Tue, May 22 2012
The first hypermarket of the CBA Asset Management chain in Veliko Turnovo opened its doors on March 27 in Retail Park Veliko Turnovo, company officials told investor.bg. Technomarket, Danish homeware retailer JYSK and a number of other retail chains opened their outlets in the shopping centre on the same day.
Investment in the hypermarket exceeds two million leva. The shop has 10 cash-register terminals and an own 80-car indoor parking. It will employ 80 people.
The retail unit will be managed by CBA Asset Management's subsidiary in Veliko Turnovo, which has 15 supermarkets in the area, generating 44.7 million leva in operating revenue and a net profit of 1.4 million leva in 2007.
The second hypermarket of CBA Asset Management will open on April 3 in Sofia - its first unit in the capital, markin the onset of the chain's expansion beyond central and northern Bulgaria, which is likely to continue eastward after the successful conclusion of the preliminary contract for the purchase of 100 per cent of the Varna food retailer Burlex 104 shares, according to a company statement.
If the deal goes through, CBA Asset Management will manage through its subsidiaries a total of 29 shops, located in Sofia, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Rousse, Gabrovo, Turgovishte, Dobrich, Provadia and Kavarna.
After finalising the transaction with Burlex and opening the new shops, the retail areas operated by the company will increase from 3 900 sq m in mid-2007 to 16 500 sq m in mid-2008.
Exploration in Provadia permitted for three years at a cost of 14.5 million euro
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.

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.

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.

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.