The economic forecasts for Bulgaria for the next few years are quite positive. This is indicated by statistics released by the Statista covering the period 2014 to 2024. The GDP of the small European country is expected to increase steadily over the next 4-5 years, by 2019 estimated to reach USD 67 billion or USD 2 billion more than in 2018. Extremely pleasant, is the Statista’s suggest (for the next 5 years) for a significant growth of USD 3 to 5 billion annually, reaching USD 91.56 billion in 2024. We recall that GDP is an important indicator of the economic situation of the countries, showing the total value of all services and goods produced for a year in the country. In terms of GDP per capita - another important indicator that demonstrates the total value produced by each resident - the picture is expected to be similar. From an estimated USD 9,619 on average per year in 2019, the growth will reach USD 13,533 per year on average per person. This practically means that the average wages in the country should jump by almost 40 percent within 5 years.

The Bulgarian economy will finish the year with a growth of 3.5%, experts of UniCredit Bulbank predict in their latest quarterly analysis of the Central and Eastern European economy. Expectations of slightly higher than expected three months ago annual growth reflect the combination of stronger than expected export growth and a sustainable improvement in labor market conditions, against a backdrop of strong job recovery and wage growth. In 2020, there will be a slight slowdown to 2.9%, mainly due to external factors such as weaker demand in the euro area, uncertainty triggered by trade wars and weak US growth. "These three factors will lead not only to a lower demand for Bulgarian exports, but also to greater uncertainty, which is likely to affect private investment growth. The latter is already evident in the latest business confidence surveys, where global insecurity has become the number one factor limiting plans for expansion of Bulgarian companies in the industry after a prolonged period, in which the first place was addressed by labor shortages" the analysis reads.

Canada's Dundee Precious Metals (DPM) said that it has successfully completed ramp-up activities at its Dundee Precious Metals Krumovgrad open pit gold mine, located at the Ada Tepe property in southern Bulgaria, and the mine has now been operating at the full design tonnage for 10 days straight. "We are extremely excited to see the operation achieve and sustain design tonnages and recoveries in September as expected," Rick Howes, DPM's president and CEO, said. The mine is expected to produce between 45,000 and 60,000 ounces of gold contained in concentrate in 2019. In August, DPM completed the construction of the larger integrated mine waste facility cells. The company also commenced the construction of additional cells, which will provide further flexibility going forward. During the most recent ramp-up period in September, the mill was able to process higher grades that were stockpiled during commissioning, helping to offset the lower throughput while the additional cells were being constructed. DPM also operates the Dundee Precious Metals Chelopech gold and copper mine in central Bulgaria.

Two private equity firms have submitted bids for the acquisition of Vivacom, Bulgaria's largest telecommunications group. These are United Group companies and Providence Equity Partners, which are currently executing Due Diligence of the deal. Vivacom is estimated at about EUR 1.2 billion. The estimate is based on recent telecom purchases in the region. The potential sale of Vivacom came to light in July, when information was once again published in the international press that the Lazard company had been appointed as a transaction consultant. United Group's offer is EUR 1.1 billion and Providence Equity Partners's offer is EUR 1.05 billion, according to sources familiar with the details of the deal. This means that sellers Spas Rusev and VTB Capital can make big profits after acquiring Vivacom for EUR 330 million four years ago.

Northern Macedonia is interested in conducting expert-level negotiations on the Belene NPP project. In the process of selecting a strategic investor for the project, Skopje has expressed interest in acquiring a minority stake in the future project of the company, as well as in purchasing electricity from the nuclear power plant at a rate of 10 percent. "A review of the applications submitted by the companies is under review, followed by a short list of companies to be interviewed," Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said at a meeting with Macedonian Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi. According to both ministers, the Belene NPP project will be of regional importance. The two countries continue to work together on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2017 on natural gas. Bulgartransgaz SPJSC has prepared a feasibility study on the possibility of developing a new gas connection between Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia. Such an analysis is expected to be prepared by the Macedonian side as well. The Macedonian minister has informed his Bulgarian counterparts that the government in Skopje has amended its energy legislation to comply with the latest European regulations.

