Property, Business and General News
PROPERTY NEWS The news below has been and is being updated on a regula basis from www.sofiaecho.com 60 MILLION EURO TO BE INVESTED IN GOLF COURSE CONSTRUCTION NEAR BULGARIA'S BANYA Jul 2007 Karlovo municipality and Banya Golf and Spa Resort will discuss the opportunity for developing the town of Banya as a resort. The municipality council and the investor will discuss the possibility for a public-private partnership, Focus news agency reported. Investment will reach 60 million euro for the period of several years. The company to be created will have 34 per cent municipality ownership and 66 per cent shareholding of the private investor. Municipality ownership has been already evaluated at 12.6 million leva and the investor has to join the company with 25 million leva. As part of the project, Banya's sports base will be renovated, and a golf course with a hotel complex will be constructed. Banya Golf and Spa Resort is Bulgarian company. The municipality's requirements towards the investor include guaranteeing the development of sports for youth in the region. BULGARIA HAS BEEN A DISASTER FOR INVESTORS”- ROMANIAN PROPERTY AGENTS Jul 2007 n the past 30 years, Britons “have transferred their failed colonial spirit into the purchase of holiday cottages in foreign countries,” forming expat communities in Spain, Italy France and the sunny beaches of Bulgaria. Still, David Cosgrave, representative of Romanian real estate company Off-Plan, said that “Bulgaria is over.” The country had been “a disaster for investors in the UK and Irish markets,” he said, as quoted by the Romanian magazine The Diplomat. Property prices in Bulgaria “have not grown and rental yields are low.” Winter resorts in the country have very short season and a number of apartments remain empty. “We believe agents have massively oversold Bulgaria,” Cosgrave said. Romania, on the other hand, was attractive to property investors, because demand outstripped supply, mortgages were available and prices were low. Michael Beckerman, director of Romtrade Consult, said that unlike in Bulgaria, where vacation villages have pubs and other attractions, Romania could offer “a retreat from modern trappings.” TISHMAN INTERNATIONAL BEGINS CONSTRUCTION OF AIRPORT CENTRE IN SOFIA, BULGARIA Jul 2007 Tishman International has started the construction of Sofia Airport Centre. The centre is planned to be an international-standard working environment in a landscaped business park setting. The centre will provide about 165 000 sq m of commercial space comprised of Class A offices, prime logistics space and a high quality hotel with dining, recreational, and conference facilities. More than 250 million euro have been invested in the project. The centre will be located 300 metres from the new Sofia International Airport, and will be managed by Tishman Management Company EOOD, part of Tishman International Companies. RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PRICES IN BULGARIA'S CAPITAL UP BY 5.47 PER CENT IN JUNE 2007 Jul 2007 Residential property prices in Sofia have increased by 5.47 per cent in June 2007 compared to figures for May, reaching 820 euro per sq m, Foros real estate agency brokers said. This is the average price for all types of accommodation including panel apartments and new construction, investor.bg reported. The largest price hike was registered in the residential district of Dianabad, 9.29 per cent where prices reached 843.33 euro per sq m. The average price hike in Krasna Polyana was 8.85 per cent, and the price increase in Hipodrouma was 8.15 per cent. The Residential districts of Izgrev and Mladost-3 registered the lowest price hike of 0.7 per cent and 2.62 per cent respectively. The prices in Izgrev reached 956.67 euro per sq m and in Mladost 653.33 euro per sq m. Lozenets and Ivan Vazov are the two districts with most expensive residential property. Costs there reached 1 260 and 1 250 euro per sq m respectively. The cheapest panel apartments are offered in Malinova Dolina, 500 euro per sq m, Mladost-3, 610 euro per sq m and Mladost-4, 610 euro per sq m. FOREIGNERS INCREASINGLY INTERESTED IN BULGARIA’S SPA PROPERTY DESTINATIONS Jul 2007 The interest of foreign investors in the acquisition of property located in areas having mineral springs is growing, consultants from Home for You said. Velingrad, which has already established itself as a spa destination, is growing in popularity. Research shows it is among the top destinations for both foreign and Bulgarian investors. Agents said that Velingrad had the potential to develop into a European resort and into one of Bulgaria’s best spa resorts. Foreigners also continue showing interest in vacation property in Bulgaria’s coastal resorts. Mountain vacation property also registers interest, which tends to be strongest towards rural developments. Italian, Spanish, Austrian and German investors are showing increasing interest in property acquisition in Bulgaria. Scandinavian investors are also growingly attracted to property in the country. PROPERTY MARKET DEVELOPMENTS IN BULGARIA UNPREDICTABLE IN FIRST HALF OF 2007 Jul 2007 Predictions made for property market developments in the first half of the year failed coming true. The market saw dynamic developments