Géopolitiques de la Bulgarie

04 novembre 2007

Borrowing securities

4 November 2007 | 00:29 | FOCUS News Agency

Sofia. Temporary transfers of securities bring good profits and investors have embarked on using repurchase agreements, also known as Repo deals. Repos constitute a form of short-term borrowing for dealers in government securities. The dealer sells the government securities to investors, usually on an overnight basis, and buys them back the following day. For the party selling the security (and agreeing to repurchase it in the future) it is a repo; for the party on the other end of the transaction, (buying the security and agreeing to sell in the future) it is a reverse repurchase agreement. Repos are classified as a money-market instrument. They are usually used to raise short-term capital. The standard procedure is currently on offer at four local banks – Postbank, Piraeus Bank, Investbank and International Asset Bank, as well as at 2 investment mediators – STS Finance and Overgas Capital. ‘Clients of MKB Unionbank will soon be able to get use of the service here’, Ruska Ruzhinova, head of MKB Unionbank’s Liquidity and Investment Baking department, says.

Pioneering loans in support of EU funds appropriation

4 November 2007 | 00:01 | FOCUS News Agency

Sofia. DSK Bank has created new subsidiary company- DSK Bul-Project. It will use the experience of the Hungarian OTP group. The new DSK Bank unit will be consulting and assisting companies and municipalities within the process of EU funds appropriation.

03 novembre 2007

We will get access to all the EU funds in a week: Plamen Oresharski

3 November 2007 | 12:23 | FOCUS News Agency

Borovets.Fiscal stability is our main goal for next year and in the short run, Minister of Finance Plamen Oresharski told journalists, FOCUS News Agency reporter informed. Literally we will gain access to all the EU funds in a week, the minister added. In the last few years we have witnessed a speeded economic growth of more than 6% and serious foreign investments, Minister Oresharski commented. That was the challenge for supporting the macroeconomic balance. While the deficit for the current account for 2007 is expected to be about 20% for the next year it is expected to be about 21,9%, he added.

BREAD PRICES IN BULGARIA TO RISE

Prices of bread in Bulgaria would increase by 10-15 per cent after the elections, chairman of the Federation of bread producers and confectioners in Bulgaria Dimitar Lyudiev predicted on November 2.

At a press conference in the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Lyudiev said that at present bread prices were being deliberately kept stable.

The reason for the bread price increase is that in October 2007 only, the price of a ton of flour rose by 150 leva from 720 leva to between 850 and 900 leva.  For the past 3 years the price of a ton of flour had risen by 300 per cent, Lyudiev added, commenting that the current situation is even more worrying than the 2003 wheat crisis, Dnevnik daily said.

Lyudiev said that another reason for the increase of bread prices was the rise of bread producers' salaries. In Europe a bread producer's salary is about 2500 – 3000 euro, while in Bulgaria it is about 350 – 400 leva.

Spokesperson of the Federation Mariana Kukusheva said the price of a kilogram of bread could reach 2 leva. She added that traders earned twice as much as bread producers. However, nobody controlled them.

http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/bread-prices-in-bulgaria-to-rise/id_25937/catid_66

01 novembre 2007

Veselin Metodiev: The budget surplus in Bulgaria is BGN 3.35 Billion

1 November 2007 | 12:13 | FOCUS News Agency

Sofia. By September 30th the budget surplus in Bulgaria amounts to BGN 3.35 Billion, the Deputy Chairman of Democrats for Strong Bulgaria Veselin Metodiev said while talking to journalists in the Bulgarian Parliament, a reporter of FOCUS News Agency informed. Metodiev added that the number would exceed BGN 4 Billion by the end of the year. This, according to Metodiev, would mean that the budget surplus would exceed the planned by one Billion leva. ‘This policy crushes the public sector and the public expenses and we can all see the results’, he said.

Bulgaria Govt Irons Out 2008 Budget Bill

Politics
The government is scheduled to discuss the national budget bill for 2008 during its meeting on Wednesday, a day after leaders of the country's three-way ruling coalition agreed on the draft.

The government is also to consider draft budgets for the National Medical Insurance Fund and the State Public Social Insurance for next year.

The national budget bill for 2008 envisages a 12% cut in the funds allocated to the state administration wages, which would affect nearly half a million Bulgarians, who draw their monthly pay slip from the state budget, including 120 000 military and police personnel.

Even though the coalition partners have agreed on most points of the draft bill, which will be discussed by the cabinet on Wednesday, several sticking points still remain.

The Socialists, who are senior partners, want to raise the ceiling for which employees make monthly mandatory social security payments by nearly 50% to BGN 2000, but ex-king Simeon Saxe-Coburg's NMSP and predominantly ethnic Turk MRF party are against it for now.

At the same time, the Socialists are against NMSP's proposal to raise the monthly health insurance payments.