U.S. company TAG announced a proposal to transfer all its production of military-grade armored vehicles to Bulgaria and to fulfill the order for this type of equipment for the needs of our ground forces. At least 1000 jobs will be created from the project implementation. The Americans are ready to make a joint venture with a government-designated company that will be licensed to produce 10 models of armored vehicles and exclusive rights to sell these vehicles in the EU, including an option for own brands. "Our proposal is that Bulgaria should not just be a customer of a manufacturer based in another country," said TAG Executive Director Robert Pazderka. "We give Bulgaria the opportunity to join forces with our company and compete with these same manufacturers in the large armored vehicle market in the EU. Moreover, Bulgaria will enter this market with the most modern U.S. technologies and probably with the most competitive prices,” he explained. According to him, the group is ready to use any materials and components manufactured in Bulgaria that meet the requirements for the assembly of the machines.

The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) approved a 0.11% lower natural gas price for the period October-December 2019. With this decision, the regulator agrees with Bulgargaz's proposal, made three weeks ago. The price at which the public provider sells natural gas to the final suppliers and to customers connected to the gas transmission network is BGN 44.85 / MWh (excluding prices for access, transmission, excise duty and VAT). EWRC leaves unchanged the prices of heat and electricity "due to the slight change in the price of natural gas”. The approved price of natural gas includes the component "price of natural gas at the entrance of the transmission networks" in the amount of BGN 44.03 / MWh, the component for the activity "public supply" in the amount of BGN 0.69 / MWh, as well as the component for compensation of expenses arising from imposed obligations to the society in the amount of BGN 0.13 / MWh, covering the expenses of Bulgargaz SPJSC for storage of quantities in the Chiren underground gas storage facility in fulfillment of its obligations under the Emergency Plan.

Sirma Group Holding said that its unit Sirma Solutions has signed a four-year BGN 6.64 million contract with the National Health Insurance Fund. The contract envisages provision of cloud services and related licenses, Sirma Group Holding said in a bourse filing. On Friday, Bulgaria's Registry Agency said that it has signed a BGN 1.7 million deal with Sirma Solutions for the purchase of laptops, computer monitors and software licenses.

Car behemoth Volkswagen will face a German court, as hundreds of thousands of owners of manipulated diesel cars demand compensation four years after the country's largest post-war industrial scandal erupted. Around 450,000 people have joined a first-of-its-kind grouped proceeding, introduced by lawmakers after the "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal broke in 2015. Consumer rights group VZBV, representing the plaintiffs, says the German carmaker deliberately harmed buyers by installing motor control software that allowed vehicles to pollute far more on the road than under lab conditions. The trial is Germany's largest so far in the tentacular diesel scandal, which last week saw VW chief executive Herbert Diess charged with market manipulation over his role. - 50 questions for judges - In the mass lawsuit, the most important of around 50 questions for judges is whether Volkswagen "caused harm" by acting "dishonestly". Klaus Mueller of VZBV said he is "convinced" the car firm did, while VW says "clients did not suffer harm".

Low-price fashion chain Forever 21 has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The privately held company based in Los Angeles, a once-hot destination for teen shoppers that fell victim to its own rapid expansion and changing consumer tastes, said it will close up to 178 stores in the U.S. As of the bankruptcy filing, the company operated about 800 stores globally, including more than 500 stores in the U.S. The company said it would focus on maximizing the value of its U.S. stores and shutter certain international locations. Forever 21 plans to close most of its locations in Asia and Europe but will continue operating in Mexico and Latin America. Forever 21 joins Barneys New York and Diesel USA on a growing list of retailers seeking bankruptcy protection as they battle online competitors. Others, like Payless ShoeSource and Charlotte Russe, have shut down completely. The numbers show the crisis facing traditional retailers. So far this year, publicly traded U.S. retailers have announced they will close 8,558 stores and open 3,446, according to the global research firm Coresight Research. That compares with 5,844 closures and 3,258 openings in all of 2018.

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the country's largest oil and gas producer and supplier, has explored new petroleum and gas reserves, the company said. The company has discovered an oilfield holding over 1 billion tonnes of reserves in northwest China. Newly added proven oil reserves stood at 358 million tonnes while expected reserves hit 693 million tonnes, said the CNPC. A total of 640,000 tonnes of oil will be produced in the oilfield this year, and the annual output will reach 3 million tonnes in the near future, said Li Luguang, vice president of PetroChina Company Limited, a subsidiary of CNPC. Some 740.97 billion cubic meters of newly added proven shale gas reserves have been explored in southwest China's Sichuan Basin, making the verified reserves accumulate to 1,061 billion cubic meters in the area. The company plans to produce 7.7 billion cubic meters of shale gas this year and expand the output to over 10 billion cubic meters by the end of 2019.