Expats

Bulgaria Faces New Defeat by Viva Ventures in Paris Court - Report [May 21, 2012] Bulgaria is doomed to lose yet another lawsuit against UK-based equity fund Advent International's subsidiary Viva Ventures, insiders have said days after the telco former owner defeated the state at the arbitration court in Paris. The Bulgarian state has lodged a total of three lawsuits against Viva Ventures, a subsidiary of London-based equity fund Advent International, which acquired a 65 ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Tries to Privatize Technoexportstroy at Cut Price [May 08, 2012] The Bulgarian state has listed state construction company Technoexportstroy in a second privatization bid with a cut price, after a first listing failed to convince buyers. A first try in the beginning of April, in which Technoexportstroy was valued at BGN 68 M, attracted 4 companies who bought the documentation, but then refrained to bid. Now the state-owned company is listed for BGN 60 M for ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Public Pension System Anchor in Dire Straits [May 07, 2012] Since the beginning of the year, no money has been transferred to Bulgaria's Silver Fund, set up to anchor the public pension system, its balance sheet, published online by the finance ministry, shows. Under local legislation the money in the Silver Fund comes from privatization deals, concessions, and budget surpluses (if any). The money the Bulgarian state got from the sale of its dominant ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Picks BNP Paribas, HSBC and Raiffeisen to Manage Eurobond Float [May 07, 2012] Bulgaria's finance ministry has selected BNP Paribas, HSBC and Raiffeisen as mediators for the eurobond issue that the country plans to float this year. The three banks have been appointed to advise the Bulgarian state as well as manage the sale of the bond. The authorities evaluated bids submitted by 17 financial institutions.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Spent 50% above Estimate for 2011 Elections [Jan 10, 2012] The Bulgarian state has spent BGN 39 M for the organization of its October 2011 presidential and municipal elections, according to official accounts released by the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance. This is with 50% more than the BGN 26 M estimate, used by Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov as a cost-saving argument to hold "2 in 1" elections. Minister Djankov had argued that should Bulgaria hold ... [via YahooNews] More >>

The Bulgaria 2011 Review: Defense [Jan 07, 2012] 2011 saw little tangible improvement in the situation of the Bulgarian military, with troubled arms deals, controversial reforms, funding shortages, and hopes for a bright future. Thus, first and foremost, Bulgaria's strategic alliance with the USA, and, second, its NATO membership, have remained the cornerstones of national security policy. The Bulgarian state kept paying for this protection ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Hopes for BGN 100 M from Railway Freight Services Sale [Dec 23, 2011] Bulgaria's government hopes to make over BGN 100 M from the sale of BDZ Freight Services, the cargo subdivision of the troubled Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ), according to Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski. Moskovski has recently engineered and defended the plan to sell BDZ Freight Services, whose assets are worth BGN 300-320 M, in order to raise cash as a guarantee for an expected World Bank ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Striking (in) State Railways BDZ: Let's Amputate Bulgaria! [Dec 19, 2011] What would you think of a doctor amputating the legs of a car crash victim who has a 95% chance of walking again given the right treatment, efforts and patience? This simple metaphor sums up nicely the basic picture of the tremendously indebted, mismanaged, and robbed Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) company. If you are of any sound mind, you'd say that doctor is a crazy, blood-thirsty butcher.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Poised to Sell Multi-million Railway Freight Services Co [Dec 09, 2011] Bulgaria's Borisov Cabinet has firmly decided to go for the privatization of BDZ Freight Services ? the one moderately profitable division of the vastly troubled Bulgarian State Railways BDZ. "We are certainly going to sell BDZ Freight Services, and I am responsible for that. I am not worried in any way about the privatization topic," Bulgaria's Transport Minister Ivaylo Mosvkoski stated at a ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria, Romania Eye Hosting Euro 2020 [Dec 05, 2011] It is quite possible for Bulgaria and Romania to come up with a joint candidacy to host the European football championship in 2020, Bulgarian Football Union head Borislav Mihaylov has announced. There are no reasons for Bulgaria not to run for hosting Euro 2020, Mihaylov told the Bulgarian National Television on Monday. He believes that the Bulgarian state can meet all required conditions to co ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Transport