Bulgaria opens cars factory

Bulgaria has formally launched of mass production of cars under the Chinese Great Wall badge by Litex Motors near the northern city of Lovech.

The car manufacturing plant near Lovech comes to life seventeen years after Bulgaria‘s last failed attempt to revive its automobile industry.

The first car of the Chinese company Great Wall assembled near Bulgaria‘s Lovech was rolled out in the middle of November 2011.

With the opening of its new plant in Bulgaria, Great Wall Motors becomes the first Chinese automaker to assemble cars in the European Union.

A joint venture of Bulgarian and Chines companies

The joint factory of Litex Motors, a Bulgarian company, and Great Wall, located at the village of Bahovitsa near Lovech was launched Tuesday, February 21, in the presence of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and China’s Ambassador to Bulgaria Guo Yezhou, as well as Ms. Wang Feng Ying, General Manager and Executive Director of Great Wall Motor Co.

During the opening Bulgaria‘s PM Borisov declared he had the promise of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao that China will invest (BGN) 1 B (Borisov mentioned the sum of 1 B without specifying the currency) in the region of Lovech, including in a bus manufacturing plant.

The Chinese investments in Bulgaria

“Yes, we are all glad that Bulgaria will be producing cars. The investments have come from our friends. We’ve talked to the Prime Minister of China, and I received promises for the investment of 1 B until the end of 2013,” Borisov stated at the opening of the plant of Litex Motors and Great Wall near Lovech.

He further noted he was glad that Chinese cars for the European market will be produced in Bulgaria.

“There is no way I can’t be happy that I am the Economy Minister in a moment when the car manufacturing in Bulgaria is restored. Thank you for this emotion,” said Traicho Traikov, Bulgaria‘s Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism.

He emphasized his hopes that the Great Wall Motors project will turn out to be a boost for the Chinese investments in Bulgaria.

“It’s no accident that the Bulgarian government provided BGN 2.4 M for the road to this factory, I hope this wonderful ceremony costs less,” Traikov joked, referring to the infrastructure aid granted under Bulgaria‘s Investment Encouragement Act.

Great Wall CEO Wang Feng Ying thanked the Bulgarian government for supporting the Litex Motors project, and declared that Bulgaria will be a starting point from which the Chinese car manufacturer will start entering the European markets.

Cars produced by China’s Great Wall already hit the Bulgarian market in October last year through a network of twelve representative show rooms across the country.

Voleex C10 sedan, Hover H5 SUV and Steed pickup are the three different vehicle models, which Chinese car maker Great Wall Motor Co and Bulgarian company Litex Motors will produce in the town of Lovech, Northern Bulgaria, at very competitive prices.

Expectations are for a furore not least because of the cars’ low prices. Great Wall Motor Company, one of China’s biggest automotive manufacturers, signed a joint venture (JV) deal with Bulgarian diversified holding company Litex Commerce in the presence of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov at the end of 2009.

The plant will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 units and assemble four different models – a sports utility vehicle (SUV), a pickup and two passenger car models, which are expected to be sold in European Union countries.

The total initial investment is around EUR 97 M, potentially reaching EUR 300 M if the project is successful. The Chinese company has secured 10% of the money, the remainder was forked out by Litex Motors, owned by petrol businessman and owner of Litex football club Grisha Ganchev.

The cars are expected to be sold under the Great Wall badge, boosting the firm’s output from around 400,000 at present.

The project is considered to be nothing short of a coup for Bulgaria, which does not currently produce any passenger vehicles, though it does have a modest but successful automotive components industry.

Bulgaria‘s Tours operators

The Association of Bulgarian Tour Operators and Travel Agents has forecast a successful summer season for the country’s tourism industry.

Bulgaria oldest international tourism expo

Based on booking requests for the 2012 summer, the Bulgarian tour operators made it clear they have high hopes for the summer tourist season, speaking at a public discussion as part of the 29th Vacation and Spa Expo, Bulgaria‘s oldest international tourism forum, in Sofia.

Representatives of the tour operators’ association further noted that the 2011-2012 tourism season for Bulgaria‘s winter resorts is hard but is still expected to reach last years levels of profit.

