News - Archive

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May. 2008 May 24 - Bulgarian national day of culture May 24 is celebrated in Bulgaria as the Day of Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture and of the Slavonic Alphabet.
The day is celebrated throughout the country with festivities.

Besides Bulgarian Enlightenment and Culture, the day is dedicated to the invention of the Slavonic or Cyrillic alphabet by the brothers SS Cyril and Methodius. The two brothers, still considered by many Bulgarians as having been Bulgarian, are credited with the invention of an early version of the Cyrillic alphabet, the Glagolitic alphabet. The alphabet has also been credited to Saint Clement of Ohrid, who was a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius. More recent studies have suggested that the Cyrillic alphabet was more likely developed at the Preslav Literary School in northeastern Bulgaria.

As part of the celebrations, a ceremony was held in front of the National Library in Sofia, the location of a statue of SS Cyril and Methodius in the presence of over 1300 school children from around the country, 8 youth brass orchestra's and 8 marching bands.

In his speech at the celebrations, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov said the government had an obligation in education and more specifically in the education of literary Bulgarian. This obligation should be reflected in the investment government made in education, Parvanov said.

Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov remarked in his speech that, if all Bulgarian institutions would work together in the same way they collectively celebrate May 24, the country would be reborn.

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May. 2008 Q1 2008 construction permits number down Bulgarian authorities have issued 3505 construction permits in the first quarter of 2008, a decrease of nearly 25 per cent over the previous three months, data from the National Statistical Institute data showed on May 21.

Residential developments continued to account for the largest share of the total, with 2267 permits granted for total area of area of 1.6 million sq m, compared with 2884 permits for 2.4 million sq m in the previous quarter. The number of permits for administrative buildings went down to 78 from 145.

Bourgas region received the largest number of permits for a third quarter running, although the figure nearly halved at 465, compared with 875 in October-January 2007. Varna saw the number of permits drop from 516 to 364, in Sofia the decrease was 406 to 342 and in Plovdiv - 433 to 320.

The four cities accounted for 42.5 per cent of all building permits, including 50.5 per cent of all residential ones for a total area of more than 892 00 sq me (56.3 per cent of total).

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May. 2008 Golf and Wine Tourism with Strong Potential for Bulgaria Over 300 million EUR could potentially be invested in golf courses in Bulgaria if the state provides private investors with plots suitable for golfing.

This statement was made by Krassimir Gergov, Chair of the National Tourist Board at the Fourth International Meeting of Bulgarian Media in Madrid, Spain.

If in 5 years golf courses were not built on the plots provided by the state, such plots would be automatically recalled, Gergov specified.

Gergov gave the example of Turkey where the yearly profit from a golf course is over 5 million EUR with the strong possibility for the same amounts to be reached in Bulgaria.

He further announced that this fall, from September 24 to 28, Bulgaria would host the International Golf Tournament Bulgaria Open. The tournament will take place at the Black Sea Ram golf course in Balchik and is expecting golfers from over 20 countries. In the fall the Black Sea Ram is already going to be an 18-hole course making the international tournament possible.

According to statement made by Poli Karastoyanova, Executive Director of the National Tourist Board, tourism in Bulgaria creates 15% of the Gross Domestic Product, providing 300 000 job opportunities and realizing over 3 billion EUR of yearly revenue.

Other presentations at the Media Meeting included those of Plamen Mollov, Chair of the National Viticulture and Wine Chamber and Nikoly Vassilev, Minster of State Administration.

Mollov presented the possibilities for development of wine tourism in Bulgaria. He gave the example of the Melnik wine, which was known as Winston Churchill's favorite one. Churchill used to order 500 bottles of it each year.

Vassilev presented in front of the media its Agency's transliteration project providing for a unified spelling of Bulgarian geographical and other names in Latin.
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May. 2008 Penny Market unveils plans to build hypermarket in Shoumen German discount store chain Penny Market announced plans to build a five-million-euro hypermarket in the town of Shoumen, company representative Miroslav Boulva told municipal councillors, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

The company plans to buy 4000 sq m in the area of the former commercial-industrial zone in Shoumen, of which 1000 sq m will be used for the building itself and the remainder for the construction of 250 parking places.

The hypermarket will cater to budget customers and will sell primarily Bulgarian food and non-food goods. Nearby, the company plans to build a large warehouse, its second after the one in Sofia.

Penny Market is owned by German concern Rewe, which is also present in Bulgaria through another of its brands, Billa. Penny Market will compete directly with its German peer Kaufland and Bulgaria’s Elemag, Piccadilly, Fantastico, among others.

Penny Market is the second chain to announce construction of a new store in Bulgaria in less than a week, with Metro Cash&Carry Bulgaria, the local arm of German retailer Metro AG, confirming that it would open its tenth hypermarket in Bulgaria in fall.

The store in Pleven would sprawl over 7000 sq m and would have 400 parking spots, Metro officials said.
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May. 2008 Lewis Charles Sofia Property Fund sells 10.3% share in Bulgarian project Lewis Charles Sofia Property Fund announced it would receive 1.89 million euro in gross proceeds from the sale of part of its project in Sofia, Thomson Financial said. Lewis Charles sold 10.3 per cent of the total build area of its project to an unnamed insurance fund, based in Athens, according to investor.bg.