and turned to be one of the fastest evolving segments. Price hike went beyond expectations, making agents unable to predict future growth. In the first half of the year, one and two-bedroom apartments registered the biggest price increase, investor.bg reported. The growth, however, is specific for each district and average estimations cannot be made. New construction is responsible for the varying trends, especially in Sofia. If a district sees a number of new two-bedroom apartments, owners of older such property try to sell it at prices similar to the ones for newly built apartments. Bulgaria’s bigger cities saw residential property price increase of seven to eight per cent. In general, property located close to the city’s centre gained more in value. PROPERTY MARKET DEVELOPMENTS IN BULGARIA UNPREDICTABLE IN FIRST HALF OF 2007 Jul 2007 Predictions made for property market developments in the first half of the year failed coming true. The market saw dynamic developments and turned to be one of the fastest evolving segments. Price hike went beyond expectations, making agents unable to predict future growth. In the first half of the year, one and two-bedroom apartments registered the biggest price increase, investor.bg reported. The growth, however, is specific for each district and average estimations cannot be made. New construction is responsible for the varying trends, especially in Sofia. If a district sees a number of new two-bedroom apartments, owners of older such property try to sell it at prices similar to the ones for newly built apartments. Bulgaria’s bigger cities saw residential property price increase of seven to eight per cent. In general, property located close to the city’s centre gained more in value. POMORIE MUNICIPALITY IN BULGARIA TO DEVELOP ECO AND GOLF PROJECTS 10:52 Fri 29 Jun 2007 Pomorie municipality plans to carry out a number of eco projects aimed at transforming it into one of the first Bulgarian green regions. The projects will increase the municipality's energy efficiency and improve the road and electricity distribution infrastructure in the region, Pomorie mayor Petar Zlatanov said as quoted by investor.bg. One of the major projects envisions the construction of a golf course Black Sea Golf and Country Club. It has already received a first class investment certificate. The investment exceeds 194 million euro. The golf course will cover an area of 1918 decares near the village of Kableshkovo. It will have an entertainment complex functioning year-round. A four or five-star hotel, golf academy, tennis academy and swimming pools, villas and apartments are also included in the project. Work on the project is expected to start by the end of 2007. The complex will provide 800 to 1000 work places. Pomorie municipality currently seeks a public-private partnerships to finance the port in the town. Sunset Resort vacation complex features among the other investment projects in Pomorie. It will have 2700 beds and a five-star hotel complex. Pomorie also will work on several eco projects among which local dump renovation and reconstruction which will be transformed into park. PROPERTY INVESTMENT RETURNS RATE RANKS BULGARIA SECOND IN EUROPE 09:05 Thu 28 Jun 2007 Bulgaria ranks second in Europe on the returns rate of property investment over the past 12 months, research of British consultancy company Assetz shows. According to the company’s index, drafted each annual quarter, Bulgaria’s property investment returns reached 71 per cent over the past 12 months. Poland ranked first with 100 per cent returns, investor.bg reported. Assetz warned potential investors that the rate in Bulgaria was expected to decrease significantly. Regions featuring over supply like Sunny Beach coastal resort and Bansko winter resort already experience problems with their rental markets. Bulgaria is the only European country listed in the ranking, for which Assetz expects such decrease in returns. Poland will also experience decrease, though it will be smaller compared to predictions for Bulgaria. REAL ESTATE FUND TO INVEST 200 MILLION EURO IN BULGARIA'S VARNA Jun 2007 Investment fund Orchid Development Group will invest nearly 200 million euro in three projects in Varna by the end of 2007. The fund received a first class investment certificate for its Grand Mall project in Varna, investor.bg reported. The other two projects focus on the construction of an office building with a total area of 25 000 sq m and a complex of mixed type having residential part, offices and trade centre. Its gross built-up area will total 60 000 sq m. Grand Mall will be located near the bus station in Varna. The company bought the terrain in 2006 for 12.7 million euro. Its gross built-up area is 150 000 sq m. Orchid said that this would be the largest complex of mixed type in Varna and among the largest ones in Bulgaria. Construction works are to be completed by 2009. RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PRICES IN BULGARIA TO INCREASE 10 PER CENT BY END OF 2007 Jun 2007 Residential property prices in Bulgaria’s large cities are expected to increase 10 per cent by the end of 2007, predictions of real estate agency ERA Bulgaria show. Residential property prices in Sofia went up 16 per cent in the first quarter of 2007 and