Business Industry Capital
Bulgaria
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BNB Exchange Rates
(11.10.2019) |
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EUR |
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1.95583 |
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GBP |
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2.16941 |
USD |
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1.77319 |
CHF |
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1.78647 |
EUR/USD |
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1.1030* |
ECB exchange rate |
Basic Interest Rate |
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as of 01.10 |
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0 % |
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Financial news |
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Real estate investment is growing fastest, according to NSI data. Annual expenditures for the acquisition of fixed tangible assets (FTA) in the real estate operations sector amount to BGN 1.865 billion, which is an increase of 20%. The real estate sector saw over 10% of all investments in fixed assets made by companies operating in Bulgaria. The total volume of annual expenditures for the acquisition of fixed tangible assets in the country is BGN 17.6 billion. The largest investments are made in the industry - BGN 5.483 billion. These are more than 31% of all investments in the country, but there is a decrease by 3.66% compared to the previous year. Second is trade, transport, hotel and restaurant business accounting for 26% of the investment. In this sector were invested BGN 4.57 billion, but there is also a decrease of 3.64%. The largest drop was in investments in financial and insurance activities - by 27% to BGN 293 million. This is due to the advent of online banking, which leads to a decrease in the needs of banking branches. Source: Trud
In the period January - July 2019, Bulgaria's exports to the EU increased by 4.8% compared to the same period of 2018 and amounted to BGN 22 629.6 million. In July 2019, exports to the EU increased by 3.0% compared to the same month of the previous year and amounted to BGN 3 600.0 million. Bulgaria's main trading partners are Germany, Romania, Italy, Greece, France and Belgium, which account for 66.6% of exports to EU Member States. In the period January - July 2009, as compared to the same period of the previous year, the largest growth in the exports was recorded in the sector "Mineral fuels, oils and similar products" (46.4%). The largest drop was observed in the sector of animal and vegetable fats, oils and waxes (17.0%) Imports of Bulgaria from the EU in the period January - July 2019 increased by 2.1% compared to the same period of the previous year and reached BGN 23 842.7 million. The largest is the volume of goods imported from Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece and Spain. In July 2019 Bulgaria's imports from the EU Member States increased by 4.9% compared to the same month of the previous year and amounted to BGN 3 740.7 million.
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Companies |
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The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide a EUR 110 million loan to state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding to fund part of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (ICGB) project, which will also help establish a link with the Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP). In August, Bulgaria issued a state guarantee for the loan. The project is supported and co-financed by the European Union. The ICGB is included in the list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), which includes key cross border infrastructure projects that link the energy systems of EU countries. The gas link 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 planned length of the gas pipeline is 182 km and the projected capacity will be up to 3 billion cu m per year in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria. Depending on interest from the market and the capacities of the neighbouring gas transmission systems, the capacity of the pipeline can be increased to up to 5 billion cu m per year, thus allowing for physical reverse flow from Bulgaria to Greece with the additional installation of a compressor station.
US-headquartered semiconductor foundry Globalfoundries has agreed to acquire the process design kit (PDK) engineering team of Sofia-based Smartcom Bulgaria, consisting of over 125 employees. The deal is expected to be closed in December, following receipt of the required regulatory approvals. Since 2015, Smartcom has supported Globalfoundries' PDK development and quality assurance for platform technologies spanning from 350nm to 12nm. Smartcom specialises in microelectronics and electronic design automation, carrier grade telecom professional services, embedded systems and IoT. The company has subsidiaries in the UK and Turkey. Source: economic.bg
Bulgarian insurance broker Legion Broker is planning to launch operations in seven EU member states without setting up subsidiaries there, according to data from Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission (FSC). Bulgaria's financial regulator has notified its counterparts in Austria, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Romania, Italy and Spain of the company's intentions, the FSC said in a statement. The regulator did not provide further details.
53% of all trips of Bulgarian haulers will be made without cargo or revenues for the company and 14,000 people will lose their jobs by 2023 if the EU adopts the Mobility 1 package without taking into consideration Bulgaria’s position, data of sociological survey of KPMG global network presented at the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport read. The companies will raise their operational costs to pay for parking lots, fuel, posting of workers and accommodation of the drivers who will have to rest outside the truck cabins. This will force small businesses to cease operations and the big ones to shift their business to other EU countries. A total of 12,700 Bulgarian companies offer international road transport services. 75% of these companies are small and operate with up to 5 cargo vehicles. 42,500 people are employed at these companies. They receive an average monthly salary of EUR 1750. In 2018 a total of 25,800 Bulgarian cargo vehicles operated in Europe. Source: BNR
Supermarket chain operator Billa Bulgaria, part of Germany's REWE Group, has opened a new store in the city of Varna, on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, following an investment of over BGN 1 million. The new store, which is the company's 11th in Varna and 129th in the country, offers a commercial area of some 640 square metres. The store will employ 36 people. Earlier this year, the company said that it will invest over BGN 34 million in the expansion and renovation of its network in 2019. Billa, which entered the Bulgarian market in 2000, operates stores in 38 cities across the country, employing over 4,500.
