Date Target Vendor Investor Size Comment
July 12 A new tailoring factory Bulgaria Austrian textile company Erich Gasser n/a Gasser Bulgaria, based in Krichim, Southern Bulgaria, works exclusively for brands like Hugo Boss and Intersport and is contracted for limited edition orders. The company manufactures 1 mln apparel items annually.
July 11 Credit for leasing of vehicles and other types of machinery and equipment UniCredit Leasing Bulgaria Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), part of German KfW EUR 10 mln It would preferentially finance small- and medium-sized companies with annual sales of up to 10.2 million euro that plan to develop and improve their business.
July 11 3-year bond loan, aiming to expand its operations ProLease, the leasing arm of ProCredit Bank Bulgaria n/a EUR 10 mln Bulgaria's leasing market grew 43% in the year 2004, exceeding 400 million levs. Experts expect it to top 700 million levs this year, because commercial banks in Bulgaria, aiming to meet central bank requirements, now lend a large part of their loans through their affiliated leasing companies.
July 11 Purchase of a stake The Romanian aircraft engine manufacturer Turbomecanica The Bulgarian equity mutual fund Advance Invest n/a Advance Invest, which was launched in May 2004, achieved an annual yield of 66.7% before taxes in its first year of operation, when it invested mainly in Bulgarian equities but also in debt. The assets of Advance Invest rose to EUR 8 mln, helping the fund achieve a 26% market share.
July 11 Expansion of the retail network to 70 locations Bulgaria The Greek electronics retailer Germanos EUR 800,000 Germanos has invested EUR 5 mln in its network since it entered the Bulgarian market in 2000. It spent EUR 1 mln last year alone.
July 11 Raised capital The capital of state-owned gas company Bulgargaz Bulgargaz (own company assets) EUR 40 mln Thus capital will reach EUR 363 mln
July 9 Construction of a commercial, business and amusement center Resort town of Obzor Bulgarian company Tera Tour Service and Nesebar municipality JV EUR 7.5 mln Tera has proposed partnership to the municipality for this 2 year project.
July 8 Infrastructure support grant for Business Park Sofia Lindner (Germany) Bulgarian Government EUR 7 mln This contract with the government follows the Investment Encouragement Law according to which Lindner was awarded a 1st class investment certificate
July 8 A new sales and service truck centre Bozhurishte area, to the south of Sofia Cefin Holding EUR 4.5 mln Cefin Holding is the biggest dealer of Italian automotive group Fiat's Iveco trucks in central and eastern Europe
July 7 Industrial Park Sofia Bozhurishte borough currently owned by the Bulgarian defence ministry Industrial Park Sofia EUR 200 mln Industrial Park Sofia, majority-owned by investment bank Finanziaria Internazionale (Italy) has offered to swap 100 apartments for the 100 ha site. The project should be completed within 2 to 4 years after the approval of the Bulgarian government is secured and has the capacity to start immediately.
July 7 Retail outlet Pleven municipality Technopolis EUR 2.5 mln Technopolis is co-owned by local audio, video and household appliance importer Videolux and German construction firm Lindner Group. Investment in the chain so far tops 50 mln levs and is expected to reach EUR 35 mln by end-2005.
July 6 3-year bond issue TBI Credit Institutional investors EUR 10 mln TBI Credit is the local leasing company part of Dutch TBIH Group
July 6 Establishment of a property fund Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia Global Finance (Greece) EUR 125 mln The Global Emerging Property Fund plans to attract additional debt financing and to invest around 450 million euro in the acquisition and development of high-quality office buildings, trade centres, logistics centres and industrial parks.
July 6 Construction of a water power plant Municipality of Kresna, Southwestern Bulgaria Bulgarian Economic and Investment Bank (EIB) EUR 5 mln It will be the first of a number of water power plants that will be built on Struma river. The project will generate CO2 emission reductions which may then be sold to Austria or Switzerland.
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
July 12 Bulgarian telecom market marks 13% rise in 2004 Ministry of telecommunications Bulgarian market of telecommunication services marked a turnover of BGN 2.503 B (approximately EUR 1.280 B), which stands at 7% of the GDP.
