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Equities Outperform Real Estate

m.staneva — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:39:00 GMT

The management company of Eurobank EFG (LF) funds is registered in Luxembourg. In Bulgaria, LF funds are distributed by Postbank, Galina Alexandrova, head of mutual fund distribution at Eurobank EFG (Postbank), told the Pari daily in an interview. The company has more than 30 LF funds and LF funds of funds, six of which are offered in Bulgaria.

"We have selected higher-risk schemes for the Bulgarian market," Alexandrova said. The first is the emerging Europe fund, which focuses on equity in Easter Europe: Russia, Poland, Turkey and the former socialist countries. More than 50% of the portfolio is invested in Russia. The fund has about 5% in Bulgarian stocks.

Last year the fund returned nearly 70% to investors. Another scheme that is actively offered in Bulgaria is BRIC fund of funds, which invests in Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The bank also offers an equity blend fund of funds. The bulk of the portfolio (more than 30%) is held in the USA, 20% is invested in the developed European markets like Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain and about 10%, in Japan. That is a lower-risk fund and the return is accordingly lower: 27% in 2009.

Investors' interest in Turkey is increasing for several reasons: the upcoming agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the rapid drop in interest rates, and the prospects for EU membership. In a longer-term plan, all investors interested in the developing markets should make an investment in Turkey.

The Russian market has a very big potential. The country is rich in natural resources and when oil and energy prices rise, that encourages Russia's development. At any rate the choice of a country for investment depends on the investor's profile.

Technically speaking, if we compare return rates, foreign investment schemes have performed better than Bulgarian funds. We should note, though, that the Bulgarian Stock Exchange and the funds investing on the Bulgarian capital markets achieved very high returns in the past few years. They were naturally hit hard by the crisis, as higher return is always connected with higher risk.

Mekom to Float BGN 14 Million Privileged Shares

m.staneva — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:21:00 GMT

Silistra-based meat packer Mekom will try to raise BGN 14 million on the capital market by offering privileged shares, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange said.

The company will issue 14,000,995 new shares with a BGN 1 par and issue value. If the whole issue is subscribed, Mekom's capital will reach BGN 70,004,973.

The non-voting shares guarantee a 12-percent annual dividend to holders. The capital increase will be considered successful if at least 140,010 new shares are subscribed (1% of the issue).

BenchMark Finance has been chosen as investment intermediary.

Finance Minister: Bulgaria Won't Be Another Greece

m.staneva — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:13:00 GMT

Bulgaria’s Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, has vowed to stick to the country’s restrictive budget in order to avoid financial instability.

“Our 2010 budget is such that we will execute it as we have planned. We are not going to get into such economic and social trouble as in Greece and many other states around us,” Djankov told the Parliament Thursday.

The Finance Minister was summoned in order to answer questions about the freezing of the salaries in the public sector, the anti-crisis measures of the government, and the 2% hike of the health insurance payments that the cabinet came up with recently.

He was explicit that the government was sticking to its commitment to balance the budget as much as possible, which meant that it had to cover new expenditures by raising the corresponding amount.

“The state budget is working out as planned. The first six months of 2010 will be hard for the budget but we expect that the second half of the year will be easier as the economy will start to recover. This should give us some more opportunities to make additional spending,” Djankov explained.

“Until then, however, we need new income for every new spending. Otherwise, we could generate higher and higher deficits, and end up in Greece’s situation,” he said.

Djankov said the government is able to stick to its budget plan largely thanks to the growing export – a trend which has appeared for the first time since August 2008. At the same time, Bulgaria’s import is shrinking, which, in his words, is good for the country’s balance but not good for the planned state revenue.

The Minister stated that the budget deficit accrued in the first months of 2010 was largely due to payments delayed by the previous government, and that starting in April the budget should be having surpluses.

The Finance Minister promised that the ruling party GERB will be presenting a package of 30 measures to stimulate business but vowed to welcome all non-partisan proposals from the other parties in this respect.

Easy Hotel Opens Doors in Bulgaria's Capital

m.staneva — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:06:00 GMT

The first Bulgarian hotel from the UK-based budget chain easyHotel is opening doors in Sofia, the company announced.

The hotel in downtown Sofia has 57 rooms on 9 levels. The investment is estimated at BGN 900,000. Prices start at EUR 10 per night.

