companies that draw up the annual financial report under Art. 31, para. 1 of the Accountancy Act, it is July 15. Hospitals are excluded from the scope of the order, taking into account their specificity and their exclusive dependence on a limited number of sources of funding. State Consolidation Company EAD also remains outside the range of obligated companies in view of the specific nature of the company's activity, as well as the water supply and sewerage companies due to the fulfillment of preliminary conditions in the water sector for utilization of European funds for the 2014-2020 programming period.

Bulgaria's Doverie United Holding said that its unit Doverie-Invest has published a buyout bid for the remaining 1,770,906 shares in Moldova's Moldindconbank it does not own yet priced at RON 240.74 (EUR 50.6) per share. The minority shareholders of Moldindconbank have 14 days to accept the offer, Doverie United Holding said in a filing to the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. In March, Doverie-Invest completed the purchase of a 63.8865% stake in Moldindconbank (MICB) after winning a public tender launched at a starting price of BGN 76.6 million for a total of 3,173,751 shares. In accordance with Moldovan legislation, Doverie-Invest was obliged to make the offer to buy the remaining shares in MICB within 90 days of signing the contract for the acquisition of the majority stake. Until then Doverie-Invest is able to vote with no more than 25% of all shares it holds in MICB. MICB is currently under the temporary administration of Moldova's central bank, BNM, for six months as of April 20.

Bulgaria's Kaufland Service IT Hub, the IT solutions provider of Schwarz Group's unit Kaufland Bulgaria, has opened its second IT office in the country. In relation to the new opening in Sofia the company plans to double the number of employees by the end of 2020, who at the moment total 110. Kaufland Service IT Hub is part of tech company Schwarz IT that creates IT solutions for Germany-based Schwarz Group through a network of hubs which support over 11,500 supermarkets of the Kaufland retail store chain. The company's first IT office in Sofia has been operational for almost three years now. It is the biggest hub of Schwarz IT and Kaufland Service IT Hub so far.

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company Bulgaria has decreased its registered capital to BGN 1.08 million from BGN 18.42 million. Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria carried out a reverse stock split, merging 17 existing shares of BGN 1 in par value each into 1 new share of nominal value of BGN 17. In order to complete the reverse stock split, the company increased its capital by BGN 4 in February, so the existing number of shares becomes an exact multiple of 17. Then, the 18,419,398 existing shares were merged into 1,083,494 new shares. Subsequently, the company reduced the nominal value of the new shares from BGN 17 to BGN 1, effectively decreasing its capital to BGN 1.08 million from BGN 18.42 million. The decision was unanimously approved by the company's shareholders at an extraordinary meeting held on January 25. Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company Bulgaria is part of Swiss-based holding Coca-Cola HBC AG. Coca-Cola HBC is a leading bottler of the Coca-Cola company. In Southeast Europe, the company operates in Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro.

Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), which operates under the Vivacom brand name, said that its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by an annual 12.8% to BGN 359.8 million in 2018. BTC's total revenue increased by 6.6% to BGN 948 million last year. In the first quarter of 2019, BTC's adjusted EBITDA grew by 30.5% year-on-year to BGN 112.5 million, while total revenue added 5.5% to BGN 235.2 million. The group's customers on the mobile segment dropped 2% on the year to 3.07 million at the end of 2018. IPTV clients increased 4.7% to 468,000. On the Bulgarian mobile telecoms market the company competes with А1 Bulgaria, part of Telecom Austria and Telenor Bulgaria, a unit of Czech-controlled PPF Group.

The European Commission recommended opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia, saying they had “embraced the opportunity and delivered on reforms”. But this will need to be approved by the member states. “In light of the significant progress achieved and the relevant conditions being met, the Commission recommended today that the Council now opens accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia,” the EU executive said in its annual progress report on enlargement. The report deals with six Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) and Turkey. On the whole, the Commission said the Western Balkan countries “have made concrete progress and demonstrated commitment to the European perspective, even if the overall uptake of reforms varies”. Speaking to the press, foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini commended in particular North Macedonia for having solved its long-standing “name issue” with Greece and resolved all problems with all neighbours, and Albania, for its justice reform under which judges are vetted.

Venezuela ended 2018 with 130,060% inflation, while the economy contracted 47.6% between 2013 and 2018, the central bank said on Tuesday in the first such figures it has released in three years. The data found inflation reached 274.4% in 2016, 862.6% in 2017 and 130,060% in 2018 — figures 10 times smaller than International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates of 1,370,000% for last year. The IMF projects 10,000,000% inflation for the oil-rich country in 2019. The Central Bank of Venezuela also reported that oil exports — which account for 96% of the country’s revenue — plummeted to $29.8bn in 2018, down from $85.6bn in 2013 and $71.7bn in 2014, when oil prices collapsed and the country’s political and economic crisis began. Oil prices have since rebounded, starting in 2016, but Venezuela’s drop in production prevented a return to previous revenue levels — the country was producing 1.03-million barrels of oil a day in April versus the 3.2-million it produced a decade ago. The central bank had stopped providing officials figures three years ago without giving an official reason, though it had already been holding back the amount of economic information it reported.

Chinese tech giants Huawei and Tencent have inked an agreement to seek deep cooperation on streaming service during the ongoing 7th China Internet Audio & Video Convention held in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan Province. According to the deal, the two sides will achieve interworking accounts, collaborative operations and shared technologies on their video platforms. Huawei device users, using the Huawei Video app, can have a smoother experience of HD and quality streaming from Tencent Video app. Huawei Video will share with Tencent Video its AI enhancement and high-performance audio and video technologies to strengthen acoustic and visual effects. Sun Zhonghuai, CEO of Penguin Pictures and vice president of Tencent Holdings Ltd., said the cooperation would help Tencent's mass video resources to reach Huawei end-users. "Huawei is committed to an inclusive, win-win innovation ecosystem and is willing to become the amplifier and accelerator of its partners worldwide," said Zhang Ping'an, president of Huawei Consumer Cloud Service.