July 12 H1 domestic TV ads spending up 15% y/y Market Links agency The spending is estimated to be EUR 74 mln
July 12 DSK Bank, owned by Hungary's OTP Bank, has won on a competitive basis the contract to manage EUR 23 mln that will be extended to Bulgaria under EU's SAPARD program DSK Bank Last week it was announced that Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) EAD will handle the funding provided under EU's ISPA program while Bulbank will be in charge of the money from the Phare program.
July 11 Bulgaria H1 new car sales rise 53.8% Y/Y The car importers union UIAB The local dealers moved a total of 16,031 new automobiles, 268 motorcycles, 400 trucks and 84 buses in the first half of 2005.The sales total figure does not include the business of the local Porsche dealer as well as that of few other importers of Chinese, Indian and Russian vehicles who are not members of the UIAB.
July 11 Magyar Telekom, the Hungarian unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, has reiterated plans to enter the Bulgarian market with the acquisition of a native telecom operator. Bloomberg Possible acquisitions in Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania are expected to boost the company's bottomline.
July 9 Bulgarian drug distributor Sting will assist financially stand-alone pharmacies to achieve Good Manufacturing Practice standards Sting The company operates 6,000 sq m of storage space and distributes 4,500 medicines and food supplements. Sting said its drug sales jumped by 46% in '04 but did not cite hard figures.
July 8 Standard & Poor's Ratings Services puts Bulgaria's largest mobile telecom operator Mobiltel on its CreditWatch Standard & Poor's Ratings Services The CreditWatch placement follows Telekom Austria's (TA)exercising of its option to purchase 100% of Mobiltel's share capital in mid-July 2005
July 7 Bulgarian Biovet gets permission to buy the active substances production business of Iceland-based generic drugs maker Actavis in Bulgaria. Biovet (Bulgaria) Biovet, with a staff of more than 700, holds 35% of the Bulgarian veterinary drugs market and exports some 50% of its output to the European Union. It has subsidiaries in Poland, Italy and China.
July 7 U.S. to give Bulgaria $15 mln defence aid U.S. ambassador to Sofia James Pardew This $15 mln allocation will be used to improve Bulgaria's military capability and provide for the Bulgarian national security. The grant will add to the $7 mln military financing granted to Bulgaria by the United States this year.
July 6 Greek telecoms equipment maker Intracom mulls move to Romania, Bulgaria or Ukraine. Reuters The driving force is lagging domestic sales and competition from lower priced products from China
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

Ada Tepe gold mine project of Canada's Dundee Precious Metals to be recouped in 2 yr

The Ada Tepe gold mine project will repay itself within two years of launch, shows the feasibility study approved by the investor. The mine will produce 150,000 troy ounces of gold annually. The cost of the production launch is seen at $75 mln, with overall investment in the project estimated at $101 mln. The development of the Chelopech mine project will further boost Dundee's local investment to $150 mln by '06.

The company has been awarded in 2004 a concession on exploiting the deposit there and in the Rhodope Mountains near the town of Krumovgrad. Dundee was also awarded a 1st class investment certificate under the Investment Encouragement Law.

The Canadian company has been operating in Bulgaria through its subsidiary, Chelopech Mining, since September 2003. In 2003, Dundee Precious Metals acquired a majority stake in Chelopech Mining from Navan Mining Plc. The company chose Bulgaria because of the potential gold reserves, the favourable business climate and its modern environmental legislation.

The gold deposit at the Chelopech mines is estimated at 27.37 million t. The lifespan of the mines is estimated to be between 15-30 years.

Dundee has plans to invest not only in extracting copper and gold ore but also in the production of copper and gold, following all the environmental requirements.
Showcase of important issues, deals, and events.
With the contribution of Rivas
July 13, 2005