Latest News from Bulgaria
Card and Payment Industry on the Rise in Bulgaria
According to a new report, the proliferation of payment cards in circulation nationwide grew 2.08% annually from 2009 to 2013, resulting in a figure of USD 8.5 M 2013. Thanks largely to increased awareness and new technologies such as contactless cards, the average transaction value also increased to USD 85.5 (15th in Europe).
AIG Selling Its Insurance Business in Bulgaria
US multinational insurance corporation AIG is withdrawing from the insurance business in Bulgaria as part of its decision to leave several markets.
Earlier in October, it announced it would sell some of its Latin American and Eastern European businesses to Canadian company Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.
Plovdiv Hosts Doing Business in Bulgaria Conference
Plovdiv is hosting for the first time the a conference exploring the city's economic success in the past decade and other potentially attractive regions.
Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev is a keynote speaker. Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, representatives of local authorities and financial institutions and businesses are set to take part.
Turkish Embassy Condemns Attack on Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Chair
Turkey's Embassy in Bulgaria has issued a statement condemning the attack on Krasimir Kanev, the head of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee who on Thursday was subjected to an attack in downtown Sofia.
The statement, sent to Novinite, reads as follows:
Sports Events Disrupting Traffic in Sofia on Tuesday
Two sports events will hamper traffic across Bulgaria's capital Sofia on Tuesday, local authorities say.
Due to the Champions League game between Ludogorets Razgrad and Arsenal in the evening parking will not be allowed on the bridge in front of Vasil Lelvsi stadium, on Gen Gurko Str, and within the stretch of Gen Gurko between Vasil Levski and Evlogi i Hristo Georgievi Blvds.
Bulgaria-Greece Gas Link Extends Market Test's 2nd Phase
The deadline for binding offers to book capacity of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) project has been extended to the end of November, the project company has said.
Bulgaria Working to Host German Automaker's Assembly Plant
Bulgaria is negotiating the opening of an automotive assembly plant on its soil, the investment promotion agency's head has said.
"We are in talks with a major German company [to convince it] to begin assembling cars in Bulgaria," Stamen Yanev, chair of InvestBulgaria Agency, has told daily 24 Chasa in an interview.
Canada Officially Confirms Visa Waiver for Bulgaria, Romania as of Dec 2017
Canadian Immigration Minister John McCallum has said visa requirements for Bulgarian and Canadian nationals will be dropped as of next December.
The Canadian government intends to enforce the step as of December 01, 2017, according to a government statement.
Bulgaria Marks National Enlighteners' Day
Bulgaria is honouring on Tuesday all the people who helped develop and preserve its culture and pass it on to other generations, along with those who fought for its liberty under Ottoman rule.
Bulgaria has celebrated on November 1 since 1909, but banned festivities under Communism to renew them in 1992, with the regime considering them a show of "great Bulgarian chauvinism".
Bulgaria's Varna to Host Three FIVB World League Games Next Year
The Black Sea city of Varna is to host some of the FIVB Volleyball World League matches next year, a volleyball official says.
The Palace of Varna has been preferred over Arena Armeec sports hall in Sofia for its more affordable rent, news website Dnevnik.bg quotes the secretary general of Bulgaria's volleyball federation, Vladimir Nikolov, as saying.
Bulgaria Could Use Reactors for Belene Project in Kozloduy N-Plant
Bulgaria could incorporate the reactors built for the abandoned Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) project into its existing plant, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has said.
Officials have discussed the prospect with representatives of Russian energy giant Rosatom, whose export arm, Atomstroyexport, made the reactors, Petkova has told private broadcaster bTV in an interview.
Deadline extension for Greece-Bulgaria pipeline
The deadline for binding offers for the use of the natural gas pipeline between Bulgaria and Greece has been extended by a month to the end of November due to requests from bidders, the joint venture that runs the project said on Monday.
Bulgaria May Have Railroad between Burgas Center, Airport
A project is being prepared to build a railway between the central area of Burgas, the second-biggest coastal city, and Sarafovo Airport, Bulgarian Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski has said.
His words have come during an inspection of an infrastructure project in the area of the maritime station in Burgas.
R&D Spending in Bulgaria Up in 2015, Mostly Driven by Businesses
Expenditure on research and development (R&D) activity in Bulgaria increased by nearly a quarter compared to the year before, preliminary national statistics show.
The total amount allocated to R&D was BGN 847, which is 27.4% more than in 2014.
R&S intensity - its value as % of GDP - also went up, rising to 0.96% last year. It was 0.79% in 2014.
Sensata to Open 500 More Jobs in Three Bulgarian Cities Next Year
US sensors manufacturer Sensata Technologies is to launch five hundred new openings in its three facilities across Bulgaria, its regional manager has said.