The last winter season brought Bulgarian winter resorts revenues totaling EUR 204 M, while the Bulgarian summer tourism industry usually makes 10 times as much.

“The new Tourism Act does not encompass electronic trade when the tourist products are purchased online,” Bayko Baykov, chair of the board of the Association, said when it came to discussing the problems for Bulgaria‘s tourism industry.

The tour operators and travel agents have also complained of the government’s failure to eliminate the gray economy in the tourism sector.

Bulgaria’s EconMin Vows BGN 26 M for Tourism Advertising in 2012

Bulgaria‘s investment in tourism advertising grew by 121% in 2011 compared with 2009, Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Traicho Traikov has announced.

Speaking at the opening of the 29th Vacation and Spa Expo in Sofia – Bulgaria‘s oldest international tourism forum – Traikov said the total 2012 investment for advertising Bulgaria‘s tourism products will reach BGN 26 M, which is an increase by BGN 4 M year-on-year.

The total funding comes from both Bulgaria‘s national budget and EU Operational Program “Regional Development.”

According to Traikov, “Bulgaria is emerging as one of the most competitive winter tourism destinations against the backdrop of the general downturn in Europe.”

He reminded that four World Ski Cup contests are set to take place in Bulgaria‘s Bansko over the next two weeks.

“This is happening for the first time, and it is a great recognition for Bulgaria after the success of the World Ski Cup in 2011 in the same resort,” stated the Bulgarian Economy Minister who is known as an ardent skier himself.

He also said that Bulgaria’s Pamporovo, which hosted a European Ski Cup contest last week, is seeing up to 20% more foreign tourists year-on-year.

Traikov expects a good season for Bulgaria‘s summer tourism as well, stressing the rising number of charter flights to the Bulgarian summer resorts as well as Bulgaria‘s recent decision to waive visa requirements for the holders of Schengen visas.

On Thursday, he also emphasized Bulgaria‘s rich cultural heritage – consisting of over 40 000 cultural monuments and 7 historical periods.

The biggest investors in Bulgaria

Bulgaria‘s largest English-language media Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) and Novinite.bg were announced to readers from around the world, the  new initiative – “ Investors of the Decade” 2001-2011!

“Investors of the Decade” will be a special survey to be published by Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), Novinite.bg, The Sofia Morning News, and Bulgarian Business Adviser at the end of January 2012.

The most successful decade in Bulgaria

“ Investors of the Decade” will focus on a “Who is Who” of the top investors in Bulgaria during the most successful decade in Bulgarian history in terms of attracting investment.

The “Bulgaria - Investors of the Decade” survey will present  the CEOs of key investors in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria‘s investment trends

Will bring to our attention expert opinions of top economists and financiers about Bulgaria’s investment trends, advantages, and potential.

Will talk to top government officials about the future of Bulgaria’s investment policies.

What is more, “Investors of the Decade” will be a permanent project of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), Novinite.bg and Bulgarian Business Adviser with the ambition to become a useful guide for readers from around the world.

All are welcome to help make Bulgaria‘s investment potential better known and better understood!

The  “Investors of the Decade” initiative is a wonderful opportunity for you to present your history of success or your ambitions in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria advantages the chemical industry

Bulgaria has a lot of advantages, benefiting the chemical industry business, according to the Solvay Sodi CEO Eric Vander Vorst.
In an exclusive interview for the “Investors of the Decade – Bulgaria” Business Survey of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) and Novinite Bulgaria, Eric Vander Vorst, lists these advantages as a favorable geographic location (in the case of Solvay Sodi – the export hub through the port of Varna West for the Balkans, Mediterranean regions, Middle East and Asia) along with richness in raw materials, low labor costs, and lower direct taxation.
The CEO, however, points out that low labor costs are often accompanied by low productivity and sometimes under-equipped contractors, and stresses on words of the new Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev that “it is not enough to have lower taxation in order to attract investments,” but “it is also required to guarantee predictable and stable investment environment, to have a clear long-term vision for economic development and lower the administrative burdens.”