The “easyHotel” chain is the first international company for budget hotels in Bulgaria. The chain is part of the “Easy Group” holding, which already operates budget flights in the country.

The hotels offer low prices for basic services such as accommodations and room cleaning while customers pay additional fees if they wish to order internet services, TV programmes and others.

The reservations are made entirely online with earlier reservations having lower prices, modeled after the budget airlines' policies.

Bulgaria Industrial Output Down 0.9% in January y/y

m.staneva — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:32:00 GMT

Industrial production in Bulgaria decreased 0.9% year-on-year in January, compared to the 12.1% fall in the previous month, shows data from the national statistics office.

On a monthly basis, industrial output declined 14.7% in January, after falling 0.7% in December.

Production of electricity,gas,steam and air conditioning supply increased 1.1%, while that of energy products – more than 6%.

Retailer turnover on an annual basis increased up to 12.9% in January after marking a 11% increase a month earlier, which shrinks the turnover total in the trade sector by 19% in comparison with the first month of last year.

EIU: Recession, Greek Crisis Stumble Bulgaria's Economy

m.staneva — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:20:00 GMT

The recession in Bulgaria's main trading partners and the Greek crisis will be among the major obstacles that Bulgaria's economy will face in the short term, a report of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) says.

According to the experts for the time being concerns over Bulgaria's competitiveness could hardly trigger the dismantling of the Currency Board that keeps the Bulgarian currency at 1.9558 to the euro.

The report points out that the weak demand on the market of the EU member states will limit the exports of Bulgarian goods and services, but considerable changes are not expected in the levels of the current account deficit in 2010 and the year after.

According to EIU the current account deficit will stand at an average of 6.8% of GDP by the end of 2011, driven mainly by the trade deficit. The Economist's analytical unit projects inflation at about 2.2% in 2010 and 2.5% in 2011. Bulgaria's economic growth has been set at 0.6%.

Prior to the economic crisis Bulgaria was among the countries with the highest inflation in the European Union, but due to the recession, prices in Bulgaria and across Europe started falling.

Statistics office data recently showed that the harmonized index of consumer prices rose 1.8% on a yearly basis in January and was up 0.6% on a monthly basis.

The experts forecast that the crisis in Greece will probably hurt Bulgaria regarding its trade contacts, investments and the Greek banks.

The foreign analysts also warn that the deteriorating debt crisis in Greece and the Greek banks, which hold nearly 30% of the Bulgarian banking sector, may trigger funds outflow from Greek bank subsidiaries in the country to headquarters in Greece.

Bulgaria's central bank has recently assuaged fears over funds outflow from Greek bank subsidiaries in the country to headquarters in Greece, saying this is part of the free movement of capital

“There is no liquidity withdrawal from Greek banks subsidiaries in Bulgaria,” representatives of the Bulgarian National Bank commented last week.

Most of the bankers that manage the Greeks banks subsidiaries in Bulgaria have also denied that the Greek mother-banks were draining funds from their Bulgarian units.

Some of the biggest lenders in Bulgaria are managed by Italy's UniCredit, Greece's National Bank of Greece, Hungary's OTP and Austria's Raiffeisen.

Other Greek banks present in Bulgaria include EFG Eurobank, Piraeus, Emporiki and Alpha Bank.

Bulgarian Central Depository to Link to SWIFT Soon

m.staneva — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:09:00 GMT

Bulgaria’s Central Depository (CD) will link to the global financial messaging network SWIFT most likely in April, CEO Ivan Dimov said on Tuesday at a Capital Market Forum.

The introduction of SWIFT will facilitate the access of foreign investors to the Bulgarian market and of domestic players to the international scene. The system will benefit securities trading, deputy finance minister Anna Mikhailova told Dnevnik.

The SWIFT system will enable a direct link with the Polish capital market, where Bulgarian pharmaceutical company Sopharma is to make soon a dual listing, Dimov added.

Currently, the Bulgarian capital market has two indirect links to foreign markets - through UniCredit Bulbank as a custodian of the Polish Central Securities Depository (KDPW) and Postbank as a custodian of Clearstream Banking Luxembourg. Clearstream told Dnevnik they considered switching to a direct link after the introduction of SWIFT by the CD. In turn, KDPW’s chief executive, Iwona Sroka, said that the Polish institution has always wanted to connect directly to the Bulgarian Central Depostory and it will reconsider its current strategy as long as it is in tune with its objectives and commitments to UniCredit Bulbank.

