Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB) have brought the European Commission (EC) and the Commission for Protection of Competition ( CPC) for violations in the Energy sector. The alert was sent to the Office of the Directorate-General for Competitiveness of the European Commission and the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). The letter was signed by Vasil Velev, Radosvet Radev, Tsvetan Simeonov, and Kiril Domuschiev. Employers want the CPC to check Kovachki's energy business. The alert was also sent to the CPC on July 22 and concerns violations under Art. 15, 21 and 22 of the Competition Act. The organizations have referred to the CPC to investigate "the actions of a group of participants in the free electricity market who we believe to be inadmissibly violating the principles of free negotiation and competition enshrined in Bulgarian law."

Debt in the Central Government subsector increased by EUR 126 million by the end of June compared to May, according to the Ministry of Finance. The amount also accounts for the first two issues of government securities that the ministry has placed in order to provide resources for F16 fighter planes. The total debt in the sub-sector is over BGN 11.6 billion and its ratio to the gross domestic product is 19.8%.

Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission has rejected local biometric identification security solutions developer Biodit's request for approval of an initial public offering (IPO) prospectus. The financial regulator did not disclose the motives for its decision in its statement issued on Thursday. Biodit was planning to offer 2.2 million shares for subscription in the BGN 1.0-1.1 price range. The FSC's decision can be appealed before the Sofia Administrative Court within 14 days of its publication date. Currently, Biodit has a registered capital of BGN 12.5 million, divided into the same number of shares. Earlier this year, Biodit received a voucher from the Bulgaria's SMEs promotion agency, which was aimed at covering the expenses related to the company's IPO. The EU-backed voucher scheme envisages granting vouchers of BGN 50,000 each to Bulgarian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), intended to cover the costs of an IPO on the Sofia bourse. Companies receive the funds only if they successfully raise BGN 500,000 or more through their IPO within nine months of the voucher’s issuance.

A spa complex with houses and swimming pools will start operating soon near Belchin. The project is a subsidiary of Glavbolgarstroy Holding - Belchin Park, and was announced at the end of 2015. The company has recently received a BGN 12 million loan from DSK Bank, which will be used to complete the complex and cover the operational costs so far. The complex, called "Belchinski Izvor", is situated on an area of 80 acres near the village of Belchin between the mountains Rila, Verila and Plana. This part of the complex will start operating this month. A hotel will be built by the end of the year. The houses will be rented out and no sale is foreseen. The company will also rely on the complex to be used for group events (seminars, conferences, etc.).

Moody's Investors Service said that it has downgraded the long-term deposit ratings of Bulgaria's First Investment Bank (Fibank) to B3 and changed the outlook to negative from stable. In June, Moody's downgraded the long-term deposit ratings of Fibank to B2 from B1, maintaining a stable outlook. The rating action follows the publication of the results of a comprehensive assessment of six Bulgarian banks by the European Central Bank (ECB), and reflects the ratings agency's view that the quality of Fibank's credit portfolio could pose a more significant risk to its solvency than initially estimated. The downgrade also reflects the magnitude of the capital shortfalls identified for Fibank, along with measures already taken and expected to be taken by the Bulgarian lender to address them. The negative outlook reflects the fact that Fibank's financial performance over next 12-18 months could be affected by any potential additional loans classified as IFRS 9 stage 3 and stage 2, and resulting provisions.

The stoppage of cigarette production by Bulgartabac Holding affected the sales of Yuri Gagarin JSC, a Plovdiv packaging and labeling company for the cigarette, food and cosmetic industries. Sales of the cigarette filter and paper packaging manufacturer decreased by 24.13% year-on-year to BGN 39.85 million in the first half of this year. This is indicated by the figures in the interim financial statements of the company. The main sales volume of the company is formed by the two main activities - production of cigarette filters and production of multicolored cardboard and paper packaging. Revenues from product sales fell by one-third in the first six months. The major share (56%) of sales for the first six months comes from cigarette and cartridge filters. Cardboard and paper packages account for 44%. Most of Yuri Gagarin's products come from the foreign market, where they account for 62% of its products.

Bulgaria's Central Cooperative Bank (CCB) said that its non-consolidated net profit grew to BGN 24.6 million in the first half of 2019, from BGN 16.5 million in the comparable period of 2018. However, earnings per share only rose to BGN 0.19 from BGN 0.15, as CCB increased its capital earlier this year. In February, CCB issued 13,975,679‬ shares of BGN 1 in par value each, increasing its capital to some BGN 127.13 million. The capital increase was a result of the conversion of part of the lender's bond issue. CCB's net interest income rose to BGN 58.9 million in the first half of 2019, from BGN 53.6 million in the same period of last year. Net fee and commission income edged up to BGN 22.6 million, from BGN 22.3 million. Net gains from operations with securities increased to BGN 3.6 million from BGN 1.1 million, while net currency exchange gains grew to BGN 2.8 million from BGN 568,000. CCB's operating expenses rose to BGN 60.9 million in the period under review from BGN 56.6 million in the first half of 2018. CCB is a part of local diversified group Chimimport, which controlled directly a 5.88% stake in the bank at the end of June, and a further 61.03% through its wholly-owned subsidiary CCB Group.

HSBC chief executive John Flint has stepped down after the bank said it believed a change was needed “to meet the challenges” it faces. The bank said in a statement that Flint, 51, had resigned the role “by mutual agreement with the board”, saying the bank needed a change at the top to address “a challenging global environment.” He was promoted to CEO in February 2018 and has worked at the banking giant for 30 years. “Although not carrying out his day-to-day duties after today, he remains available to assist HSBC with the transition,” the bank added. Noel Quinn, 57, who has been the head of HSBC’s global commercial banking unit since 2015, will be the interim chief executive until a successor is appointed. HSBC’s chairman, Mark Tucker, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank John for his personal commitment, dedication and the significant contribution that he has made over his long career at the bank.

US President Donald Trump has said he will impose a fresh 10% tariff on another $300bn of Chinese goods, in a sharp escalation of a trade war between the two countries. It came after the latest round of bilateral talks showed little sign of a breakthrough. The new tariffs, due to take effect on 1 September, effectively tax all Chinese imports to the US. The duty is likely target a wide range of goods, from smartphones to clothing. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticised the US move. "Adding tariffs is definitely not a constructive way to resolve economic and trade frictions, it's not the correct way," Mr Wang said on the sidelines of a meeting of South East Asian ministers in Bangkok. Mr Trump announced the tariff plan on Twitter, while taking aim at China for not honouring promises to buy more US agricultural products at this week's negotiations in Shanghai. He also attacked Chinese President Xi Jinping for failing to do more to stem sales of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The move jolted financial markets as Washington and Beijing had described this week's trade negotiations as constructive, and scheduled another round of talks for September.

China's Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Company Limited announced the completion of the transaction of the acquisition of Westland Co-operative Dairy Company Limited, New Zealand's second-largest dairy co-operative. Yili Group's wholly-owned subsidiary Hong Kong Jin Gang Trade Holding Limited and Westland announced the news. Yuefeng , Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand,said this acquisition proves once again that China and New Zealand have been sticking to pioneering vision and spirit in the history of bilateral relations. "It also gives great confidence to Chinese investors who are looking for opportunities of cooperation in New Zealand. The choices we make today will not only influence our own development, but the long-term development of our relations and the benefit for our people," Huang said. "The potential of China-New Zealand economic and trade cooperation is more than traditional cooperation. It can be extended to areas such as infrastructure, high-technology, new energy and climate change. With our joint efforts, more and more successful cooperation will be right in front of us in the near future," Huang added.