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 under EU Pressure over Illegal Assets Bill [Apr 10, 2012] Bulgaria's rulers are in a hurry to adopt the bill authorizing widespread confiscation of illegal assets in a bid to please Brussels ahead of its upcoming report on the country's progress in justice and home affairs, insiders say. The ruling majority in parliament will seek to pass the long-delayed bill by the beginning of May, when a delegation of the European Commission will arrive in the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Illegal Assets Law to Target Parties Too - Report [Mar 28, 2012] Bulgaria's long-delayed bill authorizing widespread confiscation of illegal assets will probe the financing of parties, as well as participants in public procurements, insiders say. "The ruling GERB party is preparing on the sly serious changes to the bill in between the first and second readings," the opposition-leaning Sega daily reported on Wednesday, citing well-informed sources. For the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Seeks Only Majors to Help Sell Stock Exchange - Report [Mar 21, 2012] Bulgaria will seek to hire only major investment banks or consultancies to help arrange the privatization of the country's only stock exchange and depository, according to insiders. There are two major eligibility criteria advisers should meet, Capital daily reported, citing parameters of the privatization procedure it has obtained. The eligible advisers should have featured among Mergermarket's ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Begins Bids for Sacked Ministers Replacements [Mar 16, 2012] Media and insiders in Bulgaria are bidding for the names of two new ministers in the aftermath of resignations of Health Minister, Stefan Konstantinov, and Economy and Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov, The Executive Committee of Bulgaria's ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, accepted the resignations Thursday evening. According to official rules, their names will ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Go-Ahead for Bulgaria's Stock Exchange Sale, Majors Wooed - Report [Mar 14, 2012] Bulgaria targets major global and European bourse operators for the sale of its only stock exchange, which it hopes to wrap up in the first half of this year, according to insiders, cited by local media. Bulgaria's government has packed together its stake at the stock exchange and the depository in a bid to sweeten the deal for the bourse privatization. The bundling ensures that the new owner ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Four Bidders to Vie for Bulgaria's Vivacom - Report [Mar 01, 2012] Three binding bids have already been submitted for Bulgaria's telecom Vivacom and one more is expected within days, local media reports say. Tsvetan Vassilev, the head of Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank, and Icelandic businessman Thor Bjorgolfsson have made bids for Vivacom, heir to the state-owned Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), Capital daily reported, citing insiders. The ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Corpbank Head Eyes Vivacom - Report [Dec 16, 2011] The head of Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank, which is believed to finance the media group of mogul Irena Krasteva, is interested in the sale of the country's top fixed-line operator Vivacom, according to media reports. Tsvetan Vassilev stands behind two of the four bids for the company, previously known as BTC, local Trud daily reported, citing well informed insiders. Vassilev recently ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Quietly Ditches Bill on Illegal Assets Crack-Down [Nov 30, 2011] Bulgaria's government will force outgoing justice minister to quit office as early as December 1 in a bid to quietly backtrack on a number of commitments, including a long-delayed bill on confiscation of unexplained wealth, insiders say. Minister Margarita Popova will have to leave the governmental post now and not in January, when she will officially swear in as Vice President, members of the ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Likely to Soften Crack-Down on Illegal Assets [Nov 11, 2011] Bulgarian authorities are likely to have the right to launch probes and seize without a conviction unexplained wealth, worth more than BGN 150,000, which has been acquired only over the last five years. This is envisaged by amendments, currently in the pipeline, to the long-delayed bill authorizing widespread confiscation of illegally obtained assets, according to insiders. The majority in ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria's Stock Exchange Privatization Stalls - Report [Oct 10, 2011] Bulgaria's hopes to find an investor for its bourse by the end of the year have gone sour as no bidders have declared interest so far, according to insiders. The interest in Bulgaria's stock exchange privatization has sharply declined over the last few months and no talks, even unofficial, have been held, local media reports say. Shortly after the Bulgarian Stock Exchange launched the sale of ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria to Offer Germany's Matthaeus New Contract - Report [Jul 29, 2011] Former German international star and current Bulgarian team coach Lothar Matthaeus will be given the chance to extend his contract, insiders from the country's Football Union has revealed, as cited by local media. The much-traveled Matthaeus replaced in September 2010 Stanimar Stoilov, who quit after Euro 2012 qualifying defeats to England, and more damagingly, Montenegro. Lothar Matthaeus ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Ex Commissioner Firm over Presidency Bid - Report [May 07, 2011] Meglena Kuneva, former EU Commissioner for consumer protection, has already agreed to run for Bulgaria's president in the autumn despite speculations over her eligibility, insiders say. "Kuneva's candidature for the presidential elections is expected to be officially announced by the end of this month," 24 hours daily reported, citing anonymous sources close to her. Daniel Valchev, former ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria, Romania Schengen Entry Tied with Next EC Report [Feb 20, 2011] Bulgaria and Romania's prospects of joining the Schengen border-less zone will be highly improved if the next European Commission report on judicial reform and corruption fight, due in July, is more positive, according to insiders. Bulgaria and Romania, which have been coupled ever since their joint accession to the European Union in 2007, aim to enter the Schengen zone in March this year ... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Said to Eye Foreign Partners for Stock Exchange [Sep 14, 2010] The increase of Bulgaria's government share in the country's only stock exchange is a step for its reprivatization, probably selling the stake to an international exchange group, insiders say. [via YahooNews] More >>

Brussels Thumbs Up Cheers Euro Hopeful Bulgaria (Novinite.com) [Mar 17, 2010] The European Commission assessment of Bulgaria's three- year fiscal plan is one of the few positive, which boosts the country's chances of joining the eurozone waiting-room ERM II, insiders from Brussels have commented. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Air to be Headed by New Executive Director (Novinite.com) [Mar 17, 2010] Bulgaria' s national air carrier Bulgaria Air will be headed by a new executive director following the resignation of the current CEO Dimitar Pavlov, according to reports, citing insiders. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria May Have to Pick Another Commissioner-Designate (Novinite.com) [Jan 13, 2010] Nikolay Mladenov, Bulgaria's Defense Minister, is one of three Bulgarian politicians, who have been tipped as the potential candidates for the top EU job, insiders say. [via YahooNews] More >>