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Bulgarian Industrial Association
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World
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Europe |
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European Union finance ministers agreed to remove the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and Mauritius from the bloc’s lists of countries deemed to be acting as tax havens, a move that activists called a “whitewash”. The 28-nation EU set up a blacklist and a gray list of tax havens in December 2017 after revelations of widespread avoidance schemes used by corporations and wealthy individuals to lower their tax bills. Blacklisted states face reputational damage and stricter controls on transactions with the EU. As part of the regular review of the lists, the ministers decided to drop the UAE from the EU blacklist that covers jurisdictions that have failed to cooperate with the EU on tax matters. The Marshall Islands has also been removed from that list, which still includes nine extra-EU jurisdictions - mostly Pacific islands with few financial relations with the EU. The UAE, the largest financial center which was blacklisted, was removed because in September it adopted new rules on offshore structures, the EU said, giving it a clean-sheet on its tax practices.
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America |
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U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in September and underlying inflation retreated, supporting expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in October for the third time this year amid risks to the economy from trade tensions. The Labor Department said the flat consumer price index last month was the weakest reading since January and came as increases in the cost of food and rents were offset by decreases in the prices of energy and used cars and trucks. The CPI edged up 0.1% in August. In the 12 months through September, the CPI increased 1.7% after advancing by the same margin in August. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI climbed 0.1% after gaining 0.3% for three straight months. The so-called core CPI was restrained by moderated gains in healthcare costs, as well as declines in apparel, new motor vehicles and communications prices. In the 12 months through September, the core CPI increased 2.4%, matching August’s rise.
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Asia |
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Iran’s priority in continuing to optimise its oil industry exports despite ongoing U.S. sanctions is to push the pace of development firstly of the multiple fields that constitute the West Karoun area and secondly of the fields it shares with Iraq. A corollary third priority is to ensure that it build-outs export routes for its oil that do not have to go through the ultra-politically-sensitive Strait of Hormuz. Last week saw movement on all three priorities. The first of these saw the rollout of new materiel in the North Yaran oil field, including new submersible pumping equipment and other related down-hole installations. Although the North (and South Yaran) fields are currently being developed without the assistance of major foreign oil firms, the past few months in particular have seen not just the installation of new technology and equipment to enhance oil flows but also six new wells began production. Before adverse local reaction in Iran to the idea of China securing a stranglehold over Iran’s oil sector recently gained momentum, North Yaran was to have been part of the Iran Petroleum Ministry’s broader idea that one developer for both Yaran fields made good sense from a logistical and financial perspective. Source: Associated Press
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Indexes of Stock Exchanges 10.10.2019 |
Dow Jones Industrial |
26 496.67 |
(150.66) |
Nasdaq Composite |
7 950.78 |
(47.04) |
Commodity exchanges 10.10.2019 |
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Commodity |
Price |
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Light crude ($US/bbl.) | 53.85 |
Heating oil ($US/gal.) | 1.9300 |
Natural gas ($US/mmbtu) | 2.2100 |
Unleaded gas ($US/gal.) | 1.6200 |
Gold ($US/Troy Oz.) | 1 499.50 |
Silver ($US/Troy Oz.) | 17.55 |
Platinum ($US/Troy Oz.) | 906.00 |
Hogs (cents/lb.) | 68.48 |
Live cattle (cents/lb.) | 111.42 |
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Kupena Reserve |
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Kupena (Rhodope Mountain, about 3 km southeastern from the town of Peshtera) was declared reserve on September 24, 1961. Is was established to protect the landscape, the beautiful scenery and the interesting and valuable flora, fauna and biological system. Because of the comparatively low altitude (500 to 900 m) the most spread trees here are the Scotch Pine and Spruce, which form forests of the age of nearly 150 years. Besides them the reserve protects Oak Trees, Hornbeam, bushes, etc. Kupena is inhabited by hares, martens, swallows, partridges, eagles, falcons, and many other animals and birds. The wild goat is one of the reasons for declaring the reserve. In the 80s of the past century there were about 100 representatives but because of the poachers in the beginning of the 90s it was almost completely annihilated. Nowadays only a small flock is protected here. The reserve is passed by the big water shed ridge, starting from the Batashki Snejnik summit and going down between the river Vacha and Stara. The slopes in the reserve are sheer and hardly accessible. On the rights of the Kupena summit are the vertical slopes of Steneto. Below these rocks of few hundred meters are found the entrances of the caves that are also hardly reachable. A breathtaking canyon is formed between Steneto and Kupena. The Water Cave is in the upper part of the canyon but the basic attraction here is the Snejanka cave – not big, but amazingly beautiful.
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