Beyond slowdown

It could be a long road back to positive territory for Bulgaria’s transport sector

Bulgaria: Boosting demand

While Bulgaria’s tourism sector is already suffering from the financial crisis, the government has been quick to enact necessary measures to soften long-term impact.

Limited loans

The credit crunch is already here

The Bulgarian credit market was in a remarkably strong growth mode just a year ago. However, tighter international conditions have exerted a delayed effect on Bulgarian lenders, which are now facing a noticeable slowdown.

Bulgaria: The age of $15 flights

Sofia Airport has reported strong passenger growth for the first half of 2008, as international and particularly domestic flights grew in frequency and popularity. While the other two main Black Sea airports, in Bourgas and Varna, reported less stellar performances, demand is strong enough for budget carriers to plan and open new routes and increase the frequency of existing ones. The airport announced on

Mixed messages

As internet searches on Bulgaria show, a plethora of websites are continuing to offer real estate in the country, which confirms that affordable property has become one of the country's defining characteristics for outsiders. In the past, a large proportion of the investment in Bulgarian tourist property has come from British and Irish citizens.

Charging up

With bids for a stake in Bulgaria's new nuclear power plant (NPP) to be submitted this month, and the funding recently secured, eyes are now turning to the electricity sector's potential. Binding bids for a 49% share in the new NPP at Belene on the Danube are to be submitted by June 23, officials announced recently

Energy transit hub

Mathew Youkee, Editorial director for Bulgaria, Oxford Business Group

Bulgaria's strategic position between the hydrocarbon-rich countries of the Caucasus, Central Asia and energy-hungry Europe is again brought to the fore. The stop-start progeny of the Nabucco pipeline, designed to transport gas to Europe bypassing Russia, may have entered a new phase. However, political wrangles over the source of the pipeline's gas remain, and Bulgaria, which provisionally sealed a deal for the construction of a Russian-funded pipeline through its territory last year, could face a tough choice.

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Cautiously optimistic

International investors pay attention to negative headlines regarding Bulgaria's poor record on EU funds absorption, corruption and organised crime, but they always go beyond negative publicity, said Paulius Kuncinas, Eastern Europe regional editor at UK-based economic think-tank Oxford Business Group (OBG). They double-check many other factors influencing investment decisions, such as labour market, macroeconomic stability and ease of doing business, he said, adding that the country remained an attractive investment destination.

Bulgarian economic growth to remain on par with 2007 - Oxford Business Group

Bulgaria's economy is set to grow on a par with 2007 and reach six per cent this year, Paulius Kuncinas, Eastern Europe's regional editor at UK-based economic think-tank Oxford Business Group (OBG), told reporters on June 9. Foreign direct investments (FDI) will also repeat last year's figure, yet their structure and heavy focus on real estate remain a concern. The analyst arrived in Bulgaria to showcase OBG's fifth annual report on Bulgaria's political and economic environment. The presentation took place with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin in attendance.

TOURISM BAROMETER: Tourism at a crossroads

Editorial manager for Bulgaria, Oxford Business Group

Recent reports about holidays in Bulgarian vary wildly -the country has been praised as an affordable holiday paradise and criticised for crowded beaches, substandard hotels and poor service. While there may be truth in both points of view, one common theme is clear. Bulgaria's tourism sector, despite, or because of, its recent success, may have reached its peak as a sun, sea and sand destination. It will now need to develop a clear strategy to make the most of its natural and cultural attractions and move up the value chain.

MANAGER PROFILE: Assisting youth development

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.

Optimism and caution

Bulgaria's government is expecting inflation to drop significantly this year as supply shocks ease, after a worrying rise at the beginning of 2008. Nonetheless, many of the current inflationary pressures will remain and Bulgaria's ability to address them is limited. Year-end inflation should slow to 6.9 per cent in 2008 after last year's spike to 12.5 per cent, Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski told the local

Funding agricultural consolidation

Mathew Youkee, Editorial manager for Bulgaria Oxford Business Group

What started off as a challenge in land consolidation is fast becoming an attractive financial investment. Agricultural land funds are turning Bulgaria's inefficiently small rural land plots into bigger and more manageable farms for later leasing to agricultural operators. As domestic and international investors become increasingly interested, agricultural land prices are going up and the farming business is set to

Taking it to the WiMax

Editorial manager for Bulgaria
Oxford Business Group

The rollout of Bulgaria's most comprehensive WiMax network to date is a boost to businesses looking for greater media convergence, and could be the key to offering internet services to previously disconnected rural areas. However, the technology is still in its early stage, and price barriers may mean it will be some time before the service truly takes off. On February 12, Sofia-based Max Telecom announced the

On the rise

According to a report on the Bulgarian banking sector published by an international market research company on January 25, mortgages in Bulgaria are forecast to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 88 per cent between 2007 and 2010. In 2007 Bulgarian residential property prices continued to rise, confirming the trend that began more than five years ago. This time

Strong credit market in Bulgaria

As access to credit becomes more difficult across Europe and the European Central Bank is forced into drastic action to stave off the threat of recession, the Bulgarian credit market has remained remarkably strong. The question remains, however, whether the credit crunch will exert a delayed effect on Bulgaria or whether the country could actually benefit from Western Europe's economic problems.

