Business Industry Capital
Bulgaria
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BNB Exchange Rates
(20.11.2019) |
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EUR |
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1.95583 |
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GBP |
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2.28557 |
USD |
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1.76567 |
CHF |
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1.78143 |
EUR/USD |
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1.1077* |
ECB exchange rate |
Basic Interest Rate |
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as of 01.11 |
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0 % |
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Financial news |
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Foreign direct investment in Bulgaria in the first nine months of the year stood at EUR 714.5 million, the equivalent of 1.2 per cent of the gross domestic product, statistics from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) showed. In the same period of 2018, FDI was EUR 283.4 million, but the original amount reported by BNB last year was EUR 826.4 million, which was revised downward later. Investment in equity, including in the real estate sector, recorded an outflow of EUR 330.1 million (compared to an outflow of EUR 10.1 million in January-September 2018) and re-invested earnings accounted for an outflow of EUR 72.1 million (versus and inflow of EUR 215.1 million a year earlier), according to preliminary data. Receipts from real estate investments by foreign companies totalled EUR 3.9 million, compared to EUR 14.7 million during the same period of 2018. The central bank data showed EUR 1.12 billion in investment inflows as debt instruments, recorded as the change in the net liabilities of Bulgarian companies towards their foreign investor owners, compared to EUR 78.3 million in the first nine months of 2018. Such financial flows include financial loans, suppliers’ credits and debt securities, BNB said.
Bulgaria's current account was in surplus of EUR 4.86 billion in January-September, compared to a surplus of EUR 2.80 billion in the like period of 2018, the central bank said. The current account surplus in the first nine months of this year was equivalent to 8.2% of Bulgaria's expected 2019 gross domestic product (GDP), the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly balance of payments report. In September alone, Bulgaria's current account was in surplus of EUR 718 million, which compares to a surplus of EUR 384.2 million in September 2018.
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Companies |
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The sanitary ceramics company Ideal Standard-Vidima has opened its modernized factory in Sevlievo. The official cutting of the ribbon was attended by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev. The modernization is related to the automation of production processes and the improvement of working conditions at the sanitary fittings plant, which dates back to 1934. The mixers and showers produced there are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. It is the largest fitting factory in Europe. Over the last two years, more than BGN 22 million has been invested in the renovation of the plant's equipment and its transformation into a modern facility. So far, over 3000 jobs have been created. Source: economic.bg
EVN will build new facilities for the production of heat in EVN Bulgaria District Heating. The investment is worth BGN 23 million and envisages 100 megawatts of heat capacity - 5 boilers for natural gas, as well as the construction of 5 buildings for each of them. The financing is EVN funds through profit reinvestment. Currently, EVN Bulgaria District Heating supplies 33,000 households in Plovdiv with heat, and this year a new heat transmission network was built to connect customers in the North, Central, Trakia and West regions. The new boilers will serve to cover peak loads as they have the flexibility to operate - with short on and off procedures. Three of them will be built in the area of TPP Sever, where in 2011 the cogeneration plant of EVN was built with an electric power of 49.9 megawatts and with a thermal power of 55 megawatts. Source: Capital
BDZ - Passenger Transport is determined to part with its bad image. In an attempt to renovate its old trains and put an end to the delays, the company plans to buy, rent and repair a total of 24 locomotives for almost BGN 80 million. To that end, the company has launched a series of public procurement contracts that come a month after BDZ - Passenger Transport opened another procedure - for the purchase of 40 new coaches for almost the same amount. The largest order is for the delivery of 10 new locomotives - BGN 57.5 million, excluding VAT. The price includes warranty support. The aim is to invite selected participants to negotiate by the end of February. However, whether this deadline will be respected depends on whether there will be an appeal against the procedure and how long it will continue. Judging by the practice of conducting large auctions, this is almost guaranteed. The selected company must deliver the locomotives within 54 months, or up to 4.5 years. The main criterion for choosing a supplier will be the price, and the warranty period and delivery time of the machines themselves will "weigh" less. Source: Sega
Chinese investors are interested in taking part in transport infrastructure and urban planning projects in Bulgaria, the regional development ministry in Sofia said. "The aim of our visit is to find together with the Bulgarian state a suitable option for the implementation of certain projects, including in the field of transport and urban planning," the ministry quoted the chairman of China International Contractors Association (CHINCA), Fang Qiuchen, as saying during a meeting with Bulgaria's deputy minister of regional development Nikolay Nankov on Monday. Among the projects that can be potentially implemented with the help of Chinese investors is Russe-Veliko Tarnovo motorway, the road tunnel under the Shipka peak, as well as Cherno More motorway planned to link the coastal cities of Varna and Burgas. In 2017, government officials said that Bulgaria will aim to build a motorway connecting Veliko Tarnovo, in the central-northern part of the country, to Russe, on the border with Romania, by 2022. The cost of construction works of the Russe-Veliko Tarnovo motorway is expected to exceed BGN 2 billion. The planned motorway, approximately 130 km in length, will become part of pan-European transport Corridor 9 stretching from Helsinki in Finland and Alexandroupolis in Greece.