Bulgaria‘s government

According to Vander Vorst, the government of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party, GERB, is cautiously managing its budgets in times of financial crisis and is doing appreciable efforts so that the country has avoided financial disasters as some of its neighbors.
Nevertheless, the Solvay Sodi CEO does point a major disagreement with the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance, regarding its decision to raise excise duties on fuels used for cogeneration.
“This is a precedent in Europe, where on the contrary governments are developing cogeneration privileges. To my view, it is also an ecological nonsense since gas is noncompetitive in Bulgaria. On this aspect, which is burdening our costs by several %, we would like to reach an understanding and reasonable solution from the government,” Vander Vorst says in the interview.
He praises the Environmental Ministry for being strict, but also pragmatic and supporting the chemical business when searching for the best technical solution.

The future of the chemical industry in Bulgaria

The CEO voices hope that the chemical industry will have a future in Bulgaria, quoting the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov, who, in the sector strategy on attracting investments, presented in the beginning of November last year, had said that the chemical industry is one of the priority sectors for investments. The Solvay Sodi Head stresses that he agrees with Traikov that there is an unavoidable consolidation of the chemical industry in Europe and in neighbors to Bulgaria where only the best will prevail.
“This for sure is a card to play for Bulgaria,” Vander Vorst explains all while pointing out that the chemical industry is a promising and still developing sector of the economy, which is creating a large number of jobs.
“For example, Solvay Sodi & subsidiaries directly employ over 670 people and indirectly (as subcontractors) – around 1300. We are currently also modernizing the fluorite installations and technologies in Chtiprovtsi, that we acquired last year. I believe that more stable fiscal rules would make the Solvay group probably more willing to invest in Bulgaria,” the CEO concludes.

Hotel visitors in Bulgaria

People from Germany, the UK, Greece, Italy and France were the most frequent foreign hotel visitors in Bulgaria‘s capital Sofia, according to Sofia City Hall’s official data.
Most foreigners visited Sofia’s hotels in September (over 76 000), October (over 75 000) and March (over 62 000).
Among Sofia’s four and five-star hotels, Kempinski Zografski registered the higher total number of hotel nights in 2011 (86 005), followed by Dedeman Princess (72 435), Hilton (59 178), Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan (55 139) and Rodina (47 365).
Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan observed the highest bed utilization rate in 2011 (84%), followed by Hilton (67%).
Over the last four years, a steady growth has been registered in the number of nights spent in Bulgaria‘s capital four- and five-star hotels, reaching 64% of all Sofia hotel nights in 2011, while the one- to three-star hotels have seen a decrease for the same period.

Number of Visitors at Bulgarian Winter Resorts Up 8%

There are about 8% more tourists at Bulgaria‘s top winter resorts, compared to the same time last year.
The data was reported by the Deputy Chairman of the Bulgarian Tourist Chamber, Evelin Videnov, cited by “Focus” news agency.
According to Videnov, the 2012 winter season has been great for the country’s tourism. Based on the 8% increase in numbers, he expects and estimates about 10% more in revenues, compared to 2011.
The Bulgarian Deputy Chairman believes the good turnout is attributed to the heavy snow that fell earlier than last year, while promotions and discounts, particularly in tourist packages, have attracted more Bulgarians to local resorts. Visitors there now are mostly local tourists.
Videnov stresses that Bulgaria has almost no competition in winter sports and tourism from neighboring countries and on the Balkans, except for some Serbian and Croatian resorts, while Turkey, Greece and Romania “traditionally are not strong in winter tourism.”

Bulgaria Mulls Ways to Attract More Romanian Tourists

A large-scale business forum is held Thursday and Friday in the central Bulgarian city and old capital Veliko Tarnovo focusing on ways to attract more Romanian tourists.
The forum is attended by a number of Romanian companies from the travel sector to hear presentations on Bulgaria as a year-round tourist destination, the largest private TV channel bTV reported Thursday.
The event is organized by the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, with the help of the Union for SPA Tourism and the Association of Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Owners.
Organizers are quoted saying that their goal is to promote Bulgaria on the Romanian tourist market, which is one of the priorities of the sector.
The main destination for visitors from Romania was the northern Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

The number of the Balkan tourists in Bulgaria

The number of Macedonian tourists who visited Bulgaria in December 2011 increased over two-fold compared to the same month of 2010, according to newly published data of the  National Statistical Institute .
The increase in the number of visitors from Macedonia and from Serbia was the major factor which contributed to an increase by 1/5 to a total of 144 000 in the number of tourists visiting Bulgaria in December 2011.

