Date Target Vendor Investor Size Comment
August 16 Exploration of the Ada Tepe gold project near Krumovgrad Through its Bulgarian subsidiary Balkan Mineral&Mining (BMM) Canadian Dundee Precious Metals Inc. USD 240 mln During the project's 6-year lifespan, Dudnee estimates the gold output at 746,117 troy ounces while the production of silver is seen at 348,237 troy ounces. Net income during the period is seen at $320.5 mln with net profit at $83 mln.
August 16 Finalised takeover Finmetals Holding (Kremikovtzi main shareholder) India's Global Steel Holdings Ltd (GSHL) N/A GSHL intends to pump $300 mln into Kremikovtzi over the next 3 years, boosting otput capacity and aligning production to EU environmental standards.
August 16 Expansion of operations Palfinger, manufacturer of hydraulic systems and truck cranes Palfinger Group, Austria 170 new jobs Palfinger Group bought a production facility in the Bulgarian village of Tenevo, in the Yambol area, in late 2002 for 1.5 mln levs. The company has also invested EUR 5 mln in a production facility located on the site of defence company Beta in Cherven Bryag, Northern Bulgaria.
August 16 Construction of 300-yacht marina St.Vlas resort on the Black Sea Venid-Yacht, Bulgaria EUR 10 mln The cost of the necessary infrastructure and equipment will boost the overall cost of Marina Dinevi (partner investor is Dinevi&Co construction company) to EUR 30 mln.
August 15 SME loans in Jan-Jul 2005 SMEs in Bulgaria Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) EUR 60 mln RZB thus increased its exposure to small business by 68% from end-'04
August 15 Buyout offer for the minority shareholders Slavyana AD, Bulgarian egg and poultry producer Stara Planina Hold, Bulgaria N/A Slavyana AD (90 % owned by Stara Planina Hold)posted income of 1.7 mln levs and profit of 58,000 levs in H1.
August 12 Hazardous gas emissions monitoring equipment Brikel AD, a Galabovo-based briquette factory Brikel Power Plant EUR 5 mln Brikel plans to generate 1.1 mln kWh of power by 2009. The entire output is sold to the National Electricity Transmission Company.
August 12 Buyout of a 55% stake Bulgarian subsidiary of Greek IT company Informer Bulgarian high-tech company Netnave Enterprises EUR 15,000 Informer sold the 55% stake it held which controls 2.94% of Municipal Bank.
August 12 A new retail store N/A German retailer Penny Market, part of the REWE Group N/A REWE is already represented on the Bulgarian market with its Billa brand of food stores. Billa has invested EUR 45 mln to launch 11 stores in Bulgaria since 2000. Bulgaria recently placed in the Top 15 development destinations for the global retailers prepared by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.
August 10 Purchase of 9,99% stake Sopharma Trading AD Sopharma, Sofia-based drug maker N/A The acquisition is Sopharma's latest in a series which includes 100% of Elektronkomers EOOD and a stake in another seven companies. Earlier this year the drug maker bought 9,99% of the capital of Kaliman RT and 9% of Global Medical OOD, both among its main distributors.
August 10 A new wine cellar Village of Lisichovo, Pazardjik area Karat Electronics, Bulgarian manufacturer of micro-processing equipment EUR 1.6 mln Karat has already spent EUR 1.5 mln to buy planting material for 80 ha of vineyards.
August 10 Construction of an incinerator Razlog municipality, in southern Bulgaria Brunata Termal, Bulgaria EUR 5 mln Brunata won the municipality tender
August 8 A new 5-star hotel Ahtopol municipality, a resort town located 90 km south of Bourgas, on the Black Sea Albena Invest Holding, Bulgaria EUR 5-7 mln Albena AD has investment projects for EUR 35 mln currently running
August 4 A new factory for granitogres and tiles Elin Pelin municipality, some 30 km southeast of Sofia Khan Asparuh,Bulgarian tile manufacturer EUR 12 mln The factory will have an annual capacity of 5 mln sq m, and part of the produce will be exported to Greece, Macedonia and Greece.
Deals, contracts, tenders and outsourcing for a total value of more than BGN 2 mln. and projects of strategic interest to Bulgaria
With the contribution of SeeNews (published by AII Data Processing Ltd) and Rivas
GOVERNMENT AND EU | REAL ESTATE AND FINANCE | EU TOPICS
Date Subject Institution Comment
August 16 Piraeus, Eurobank merger to kick off in late September Media Greece's Piraeus acquired 99.66% of its Bulgarian counterpart earlier this year for EUR 46.8 mln
August 15 Bulgaria's cosmetics marketgrew 5% in '04 Euromonitor In current value terms market reaches EUR 144 mln
August 15 Three Bulgarian parties sign Government coalition deal Bulgarian parliament The new coalition cabinet formed by the Bulgarian Socialists, the centrist National Movement for Simeon II and the mostly ethnic Turk MRF partiesto be voted August 16
August 11 16 firms eye Sofia recycling plant project Sofia mayor The project for construction of a plant to recycle the waste produced by Sofia is worth EUR 150 mln
August 10 Bulgarian firms buy 100,000 new PCs in '04 Applied Research and Communications Fund This marks a 50-60% year-on-year growth.
August 10 U.S. interest in Aksakovo business park project Media The project is spearheaded by the Foundation for Local Government Reform and USAID, with know-how, infrastructure and logistics.
August 10 Bulgaria's market for mobile telephone services grew by 25% in 2004 Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) Sales reached 1.2 bn levs.
August 10 Volume of Bulgarian alcoholic drinks market on the rise Euromonitor Growth rate is 8% in 2004.
August 8 Bang&Olufsen will open a flagship store in Sofia Media B&O is a leading Danish manufacturer of audio and video products.
August 5 Investments in ski resort town Bansko hit EUR 400 mln over the last 2 years Bansko municipality The low-end of the asking price for sites in the resort is 80 euro/sq m.
News and events important for investors related to the Bulgarian legislation, government and EU policy, financial and real estate sectors.
With the contribution of SeeNews (published by AII Data Processing Ltd) and Rivas

Spanish company to build EUR 100 mln golf course near Sofia

•Investor: Spain's Ferry
•Investment volume: EUR 100 mln
•Project: a golf course with adjacent hotel and residential compounds
•Site: near the village of Katina, in the Sofia area
•Size: 160 ha
•Time frame: 3 years
The Sofia municipality has already signed over its stake in the Sports Center Katina company to the Spanish partner for a price of EUR 1.6 mln
The golf course project could qualify Ferry Group for a First Class Investor, a certificate handed out by the InvestBulgaria Agency to business initiatives worth in excess of 100 mln euro. The certificate makes the investor eligible for state financing for the construction of necessary infrastructure.

Local or visiting golfers can currently choose between 3 courses. Airline company Air Sofia operates 2 of the courses, in Ihtiman and in Sliven. The third course is located near Elin Pelin, near Sofia area. 10 more golf club projects have been being announced and started in different parts of the country.

Showcase of important issues, deals, and events.
With the contribution of Rivas
August 17, 2005