Business Industry Capital
Bulgaria
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BNB Exchange Rates
(30.08.2019) |
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EUR |
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1.95583 |
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GBP |
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2.16040 |
USD |
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1.76646 |
CHF |
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1.79764 |
EUR/USD |
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1.1072* |
ECB exchange rate |
Basic Interest Rate |
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as of 01.08 |
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0 % |
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Financial news |
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The Bulgarian government is planning to boost production of local fruits and vegetable by introducing a new simplified VAT system, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Chavdar Marinov, said. Bulgaria has a flat VAT rate of 20% and for many, it’s considered the “sacred cow” for the country’s economy and budget revenues. But the country struggles to fight the competition of neighbouring countries, which offer fruits and vegetables at prices lower than the local products. Marinov said that the idea is to exempt the producers from VAT, which would be paid only by the retailers. “The invoice won’t have this 20% and the farmers will be able to reinvest the money, for example in seeds, preparations. The last in the chain will pay VAT,” Marinov said, referring to the retailers. A similar scheme is already being applied successfully in Bulgaria for grain producers. Marinov added that processing companies will also benefit from the new scheme and will not pay VAT for the raw material.
In June 2019 compared to a year earlier, an increase was reported for the production of liquefied petroleum gases by 25.0% and transport diesel by 22.6%. A decrease was reported for the production of solid fuels by 41.7%, unleaded motor gasoline by 9.4% and electricity by 13.9%, the National Statistical Institute said. In June compared to May 2019, an increase was reported for the production of transport diesel by 0.7% to 282,000 tonnes and electricity by 0.8% to 3,055 GWh. A decrease was reported for the production of solid fuels by 38.3% to 1,416,000 tonnes, liquefied petroleum gases by 9.1% to 10,000 tonnes and unleaded motor gasoline by 2.5% to 155,000 tonnes. Natural gas production remained unchanged. In June compared to May, an increase was reported for the deliveries of liquefied petroleum gases by 14.3% to 48,000 tonnes. A decrease was reported for solid fuel deliveries by 37.3% to 1,496,000 tonnes, unleaded motor gasoline by 2.2% to 44,000 tonnes, natural gas by 13.7% to 176 million cubic metres and electricity by 1.1% to 2,521 GWh. Source: BTA
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Companies |
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Bulgarian fertilisers producer Neochim is investing a total of BGN 2.6 million in two projects this year. Earlier this week, Neochim completed the construction of a BGN 2.1 million hazardous industrial waste landfill, the company said in a bourse filing. The second project, envisaging the recultivation of three waste deposit sites, is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Currently, Neochim stores its hazardous industrial waste at temporary deposit sites.
More than EUR 500 million will be invested in Velosity, a new neighborhood with smart design located in the suburbs of Sofia, near the village of Voluyak. The project will take about eight years to complete, the director of Public Relations at Trakia Economic Zone SPJSC Katya Staykova said. The total area of the project is 140 hectares, combining properties owned by the Bulgarian company Kadmos. Currently, several companies have expressed interest in participating in the project, explained Theodoros Aristodemus. EUR 55 million, one of the largest investments from Cyprus in Bulgaria, has been invested in the Velosity project so far. 1,388,896 square meters of land were purchased within the borders of Sofia, with access to the Ring Road and Lomsko Chaussee. The main developer of the Velosity project is Kadmos, a company that provides land and investment for the design and construction of infrastructure. Source: Banker
Bulgarian software group Sirma Group Holding is seeking an investor in its semantic technologies and GraphDB semantic graph database. Luxembourg-based investment bank Corum Group International will consult Sirma Group Holding on the planned transaction. The 13-month contract between the two companies envisages a fixed monthly fee, as well as a fee in the case of a successful transaction. GraphDB is a product developed by Sirma Group Holding's semantic technologies unit - Ontotext. GraphDB is a semantic graph database that manages massive loads of information and allows organisations to store, organise and manage content as smart data. It is also the only triple-store that can perform semantic conclusions in scale, enabling users to create new facts from existing ones.
