14.2% Annual Inflation In Bulgaria 15/04/2008
Bulgaria's annual inflation is up to 14.2% in March compared to 13.2% the previous month. The reason was provoked mainly from high food prices, says statistical data announced on Monday. The consumer prices increased to 0.8% m/m in March from 1.1% in February. IMF sees inflation dropping to 7% by the end of the year, hoping that grain crops will increase from last year's drought-hit levels, avoiding renewed food price hikes, commented from Reuters. The inflation by the end of last year was 12.5%, one of the highest rates in the EU. more

100m Euro Black Sea Project To Be Written Off 27/03/2008
The 100 million euro Azur del Mar holiday project on Cape Kaliakra is unlikely to come into fruition, citybuild.bg reported. The developer Kaliakra Invest Ltd suspended continuation due to the expiry of its legally prescribed period, the company’s commercial director Mariela Nikolova said. As a tangible object, the project did not exist, though it was being offered by more than 700 companies worldwide, she said. Initial plans envisaged the construction of 135 apartments and 10 luxury villas that were scheduled for completion in mid-2009. According to the original concept, the complex was to be designed in an Arabian style and separated into three zones, linked via water taxis. The rest of the area was allocated for green space and gardens, 11 outdoor swimming pools, fitness centres,... more

Office And Residential Property In Bulgaria 18/03/2008
The Bulgarian property market began to come alive a couple of years prior to the nation’s 2007 EU accession and has quickly moved from emerging hotspot where massive property fortunes could be won, (or lost!), to a mature market where there are factors and fundamentals supporting it - but also realistic levels of supply and demand that restrict pricing expansion. As a result of these facts, gone are the days of tiny property prices and huge Bulgarian real estate gains – at least according to Deyan Kavrukov, the head of an equity fund investing in the region.  But contrasting his opinion is word from a British based property agency that states that office and residential property in Bulgaria’s capital city of Sofia remains very much in demand and highly profitable.    So, where is the... more

Foreign Investments In Bulgaria - Dirty Money Laundering? 12/05/2008
As EU newcomer Bulgaria aims to attract ever larger flows of foreign investment, authorities and analysts have raised fears that part of the money streaming into the country may have been laundered. "A growing number of investigations come to a dead end as we find that money that we had good reason to consider dirty, or resulting from criminal activity, has been transferred through foreign banks and returned to Bulgaria as 'fresh' investment," said national investigation service chief Boyko Naydenov. "You just have to look at the posh cars on the streets of Sofia, which exceed the number of luxury vehicles in any other European capital ... or the construction boom in our Black Sea resorts," he told a conference Thursday in Sofia. Bulgaria attracted some 6.14 billion euros... more

Bulgaria Named The Cheapest Country In Europe 21/04/2008
Leisure travellers from the UK could find that their pound goes a long way in Bulgaria, according to experts. The Post Office carried out a study to compare relative prices across the world, as the pound has recently got much weaker against other currencies. In fact, it is now at an all-time low against the euro, which means it will cost Britons much more to spend time in places such as Italy and France. However, the Post Office found that other countries across the world offer more favourable exchange rates which allow a person's money to go further. And not all were long-haul destinations, as countries such as Bulgaria were flagged up as highly affordable locations. The eastern European nation was named as the cheapest destination in the whole of Europe, just ahead of... more