Sat, Nov 21 2009
About 47 results were found.
Just a couple of months ago, Sofia Airport still featured large multi-coloured billboards, enticing the credulous and unsuspecting foreign visitor with advertisements of high-end holiday complexes, generously promising returns to the tune of 20 per cent, which seemed ludicrous. According to official statistics, holiday market yields in 2007 hovered in the five to seven per cent range, although pundits reported that
Traditionally, football-mad Bulgaria has had little time for more upmarket sports such as golf or cricket. Nonetheless, to date, there are four functioning golf courses -St. Sofia Golf Club & Spa, 15km from Sofia; Golf Club Air Sofia in Ihtiman, 40km from the capital; the Golf Course in Sliven; Ibar Golf Club in Dolna Banya near Borovets ski resort -and more than 15 are in the pipeline.
Structurally, international top-notch hotel chains are fairly similar. They differ only in how they are run. And it's the hotel manager who invokes the human touch and creates a unique atmosphere. "My company has empowered me to operate the hotel at my discretion, as long as I bring the budget within target frames," says Fernando Grunberg Stern, general manager of the Radisson SAS Grand Hotel in Sofia since May
French-based credit management firm Coface put Bulgaria in its list of countries under surveillance due to the increasing amount of business risk, the credit insurance agency said in a statement on March 30. Coface also downgraded its country risk rating from "A4", which it assigned in January last year, to "A4-". Coface's rankings, encompassing 165 countries across the world, reflect the trends in three main directions - business climate, economic and financial perspectives, as well as firm policy regarding payments. The countries are classified in seven risk levels: А1, А2, А3, А4, В, С and D, moving from the safest towards the riskiest end of the scale.
The first group of 74 foreign tourists for the new summer season arrived at Bourgas airport aboard a low-cost Sterling airlines plane from Copenhagen on March 30, Bourgas city hall said in a statement. After receiving a hearty welcome at the airport, they continued to their destination, the Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach) resort.
The concession contract with the Bulgarian-Portuguese consortium for the completion of Trakiya Highway will be breached if the concessionaire fails to procure the financing necessary for the project by May 18, regional minister Assen Gagaouzov told Pari daily. If the Portuguese contactor does not meet the deadline set by the Government, Gagaouzov will ask the Cabinet for additional funds from the state budget, the minister said.
Industrial and construction equipment engineering company Euromarket Group is opening its regional centre for Central North Bulgaria in Pleven today [March 27], investor.bg reported. The complex, with a total area of 4200 sq m, comprises an administrative and repair centre, a showroom, a spare parts warehouse and an exhibition park. Its opening is part of the company's investment programme for 2008/09,
Russian holding Etalon-Len-Spets SMU (ELS), specialising primarily in residential construction, started its international expansion through a 30 million-dollar investment in a housing complex in Bulgaria, Property Xpress reported. The holding's first project beyond Russia envisages the development of a luxury condominium near the Black Sea resort of Zlatni Pyassutsi (Golden Sands).Finance will be secured through foreign
Bulgarian biofuel manufacturers blamed the number of suspended projects and the lack of market for their product on the Government and its aversion to incentive, Dnevnik daily reports. The remarks were made at a round table, held on March 25, organised by the National Biofuels Association. Most hardships experienced in the sector stem from legislative failures, according to producers. They added that the
About four million leva is needed for the development of a fisherman's village in Balchik, municipality officials said upon emerging from a meeting with local fishermen, representatives of the sea club, municipal councillors and the mayor's team on discussing the project. The future development will be financed through the Phare programme and will be realised with the joint efforts of a consultancy company and the municipality.
Former counter-intelligence chief Atanas Atanassov, now a member of Parliament (MP) for the opposition Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) party, accused Interior Minister Roumen Petkov of malfeasance in office and illegal surveillance of his political rivals, Focus news agency reported on March 25. Earlier in the day, several media outlets received photos of Atanassov apparently in the middle of a cordial conversation with Vanyo Tanov, the former head of the Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime who is now a member of the opposition Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (abbreviated as GERB in Bulgarian), and TV journalist Georgi Koritarov in the lobby of a Sofia hotel.