Bringing Bulgaria's workers back

Brain drain, the loss of a country's most talented and skilled workers to more attractive overseas employment, is a common challenge for developing economies. In Bulgaria, however, the private sector is taking the initiative to reverse this process and bring skilled Bulgarian migrants back home. A study on human capital released on October 16 by the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank, concludes that for

Ample offerings

The recent strong appetite for initial public offerings (IPO) in Bulgaria has forced authorities to create new legislation to quell over-exuberant investors. The popularity of the late October IPO for the local construction firm Trace led to a change in the rules regarding offerings in Bulgaria. Following the offering, the Financial Supervision Commission, Bulgaria's financial regulator, announced that bids in

Ski season in Bulgaria

The heavy snowfall in the first weeks of November boded well for Bulgaria in its ever-growing role as a ski destination. However, environmental concerns and the growing spectre of oversupply in some winter resorts have highlighted the importance of adopting a clear long-term strategy for the development of tourism. On November 15, Alexander Kravarov, mayor of Bansko winter resort in the Pirin

Bulgarian bank profits up

Mattew Youkee, Editorial manager for Bulgaria, Oxford Business Group

Despite a slowdown in lending in September, Bulgarian banks have so far enjoyed a profitable year. Data released by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) showed that the country's banks posted profits of $636 million in the first nine months of 2007, a 60 per cent increase on the previous year's figure. Bank assets in September 2007 totalled $38.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 34 per cent. In addition, the bank's

READING ROOM: Ideology, poetry, tragedy

To mark the world war commemoration on November 11, Clive Leviev-Sawyer relates the story of Major Frank Thompson, a British communist, poet and World War 2 officer, memorialised in Sofia's war graves cemetery.

In our contemporary world, all who have studied history and are impeded neither by stupidity nor by ill-born revisionism view the eras of imperialism, communism and fascism with revulsion. At least part of this revulsion wells up from the sheer human cost of each of these. And yet, our same humanity makes us intrigued by the stories of individuals who were inspired by the choices they made against the background of

MANAGER PROFILE: Holding one's end of the bargain

Oxford Business Group is a leading publisher of economic and political intelligence on the markets of the Eastern Europe, North and South Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Through its range of print and online products, OBG offers comprehensive and accurate analysis of political, macro-economic and sectoral developments, including banking, capital markets, energy, infrastructure, industry and insurance. Written by a

PROPERTY FOCUS: Starting to mature

Bulgaria's real estate market was starting to mature into one of slower growth and higher quality, particularly in the residential and office space segment. This is one of the findings of the latest Oxford Business Group report Emerging Bulgaria 2007 presented on October 30 in Sofia. Markets for holiday homes and retail markets were less developed but the potential for problems remained, the report said. According to

The feeling is mutual in Bulgaria

Matthew Youkee, Editorial manager for Bulgaria, Oxford Business Group

As mutual funds grow in popularity among Bulgarian retail investors, so do the options available to them. A 19 per cent rise in assets during August saw the total mutual fund market in Bulgaria surpass the billion lev mark. New funds are preparing to enter the market and on October 3, five new funds received the necessary licences from the local financial regulator to begin share offerings within a month.

Motoring On

Editorial manager for Bulgaria
Oxford Business Group

On September 22 over a hundred cyclists congregated in front of the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, in central Sofia, to celebrate European Mobility Week but the message of the initiative, to find alternatives to automotive transport, seems lost on the majority of Bulgarians. Queues of cars at government registration sites are common in Sofia, with between 700 and 800 registering every day in the capital alone. While

The low-flat option in Bulgaria

In the last week of July the Bulgarian Government announced plans to introduce a flat tax on personal income in 2008. The Government said the new rate, which will be among the lowest in a region where flat taxes have become popular, will encourage foreign investment and help shrink the country's informal economy. Labour organisations, however, believe the new rate will, in fact, leave poorer sectors of the community

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Support for Bulgaria's agriculture

The European Union is expected to provide billions of euro to assist the development of Bulgarian agriculture between 2007 and 2013. These funds are sorely needed by a sector that is currently battling with recent setbacks, reduced state funding and a number of new challenges brought on by EU accession. Speaking at the opening of the 15th international agricultural fair in Dobrich, executive director of the State

Bulgaria's retail on the rise

As incomes rose and consumers became more discerning with their disposable income, Bulgaria's retail sector continued to grow. This year saw a sharp increase in the construction of shopping centres as the country's retail sector continued to gain maturity, after lagging behind Central Europe for several years. In August, an international real estate consultancy firm reported that by the end of the first half of