Central government debt fell for a sixth month in a row, by 0.4% m/m to EUR 11.57 bln at end-May. The government debt represented 19.4% of the projected GDP for 2019, down by 0.1 pp m/m. The monthly decline in the government debt was driven by decreases in both the domestic and external government debt. Domestic government debt dropped by 0.9% m/m to EUR 2.51 bln on the back of repayments on domestic loans. The domestic debt is expected to rise visibly m/m next month, as the Finance Ministry sold 10.5-year bonds worth BGN 200 mln and 20-year government bonds worth BGN 100.6 mln on June 19. External government debt edged down by 0.3% m/m to EUR 9.1 bln at end-May. Its decline reflected mostly payments due on government loans to the WB and to the EIB. The external government debt is likely to stay its current level in the next months, given that the government has not planned new external borrowing in 2019 and 2020. Eurobonds represented the largest share of the total with 57.4%, followed by loans with 22.7% and domestic bonds with 19.9%.

Unemployment in Bulgaria in May 2019 was 4.5 per cent, unchanged from April and down from 5.3 per cent in May 2018, European Union statistics agency Eurostat said on July 1. While the percentages for April and May 2019 were the same, in April the figure represented about 152 000 people and in May about 150 000, according to Eurostat. As has been the case in recent years, unemployment in Bulgaria in May 2019 was again below the EU average, which was 6.3 per cent. The figure for the EU for May 2019 was down from 6.4 per cent in April and 6.9 per cent in May 2018, and was the lowest in the EU28 since the start of the EU monthly unemployment statistics series in January 2000, Eurostat said. In Bulgaria, youth unemployment was 11.1 per cent in May 2019, up from 10.8 per cent in April but down from 13.8 per cent in May 2018.

Bulgaria's Allterco has signed an agreement to sell five of its telecommunications subsidiaries to Norway's LINK Mobility Group for an indicative price of EUR 7.9 million. The final price will be determined on a cash-free/debt-free basis after correction of the companies' preliminary financial statements. The deal concerns Allterco's units in Bulgaria - Teravoice, Tera Communications and Allterpay, as well as its Romania-based subsidiary Teracomm RO and Macedonia-based Tera Communications DOOEL. Upon completion of the transaction, Allterco will get 60% of the price in cash. A further 20% will be paid on a deferred basis within two years, while the remaining 20% will be paid by transferring rights for purchase of shares in Victory Partners VIII Norway Holding - the sole owner of LINK Mobility Group. With the deal, Allterco is divesting its entire telecommunications portfolio and will focus on its IoT subsidiaries. The deal was initially expected to be completed by the end of April 2018, but the negotiations between the contracting parties were temporarily suspended as Victory Partners VII Norway launched a takeover bid for LINK Mobility Group last year.

Bulgaria’s Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) said it approved an electricity price increase that was lower than initially envisioned. On average, electricity prices would increase by 2.9 per cent, rather than 3.5 per cent put forth in the regulator’s preliminary report at end-May. Residents of western Bulgaria, serviced by CEZ, would pay 2.9 per cent more and customers in southern Bulgaria, serviced by EVN, would pay 2.97 per cent more, with residents of northern Bulgaria, where the distributor is Energo Pro, set to pay 2.8 per cent more. The regulator also approved an increase to heating prices that was lower than its initial forecast, due to the fact that gas prices for the third quarter were cut by 0.6 per cent. The gas price reduction was due to the liquefied natural gas deliveries contracted by Bulgargaz, which cost less than the natural gas purchased from Russia’s Gazprom. As a result, the average heating price increase was 3.5 per cent, rather than 4.5 per cent initially envisioned by EWRC.

