MOBILE LICENCE
Telco AG, the Liechtenstein-based firm with voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) and mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) licences, put in the only offer for Bulgaria’s fourth mobile licence before the submission deadline expired on July 11. If its bid meets the tender criteria, the company will be invited to pay the licensing fee, Bulgaria’s Communications Regulation Commission said.

UNWIRED
Max Telecom, the Bulgarian WiMAX telecom operator, said it has earmarked five million euro in investment in 2008 and its target is to expand coverage to 90 per cent of the country by the end of the year. The company currently has an operating footprint covering a third of Bulgaria’s territory and 2.5 million people.

SOUTH STREAM
State-owned gas company Bulgargaz would seek a 700 million euro loan to cover its share of expenses to build the South Stream gas pipeline in Bulgaria, Economy Minister Petar Dimitrov said on July 11, as quoted by Dnevnik daily. According to preliminary calculations, the Bulgarian share of the costs is estimated at 1.4 billion euro, even though the exact route of the pipeline has not been decided yet.

BULGARTABAC
Bulgartabac Holding, the Bulgarian state-owned tobacco monopoly, sold its 78.2 per cent stake in the Stara Zagora cigarette plant for 18 million leva on July 14. The shares were sold on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, with a majority stake purchased by a single buyer, whose name will become known once the Central Depository settles the transactions.

STREAMLINE
Petrol, the Bulgarian fuel retailer, will sell 105 of its less profitable filling stations in a move to reduce costs, retail and marketing director Ivan Kostadinov has said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily on July 14. The decision would have a negligible impact on the company’s bottom line, since those stations combined account for less than one per cent of Petrol’s total sales. Total proceeds are estimated in the five million to eight million euro range.

EXPANSION
Financial services holding company Eurohold Bulgaria would expand its regional leasing business with the launch of Eurolease Auto Skopje in Macedonia. The new company is expected to be duly licensed and commence operation by September 2008 and work closely with Makosped, the local insurer owned by Eurohold.