 Visitors to Bulgaria from EU

At the same time, the number of tourists arriving to Bulgaria from EU countries fell by 3% to about 78 000.
Romanians made the biggest group of visitors to Bulgaria in December 2011.
In the last month of 2011, Bulgaria welcomed over 32 000 Romanian tourists, or about the same number as in December 2010.
In December 2011, Bulgaria registered 27 500 visitors from FYROM, up by 155% year on year, 25 000 visitors from Greece, down by 8% on the year and 16 000 visitors from Serbia, up by 43% from December 2010.

The tourist of UK in Bulgaria

In December 2011, a total of 5200 tourists from the United Kingdom came to Bulgaria, which constitutes a 6% increase from the same month of 2010.

Bulgaria‘s airports

The airports in the Bulgarian Black Sea cities of Burgas and Varna, which are currently operated by Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, serviced a total of 3 435 152 passengers and 30 478 flights in 2011.
The 2011 figures represent a 10% year-on-year increase in the number of serviced passengers and a 7.3% annual increase in the number of serviced flights.
2011 was the first year for the two Bulgarian coastal airports when Russians were the most active, registering a growth of 12-35%.
In previous years, passengers from Germany held the biggest share.
In 2011, Fraport Twin Star Management AD completed several large-scale investment projects at the two Bulgarians  airports worth over BGN 75 M, including the construction of new buildings, the rehabilitation of the take-off and landing runway at the Varna airport, the improvement of underground infrastructure, the clean-up of the terrain and the launch of the construction of new passenger terminals, etc.

In 2011, the Burgas Airport serviced a total of 2 253 320 passengers, setting an absolute record in the history of the airport.
Russians held the biggest share of serviced passengers at the Burgas Airport.
The airport in the southern Bulgarian Black Sea city processed a total of 393 351 passengers from Russia by the end of 2011, up by 35% from 2010.
German passengers, the second biggest group at the Burgas Airport for 2011, went up by 4% to 371 735.
Visitors from the UK and the Czech Republic ranked third and fourth, respectively.

The Varna Airport reported 1 181 832 serviced passengers in 2011, down by 3.7% from the previous year, and 11 263 serviced flights.
The decrease in the overall number of passengers processed per year was caused by the closure of the airport for the runway rehabilitation which started on October 15, 2011.
Russians made up the largest group of serviced passengers, registering an year-on-year increase of 12% to 286 035.
Germans were the second biggest group of visitors at the Varna Airport.
In 2011, the airport in the northern Bulgarian Black Sea city processed a total of 269 481 passengers from Germany, or 3% more than in 2010.
The third biggest group is that of passengers traveling from and to Poland, whose number rose by 13% from the previous year to a total of 66 584.

2011 year for the both Bulgarians airports

2011 was an important year because it marked the beginning of the construction of new passenger terminals at the two Bulgarians airports and the launch of the project for the rehabilitation of the runway at the Varna Airport.
Fraport Twin Star Management will invest over BGN 170 M in the projects.
The concessionaire of the two Bulgarian Black Sea airports signed the contract for the construction of the two passenger terminals with Turkish consortium TIE-ICDAS on November 15, 2011.

Bulgaria Sees EU’s 2nd Largest Hotel Nights Increase 2011

Bulgaria registered an 18.3% increase in the number of nights spent in its hotels in 2011, the second largest increase among EU member states, according to Eurostat’s latest data.
Bulgaria also saw the largest increase in the number of nights spent in its hotels by non-residents (+19.5%).
The largest increase in the total number of nights spent in hotels was recorded in Lithuania (+19.8%), while Estonia and Latvia observed growths of 14.6% and 14.1% respectively.

These are the last tourists reports for Bulgaria.

Bulgaria signed Sunday memorandum for cooperation with the World Bank and the European Investment Bank on consultancy for major infrastructure projects.

Present at the signing were Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov, EU Funds Minister Tomislav Donchev, as well as World Bank Vice-President for Eastern Europe Philippe Le Houerou, EIB President Wilhelm Molterer, and EU Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

Just before signing the memorandum, Commissioner Hahn met new Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and praised the macro-economic indicators achieved by the cabinet of Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov.

