Phare Will Pour 4m Leva Into A Fishermans Village In Balchik 27/03/2008
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. Participants in the meeting agreed on the village’s location – between the holandski plazh and the purification plant that is currently under construction. Apart from boat berths, the project envisages the construction of fish-storage chambers and service rooms for the fishermen. The nearby quay, which will secure moorage for larger vessels, will be extended... more

Fairplay Properties Targets 10.4m Leva Profit In 2008 21/03/2008
FairPlay Properties real estate investment trust (REIT) targeted a sales revenue of 42.46 million leva for 2008, the company said in a statement on March 21. The fund expects a profit of 10.4 million leva for 2008, compared to 8.8 million leva last year. Some 98 per cent of the projected revenue will come from apartment sales, with the rest being rental revenue. Since the start of the year, FairPlay has signed contracts for the sale of 51 apartments worth a total of 8.3 million leva. This year, the company has earmarket for investment a total of 73.6 million leva. Roughly 30.6 million leva has been allocated for the acquisition of new land plots, and the remaining 43 million leva will be spent on construction. more

Holidaymakers Look At Exchange Rates 21/04/2008
Exchange rate movements are becoming more of an issue to holidaymakers, industry analysts have revealed. According to currency specialist Travelex, leisure travellers are becoming "increasingly savvy" with regards to financial fluctuations and taking them into account when booking trips abroad. John Nicholas, director of the organisation, said that this has led to people travelling to places where they can get more for their money. This has become particularly apparent in recent weeks, as the pound has fallen to a record low against the euro, which means general expenses in eurozone countries will cost much more. Mr Nicholas commented: "People [are looking] outside the traditional eurozone holiday hotspots to make their money go further this summer." He highlighted eastern... more

Bulgaria Ratings Affirmed With Stable Outlook 09/06/2008
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has affirmed its 'BBB+' long-term and 'A-2' short-term sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Bulgaria with a stable outlook. The ratings agency said the ratings on Bulgaria reflect the government's strong track record of appropriate fiscal policy and rapidly declining gross debt, solid growth prospects in the medium term, a relatively strong external balance sheet and the country's E.U. membership. However, S&P said these strengths are somewhat offset by a large current account deficit coupled with high inflationary pressures, due among other things to wage pressures, indicating an overheating economy. S&P also said it expects firm policy support to the Currency Board Arrangement (CBA) to be maintained in... more

Sofia Will Have More Than 1m Sq M Office Space In 2008 31/03/2008
Sofia's office space market registered another quarter of strong performance at the end of 2007, according to the latest MBL consultancy report. The number of class A and B offices continued to grow, amounting to 784 000 sq m as of the end of fourth quarter of 2007, after a new delivery of 48 350 sq m office areas, all of them in suburban areas, according to research from MBL. Provided data includes areas in single-tenant owner-occupied and speculative (developed as an investment product – aiming at subsequent sale/rent of the units for reaping profits) buildings, as well as in condominiums. More than 580 000 sq m of class A and B office space were under construction in Sofia at the end of last year, two thirds of which were in suburban regions. Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd emerged... more