After a three-month recess, the idea for a mega-energy holding, which sparked controversy right from the outset, continued flashing up with action. On May 6, Bulgaria’s Economy and Energy Ministry called a tender for a consultant to organise the creation of the holding. The formal green light for the new holding, to be named the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), was given in early February at the Hissarya summit of the tripartite Government coalition. The ambitious project foresees the merger of all strategic energy assets of the state, namely gas company Bulgargaz holding and its four subsidiaries, the power grid operator National Electricity Company, Maritza Iztok 2 thermal power plant and mines, Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) and Belene NPP, once built and operational. read more

Despite the upstreak witnessed for a fourth successive day and a four per cent month-on-month turnover increase in April, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) has been experiencing the gloom of recession. The bourse has been on a one-year low, the main indices have lost 30 per cent of their value in the same period of time, two thirds of shares are traded little or not at all, market capitalisation has run scant, and there are few signs for recovery in the short run, brokers agreed. read more

Fiscal stability has long been on Bulgaria’s agenda, just as it was the European Union’s main point of interest when assessing the country’s readiness to enter the ranks of the euro and so expand the European Monetary Union (EMU). With its accession to the EU, Bulgaria automatically earned the right to become a eurozone member but only when it complies with certain stipulations. For this reason, it has for the first time received a detailed appraisal on its readiness to join the monetary union in the Convergence Reports 2008 of the European Commission (EC) and the European Central Bank (ECB). Both institutions are obliged to report regularly on the progress of aspirant eurozone members to meet the Maastricht criteria under Article 121(2) of the EU Treaty. read more

The newly-established Litex Motors will assemble vehicles from Chinese parts in Bulgaria, Corporate Commercial Bank’s (CCB) marketing director Alexander Hristov told The Sofia Echo on May 13. CCB holds eight per cent in the joint company, while the remaining 92 per cent are in the hands of local businessman Grisha Ganchev. Litex Motors plans to sell domestically and export the vehicles it assembles only to Greece and Romania for now, Hristov said. Bearing in mind that the new company was just founded, according to him it did not have the needed permits and licences to trade with other European countries. read more

Bulgaria’s tourist count in 2006 stood at 4.36 million, a 45.8 per cent increase since 2002. This has brought smiles to many faces. Much of the credit goes to the promotional efforts of hoteliers and travel agencies in tandem with the Bulgarian State Agency for Tourism (SAT). Despite the importance of destination market research and a plethora of studies in other Eastern European countries, not much has been forthcoming regarding Bulgaria. read more

Tachev works in the first paid position of the managerial bodies of the St Cyril and St Methodius International Foundation (CMF), which everybody knows as “the foundation”. He is also a member of CMF’s management and executive board, a position for which he reapplies every three years. “CMF has a management board that inherited the wishes of the 164 people who created the foundation,” Tachev says. Tachev started working as CMF’s financial director in 1987. He stresses that the 1989 regime change involved dramatic changes for the organisation. It triggered a full-scale re-structuring, as well as a name change because the CMF had previously been called the Lyudmila Zhivkova Foundation after the daughter of Bulgarian communist dictator Todor Zhivkov. read more

On May 8, Denkstatt officially launched the start of its operations in Bulgaria at a special event in the Lozenets Residence in Sofia. The company is the first in Bulgaria to offer consultancy services and strategies development in the area of sustainability and environmental management. read more

Two hotels may seem to be too little to form a chain, but add a third, and it will make all the difference. That was probably the principle that the owners of the first Bulgarian private chain of hotels Grifid Hotels decided to follow. On May 8 2008, owner Grigor Fidanov told Dnenvik daily that the chain was to expand by acquiring a hotel in the coastal resort of Zlatni Pyasutsi (Golden Sands). The chain’s other two hotels, the four-star Arabella and Bolero, are also in the resort. read more