Bulgaria‘s infrastructure projects

“The memorandum of understanding with the World Bank and EIB will help Bulgaria in the absorption of European funds for the creation of large infrastructure projects,” said Commissioner Hahn.

Bulgarian PM Borisov said that he discussed with Hahn his government’s ideas about the highways and railways that his government plans to construct or repair.

Bulgaria and the European bank

Present at the signing was also European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President Jan Fischer.

A similar memorandum will be sign on Monday between ERDB and Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is still preferred real estate market

Bulgaria is keeping its standing among the top ten most preferred real estate markets for overseas buyers, according to a new infographic released by TheMoveChannel.com.
The infographic, which is based upon the enquiries received by the overseas property portal in 2011, showed that 2.7% of all enquiries in December were directed at Bulgarian property, making the country the eighth most popular property destination.

Bulgaria return in top 10 overseas property market for Britons

The news about Britons’ revived interest in Bulgarian property and the country’s return to the overseas property portal’s top ten for the first time in three years broke in the summer last year.
The portal’s director Dan Johnson commented that Bulgaria‘s real estate sales have been improving all year, with buyers attracted by exceptionally low prices for winter property. According to him it was no surprise that interest has increased.
The news however was derided by the Independent, which claimed it has filled some Britons with optimism.
“Perhaps it’s because Bulgaria is outside the eurozone and is relatively cheap that it’s on the way back into favour? But as far as Bulgarian property is concerned I’m reminded of the saying:
He argued that even before the financial crisis of 2008, it was clear that “there was something very positive with buying in Bulgaria“–

Value for money, and  the cheep cost of living make it a great place to spend those long Bulgarian summers

Second home in Bulgaria

Owning a second home abroad was once the preserve of the super-wealthy, but in the past decade a heady combination of TV property shows and cheap mortgages has convinced an estimated half a million Britons to buy their own place in the sun.
The value of UK-owned foreign property investments peaked at GBP 58 B in 2008, up from GBP 10 B in 2000.
Recently however British owners of second homes overseas, including Bulgaria, have been selling up due to falling rental income.

Real estate investments in Bulgarian capital

Bulgarian capital – Sofia has been rated 17th by attractiveness for real estate investments, according to a ranking of the British newspaper “Daily Telegraph.”

The information was reported Wednesday by the Bulgarian news agency BGNES and the private TV channel bTV.

The publication lists as advantage for the Bulgarian capital the rent market as lucrative and profitable for investors.

Disadvantages include low profits, high expenses for transactions, moderate tax on rent income, corruption and crime.

Bulgarian Sofia is ahead in the ranking of Prague, Helsinki and even Paris, which is 20th.

However, Brussels is number one. Vienna, Ljubljana, Bratislava, Bucharest, Warsaw, Chisinau, Riga, Rome, Berlin, Tallinn, Zagreb, Istanbul, Skopje and Budapest are all rated higher than Sofia while the Macedonian capital is even second by attractiveness for investors. The Bulgarian capital is actually last among all Balkan ones.

The main sectors of Bulgarian economy

Before the economic crisis, construction was the main sector of Bulgarian economy. A large number of Brits invested in Bulgarian real estate, but when the crisis dimmed their hopes for profits, they started selling and leaving the country. The Brits were replaced by Russians, who buy property used mostly for vacation and secondly – as permanent residence.

Number of Russians with Bulgarian Visa Up 32% in 2011

In 2011, Bulgarian Consular Offices in the Russian Federation had issued 32% more visas, compared to 2010.

The total number of visas in 2011 is 390 882.

The information was reported Wednesday by the press center of the Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The Consular Office in Sankt Petersburg registers a 13% increase in the number of Bulgarian visas, the one in Moscow – 36%.

The number if individual applicants and respectively visas is up 64%.

The increase is attributed to travels to Bulgaria of Russian citizens, who had purchased vacation and residential properties, along with members of their families and friends accompanying them.

In the last 3-4 years, over 200 000 Russians have purchased real estate in Bulgaria,

According to latest estimates these properties are valued at over  1.5 Billion Bulgarian Levs.