Neutral Data Centre Starts Working With an Investment of BGN 5 Million

m.staneva — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:11:25 GMT

A neutral data centre “3DC” with an investment of BGN 5 million starts service in Sofia, announced representatives of the centre. The project belongs to three Bulgarian information technology (IT) experts and has the support of NEVEQ investment fund.

The centre provides collocating services- to place IT technology. Being neutral, “3DC” is open to all infrastructure operators. Already 10 companies have used the services of the data centre for free.

The data centre is located in its own building in district Druzhba 1, Sofia. The building has been designed and built in 1985 with the sole purpose to be used for telecommunications.

“3DC” PLC is public limited company registered in Sofia. NEVEQ and the managerial staff posses shares of the company. The CEO is Zdravko Nikolov, who has nine years of experience in “Sysco Systems” as a Systems engineer and manager of Business Development. Stefan Stefanov, COO, has been the COO of “Orbitel” for the past 10 years. The CSO Vladislav Yankov has worked for the past ten years both for the sales in “Orbitel” and “Sysco”.

NEVEQ is an investment fund for the IT services in Bulgaria, Spain, and USA. Since its start in 2007, NEVEQ has invested in two Bulgarian IT companies.

Bulgaria's Flat Taxes Will Not Be Raised

m.staneva — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:13:42 GMT

Bulgaria’s corporate and income taxes – currently set at flat rates of 10% - will not be increased, according to Deputy Finance Minister Ana Mihaylova.

Mihyalova has repudiated the claims floated in the Bulgarian media that further tax increases might follow after on Monday the government decided to increase the employees’ social security payments by 2% to make them 10%.

The Cabinet made this move in order to replace funding in the reserves of the National Health Insurance Fund which will be unblocked in order to make delayed payments to doctors and hospitals.

The increased health insurance payments are expected to bring additional BGN 300 million to the 2010 budget of the National Health Insurance Fund.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Dnevnik Daily cited an unnamed source claiming that the team of economists of the GERB party was planning to increase Bulgaria’s corporate and income taxes from 10% to 12%. No official indications of any sort have been made by government or ruling party members to date.

Bulgaria Investors Wary of Financial Supervision Reform

m.staneva — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:08:23 GMT

The investment community in Bulgaria has not supported the Finance Minister Simeon Djankov’s plan to reform the financial supervision system in the country.

This became clear at a round table held Tuesday for all the institutions involved in any way with the stock market in Bulgaria. Business representatives raised doubts about Djankov’s plans and sated that they at least need careful analysis and discussion before any action is taken.

Djankov has put forward draft proposals in which the current regulators – the Financial Supervision Commission and the Bulgarian National Bank are replaced with one single financial authority or the twin peaks option in which the FSC is disbanded and replaced by an independent regulator under the umbrella of the Finance Ministry.

Earlier, Bulgaria's government was urged to sell on the stock exchange shares in companies, which are part of the Bulgarian Energy Holding, in a bid to put the local capital market back on track.

Bulgaria Minister: Beach Concessions Costs Will Drop 30%

m.staneva — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:01:24 GMT

Bulgaria's government will shortly approve a new strategy for development of the country's beaches, and will lower the cost of concessions and rentals, said Rosen Pleveneliev, Minister of Regional Development.

The Minister made this announcement on Tuesday, at a meeting with the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria.

Plevneliev said government approval would be within 10 days and that the first new concession procedures would start within one month. The Minister estimated that prices would become up to 30% lower than their present levels.

"I will not hide from you that after these competitions there will be beaches without concessionaires and leaseholder," he warned, however. According to the Minister, about 100 beaches are free at present.

Under the new strategy for beach rentals and concessions, some of them will be handed over to the regional governors to rent them out.

"Our goal is to have stable concession contracts with clear rules," the Minister stated.

International Travel Trade Show Opens in Berlin

m.staneva — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:56:22 GMT

The largest tourist expo – International Travel Trade Show, ITB, is opening in Berlin Tuesday with the participation of over 11,000 companies from 187 countries.

Bulgaria is represented by 32 tourist businesses and organizations with an exhibit displayed on 520 square meters. The motto of the 2010 presentation is - “Bulgaria – Modern, Year-Round Tourist Destination.”

