SPELLING THE EURO
Bulgaria put up for discussion the correct spelling of the European Union currency in Bulgaria at the unofficial summit of EU foreign ministers in Portugal. European Integration Minister Gergana Grancharova attended the summit, which was held on September 7 and 8 2007, a Foreign Ministry media statement said. Bulgaria insisted the currency be called and spelled "evro" in Bulgarian, as the word already existed in the language and its formation and pronunciation corresponded to the language rules. The European Central Bank insisted that the name of the currency should be the same in all the countries in the union. "We are obliged to collect and present all arguments in favour of our position, despite the chance of success," Grancharova said.

BDZ BOND ISSUE
State-owned railway company BDZ plans to privately place, within two months, a 120 million euro, 10-year bond issue. BDZ plans to use it to repay its debts and upgrade its rolling stock. The issue will have a two-year grace period, state-owned Encouragement Bank said in a statement. No details about the coupon of the issue were available. Encouragement Bank, Austrian Dexia Kommunalkredit Bank and Ireland-based Depfa Bank, which are co-managers of the issue, will aim to attract Bulgarian and foreign investors as subscribers, the statement said. BDZ will invest 40 million leva of the funds raised through the bond issue to buy new railway cars and 20 million leva to repay debt, Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev said earlier. The company will also invest in upgrading its existing railway cars. BDZ reduced its forecast half-year loss by 21 million leva to 1.7 million leva in the first half of this year.

LIFE INSURANCE
Bulgaria's life insurance market is expected to grow by more than 20 per cent in 2007, with favourable economic conditions and rising personal incomes in the EU newcomer contributing to the rise, analysts said. The combined premiums of the Bulgarian life insurers rose 24.1 per cent in 2006 to 186.2 million leva. "I expect that there will be a long-term trend for growth of the health insurance segment because it is very poorly developed in our country, especially in comparison with Central and Western Europe," UNIQA Bulgaria executive financial director Nikolai Genchev told SeeNews wire agency. Life insurance premium incomes accounted for a small part of the total premium incomes of Bulgarian insurers. This was in contrast to global markets, where life insurance had a leading role. Life insurance premiums accounted for about 15 per cent of the premium income in 2006 in Bulgaria, while globally its share was about 40 per cent, data from Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission showed.

HOUSING CENTRE
On September 10, Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria opened its fifth housing centre in Bulgaria in Bourgas, on the Black Sea. The other outlets are located in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna and more are set to open in Bourgas and the surrounding region. The first housing centre opened earlier in 2007, in Sofia.