Bulgaria's competition authority has cancelled as unlawful Bulgartransgaz' decision to disqualify the winner of a tender for construction of a pipeline for transit of gas from the border with Turkey to the border with Serbia, and pick a new contractor. Bulgartransgaz did not have legal grounds to disqualify Saudi consortium Arkad, as the Bulgarian state-owned gas transmission network operator had set the deadline for submitting the necessary documents and signing the contract without considering the consortium's arguments. In May, Bulgartransgaz said it has disqualified the Arkad group and picked the second-ranked consortium comprising Italy's Consorzio Varna 1 and the Bulgarian branch of Luxembourg-registered Completions Development to build the 484 km-long pipeline. Bulgartransgaz said it switched its choice because Arkad had failed to present the required documents and sign the contract. Arkad had proposed to build the pipeline for EUR 1.29 billion within 250 days, or for EUR 1.10 billion within 615 days. The Consorzio Varna 1 - Completions Development consortium initially offered to build the pipeline for EUR 2.41 billion and EUR 1.60 billion, respectively, but subsequently lowered its offer for the 615 days time frame to EUR 1.10 billion.

Bulgarian printing and advertising company Billboard has sold a 51% stake in Motion Arts for BGN 157,000. Billboard sold three separate minority packages, of 26%, 15% and 10%. The new shareholders also pledged to respect the agreement between Billboard and Motion Arts, under which Motion Arts should repay its obligations to Billboard within three years. Billboard, established in 2001, offers wide format digital printing, offset printing and branding of vehicles.

Bulgarian battery manufacturer Monbat said that its shareholders have approved the company's proposal for a gross dividend distribution of BGN 0.1026 per share for 2018. The company distributed BGN 7.5 million, or BGN 0.1923 per share, for 2017. Monbat will distribute a total of BGN 4 million as dividend for 2018. Monbat shares last traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange on Friday, when they closed at BGN 6.80. The battery maker's non-consolidated net profit rose to BGN 9.9 million in 2018 from BGN 6.4 million in 2017.

Deutsche Bank AG is considering cutting 15,000 to 20,000 jobs, or more than one in six full-time positions globally. The layoffs would probably take place over more than a year and would spread across regions and businesses. Top-level talks about the restructuring took place on Thursday and Friday, but no final decisions have been made, a source close to the matter told Reuters. Deutsche Bank is completing a plan that may eliminate hundreds of positions in equities trading and research, as well as derivatives trading, as part of a broad restructuring. Sources told Reuters last week that the bank plans to cut the size of its U.S. equities business, leaving only a skeleton operation in place to service corporate and high-net-worth clients. Members of Deutsche's supervisory board discussed those plans on a cal ..

The U.S. added more European Union products to a list of goods it could hit with retaliatory tariffs in a long-running trans-Atlantic subsidy dispute between Boeing Co. and Airbus SE. The Trade Representative’s office in Washington published a list of USD 4 billion worth of EU goods to target in retaliation for European aircraft subsides. The products range from cherries to meat, cheese, olives and pasta, along with some types of whiskey and cast-iron tubes and pipes. It adds to a list of EU products valued at USD 21 billion that the USTR published in April, according to the release. The EU has a similar case pending against Boeing and has readied retaliatory tariffs of its own. Though the dispute predates President Donald Trump’s efforts to rewrite America’s big trading relationships, the timing of the latest punitive measures will add to already strained ties between Washington and Brussels. The airplane subsidy spat and the tariffs both sides are threatening contrast with the Trump administration’s other high-profile trade moves because they’re playing out under WTO rules rather than by unilateral White House authority.

China rolled out revised negative lists for foreign investment market access, introducing greater opening-up and allowing foreign investors to run majority-share-controlling or wholly-owned businesses in more sectors. With the approval of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) released two negative lists of 2019. The two lists, one for the piloted free trade zones (FTZ) and one for the rest of the country, contain fewer access-limiting measures. Pilot FTZs now have 37 listed items for foreign investors, down from 45, while non-FTZ areas are required to implement 40 items instead of 48. They will go into effect on July 30, and market access restrictions not on the negative lists will be fully lifted before the end of this year, said an official with the NDRC. The negative lists for market access outline sectors, fields and businesses off-limits for investors. Industries, fields and businesses not on the lists are open for investment to all market players.