Gross revenue from this disposal, the first made by the fund, would be 10.49 million euro, including development costs and profit share, Thomson Financial quoted the company as saying.

The transaction involved the sale of 61 apartments, 10 offices, six shops and a total of 31 underground garage in its project in the Krastova Vada boroughs, investor.bg said.

The deal represented an average price of 930 euro a sq m for the area sold.

The project was expected to be completed in December 2008 and return on investment was expected to be 24.3 per cent, investor.bg quoted a statement by the fund as saying.

The fund was expected to make further sales in the near future. The Lewis Charles portfolio includes project in Sofia, Govedartsi, Razlog, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo and Dolna Banya and was estimated at 84 million euro
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May. 2008 ABB to build $20M plant in Plovdiv Swiss concern ABB gave the go-ahead to a project to build a $20 million (12.92 million euro) plant near Bulgaria’s second largest city Plovdiv, the concern said in a May 15 statement.

The plant will become an internal supplier for ABB, which will manufacture automated components in other factories of the concern.

The plant will spread on 35 000 sq m. Construction works are slated to start in October this year and to be completed by summer 2009.

The new plant is expected to create 500 jobs by 2011. The project is expected to support ABB’s growth in the automated products’ segment, as well as expand its scope of low-voltage products.

ABB is leader in the manufacture of energy and automated equipment for the needs of the electricity distribution network and industry. The concern is present in more than 100 countries and has 110 000 people on the payroll. The concern is the main shareholder of Sevlievo-based ABB Avanguard AD.

15
May. 2008 Sofia Mayor Opens Waste Recycling Plant The Sofia Mayor Boyko Borisov participated Thursday in the opening of the new waste recycling plant located in the Filipovtsi Quarter of Buglaria's capital.

The plant is owned by the national company processing collecting and processing wastes ECOBULPACK which has invested over BGN 10 M in its construction.

About 200 new workers will be employed in the new factory, which was completed in ten months.

The plant has two installations - one for the sorting out and recycling of glass, and another one for the sorting and baling of paper and plastic.
13
May. 2008 Bulgaria tourist center opens in Madrid The Tourism Investors Union opened the first Bulgarian Tourist Information Center in Madrid today.

The Center was inaugurated by Sonya Koltuklieva, Chief Secretary of the Union as part of the Week of Europe celebrations held in the capital of Spain.

The Center's main office is located at 97 "Passeo de Habana" street and has two other offices in Madrid. The center's official website is listed as www.oficinadeturismobulgaro.org.

The Center will be the only place in Spain and Portugal where interested individuals will be able to receive tourist information about Bulgaria and make vacation and trip reservations.

The offers for the summer season 2008 are expected to be EUR 200 lower than the ones currently advertised by Spanish tour operators.

Offers for Bulgarians wishing to visit Spain and Portugal such as EUR 170 for a week vacation in Lisbon in a four star hotel, including travel expenses are also very attractive.

The Tourism Investors Union has the ambition to turn the Center into the most powerful tour operator for reservation from Spain and Portugal to Bulgaria and vice-versa.

The future plans include low cost flights from Spain to the airports in Ruse and Plovdiv as soon as the safeguard clause for the private Bulgarian airlines, imposed by the EC is lifted. The lifting of the clause is expected for October, after the results from the auditors' report are revealed.

The airline company Business Air, owned by the Tourism Investors Union's Chairman Vetko Arbadjiev is slated to execute flight for wealthy tourists from Spain and Portugal to Bulgaria.

The Center's inauguration is part of the massive advertising campaign of the Tourism Investors Union in Spain during the Week of Europe. The goal of the campaign is to showcase Bulgaria as an attractive tourist destination.
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May. 2008 Greek property invasion Over the past two years, Greece has staged a “real onslaught” onto the Bulgarian and other Balkan markets, Greek business newspaper Imerisia reported on May 7.

Greek construction companies, mainly from the northern part of the country, have been building large residential, office and retail developments in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and, recently, Macedonia.

At the same time, hundreds of individual investors have been buying homes, which they either rent or use for recreation. Despite the recent spike in Bulgaria, Greek buyers still believe local property prices to be affordable, Imerisia said.

07
May. 2008 Israeli Company Funds Business Park in Bulgaria’s Varna with EUR 59 M The Israeli company Africa Israel Investments (AFI) is going to fund the construction of the Business Park in the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna.

AFI’s subsidiary AFI Europe signed Sunday an agreement with Investcreditbank to provide EUR 59 M for the project.

The Varna Business Park, which is located close to the Varna Airport and to the Black Sea coast, and includes 35 000 square meters of office space plus another 15 000 square meters that are currently undergoing reconstruction.

Only the plot where the Business Park is located together with the three existing buildings is worth EUR 76,5 M.

The first building of the Varna Business Park was opened in July, 2006.

AIF is an Israeli holding company owned by the billionaire Lev Levaev, whose wealth is estimated at USD 6,5 B, and who currently lives in London.

AIF Europe has 32 projects in eight European countries.