The Bulgarian exhibit will provide folklore performances, demonstrations of typical and traditional Bulgarian crafts, and wine tastings.

Last year, Bulgaria was visited by 6 million tourists and collected revenues estimated at over EUR 2.5 billion, the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, informs.

Beginning Wednesday, the expo is open for trade visitors, and over the weekend for trade visitors and the general public.

Public Companies to Give Information on Managers Pay

m.staneva — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:51:03 GMT

Bulgarian listed companies are to make public their policy on managers’ remuneration and give detailed information on applying international standards in corporate governance, Dnevnik learned on Monday about the pending amendments to the securities act sent for deliberation to professional organizations.

Companies listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) are to make public the mechanism of determining their managers’ remuneration, which must be tied to financial performance, according to the draft bill.

Reports on managers’ pay will reveal the salary and the bonuses received by each of the executives in a public company including earnings related to a rise in the company’s share price.

The bill provides for disclosure on the share options held by the management, the value of loans and guarantees granted by the issuer or another company from the same group including outstanding interest or principal.

The BSE will arrange for the Cenral Depostory to become a clearing institution as well as to establish relations with foreign depository clearing bodies, according to the bill. The draft act also regulates the statute of exchange-traded funds.

The professional organizations are to give their say on the bill by March 12.

Bulgaria Labour Ministry Set to Open Human Resources Bids

m.staneva — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:28:34 GMT

Bulgaria's Labour Ministry will open and present public procurement bids under the EU-funded Human Resources Operational Programme.

The tenders will be opened on March 9, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy has announced.

Funding is available within the project "Support to the General Directorate 'European Funds, International Programmes and Projects'", and is targeted specifically at "providing logistics for the organization and conduct of information events, seminars and workshops by December 31, 2012 for the purpose of the Operational Programme Human Resources".

The object of the contract is to provide logistics for organizing and conducting of information events, conferences, seminars, trainings and others for the beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries of the operational program.

The goal is to raise awareness and to achieve full transparency in the implementation of the Human Resources Programme. The project is co-financed by the European Union through the European Social Fund.

Within the Labour Ministry, the Commission appointed by order of the Contracting Authority will evaluate the bids and it is expected that a framework agreement will be finalized with the three contractees who will organize a range of public events throughout the country, during the period 2010 - 2012.

Pharmaceutical Firm Actavis Sells Major Bulgarian Distributor

m.staneva — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:21:40 GMT

International pharmaceutical company Actavis Group has announced it will sell its major Bulgarian distributor Higia Jsc.

Higia Jsc, one of the largest distributors of pharmaceuticals in Bulgaria, was acquired by the Actavis Group in 2005. Higia has been sold to a private investor for an undisclosed amount.

“We chose the best offer not only for “Actavis” but for the employees of “Higia” and for the future development of the company within the local distributors' market,” commented Illiya Pashov, executive director of “Actavis” Ltd Bulgaria.

“Actavis” Ltd Bulgaria explains its decision to sell “Higia” with a development strategy to focus on its main business-the development, production and sale of high-quality generic medications.

Illiya Pashov assured that “Actavis” will continue to work with “Higia” and with other Bulgarian pharmaceutical distributors.

Actavis Group, which is headquartered in Iceland, took over the biggest Bulgarian pharmaceutical company from communist times “Balkanpharma.”

With two modernized manufacturing sites in the towns of Dupnitsa and Troyan, the company sells 40% of its production in Bulgaria. The rest traditionally goes to Russia and other former USSR countries such as Ukraine and Belarus.

Conference "CRM@publics.bg - CRM Technologies and Solutions for the Public Services"

a.pavlova — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Publics.bg organizes a conference for sharing experience and best practices in using CRM technologies and solutions in the public services sector.

Vinaria 2010

a.pavlova — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

VINARIA brings together leading companies from the most important industry sectors relating to vine-growing and wine producing. The event serves as a centre for exchange of information, presentation of innovations and technologies through the numerous conferences, seminars, presentations and business meetings included in the parallel business programme.

For Your success – practical experience from the TOP managers in Bulgaria

a.pavlova — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

"For your success - practical experience from the TOP managers in Bulgaria" is the first forum in Bulgaria for the successful business practices of leading Bulgarian companies. Come and see the best ncumbent business models in Top Bulgarian companies, which have full ownership of all economic spheres. Get practical guidance for successful projects, ways to develop human capital and funding of your ideas.

