Date Target Vendor Investor Size Comment
August 30 Construction of sales and customer service centers Varna and Pleven municipalities Moto Pfohe (authorised Ford dealer for Bulgaria) EUR 2.5 mln 2 new centers are expected to open for business next summer.
August 29 Purchase of 50% in Bulgarian shopping and entertainment centre Mall of Sofia GE Commercial Finance Real Estate led consortium Euro 37 mln See below
August 29 10-year credit line ProCredit Bank Bulgaria German state-controlled development bank KfW EUR 10 mln The funding will provide ProCredit Bank with the possibility to extend longer term housing credits at fixed interest rates.
August 29 New maize hybrids factory Bulgarian Agro Master Bulgarian Agro Master EUR 1.2 mln Dobrich-based company Agro Master produces seed for Germany's KWS and France's Euralis, Ragt and Caussade, posted an output for EUR 1 mln in '04.
August 29 Modernisation of a Bulgarian copper mining and processing company Assarel-Medet Voest-Alpine Intertrading (Austria) EUR 27 mln Another EUR 15 mln have been earmarked for Assarel investments in 2006.International Company Assarel-Invest AD, majority-owned by Voest-Alpine Intertrading, bought Assarel-Medet in 1999.
August 26 Opening of second outlet in the Bulgarian capital Sofia municipality German retailer Hit EUR 16 mln Hit said it intended to open 5 hypermarkets in Sofia and over 10 in the rest of Bulgaria to the tune of over EUR 100 mln
August 26 A resort facility with 25,000-30,000 beds Village of Shkorpilovtsi, located some 50 km south of Varna, on the Black Sea PPP investment EUR 500 mln Italian, Swiss and Belgian investors are reportedly interested in the Shkorpilovtsi project which will be the biggest on Northern Black Sea coastline.
August 25 Street repairs and the purchase of a solid waste-packaging facility loan Sofia Municipality Austrian Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB) EUR 19.47 mln Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria beat out six other banks in the tender to extend the loan.
August 24 Bond issue Sturgeon Aquafarms Bulgaria N/A EUR 2 mln The bond will raise money for the construction in Sofia's wholesale market for fish and unprocessed fish products and a refrigerated storage facility.
August 24 Housing Construction Zlatni Pyasatsi (Golden Sands) resort area Bulgaria Zlatni Pyasatsi Resort EUR 13 mln In the half-year period net sales stood at 5.97 mln lev versus 5.11 mln levs a year ago.
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 30 First Bulgarian mutual fund Sentinel Principal to offer shares Sentinel TBI Dynamic and DSK Standard were the other 2 mutual funds licensed by Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission earlier this month.
August 30 Long-term home purchase credits saw interest rates go up by some 3% to 9.18% in July Central bank (BNB) According to central bank data, mortgage loans added up to 1.6 bln levs by end-July, up a hefty 140% year-on-year.
August 29 Mandersloot Polska trucking looks to expand to Bulgaria Mandersloot Polska MP is a subsidiary of a Dutch transport company
August 26 Bottled water sales seen rising 25% in '05 in Bulgaria. Bulgarian Soft Drinks Association The market grew 20% in '04 and 15% in '03
August 25 Bulgarian Parliament passes EU-required penal code in first reading Parliament Bulgaria signed in April its EU accession treaty that calls for the country's entry to the bloc on January 1, 2007. The adoption of the bulky new penal code is one of the key EU-requirements that Bulgaria should meet if it wants to convince the EU not to use the so-called safeguard clause and put off the accession by a year.
August 24 BTC's planned mobile operator will be called Vivatel BTC PR agencies Leo Burnett Sofia and Kres will handle creative work for the GSM service provider
August 24 35-year build-and-operate concession on a roll-on/roll-off ferry terminal at the Danube port of Silistra Transport Ministry Chimimport, Ferryboat Complex Silistra-Kalarasi-Bulgaria and Mineral IN apply
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

GE Capital buys 50% from Mall of Sofia

• Deal: 50% share in Mall of Sofia
• Project: Multifunctional business, shopping and entertainment centre
• Vendor (project investor): M. O. Sofia
• Developer: Lindner, Germany
• Price of deal: EUR 37 mln
• Total investment in the project: EUR 53 mln
• Timeframe: plot purchased 2001, construction to finish March 2006
• Site: Sofia city centre
• Size: 73 271 sq. m.

Hungary's OTP Bank and its local subsidiary DSK Bank have extended EUR 36.5 mln to the mall development.
Mall of Sofia was officially handed a first class investment certificate by the InvestBulgaria Agency in July 2005.
M.O. Sofia has the following shareholdes: IT Sofia BV (Netherlands), Aviv Holding GmbH(Austria), Ocif Investment and Development Ltd (Israel). IT Sofia BV is daughter company of the Israeli Cinema City International; IT Sofia and Ocif are daughter companies of Aviv Construction and Public Works.
Showcase of important issues, deals, and events.
With the contribution of Rivas
August 31, 2005