Foreign Direct Investment reported in Bulgaria remained negative in April. The net amount at the end of the fourth month of 2019 is negative at the amount of EUR 54.8 million, preliminary data of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) show. For reference, a month earlier FDI was a negative EUR 254.4 million, but data for the first-quarter were revised upwards and will continue to be revised in the coming months. The negative value this year comes largely from the transaction on the purchase of Societe Generale Expressbank from DSK - the Bulgarian branch of the Hungarian OTP. The finalization of the transaction in January 2019 led to the payment of nearly EUR 600 million (in the form of equity capital) to the French Societe Generale. There is no real outflow of investment, as at the end of 2018 DSK's capital was increased for the same purpose, but this operation remained in the data for last year. The net amount of foreign investment in the country is negative, but investments in the form of debt instruments are plus EUR 656.5 million, of which almost EUR 123 million were received only in April.

In 2018, Bulgarians were the least able to consume goods and services across the EU as so-called Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) in Bulgaria was only 56% of the EU average, while in Luxembourg it was 132% of the EU average, according to latest Eurostat figures. The AIC indicator is a measure of household wealth, with Eurostat data based on revised Purchasing power standard (PPS) as well as the latest per capita GDP per country of the EU member. Last year, 10 Member States had AIC level, which was above the EU average, while in the other 18 it was below the EU average. Highest levels of AIC per capita were registered in Luxembourg (32% above the EU average), followed by Germany (121%) and Austria (116%). Higher levels are also registered in Denmark (114%), the UK (113%), the Netherlands (112%), Finland (112%), Belgium (111%), Sweden (109%) and France (107%).

"The largest public holding in Bulgaria and one of the leading independent business groups in Central and South-Eastern Europe - Eurohold Bulgaria AD, has agreed to acquire the business of CEZ Bulgaria. The two parties signed a contract today," the holding announced officially. Eurohold will pay EUR 335 million for the acquisition of CEZ Group's assets in Bulgaria by financing the deal with a combination of equity and loan capital. Eurohold has already signed a mandate with two global investment banks with extensive experience in securing funding for similar deals to provide the necessary loan capital. The company has also formed an advisory board of experts with a solid international experience in the electricity distribution business, which will consult the company in the process of integration of CEZ Bulgaria's activities into the structure of the holding, the announcement says. Additionally, Eurohold has negotiated CEZ Bulgaria's senior management, including the executive director of the company, to remain in the company to ensure a smooth transitional period in the management.

The Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) refused Bulgartransgaz preliminary implementation of the contract with Gas Development and Expansion in Bulgaria (GDEB) for the extension of the Russian gas pipeline Turkish stream through Bulgaria. This became clear from today's statement of the anti-monopoly body under the Public Procurement Act. Thus, Bulgartransgaz will not be able to sign a contract with the preferred bidder who was actually second in the bidding. The GDEB includes Consortium Varna 1 (established by Bonatti S.p.A. and Max Streichher S.p.A.) and Complications Development S.A.R.L.-Bulgarian Branch. This consortium was initially expected to win the billion-dollar public procurement contract for the construction of the pipeline. Complications Development is related to the company - Trubnaia metalurgical company (TMK). The construction of the extension remains frozen until the CPC decides on the complaint of the declassified winner of the tender for BGN 2.286 billion excluding VAT - the Saudi consortium Arcad. The company lodged a complaint on June 10 for a surprise demise in favor of the GDEB.

Liberalization of the gas market through the creation of a separate gas trade - this is the main idea of ​​the changes in the Energy Act. According to the texts, is expected organization of a gas market, as well as its opening to Europe. There are also exceptions - there will be no gas on the stock exchange on the contracts that Bulgargaz has concluded before the law has entered into force. This requirement does not affect companies that have built gas pipelines and can conclude supply contracts on them. The draft law has a schedule of what quantities of Bulgargaz to sell on the stock exchange. It starts with 7% of the country's consumption in 2020, reaching 34 per cent in 2024. The quantities are released following a permission from the EWRC and a contract between Bulgargaz and the operator of the stock exchange. Mining companies are obliged to sell 25% of the gas.

