Business Industry Capital
Bulgaria
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BNB Exchange Rates
(22.07.2019) |
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EUR |
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1.95583 |
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GBP |
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2.18199 |
USD |
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1.74223 |
CHF |
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1.77271 |
EUR/USD |
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1.1226* |
ECB exchange rate |
Basic Interest Rate |
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as of 01.06 |
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0 % |
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Financial news |
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Bulgaria recorded a negative net flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) of EUR 55.9 million in the January-May period, compared to a positive net flow of EUR 91.2 million in the same period of 2018, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said. The negative net flow, calculated according to the directional principle, was equal to 0.1% of the central bank's forecast for Bulgaria's gross domestic product in 2019. The net flow in equity, which represents the decisions of non-residents to acquire or dispose of shares and equities in cash and contributions in kind in the capital and reserves of Bulgarian enterprises, recorded a negative value of EUR 539.2 million in the first five months if the year, compared to a negative value of EUR 246.1 million a year earlier. The largest positive net direct investment inflow in Bulgaria in the Jan-May period, of EUR 206.3 million, came from the Netherlands. Germany and Hungary followed with EUR 92.3 million and EUR 43.0 million, respectively. Source: Duma
Bulgaria's current account was in surplus of BGN 1.04 billion in January-May, compared to a deficit of EUR 75.6 million in the like period of 2018, the central bank said. The current account surplus in the first five months of 2019 was equivalent to 1.2% of Bulgaria's expected gross domestic product (GDP) for the year, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly balance of payments report. In May alone, Bulgaria's current account showed a surplus of EUR 328.6 million, which compares to a deficit of EUR 2.9 million in May 2018. Source: investor.bg
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Companies |
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ICGB, the company developing the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria project, has further extended the deadline for submitting bids in a tender for selection of a lead insurer for the project's needs by one week to July 31. ICGB made the decision in response to the expressed interest and requests for extension of the deadline received by potential candidates in the tender procedure, the company said in a statement. The contracting authority extended the original deadline for submitting offers by nine days to July 24 earlier this month. The tender, with an estimated value of EUR 1.3 million, envisages covering of construction all risks, delay in start up and third party liability. The EUR 220 million 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 state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (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.
A Plovdiv investor is planning to raise a new skyscraper near the tallest building in Bulgaria - Capital Fort, located on the Tsarigradsko shosse boulevard in Sofia. The entrepreneur, Dr. Malek Nasser is preparing to invest in a new 90-meter building. According to the media, the project managed by Nasser Eurobuild-M1 will work together with the company Gert Grup, which works on other projects in the City under the hills. In his words, the plot on which the skyscraper will be built is already bought. "The area in Druzhba 2 is a high-rise building, we have purchased land of 6 decares, we are currently developing the detailed plan and the technical project. We are fighting for high construction - over 90 meters If we fail to protect these parameters, we will go up to 50 meters, "he told Marica.bg. Meanwhile, the company of Dr. Nasser is also working on a project in our sea capital. In Varna Eurobuild - M1 makes a residential complex with 214 apartments and just as many parking lots. It will have a total area of 30, 000 square meters. The complex includes 3 buildings, which will be located on the Varna Vazrazhdane Boulevard.
Bulgarian IT company Scientia will invest BGN 5.6 million in a project which aims to support its expansion and create favourable working environment for its employees. The project will create 80 new jobs in 2019. The investment envisages the purchase of two office buildings in the city of Gabrovo where the company is based but Scientia will invest a further BGN 80 million in IT equipment, a representative of the investor, said earlier this month in an audio file published on the website of Gabrovo municipality. Scientia's investment will support consultancy services, creation of innovative software products as well as the implementation of pilot projects in the field of automation and robotics. Scientia is specialized in the development, sales and support of software products and solutions.
Groupama Life Insurance EAD wants to acquire a qualifying participation in the amount of 100% of the capital of Insurance Company Express Life Insurance AD, announced the Financial Supervision Commission. The company has submitted an application for this intention to the regulator. The Commission will decide on the application on 11 October. On July 10, a contract for the acquisition of 100% shareholding in the life insurance company Express Life Insurance, part of DSK Bank EAD, a Bulgarian subsidiary of OTP Bank Plc, was signed. This transaction is a step in the development of Groupama's French international insurance group, which will improve its position in Bulgaria in the life insurance segment and will strengthen the long-term strategic partnership of the insurer with DSK Bank EAD. Groupama Life Insurance EAD and Groupama Insurance EAD are exclusive long-term partners of DSK Bank EAD in the field of insurance. Source: Banker
Sales of the Greek group Јumbо have increased by 7.8% to EUR 812.2 million in the past year with a result of EUR 753.3 million for the previous one, show the data for the fiscal year that the company started in June 2018 and was completed in June 2019. In the last six months, January-June this year, chain sales grew by 7.6%. The Bulgarian market has an approximately 9% increase in turnover, and there is no new open chain site in Bulgaria for this period. According to the company's report, at the end of last year, a new Јumbо shop is planned to open by 2020. Currently, the group has 79 sites, 52 of them in Greece. 13 are in Romania and 5 in Cyprus. The objects on the Bulgarian market are 9, four of them in Sofia and one in Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Rousse and Stara Zagora. The group also operates five more markets in the region through partnerships with local companies. Another 23 stores under the brand of Јumbо are in Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Northern Macedonia and Bosnia.