Engineering and construction company Enemona plans to invest about 43 million euro in Lom municipality in 2008/2009, company representatives told investor.bg on March 25. Enemona will start the construction of a pellet fuel factory, as well as a central heating plant, which will serve the needs of Lom area. The two plants are expected to become operative by the turn of the winter season this year. Total investment earmarked for the two undertakings would come to 10 million leva.
Despite its Mediterranean location, Albania's property market has been totally ignored by foreign property seekers. This might be about to change. A recent report drew an extremely favourable picture of the future of property investment in Albania. The country, which is currently one of Europe's poorest destinations, despite positive developments, still suffers from virtually non-existent infrastructure,
Spanish companies have the financial surplus, the proficiency and the experience that could be transmitted to Bulgaria, Spanish ambassador to Bulgaria Fernando Arias told a meeting of Spanish investors, experts and mayors from the Rousse region, held in the town of Rousse last week. Everything started when the ambassador established contact with the two big Spanish companies that are located in the city: Keros
Sofia mayor Boyko Borissov and the head of the State Agency for Youth and Sports (SAYS) Vessela Lecheva discussed the construction of new amusement and sports complexes in Sofia, Bulgarian language daily Standart reported on March 20. A new amusement park, similar to the former Sofialand, will open doors near Sofia's Zapaden Park (West park), the capital's chief architect Petar Dikov told Standart daily.
To the annoyance of its neighbour Serbia, Bulgaria joined with Hungary and Croatia in a joint statement opening the way for formal recognition of Kosovo as an independent state. In its latest issue, The Sofia Echo records the first reactions. Elsewhere in the issue, which hits the streets on March 21, The Sofia Echo's Petar Kostadinov tells the story of the latest episode in the saga of Bulgaria's troubles in child care, as
The last charters of British and Irish tourists for 2007 winter season will arrive at Pamporovo resort on March 23 and April 1, Pamporovo ski school representatives said, as reported by Bulgarian news agency (BTA). Even if the snow cover does not last until then, the visitors will receive accommodation and will enjoy an alternative entertainment programme instead of skiing. They will be taken for walks and sightseeing tours around the region. Tourists have already booked their holiday in Pamporovo and the package includes insurance against lack of snow, BTA said.
More than 80 million leva will be invested in road reconstruction in Shoumen area by end-2009, regional governor Todor Todorov said on March 10 2008, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency (BTA). The first tranche, 10.4 million leva, has already been transferred. It is earmarked for the rehabilitation of second-class roads between the villages of Radko Dimitrievo-Hrabrovo, Hitrino-Struino, Vekilski-Nikola Kozlevo and Venets-Yassenkovo, he said.
One of the main results of human trafficking is the volition of women's rights. Domestic abuse, lack of employment and lower wages are among some of the factors that push women into this situation. However, the traffickers are becoming more and more sophisticated and the general idea that victims are poorly educated, and of low social and financial standing, is already a myth. Many girls from well-off families, that have attended good schools, become involved in the trade. That your daughter has not become a victim of the traffickers does not necessarily mean she is not "at risk", maybe it is just that no one has tried to involve her yet. Human trafficking is a common crime that needs a combined effort - in the form of international, cross-border, cross-organisational and multidisciplinary co-operation.
While Bulgaria's north Black Sea coast has decided to persuade affluent tourists to visit with promises of lush green golf courses, the southern coast is taking a different approach: yachts. "Yachts are for rich successful men, who have a passion for sea," Luchezar Bratoev, chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Yacht Ports and owner of Transcommerce - Yachtshop Ltd said. "And yet,
Interhotel Grand Hotel Sofia, the company controlled by Henry Gwyn-Jones, is negotiating the sale of the 136-room Radisson SAS Grand Hotel, one of the six five-star hotels in Sofia, Dnevnik daily reported on March 6. Both foreign and local prospective buyers were interested in the hotel, the daily claimed. Gwyn-Jones refused to comment.