those in Varna 18 per cent as compared to figures for the last quarter of 2006, ERA managing director Teodora Dimitrova said as quoted by investor.bg. For the same period, vacation property prices at the Black Sea and winter resorts increased 22 per cent. The average price growth for the first six months of 2007 reached 25 per cent in some of Bulgaria's bigger towns. Mladost and Vuzrazhdane residential district in Varna and some regions of Sofia saw 25 per cent increase, Dimitrova said. The average price growth of new construction in Sofia's residential district of Mladost reached 15 to 20 per cent. The figures exceed expectations for a slight increase of residential property prices in Bulgaria after its EU accession. Fast development of the mortgage market and high demand for ready apartments feature among main factors that influenced the dynamic price increase in the country, Dimitrova said. Bulgaria continues to be EU’s cheapest country concerning residential property prices. The average prices in European capitals vary between 150 000 and 200 000 euro. In Sofia, the average price of a 60 to 70 sq m apartment varies between 70 000 and 80 000 euro. BUSINESS NEWS 100 YEARS NEEDED FOR BULGARIA TO REACH STANDARDS OF LIVING IN EU COUNTRIES Jul 2007 Despite the fact than new EU members from Central and Eastern Europe make serious efforts to reach the standard of older members, much more is to be done to achieve the goal, UCLA university analysis showed. UCLA said that Bulgaria needs 100 years to reach the living standards in Western Europe. This is the longest period that research covered, investor.bg reported. Slovenia will achieve the levels in the shortest period of five years. Hungary needs from 30 to 35 years, the Czech Republic- 25 years and Romania- from 45 to 50 years. Central and Eastern European countries have attracted capitals of $240 billion since 1989, UCLA said. Salaries in the region equaled nearly seven per cent of those in Germany and Austria in the beginning of 90s, now the figure is 20 per cent. People working in small and medium-sized companies in old EU members form 50 per cent of the countries' labour force while in Eastern Europe the percentage is sufficiently lower reaching only 10 per cent in some regions, research said. CENTRE IN BULGARIA TO STIMULATE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT Jul 2007 A national centre is to be created in Bulgaria, focusing on the development of information and communication technologies and micro electronics in the country, State Agency for Information Technologies and Communications (SAITC) said. The centre will stimulate the development of the sector and will benefit from the expert experience of scientific organisations, universities and businesses, Bulgarian National Radio reported. Bulgarian participation in European initiatives in the sector until now was at a good level but this was insufficient, SAITC head Plamen Vachkov said. There is no operational programme for funding information technologies and communications under European cohesion funds. European technology platforms and joint technology initiatives supported by EC and businesses feature among opportunities for sectoral development, Vachkov said. ECONOMIC GROWTH IN BULGARIA REACHES 5.8 PER CENT Jul 2007 Bulgaria’s economic growth rate reached 5.8 per cent in 2007. The figure for Romania is 6.5 per cent. Romania is expected to register growth above the average for EU member states by the end of the year. Average EU economic growth is 5.9 per cent, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) reported. Inflation in the country is to fall to 4.1 per cent, while the EU average for 2007 is set at 4.3 per cent. According to the EIU report, Bulgaria’s inflation will be five per cent in 2007. ROMANIA AND BULGARIA SIGN ORYAHOVO-BEKET BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IN 2008 Jul 2007 Bulgaria and Romania are expected to sign an agreement for the construction of a bridge connecting the Bulgarian town of Oryahovo to the Romanian Beket. Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev said as quoted by investor.bg that the two countries will decide on the exact location of the bridge across the Danube in 2008. The ministry introduced to Romania the possibility of certain concessionaires building the bridge. Moutafchiev said that the ministry had information that the government of Romania has already authorised Beket municipality to manage the investment in the project. Further negotiations between the countries will take place after Romania introduces its official suggestion for the construction. A work group of experts will determine the places for the bridge construction. Moutafchiev said that hopefully the group will start its work in September and by the end of 2007 they will announce their expert opinion. The bridge will consist of a 800m long highway. TAILORS, COOKS AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERS MOST NEEDED PROFESSIONALS IN BULGARIA BY 2010 Jul 2007 The average-term prognosis for the workforce demand in the period from 2008 to 2010 showed that most demanded professionals will include sellers, mechanics, tailors, cooks, construction engineers and nurses. Industry Watch and Vitosha Research worked on the analysis