The latest generation of the Smartron electric locomotive manufactured by Siemens is the latest investment by PIMK. Such a machine is entering the Bulgarian transport business for the first time. Carriers, which have been developing alternative methods of freight transportation for years, already have the latest technology in the rail segment. The locomotive will be named Roxana, following the line of the company to name its locomotives with historically significant names from the history of Bulgaria. The locomotive is a joint investment of Terminals SPJSC and PIMK Rail SPJSC, which serve Intermodal Terminal Plovdiv on concession. The locomotive’w power is 5,600 kilowatts, transmitted to the wheels ,and is one of the 10 most economical and green models on the market by 2019. Source: Marica
HeleCloud, a UK-based Amazon Web Services (AWS) technology consultancy also active on the Bulgarian market, has acquired Netherlands' OlinData for an undisclosed price and expects to triple its turnover next year. Open source infrastructure specialised OlinData is HeleCloud’s first acquisition as part of its ongoing growth across Europe. As an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner, OlinData helps enterprise-level and mid-size businesses optimise usage, reduce costs and streamline set-up through a combination of consultancy, engineering and remote management offerings, the company also said. The company's headcount is expected to exceed 100 employees by the end of 2019. Currently, the company has 73 employees in Bulgaria and the U.K. At the beginning of 2017, HeleCloud was recognised as Amazon Web Services Authorized Public Sector Partner, becoming an official reseller of Amazon Web Services for Bulgaria, through its arm HeleCloud Bulgaria. Source: investor.bg
Bulgarian IoT products developer Allterco turned to a consolidated net profit excluding minority interest of BGN 747,000 in the first half of 2019 from a net loss of BGN 411,000 in the same period of 2018. Allterco's operating revenue grew to BGN 24.1 million in the January-June period of 2019 from BGN 18.3 million in the comparable period of 2018. The company's operating expenses rose to BGN 23.0 million in the review period from BGN 18.5 million the year before. Expenses for hired services increased to BGN 15.7 million from BGN 13.8 million, while cost of goods sold more than tripled to BGN 2.9 million from BGN 858,000. Earlier this month, Allterco told local business news outlet Investor.bg that the company is considering distributing an interim dividend for the first half of 2019. Last month, Allterco wrapped up the sale of five of its telecommunications subsidiaries to Norway's LINK Mobility Group for EUR 7.9 million. Allterco sold its units in Bulgaria - Teravoice, Tera Communications and Allterpay, as well as its Romania-based subsidiary Teracomm RO and Macedonia-based Tera Communications DOOEL. Source: investor.bg
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Bulgarian Industrial Association
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World
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Europe |
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Brussels has warned Serbia it must dissolve a proposed new free-trade deal with Russia if it wants to join the European Union. The Balkan country said it planned to join the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in October. But a European Commission spokesperson told Euronews that Serbia would have to withdraw from all existing bilateral free trade agreements before joining the bloc. The commission's comments came after a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, who said the deal would grant Serbia access to a market with a capacity of over 180 million people. The EU's single market in comparison currently comprises over 500 million consumers, worth €17 trillion Botsan-Kharchenko said in a tweet that “this is a significant event" which "the media is paying due attention to”. The EAEU, which was established in 2015, includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan as members. Serbia is a longtime ally of Moscow but to join the bloc, countries are required to align their policies with the EU's, which would include imposing trade sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
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America |
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U.S. economic growth decelerated in the second quarter by more than initially reported, suggesting President Donald Trump’s trade actions are weighing more heavily on the pace of expansion. Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product grew at a 2% annualized rate, according to Commerce Department data Thursday that matched analyst estimates and compared with an initially reported 2.1%. Consumer spending, which makes up about two-thirds of the economy, grew 4.7%, topping all forecasts with the biggest gain since 2014. The stronger consumption was offset by weaker readings across other categories, including exports, inventories, residential investment and state and local government spending. The report signals Trump’s 3% annual growth goal may be even more out of reach as the world’s largest economy faces complications from his tariffs on Chinese goods, which may further weigh on the outlook with levies set to increase Sept. 1. Investors have sent bond yields plummeting while economists project weaker growth in the second half and have boosted odds that the record-long expansion will end in the next 12 months.
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Asia |
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Though set to become the world’s third largest gas producer by 2027, China’s imports will still grow in the long-term. One key contributing factor is lower forecast in domestic gas production particularly in shale gas and coal bed methane (CBM), according to recent research by Wood Mackenzie. “We have adjusted our overall outlook for China domestic gas supply down in our latest update. Production is expected to double from 149 billion m3 in 2018 to 325 billion m3 in 2040, but this is 39 billion m3 lower than our previous outlook,” said Xueke Wang, a consultant at Wood Mackenzie. “While we are positive on conventional and tight gas output, the long-term growth of CBM and shale production looks to be challenging,” explained Wang. Growing from almost zero in 2010, China produced 10 billion m3 of shale gas in 2018, or 7% of total gas production. After years of development, comprehensive costs per well in Sinopec's Fuling field are more than 40% cheaper than the initial exploration wells in 2010, and 25% cheaper than the first batch of commercial wells in 2014. Source: Associated Press
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Indexes of Stock Exchanges 29.08.2019 |
Dow Jones Industrial |
26 362.25 |
(326.15) |
Nasdaq Composite |
7 973.39 |
(116.51) |
Commodity exchanges 29.08.2019 |
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Commodity |
Price |
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Light crude ($US/bbl.) | 56.62 |
Heating oil ($US/gal.) | 1.8700 |
Natural gas ($US/mmbtu) | 2.2800 |
Unleaded gas ($US/gal.) | 1.5800 |
Gold ($US/Troy Oz.) | 1 533.90 |
Silver ($US/Troy Oz.) | 18.18 |
Platinum ($US/Troy Oz.) | 920.40 |
Hogs (cents/lb.) | 64.90 |
Live cattle (cents/lb.) | 99.80 |
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Alexander Nevski Cathedral |
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On August 30 1724, Peter I officially moved the relics of St.
Alexander Nevski in Russia’s new capital – Petersburg. On this
day in 1924, the St. Alexander Nevski cathedral in Sofia was
inaugurated. It is one of the town’s biggest historical monuments,
as well as one of its most distinctive symbols. It is also the biggest
memorial-church on the Balkan peninsula. It was built in memory
of the Russian king Alexander I, who is called by all Bulgarians the
Liberator, for his troops liberated Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke in
1878. The cathedral occupies an area of 2600 sq.m., it is 70 m in
length and 55 m in width. It represents an impressive five-nave
basilica of cruciform domed type. The church itself is round in
shape, consisting of three altar apses: central, dedicated to St.
Alexander Nevski, southern – to King Boris I the Baptist, and
northern – to the wholly brothers Cyrill&Methodius. The icons
and frescoes in the cathedral are the work of distinguished
Bulgarian and Russian artists. Most of them are extremely
precious and unique exponents, one of which is the Pearl icon of
The Holy Virgin and her child, which people believe has
miraculous powers. Another precious exponent is the Golgotha
stone, which is placed in a box, made of mother-of-pearl bearing
the Bulgarian kingdom coat of arms. It was given to the church as
a gift by patriarch Cyrill.
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