"Bulgaria: Attractive Investment Destination" Round Table Discussion

p.spassova — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

InvestNet.bg - The Bulgarian Investment and Business Network in cooperation with the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria are organizing the Round Table Discussion: "Bulgaria: Attractive Investment Destination".

Keynote speakers in the Round Table discussion will be:

Traicho Traikov, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria;
H.E. James B. Warlick, U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria;
John Mystakidis, Country Managing Partner, Ernst & Young Bulgaria.

The goal of the Round Table is to bring together the key public and private sector decision-makers that could influence Bulgaria’s investment policy strategy, legal framework and practices. It seeks to forge working relationships among all stakeholders responsible for promoting Bulgaria as a preferred investment destination.
The panel participants will try to elicit and summarize feedback and recommendations for further improving Bulgaria’s investment readiness. After the time of “easy” investments in real estate is over, concerted efforts have to be applied to improve Bulgaria’s image as an attractive destination for investments and doing business in various sectors of economy.

The final programme for the Round Table Discussion will be soon uploaded on the website.

For detailed information, please contact Ms. Antoniya Shulekova, Project Coordinator, InvestNet.bg at tel.: +359 2 / 960 79 29; fax.: +359 2 / 961 60 10 or e-mail: ashulekova@aubg.bg.

Eventex 2010

a.pavlova — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Eventex 2010 is a fair, designed for event organizers, exhibition and conference centres, catering companies, PR agencies, equipment companies and all professionals involved with the organization of special events.

HoReMa

a.pavlova — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

HoReMa is the first specialised exhibition for commercial equipment and furnishing for restaurants and trade centers. The event is organized within the framework of the BULGARIAN BUILDING WEEK – professional exhibition for building materials and machines, which is annually attended by owners of construction sites, holiday resorts, trade and business centers, investors and designers.

IDC IT SECURITY ROADSHOW 2010

a.pavlova — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Subtitled "Battling Sophisticated Threats: Security Strategies For The Resilient Enterprise," this year’s IDC IT Security Roadshow takes a holistic approach to IT security, helping to see it as a business enabler rather than a necessary or even mandatory cost, and offers practical advice on developing effective security programs that respond to changes in IT and working paradigms, as well as in the legal framework.

StartUp Conference Plovdiv 2010

a.pavlova — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The StartUp conference gathers at one place entrepreneurs, students and investors. Its purpose is to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit among young people in Bulgaria and to show them how to turn their ideas into successful businesses.

BULCONTROLA 2010

a.pavlova — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Bulcontrola is an exhibition of control and measuring equipment, control and automation equipment, electronics and automation, laboratory equipment, systems for environment protection. It is a meeting venue for engineers, technicians, ecology specialists, scientific workers and professionals from different fields of industry.

The three keys – home, office, villa

a.pavlova — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The biggest specialized exhibition for construction and furniture, which is held outside the capital.

MS Days

a.pavlova — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Get ready to face the challenges of today! During the technical sessions, the Microsoft experts and the partners of the company will provide you with important tips on how to be more productive and successful.

Technomebel 2010

a.pavlova — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The most prestigious specialised exhibition of materials, machines and equipment for woodworking and furniture production in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Building Week

a.pavlova — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Bulgaria Building Week is an international building and construction exhibition. Visitors will have the chance to get acquainted with different models of machines, equipment and techniques, which could be used for various construction activities.

VIII International Financial Exhibition “Banks Investments Money”

a.pavlova — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The International Financial Exhibition “Banks Investments Money” is traditionally held under the patronage of the Minister of Finance and with the support of the Bulgarian National Bank, the Financial Supervision Commission, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange - Sofia, the Association of Commercial Banks, etc. The exhibition incorporates International Financial Conference, a prestigious forum, at which well known experts in Bulgarian and foreign financial sectors share their knowledge and experience.

International Congress & Exhibition for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Sources

a.pavlova — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The forum, whose motto is SAVE Energy, SAVE Water, SAVE the Planet, will cover 3 key topics: Energy Efficiency, Water & Sewage Technologies, and Waste Management & Recycling. The goal is to establish a leading international event for South East Europe – a marketplace for providers of technology and expertise in the field of waste management, sustainable energy consumption, rational water usage and application so to make a big step for reducing green gas emissions in the Region as an important contribution to fighting Climate Change.