Bulgarian diversified group Doverie United Holding turned to a consolidated net profit, excluding minority interest, of BGN 3.7 million in the first nine months of 2019, from a net loss of BGN 1.1 million in the same period of 2018. Including minority interest, Doverie United Holding generated a net profit of BGN 4.3 million in the review period, compared to a net loss of BGN 590,000 in the comparable period of last year. The company's revenue grew to BGN 122.6 million in the January-September period from BGN 108.7 million the year before, backed by higher revenue from offered services. Doverie United Holding also increased its operating expenses, to BGN 117.8 million from BGN 109 million a year earlier. Amortiastion costs doubled to BGN 8.1 million in the first nine months of the year from BGN 4.1 million in the same period of 2018, while cost of goods sold rose to BGN 52.1 million from BGN 51 million. Earlier this year, Doverie United Holding's wholly-owned unit Doverie-Invest acquired a majority stake in Moldova's Moldindconbank (MICB). However, Doverie United Holding does not yet consolidate the results of Moldindconbank. Doverie United Holding owns majority stakes in over 20 companies active in various sectors of the economy, including healthcare, insurance, banking, retail trade, real estate, and others. Source: investor.bg
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Bulgarian Industrial Association
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World
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Europe |
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France wants to change the rules for countries to join the EU club. In a two-and-a-half page "non-paper" shared with other EU countries, along with an annex listing new stages, Paris calls for replacing the current accession process, which divides the EU acquis — the body of rights and obligations that includes the EU treaties, as well other rules and laws — into 35 chapters. EU countries must agree unanimously to formally begin negotiations for accession. An aspiring member country then works with the European Commission to adjust its national laws to match the acquis, and once it has done so, an accession treaty is drawn up, and must be approved by the Council of the EU and ratified in each of the existing member countries. Under the French proposal, there would be a new, seven-stage process, with "stringent conditions in order to effectively converge towards European norms and standards," plus a "reversibility" component, allowing the EU to abandon membership talks if a candidate country's government backslides away from the bloc's standards.
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America |
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Google sets out to transform the video game world with its Stadia service crafted to let people access console-quality games as easily as they do email. With the Stadia launch Tuesday, the internet giant is aiming for a piece of a global video game industry expected to top $150 billion this year by using its cloud computing technology offering rich features without the need for consoles. Stadia announced 10 more games on Monday to bring its lineup to 22 with more promised by year's end. Google last month sold out of "Founder's Edition" kits, which are priced at $129. Some who ordered Stadia kits were grumbling online that they had yet to receive the hardware they need to use the service. Each kit contains a Stadia controller and a pendant-shaped Chromecast Ultra wireless connection device that plugs into television sets. Stadia games are also playable using Google Chrome web browser software on computers as well as with Google-made Pixel smartphones from the second-generation onward. Stadia Pro subscriptions, priced at $10 a month in the US, will be available in 14 countries in North America and Europe. Source: AFP
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Asia |
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Japan's biggest search engine and messaging app are set to merge under a deal agreed by their parent companies. Yahoo Japan is the country's biggest search engine, and has e-commerce and online banking subsidiaries. Line is the country's dominant messaging app, and is also popular in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Analysts say the merger will help the companies compete with Japan's other online giants. Yahoo Japan has long offered a diverse range of services but has lagged behind many of its competitors, said Seijiro Takeshita, from the University of Shizuoka. "This will be a very big headache and threat to the players like NTT Docomo and Rakuten," he said. While Google is the predominant search engine in the US and Europe, Yahoo is Japan's most popular search engine. More than 50 million people visit Yahoo Japan's website every month. Yahoo Japan is no longer linked to its US namesake, which sold its remaining stake in the company in 2018. Line, which is owned by South Korean company Naver, has roughly 80 million users in Japan and a similar number in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.
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Indexes of Stock Exchanges 19.11.2019 |
Dow Jones Industrial |
27 934.02 |
(-102.20) |
Nasdaq Composite |
8 570.66 |
(20.72) |
Commodity exchanges 19.11.2019 |
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Commodity |
Price |
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Light crude ($US/bbl.) | 55.20 |
Heating oil ($US/gal.) | 1.8600 |
Natural gas ($US/mmbtu) | 2.5300 |
Unleaded gas ($US/gal.) | 1.5900 |
Gold ($US/Troy Oz.) | 1 476.20 |
Silver ($US/Troy Oz.) | 17.16 |
Platinum ($US/Troy Oz.) | 913.50 |
Hogs (cents/lb.) | 69.62 |
Live cattle (cents/lb.) | 125.05 |
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