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Bulgarian Industrial Association
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World
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Europe |
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Brussels gave its blessing to Vodafone’s $22 billion purchase of Liberty Global’s cable networks in Germany and central Europe, clearing the way for the British company to become Europe’s largest mobile, broadband and TV provider. The deal is the standout move by Vodafone in its bid to become a provider of superfast broadband and pay-TV, rather than just a pure mobile provider. The strategy, launched by former CEO Vittorio Colao, is designed to increase customer spending and deepen user loyalty. For John Malone’s Liberty Global, the cable exit brings rich returns for assets worth more to an acquirer who can bundle them with other services than as a standalone business. Shares in Britain’s Vodafone, the world’s No. 2 mobile operator, rose 1 percent after the European Commission gave the green light for the two groups to combine networks and better take on German market leader Deutsche Telekom. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the approval was subject to remedies designed to ensure that customers will continue enjoying fair prices, high-quality services and innovative products.
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America |
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Microsoft beat analysts' revenue projections by nearly $1 billion when it announced earnings for the fourth quarter of its 2019 fiscal year, as its cloud division Azure continues its path of strong expansion. Revenue for the quarter was $33.7 billion, up 12% from the previous year and well above analyst forecasts of $32.8 billion. The company reported adjusted earnings per share for the quarter of $1.37, compared to analyst expectations of $1.21. It also announced full-year revenue of $125.8 billion, up 14% from the prior year. Microsoft's stock was up 2.7% after hours to about $140. While all areas of Microsoft's business were up this quarter, the main question leading up to the release was how well its cloud division would perform. Sales from Microsoft's commercial cloud division, which includes Azure, Office 365 and Division 365, increased 39% from the prior year to $11 billion. Azure alone, the division of the company that competes with leading cloud services provider Amazon Web Services (AWS), had slightly slower growth than last quarter. In Q4, Azure was up 64% compared to 73% growth in the third quarter. But it continues to gain on AWS, which posted a 41% increase in its most recent quarter. Amazon reports earnings next week.
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Asia |
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The pace of companies moving production out of China is accelerating as more than 50 multinationals from Apple to Nintendo to Dell are rushing to escape the punitive tariffs placed by the U.S., according to the Nikkei Asian review. The trade war between the U.S. and China has dragged on for more than a year with 25% tariffs placed on $200 billion of Chinese goods. President Donald Trump is still threatening to slap duties on another $325 billion of goods. In wake of the intensifying battle, more and more companies announced plans or are considering shifting manufacturing from China. American personal computer makers HP and Dell could move up to 30% of their notebook production in China to Southeast Asia, Nikkei reported. Apple has asked its major suppliers to assess the cost implications of moving 15% to 30% of their production capacity from China to India, according to an earlier report from the Nikkei. Japan’s Nintendo is also going to pull a portion of its video game console production from China to Vietnam, according to Nikkei. Not only are foreign companies rethinking its production location, a handful of Chinese companies are also leaving China. Chinese multinational electronics company TCL is moving its TV production to Vietnam, while Chinese tire maker Sailun Tire is transitioning its manufacturing line to Thailand, Nikkei reported.
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Indexes of Stock Exchanges 19.07.2019 |
Dow Jones Industrial |
27 154.20 |
(-68.77) |
Nasdaq Composite |
8 146.49 |
(-60.75) |
Commodity exchanges 19.07.2019 |
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Commodity |
Price |
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Light crude ($US/bbl.) | 56.19 |
Heating oil ($US/gal.) | 1.9000 |
Natural gas ($US/mmbtu) | 2.2800 |
Unleaded gas ($US/gal.) | 1.8100 |
Gold ($US/Troy Oz.) | 1 427.90 |
Silver ($US/Troy Oz.) | 16.36 |
Platinum ($US/Troy Oz.) | 853.50 |
Hogs (cents/lb.) | 78.92 |
Live cattle (cents/lb.) | 108.50 |
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Urdoviza |
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Between the northern and southern beach of the Black sea resort town of Kiten, there is a small peninsula bearing the mythical name of Urdoviza. Until Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turkish yoke (1878), the walls of a fortress, praised in many folk legends and songs from these places, were rising. The fortress’ history is related to the establishment of the region of Hasekia, which enjoyed special privileges in the times when the Ottomans ruled our lands. A legend tells the story of a young girl named Stana Urdovizka, who was so beautiful that even the Turkish sultan was captivated by her beauty and proposed her to marry him. She agreed, but had one condition – she would marry the sultan only if he agreed to free from all taxes the land she managed to travel over in one day riding a horse. The sultan agreed immediately and Urdovizka set about riding her “flying” horse. She rode all day, and in the evening her horse was so tired it collapsed on the ground and died in the middle of the small bay, which was later called Atliman (in Turksih Atliman means “stallion”). The beautiful girl also died. The sultan issued a special decree, exempting the locals from all taxes. The region was called Hasekia or Asekia (which in translation means "land, exempted from all taxes").
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