One notable omission from the draft bill is the proposed new security agency, dubbed by the media as the "Bulgarian FBI", which will bring under one roof the civilian and military counterespionage, as well as the financial investigations service.

The brainchild of Socialist PM Sergey Stanishev, which he wants to become operational starting from January, does not feature in the draft budget.

Starting from next year, Bulgaria will drop its progressive taxation framework in favour of a 10% flat tax rate.

Despite the change, the ruling coalition does not expect a sharp drop in the amount of taxes collected. Total budget revenue is projected to reach the equivalent of 44,1% of gross domestic product, with a budget surplus of 3% of GDP.
source : novinite.com

29 octobre 2007

Bulgaria’s credit growth rate nose-dives 3 times

29 October 2007 | 02:02 | FOCUS News Agency

Sofia. The lending growth pace in September stands at BGN 203.7 million or three times below what it used to be back in August this year, as BNB data shows. This bumper decrease is calculated on the basis of both extended and refunded debts. Financial experts believe the current downturn occurred as a result of the central bank’s measures targeting lending cool down and the subsequent rise in both interest rates and fees that commercial banks in Bulgaria charge. This lending slowdown has been most tangible in the consumer debt segment, where growth rate statistics run up to nearly BGN 12.2 billion in end-September, Express Daily inform.

26 octobre 2007

Bulgarian Think-tank Ups Economic Growth Forecast

Bulgarian economic think-tank Industry Watch said on Sunday it upped its gross domestic product forecast for this year to 6,4%, having downgraded it to 5,8% earlier in April. "The data available for the first half of the year give reasons for increased optimism for this year, as well as grounds to believe the trend will carry-over into next year," the think-tank said in a report.

Industry Watch also raised its forecast for next year to 6,3%, compared to its earlier estimate of 4,9%. Bulgaria's statistics board NSI reported last month that the country's economy grew by 6,4% in the first half of the year, to BGN 24,47 B, raising hopes that it would finally buck the downward trend of recent years.

Last year Bulgaria's economy grew by 6,1%, a touch slower than the 6,2% in 2005, and well below the 6,5% official target. In nominal terms, Bulgaria's GDP for 2006 was BGN 49,1 B, or EUR 25,1 B. The think-tank's economists, however, do not believe that Bulgaria's economy could be overheating.

"Although we expect consumer price inflation to pick up, compared to our earlier forecast, we do not see a risk for the country's monetary and financial stability. It's also important to note that no political party has shown any interest in abolishing the currency board regime," the report read. Its authors now believe inflation will reach 8,5% this year before slowing down to 5,7% in 2008. In April, they forecast inflation falling to 4,9% in 2007 and 3,9% in 2008, compared to 7,3% last year.

Nine-month data released by NSI show year-on-year inflation reaching 13,1% at end-September and 8,9% for the year so far. High inflation remains the main obstacle preventing Bulgaria from adopting the common European currency. Industry Watch's forecast is the averages figure obtained by polling five Bulgarian analysts.

Source: novinite.com

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=9726

FINANCE MINISTRY SUBMITS BUDGET 2008 BILL FOR INTERDEPARTMENTAL REVIEW

The budget bill 2008, put up by the Finance Ministry for interdepartmental review, contains no surprises to the business and public community alike, Dnevnik business daily reported on October 25. Its main features will be the introduction of flat tax for legal and natural persons at 10 per cent and a tighter fiscal discipline.

The estimates draw upon weighted average inflation of 6.9 per cent, and a record-high current account deficit of 21.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The Finance Ministry will be looking forward to a 3 per cent of GDP budget surplus.

The bill also foresees a wage hike of five to 10 per cent as of July 1 next year.

Regarding taxation, there will be three tax rates for freelancers – at 10, 25 and 40 per cent. To date the range of tax reliefs was between 10 to 70 per cent.

Employees in public administration earning less than 430 will get one-time payment to recompense for losses stemming from flat tax introduction.

Starting next year, the minimum taxable income will increase by 20 leva to 240 leva. The ministry plans to raise the threshold by 10 leva increments within the next couple of years. The maximum taxable income will, meanwhile, go up from 1400 leva to 2000 leva through 2010.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry has ceded to the request of Bulgaria's tobacco company Bulgartabac to make one of three excise on cigarettes hike to align Bulgaria's to those of the EU.

http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/finance-ministry-submits-budget-2008-bill-for-interdepartmental-review/id_25749/catid_66

Macro frame of the budget to be under discussion

26 October 2007 | 15:05 | FOCUS News Agency

Sofia. Experts of the Finance Ministry were introduced the macro frame of the budget 2008 to the representatives of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa. The represented macro farme will be discussed on Monday in the national council of tripartite collaboration, vice president of CL Podkrepa Dimitar Manolov told FOCUS News Agency. The experts informed trade unions’ members that the Gross Domestic Product would be about BGN 61 billion and the average inflation rate would be about 6.9%. About 6.2% of the GDP would be pledged for the education system.