Ixetic, the German manufacturer of hydraulic and vacuum pumps for the automotive industry, has announced plans to build a seven-million-euro plant in Plovdiv by the end of 2008, Dnevnik daily reported on March 4. The plant, which will manufacture power steering and vacuum pumps, will occupy 10 000 sq m in the city's Rakovski industrial zone and will employ 30 workers at the outset.
Investment bank Merrill Lynch has begun talks with potential investors on behalf of Pramod Mittal, the Indian owner of Bulgaria's biggest steel maker Kremikovtzi, Dnevnik daily reported on March 4 2008. Last week, Merrill Lynch executives met steel companies that have shown some tentative interest in the Bulgarian mill, one bondholder told the paper on condition of anonymity. The investment bank was drafted in by Mittal to advise him on options facing the embattled steel company after negotiations with Ukrainian billionaire Konstantin Zhevago collapsedin January.
Poland's real estate developer Globe Trade Center (GTC), which has mall projects in the Bulgarian cities of Stara Zagora, Varna and Bourgas, as well as several plots in Sofia, has announced plans to invest about 1.5 billion euro in new projects across Central and East Europe (CEE) in 2008/2009, investor.bg reported. The company's activity will be directed primarily towards acquiring land and developing new projects. GTC's profit in 2007 stood at 261 million euro, a 32 per cent mark-up on 2006. The company's profit for the last quarter of the year alone recorded a 376 per cent year on year increase, peaking at 60 million euro. Company officials commented that this could be attributed to the completion of new office buildings in Serbia and Poland, comprising a 46 000 sq m net leasable area.
On February 25, Bulgaria's Directorate for National Construction Supervision (DNCS) started reviewing the legality of completed and ongoing construction along the coastline. The DNCS inspections will continue until March 7. Despite this, most estate agents do not really believe in the expediency of the measures. According to the Spatial Planning of the Black Sea Coastline Act, which entered into force on
Getting data about weather condition in Bulgaria a month in advance has proven almost impossible. A day after Disaster Management Minister Emel Etem warned that river beds had not been cleared and a flood crisis was possible given the warm weather and spring melting of the snow, The Sofia Echo tried to find information on weather condition for the next two months. First stop was the National Institute of
The Ukrainian property market has recorded remarkable rises in all its segments. Prices of retail, office and industrial areas have reached the highest levels in Central and East Europe (CEE) region, driven by lack of supply and increasing demand, Kyiv Post reported, cited by investor.bg. Foreign and local companies are quickly expanding their activity in the country and, consequently, demand for office space is constantly growing, surpassing the most optimistic expectations, according to Nick Cotton, regional director of DTZ real estate adviser in Ukraine.
Greek group Fourlis has signed the preliminary contract to buy a plot in Sofia for 12.1 million euro, where it plans to develop the first Ikea hypermarket in the country, investor.bg reported on February 28. Negotiations for the sale started in November last year, Fourlis officials were quoted as saying, but they declined to give details about its size and location.
Investment Corporation of Dubai offered 3 billion euro for Inmobiliaria Colonial, the Spanish developer that owns of Riofisa, which is developing two projects in Bulgaria worth more than 450 million euro, Bloomberg reported on February 28. Investment Corporation of Dubai bid 1.85 euro for each share of Colonial, which lost half its market value in six the past months, on February 27. The offer is 8.8 per cent higher than the closing price of the previous day.
Sale prices of municipal apartments in Sofia will rise by two to 2.5 times, depending on their location, according to the amended ordinance on prices of municipal residential property, adopted by Sofia municipal council on February 28. Rents of municipal dwellings will rise by 30 per cent, the city hall secretary Rossen Zhelyazkov told reporters, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency (BTA).
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