Total investment in tangible assets rose by 8.7% y/y to BGN 4.8 bln in Q2, at an accelerating pace from 8.4% y/y in the previous quarter the preliminary data of the stat institute (NSI) showed. The improvement was supported by strengthening y/y growth of investments in the industry, IT, real estate activities, professional activities and public administration during the quarter. Investment growth in the industry, which represented the largest 31.4% share in total investment activity, sped up to 18.1% y/y, which we see as positive sign about the sector’s resilience to the external uncertainties, in our view. We also think that persistent low loan interest rates were also supportive of the stronger investment activity during the quarter. Investments in tangible assets in construction posted an 8.1% drop in Q2 following a strong 37.3% y/y growth in Q1.

Consumer loans in Bulgaria increased by 11.2% in July 2019 compared to the same period last year. Their current amount is BGN 9.783 billion, with a 10.6% annual increase in the sixth month of the year, data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) show. Net domestic assets amounted to BGN 58.763 billion at the end of July this year, with annual growth of 5.8%. Their main component, domestic credit, is BGN 58.371 billion, up 3.4% compared to July 2018. Loans to households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) equaled BGN 22.985 billion (19.9% of GDP) at the end of July this year. Compared to the same month of 2018, they increased by 8.7%. Interest on home loans is also growing, with their amount in July amounting to BGN 11.275 billion or 12.3% up on the year. In July 2019, claims on the non-government sector increased by 6.5%, reaching BGN 61.492 billion. Over the same period, loans to the non-government sector amounted to BGN 59.860 billion (51.7% of GDP) compared to BGN 59.372 billion as of June 2019 (51.3% of GDP). In July 2019, they increased by 6.5% on an annual basis.

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company Bulgaria has invested about BGN 40 million to double the production capacity of its bottling plant in Kostinbrod, in the country's western part. The new investment enables the company to produce beverages for export to neighbouring Romania, Serbia and Greece, as well as other countries in the SEE region. The expansion will increase the company's capacity by an average of 9,000 half-litre bottles per hour. The investment also includes expansion of the plant's storage base, to meet the needs of new regional production. Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria is part of Swiss-based holding company Coca-Cola HBC which is a leading bottler of the Coca-Cola company. In Southeast Europe, the group operates in Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro.

Gorna Oryahovitsa-based heating appliances manufacturer Prity 95 LTD is less energy-dependent thanks to the acquisition of two 30-kWh solar parks. The facilities are built under the energy efficiency program of Energo Pro. Once they are connected to the electricity distribution network, they will generate enough energy to meet the needs of one of the production facilities of Prity 95, and the remainder will be provided for purchase at preferential prices. The investment is expected to return within approximately six years. Recently, a project for a solar park, part of which will be located on the roof of the buildings, was started by the Zaharni Zavodi JSC plant.

After the state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) gave a record BGN 148.5 million loan to Roadway Construction, related to Rumen Gaytanski, to acquire another of his companies, Patstroyengineering in June, it continues its support for the construction group with another loan. On August 12, BDB allocated another BGN 1.5 million to Patstroyengineering, and this time the purpose of the loan is to buy trucks. Thus, BDB's exposure to the group is rounded up to BGN 150 million, making it its largest client. It is not yet clear how the newly created Roadway Construction secured this giant loan, given that the acquired company has a much more modest business - BGN 16.5 million in assets, BGN 13.6 million in revenue and only BGN 13 thousand in accounting profit in 2018. BDB has so far not commented on the loan, which represents more than 10% of its loan portfolio and 18.8% of its capital. The money will be absorbed by Patstroyengineering, with Roadway Construction being listed as a co-borrower.

The shopping center, which the South African real estate investment fund NEPI Rockcastle is building in Plovdiv, is due to open in 2021, ie. a year later than the original plans, it became clear from the company's first half-year report. It will have a gross lease area of 59,500 square meters, and so far the company has invested in its construction EUR 24 million. The total value of the investment is expected to reach EUR 141 million. NEPI Rockcastle marked a strong first half with a profit of EUR 170 million, which will be distributed to shareholders. This represents an increase of 11.1% compared to the same period last year. The total value of NEPI-owned properties in Central and Eastern Europe is estimated at EUR 6.1 billion and is up 3.4% from December 2018, but their average return narrows slightly to 6.64% from 6, 70% in the first half of last year. NEPI Rockcastle's assets in Bulgaria include Paradise Center mall in Sofia, Serdica Center.

Bulgarian cosmetics maker Lavena said that its consolidated net profit rose to BGN 894,000 in the first half of 2019 from BGN 604,000 in the same period of 2018. Lavena's revenue grew to BGN 9.8 million in the January-June period of the year from BGN 8.4 million in the comparable period of 2018. The company's expenses increased to BGN 8.8 million in the review period from BGN 7.7 million the year before, as expenses for materials rose to BGN 4.4 million from BGN 3.7 million. Lavena's assets amounted to BGN 31.4 million at the end of June, slightly up from BGN 30.6 million a year earlier. In February, Lavena wrapped up a capital increase, raising BGN 5.6 million via the issuance of 1,599,904 new shares with a nominal value of BGN 1 each.

Greece is fully lifting its remaining capital controls, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, in a move signalling the economy's continuing return to stability after the tumult of three international bailouts since 2010. "From today, capital controls are a thing of the past," Mitsotakis told lawmakers in parliament. Athens imposed capital controls in June 2015, when Greece was embroiled in a dispute with lenders over how to prop up an economy overwhelmed by a mountain of debt and its banks were bleeding cash. At the time, the European Central Bank decided to pull the plug on emergency funding to Greek lenders, forcing a three week shutdown of banks and a 60 euro per day cap on cash machine withdrawals. The restrictions have been gradually eased since then. The cap on cash withdrawals was fully lifted in October 2018. But limits on money transfers abroad still remained. Restoring the free movement of capital will help to strengthen trust, attract investment and open the way for a further upgrade of the Greek economy's credit ratings. Greece is still rated in the sub-investment category by ratings agencies.

Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson must pay $572m for its part in fuelling Oklahoma's opioid addiction crisis, a judge in the US state has ruled. The company said immediately after the judgement that it would appeal. The case was the first to go to trial out of thousands of lawsuits filed against opioid makers and distributors. Earlier this year, Oklahoma settled with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma for $270m and Teva Pharmaceutical for $85m, leaving J&J as the lone defendant. Judge Thad Balkman of Cleveland County District Court in Norman, Oklahoma, said prosecutors had demonstrated that J&J contributed to a "public nuisance" in its deceptive promotion of highly addictive prescription painkillers. "Those actions compromised the health and safety of thousands of Oklahomans. The opioid crisis is an imminent danger and menace to Oklahomans," he said in his ruling. The payment would be used for the care and treatment of opioid addicts, he said.

India has extended a deadline to submit bids for building solar power equipment factories in the South Asian nation, in another delay to its efforts to boost its nascent domestic manufacturing capacity. The new deadline to submit bids for the tender is Sept. 11 , Solar Energy Corp. of India said on its website Monday. The tender seeks to set up four projects for module, cell, ingot and wafer manufacturing with an annual capacity of 500 megawatts each. In addition, developers have to build solar farms of up to 1.5 gigawatts of generation capacity. India currently depends on cheap Chinese imports to offer low-priced clean electricity. It issued the tender in June after two earlier efforts to spur its domestic industry failed to rouse investor interest. The country’s first tender, issued in May 2018, was downsized and delayed multiple times. It was replaced by a smaller version in January, which was also delayed several times before being canceled.