Mon, May 21 2012
Bulgaria's Defence Minister Vesselin Bliznakov will launch the sale of state stakes in Bulgaria's military equipment maker and repair group Terem by the end of March, chief executive of the holding Marian Yovchev told reporters, as quoted by Dnevnik daily on March 11.
The privatisation strategy was approved by the Bulgarian cabinet in December last year. The process, in the works since 2005, will begin with public tender announcements in Bulgarian and foreign press.
Each of Terem's eight subsidiaries will be sold individually, yet will be grouped into two categories of four factories each, depending on whether the assets are considered strategic. The Defence Ministry will float for sale 66 per cent of the shares of the four factories of "strategic importance" and 74 per cent of the shares of "non-strategic" companies.
"Non-strategic" stakes are due to be sold within three to five months since the public tender is called and for "strategic" companies the deadline is at least six months. The first contracts are expected to be signed in early autumn this year.
The blueprint for the holding's restructuring was drawn up in the middle of last year by KPMG Bulgaria and law firm Arsov, Nachev, Ganeva.
Eligible candidates should be financially sound and can group in consortia. Companies registered in Nato member states and with in the same line of business as Terem's will be given priority.
Prosecutors say that Terem executive director Zhechko Petrov will face charges of misappropriating huge sums of money – reportedly more than five million leva – from the state-owned military repair holding.
The option to postpone the due date was contingent on securing 55 million euro for immediate repayment of the amounts loaned by Belgium's Dexia and Japanese bank Mizuho.
The Eurostat data agency said that unemployment reached 10.9 per cent in March, up from 10.8 per cent in February. The March figure translates to 17.4 million people unemployed in the euro zone.
Citing three separate sources familiar with the deal, Capital Daily reports that the creditors found offers submitted by three bidders unsatisfactory.
Eurobank EFG is left with a 30 per cent stake in the merged entity but has said it will exercise its put option on the remaining holding.
The narrow focus of many euro zone countries on fiscal austerity is deepening the jobs crisis and could even lead to another recession in Europe, said the Director of the ILO Institute for International Labour Studies and lead author of the report, Raymond Torres.

Kamelia Lozanova has been appointed the executive director of the Employment Agency, a position she has held ad interim since September 2011, following the resignation of her predecessor Rossitsa Stelianova. Prior to that, Lozanova was the agency's deputy executive director in charge of international projects and European programmes. She has been with the agency for more than 20 years. Lozanova has a degree in Slavonic philology from the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia.

Gloria Dimitrova has been appointed executive director and member of the managing board at Uniqa Life Insurance Bulgaria. Dimitrova began her career in 1998 at the insurance supervision directorate, but moved to the private sector and worked for professional services and insurance brokerage firm Marsh&McLennan and US insurer AIG, both in Bulgaria and the Middle East. She joined Uniqa as regional director for Sofia in 2010. Dimitrova has a degree in economics from the University for National and World Economy in Sofia and a master's degree in insurance from the Business Academy in Svishtov.

Yassen Lyubenov is the new head of marketing at Bulgarian beer brewer Kamenitza. Lyubenov has 12 years of experience in marketing in the fast-moving consumer goods sector and has started his career as assistant brand manager at Kraft Foods Bulgaria. He later became brand manager at Wrigley Bulgaria, with responsibilities for Bulgaria and Macedonia. Prior to joining Kamenitza, he was senior marketing manager at Wrigley Russia, where he was in charge of brand expansion into Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Lyubenov has a bachelor's degree in international business administration from the University of Lincoln, UK.

Bedros Kalfayan, general manager of skin care and cosmetics company Beiersdorf Bulgaria, will oversee the parent's company units in Romania and Moldova starting April 1. Following company restructuring, Beiersdorf's subsidiaries in the three countries were merged and are now one unit, part of Beiersdorf Central and Eastern Europe. Kalfayan joined Beiersdorf in 2007 as sales manager and was promoted to general manager in 2008. Prior to that, he worked for Axxon Bulgaria, Ferrero and Rubella. Kalfayan has a master's degree in industrial management from the Technical University in Sofia.

Sasha Bezuhanova has been appointed Hewlett-Packard public sector director for emerging markets, where she will oversee HP public sector activities in 63 countries, including Bulgaria. Bezuhanova will also be in charge of HP's relations with the European Union. Bezuhanova has been HP's public sector director for Central and Eastern Europe since 2008; before that she was general manager of HP Bulgaria since 1998. Bezuhanova has a master's degree in electronics from the Technical University in Sofia and has completed a managment programme at INSEAD.