ordered by Labour and Social Policy Ministry, Bulgarian national Radio reported. Data covers the period from February to April 2007 and involves 2019 companies having more than five people staff. Results showed that Bulgarian labour market has no pressing lack of labour force. Nearly 75 per cent of the employers questioned said that all positions in their companies have been filled. Part of the vacant positions were for applied and analytical specialists, 14.4 per cent, another 94 per cent were for qualified workers, four per cent of the vacant positions were for people without professional qualification and two per cent for managerial positions. More than a half of the employers said that they did not expect serious problems in finding qualified workers in the short and average term period from 2008 to 2010. Only six per cent said they would be unable to find qualified workers. Labour and Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova said that more than 280 000 people are currently on the labour market as 108 000 of them have high school and university education. Unemployment rate for June 2007 is 7.42 per cent which ranks Bulgaria among the EU countries having lowest unemployment rate. SAPARD PROGRAMME GRANTS 10.5M LEVA FOR INFRASTRUCTURE RENOVATION IN BULGARIAN VILLAGES Jul 2007 Bulgaria will get 10.5 million leva annually from the SAPARD programme with the goal of renovating village infrastructure. This aid will help more than 100 Bulgarian municipalities to improve infrastructure within the next three months. All projects and contracts must be completed by October 12. BUSINESSES IN BULGARIA OPTIMISTIC ABOUT EFFECT OF EU FUNDS ON ECONOMY Jul 2007 Nearly 50 per cent of Bulgarian companies are optimistic about the impact of European funding on the country's economy, research of MBMD agency showed. Almost 40 per cent of municipalities are also optimistic about European funds utilisation, investor.bg reported. Research participants said that the main problems before European fund utilisation include heavy administrative procedures, lack of sufficient funds for project preparation and insufficient practical information. Businesses and local authorities prefer operational programmes for human resources development, regional development and competitiveness, research showed. Only a third of the businesses applied for European funding in March 2007 while now the percentage reached 69. Nearly 50 per cent of local authorities are also willing to apply with their own projects for European funding. Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski said that the first quality projects submitted will have easier access to funding. Competition is expected to increase later, because the funds provided by EU will decrease, Oresharski said. POWER PLANT IN BULGARIA PRODUCES 4.52 PER CENT MORE ELECTRICITY IN 2007 THAN PLANNED Jul 2007 Nuclear power plant Kozloduy produced 8 335 514 200 kilowatt hours of electricity in the first six months of 2007. The amount is 4.52 per cent higher than planned quantities, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported. Kozloduy NPP planned to produce 7 975 184 800 kilowatt hours of electricity for the period but it managed to reach the amount on June 15. The power plant used its two operational units of 1 000 megawatt capacity. Currently unit six works at its full capacity and unit five is under a planned annual reconstruction. Worries arose about the functioning of the power plant after two of its units were shut down in the beginning of the year because of EU accession requirements. BULGARIA TO IMPLEMENT PHARE PROJECTS UNDER DECENTRALISED SYSTEM CONDITIONS Jul 2007 Bulgaria received accreditation to execute PHARE projects under the conditions of a decentralised system. The accreditation means that Bulgarian institutions have met the requirements of the European Commission related to project execution, Finance Ministry said. GOODS THROUGH FISH PORT IN BULGARIA’S BOURGAS INCREASES IN 2007 Jul 2007 Export of Bulgarian goods through the fish port in Bourgas has increased in the first six months of 2007. The port handled a total of 134 550 tons of goods in the first six months of 2007 compared to 115 555 tons for the same period of 2006, Focus news agency reported. The increase came from higher export. Wooden-ware producers feature among major exporters who prefer to use ship for transportation of their goods. The largest ship, which has ever visited the port, was Greek Island Scipper. Port managers have started a project for the construction of a warehouse which will meet the need to store goods before their transportation. The warehouse will cover three decares. The investment will exceed one million leva. In the past seven years, sufficient investment has been made in new port new facilities and technical equipment and in the quay wall renovation. EXPORT OF These conditions focus on the setting up of PHARE projects implementation system. Institutions also met requirements for trading and negotiating for funding. Until present, the European Commission representation in Bulgaria was responsible for these duties. The decentralisation project began in 2002 and ended after an audit was carried out. The audit targeted all levels of PHARE project execution on the