Date Target Vendor Investor Size Comment
September 28 Rise of output by 60% Kremikovtsi steel mill Indian Ispat Industries EUR 248.5 mln The investment programme will be fulfilled over the next 4 years
September 27 New travel and leisure TV channel Travel TV Bulgaria Bulgarian-German consortium Travel Television International EUR 9 mln Travel TV, which will start running 24 hours from Oct 1, will be beamed around Europe via a satellite from next summer.
September 27 Construction of a furniture factory Sofia ORT (Bulgaria) EUR 3 mln The new unit, to be built on an area of 14,000 sq m, is scheduled to start production by the end of 2006.
September 26 New production unit Vinprom Peshtera Bulgarian distillery Vinprom Peshtera EUR 1.5 mln Since 2004, Vinprom Peshtera, co-owned by Global Market and Serius Invest with 26% each and Brighton Distillers Group Ltd. with 48% has invested over 14 mln levs in new buildings, equipment, human resources and vine plantings.
September 21 Modernisation of three units at the Bulgarian state-owned Varna coal-fired power plant German engineering group Siemens Bulgaria EUR 11 mln Earlier this year, Siemens was hired to rehabilitate central heating facilities in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second biggest city, under a EUR 9 mln contract.
September 21 Takeover Cable TV operator, Recording Haskovo Bulgarian TV, Internet and telecoms services provider CableTel N/A In June, CableTel set up a joint venture with international consultants Cable Partners Europe to finance acquisitions of Bulgarian cable TV and Internet providers worth of between 80 mln and 100 mln euro
September 21 Purchase of 10% stake Transcard, non-banking issuer of the eponymous credit cards Tokuda Bank N/A In Bulgaria Tokuda Bank ranks 26th with assets worth 72 mln levs at end-June. The bank has attracted 35.6 mln levs in deposits and has floated credits worth 42.6 mln levs.
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
September 26 Seven companies vie for three Bulgarian wireless broadband licences Bulgaria's Communications Regulator Bidding for the class A licences starts at 689,000 euro and for the class B licences it starts at 672,000 levs.
September 21 Bulgaria raises aid for wheat farmers by 5.1 mln euro Agriculture Ministry Total aid would reach EUR 22 mln
September 21 Dozen Bulgarian banks prepare to introduce chip cards Visa International The number of Visa cards issued in Bulgaria reached 457,350 by end-June, up 165% year-on-year.
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

Economist Intelligence Unit Forecast

EIU ViewsWire, “Bulgaria economy: Quick View - GDP growth accelerates”

“Bulgaria's economy grew by 6.4% year on year in the second quarter, up from 6% in January-March, according. Strong growth in final consumption, as well as a double-digit rise in gross fixed capital formation, underpinned the best year-on-year quarterly performance since the second quarter of 1998.”

“Final consumption rose by 5.9% year on year in the second quarter, down from 7.3% in the first quarter, because of a dip in private consumption growth—which rose by 5.7% after having expanded by 7.3% in January-March.“

“The stronger than expected GDP data are out of line with industrial output figures that point to a slowing economy. The very strong contribution to GDP growth from government spending is also at odds with the good fiscal performance reported by the government in the first half of the year. Nevertheless, it is clear that very strong retail sales and a construction boom are propelling Bulgarian economic growth at the fastest rate seen in over six years.”

“In the light of the second quarter data, we have upgraded out full-year real GDP growth forecast to 5.7%. We still expect a slowdown in the second half, as a result of flooding in August and September as well as a slowdown in lending growth that is likely to take some of the steam out of the consumption boom. Growth in the second half will be further impeded by net trade, as imports are now growing faster than exports. The current-account deficit is now equal to more than 10% of GDP and as a result the government is likely to come under pressure from the IMF to adopt an even more restrictive fiscal policy in the 2006 budget.”
Showcase of important issues, deals, and events.
With the contribution of Rivas
September 28, 2005