"National Electricity Company JSC should be included on the list of "Unpunctual Participants" on the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange JSC (IBEX) due to a third initiated and subsequently canceled auction by the company". This is stated in a publication published on the website of the Free Energy Market Association (ASEP) of 19 June. NEK canceled the two new electricity auctions and 100 MW remained unsold. The reason for the suspension remains unclear. ASEP justifies its position with the requirements of the rules for working in the state-owned segment of the stock exchange. "The working rules expressly state: The name of any Merchant who, within one year from the date of the first canceled Auction, cancels 3 (three) auctions, shall be published on the Operator's website in the list of "Unpunctual Participants" for a period of one year. Participants who have been entered on the "Unpunctual Participants" list due to the cancellation of auctions, shall pay a double fee for the initiation of an auction for a period of one year. If they have no further violations for that period are de-listed from “Unpunctual Participants".”

Bulgaria's Plovdiv municipality has started the construction of a composting installation for sorted green and/or biodegradable waste - a project worth BGN 9 million. The municipality will invest close to three million levs in the project which should be completed next year. The project benefits from BGN 5.2 millions grant financing from EU's Regional Development Fund as well as BGN 910,580 in non-refundable financing from the central government budget The cost of construction works assigned to local Gert Group is BGN 4 million. The facility is expected to produce of about 6,750 tons of compost per year.

Kronospan Bulgaria, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cyprus-based Konikato Holdings, said that its net loss nearly tripled to BGN 12.9 million in 2018 from BGN 4.7 million in 2017. Kronospan Bulgaria's sales revenue fell by an annual 3.4% to BGN 178.2 million in 2018. Expenses for materials increased to BGN 138.7 million last year from BGN 130.2 million the year before, while amortisation costs rose to BGN 22.6 million from BGN 17.2 million. Personnel expenses edged up to BGN 12.6 million in 2018 from BGN 11.4 million in 2017, while other operating expenses fell to BGN 29.2 million from BGN 32.5 million. The company's assets grew to BGN 570.8 million at the end of 2018 from BGN 454.0 million a year earlier, following an increase of some BGN 100 million in long term assets. In March, Kronospan Bulgaria increased its capital by BGN 17.6 million to BGN 195.5 million, followed by a second capital hike to BGN 213.1 million. Burgas-based Kronospan manufacturers wood products for the furniture industry.

The Netherlands and France are trying to convince fellow European nations to end tax exemptions on jet fuel and plane tickets, as part of a drive to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050. In the first major initiative on air travel tax in years, the conference on Thursday and Friday - which will be attended by about 29 countries - will discuss ticket taxes, kerosene levies and value-added tax (VAT) on air travel. The Netherlands wants to agree on steps toward ending the near complete lack of taxation on air travel and France is also pushing for an end to tax breaks on jet fuel, as European leaders discuss carbon neutrality at a separate summit in Brussels.. “The new president of the commission will have to present plans for the fight against climate change in Europe. It is a no-brainer that the possible contribution of the aviation sector will be put on his agenda in the first week in office,” Dutch deputy finance minister Menno Snel told Reuters. The conference will be attended by European Union economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici and finance and environment ministers. The goal is to present conclusions to the new European Commission, which will be sworn in this autumn.

Dell Technologies Inc, HP Inc, Microsoft Corp and Intel Corp opposed U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to include laptop computers and tablets among the Chinese goods targeted for tariffs. Dell, HP and Microsoft, which together account for 52% of the notebooks and detachable tablets sold in the United States, said the proposed tariffs would increase the cost of laptops in the country. The move would hurt consumers and the industry, and would not address the Chinese trade practices that the Trump administration’s office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) seeks to remedy, the four companies said in a joint statement posted online. Implementing the proposed tariffs would increase U.S. prices for laptops and tablets by at least 19%, or around $120 for the average retail price of a laptop, the companies said, citing a recent study by the Consumer Technology Association. “A price increase of that magnitude may even put laptop devices entirely out of reach for our most cost-conscious consumers,” the companies said, noting that the price hikes would occur during peak holiday and back-to-school seasons.

China could build as many as 30 overseas nuclear reactors through its involvement in the “Belt and Road” initiative over the next decade, a senior industry official told a meeting of China’s political advisory body this week. Wang Shoujun, a standing committee member of the China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told delegates that China needed to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by “Belt and Road” and give more financial and policy support to its nuclear sector. “‘Going out’ with nuclear power has already become a state strategy, and nuclear exports will help optimize our export trade and free up domestic high-end manufacturing capacity,” he was quoted as saying in a report on the CPPCC’s official website. He said China needed to improve research and development, localize the production of key nuclear components, and grow both the domestic and foreign nuclear markets to give full play to the country’s “comprehensive advantages” in costs and technology. Wang, also the former chairman of the state-owned China National Nuclear Corp.