country. European Commission representatives carried it out and presented the final report in January 2007. BULGARIA ABROAD GERMANY TO SUPPORT BULGARIAN SMEs WITH 9.4M EURO Jul 2007 With loans and grants that total over 9.4 million euro, the German government will support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bulgaria. Two grants of 5.1 million euro and 29 000 euro respectively, will finance investment projects of SMEs in urban and farm areas in Bulgaria, the government said in a statement. Additionally, Germany will provide four million euro in revolving credit. The 30-year loan has an annual interest rate of two percent, and a 10-year grace period. It is provided by German development bank Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) and the funding will be distributed by ProCredit Bank Bulgaria, the local unit of the international ProCredit Bank group. A THIRD OF UK SEASONAL WORKERS COMING FROM BULGARIA, ROMANIA AND UKRAINE Jul 2007 Nearly one third of the seasonal workers in the UK are students from countries like Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine. BBC reported that these students used specialised programmes that enabled them work in the UK’s agriculture sector over the summer. Two thirds of the seasonal workers in the UK agriculture sector came from EU member countries, the report said. The article focuses on the lack of labourhand and the problems that agriculture producers had with it. Increasing number of East European workers were already looking for better paid jobs, BBC said. As a result, local agriculture production suffered losses. According to local employment agencies, the situation was going to aggravate in the coming year, since government suggested limitations on unqualified migrant labour. BALKAN STABILITY AMONG BULGARIA'S EU CONTRIBUTIONS Jul 2007 Bulgaria contributes to the European community by maintaining stability on the Balkans, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said at a meeting with German president Horst Koehler on July 4. Bulgaria is working to establish good co-operation between the EU and countries in the Western Balkans, Stanishev said. He added that this country can contribute to the common success of the EU with its flexibility and capability for development. Stanishev also said that Bulgaria will continue to work against corruption and organised crime. Opportunities for further economic and business relations also featured among the topics of discussion. Koehler said that Germany's relations with Bulgaria are based on good partnership and friendship. Stanishev thanked Germany for its consistent support for the five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya on charges of causing mass HIV infection. He said that progress in the efforts to resolve the case has been achieved thanks to the German contribution. BOOMING NIGHTLIFE ATTRACTS BULGARIAN YOUTH TO SOFIA’S STUDENSKI GRAD Jul 2007 Home to 25000 students, Sofia’s Studentski Grad, or Student Town, really only comes alive when the school day is through. At night, music pulsates from underground clubs hidden in vacant lots and in the basements of Soviet-era dorms, according to the New York Times. Since Bulgaria’s admission to the EU in January 2007, low housing costs, lenient zoning rules and young residents have fostered a thriving club and bar scene in this academic zone on the southernmost edge of the city. Fans of chalga —a kind of Balkan disco— flock to Avenue, located at 1A Atanas Manchev Street.. True to its name, Stroezha, on Block 23B, looks like a construction site, complete with scaffolding, broken windows, and sawhorses. Although crowds may come for the Bulgarian Zagorka beer and loud alt-rock, they stay for a turn at the Pamela Anderson pinball machine. Maskata, on Block 19, is a cavernous venue for live music on the ground floor of a student dormitory. While rock bands jam most weekends, students take over the stage on Mondays for karaoke nights that last till 5 a.m. Restaurants in Studentski Grad are also experiencing a boom. New sit-down restaurants offer an alternative to the traditional student fare of pizza and kebabs. Borimechkata, on Block 24, is an atmospheric Greek tavern with hanging vines and an open grill. BULGARIA DESTINED FOR PROSPERITY AFTER CHURCH RESTORATION Jul 2007 The Forty Martyrs church and monastery in the central Bulgarian town of Veliko Turnovo, a cornerstone of Bulgarian history and culture, was re-opened to the public last summer, the Miami Herald reported. Bulgaria's ascension to the EU in January seems to fulfill the ancient prophecy about the church, which proclaims that Bulgaria will return to prosperity only after the restoration of the complex. Built in 1280 and destroyed during centuries of Ottoman rule, the monastery and church are currently in the process of restoration. The EU and UNESCO are financing the renovation of historic sites all over the country. Bulgaria is still one of the poorest countries in the EU. Most people in Bulgaria do not speak English, and the Cyrillic alphabet poses a challenge to Westerners. However, the rich history and national treasures of Bulgaria promise many rewards for adventurous visitors. BULGARIA DESTINED FOR PROSPERITY AFTER CHURCH RESTORATION 11:47 Tue 03 Jul 2007 |