Chief in Rough Talks with Germany's KfW over Trains [Nov 30, 2011] Bulgaria's Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski is in Germany Wednesday for talks with the KfW bank over the failure of the troubled Bulgarian State Railways company BDZ to pay its dues for 50 brand-new Siemens trains. In October, reports emerged that since BDZ had failed to pay its installments since 2010, KfW has the right to demand them back. The 50 electric and diesel trains in question have ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Railway Strike Grows Ever More Mysterious [Nov 24, 2011] Nobody seems to know how many trains really were affected by the railway workers' strike in Bulgaria on Thursday, with the Transport Ministry, the Bulgarian State Railways BDZ, and the syndicates all reporting different figures. The Bulgarian railway workers are set to strike every day from 8 am till 4 pm until they resolve their differences with the government, starting on Thursday. According ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Finance Intelligence Head Gets OLAF Job [Nov 24, 2011] The Head of the Special Financial Intelligence Directorate at the Bulgarian State National Security Agency (DANS), Vasil Kirov, is leaving over getting a new post in Brussels. The news was reported by the DANS press center Thursday, saying Kirov had resigned from the Agency. He is now going to work at the European Union anti-fraud office OLAF.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Unaware of Russia's Plans for Costlier Penalty over Belene [Oct 27, 2011] Bulgaria has not been officially notified of Russia's plans to more than double its EUR 58 M claim against Bulgarian state utility NEK, which it filed at an arbitration court in Paris in July. "Talking rubbish about a project is one of the many ways, in which you can make it collapse. I have always said that the relations between two companies, which implement a complicated project should be ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Patches Things Up with Russian Tourists after 'Hostage Crisis' [Sep 25, 2011] Russian tourists will not stop visiting Bulgaria in spite of the crises in the recent weeks, in which thousands of them were stranded at Bulgarian Black Sea airports, according to Grigory Sarishvili, deputy head of the Russian Federal Tourism Agency. "Russian tourists won't give up on Bulgaria because they are aware that it was not the Bulgarian state who was responsible for the recent problems ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Celebrates 103 Years since Formal Independence Declaration [Sep 22, 2011] Bulgarians celebrate Thursday, September 22, the 103rd year since Bulgaria's formal declaration of independence from the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Even though the third Bulgarian state was technically restored in 1878, for the first 30 years of its existence it was a tributary principality to Ottoman Turkey, until complete independence was achieved on September 22, 1908. After the medieval ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Privatization Head Up in Defense of Bulgartabac's Sale [Aug 31, 2011] The sale of the Bulgarian state-owned tobacco company Bulgartabac to Russian state bank VTB is favorable for Bulgaria, according to the head of Bulgaria's Privatization Agency Emil Karanikolov. Karanikolov has defended in Parliament the decision made by his institution to approve the sale of Bulgartabac for EUR 100.1 M to BT Invest, a firm registered in Austria by the bank owned by the Russian ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Economy Minister Upbeat about Bulgartabac's Privatization [Jun 24, 2011] The privatization of the Bulgarian state-owned cigarette produce Bulgartabac will be successful thanks to the privatization criteria, according to Economy Minister Traicho Traikov. Answering MPs' questions in Parliament Friday, Traikov defended the way the government is going about the sale of Bulgartabac Holding in spite of criticism by the opposition Socialists that it is unclear who will be ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Railways Contract Turkey's Tuvasas for 30 Sleeping Cars [May 27, 2011] The Bulgarian State Railways BDZ will order the construction of 30 sleeping cars to Turkey's state owned manufacturer Tuvasas after BDZ lost a court battle trying to cancel the order. The CEO of the debt-ridden Bulgarian state railways Pencho Popov and the technical director of the company Georgi Panchev visited the production facilities of Tuvasas in Turkey's Adapazari. During their meeting ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Oks BGN 140 M State Loan for Ailing Railways [Apr 13, 2011] Bulgaria's parliament approved conclusively on Wednesday a state loan for the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) totaling BGN 140 M, which will be used for paying off debts to creditors and suppliers. The sum will be provided from the central budget and it will be a loan from the Bulgarian Development Bank. The money will be refunded in the state treasury after the company receives a loan from the ... [via YahooNews] More >>