Sat, Feb 11 2012

Foreign investment hit high in 2001

Thu, Apr 11 2002 15:00 CET

byNelly Lozanova

222 Views
Foreign investment in Bulgaria hit record high levels in the last quarter of 2001, reaching $194.4 million, up from $114 million in the third quarter and $100 million in the second quarter.

This was despite the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and the deterioration of the international market situation, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Nikolai Vassilev said last Friday, addressing Parliament during question time.

Vassilev said that the amount of direct foreign investment in Bulgaria in January 2002 was about $22 million. He also said that foreign investments for the whole past year have exceeded by $40 million those in 2000.

According to Vassilev's report to Parliament, investments in this country over the past year as a percentage of the GDP have been at a record high as well. In 2001 the amount of foreign investment was 20 per cent of the GDP, and in 2000, the investment influx stood at 14 per cent of the GDP.

In the first quarter of 2002, privatisation has already brought in 189 million leva even though small enterprises were sold, Vassilev said.

The economy minister was answering a question about the decline of foreign investment put forward by Panayot Lyakov, an MP from the opposition United Democratic Forces.

Vassilev said that the investment of the Greek-dominated consortium Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile, which stands behind the second GSM operator GloBul, actually accounted for half of the $279 million reported as investments for the first quarter of 2001.

Since the start of its operation in Bulgaria, GloBul has invested 500 million leva, including the $135 million price of the licence. Another 950 million leva in investment are in the company's business plans for the period up to 2005.

Last December, a jury pronounced awarding the licence for a second GSM operator to GloBul as Deal of the Year for 2001.

Vassilev said that the British company Petreco pledged to invest $100 million in developing a natural gas field near Galata Cape on the Black Sea coast and would supply 10 per cent of the national consumption of natural gas at prices lower than the ones charged for imported gas.

The agreement with Petreco was signed in the beginning of November last year.

Vassilev said Bulgaria had the lowest profits tax in Europe, about 15 per cent, and a zero tax on capital gains.

  • Print
  • Send via email
  • Translate to
  • Share:

To post comments, please, Login or Register.


Please read the The Sofia Echo forum comments policy.

More in this category

Average monthly salary in Bulgaria rose in Q4 2011, statistics institute says

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the average monthly salary increased to 727 leva, 4.9 per cent higher than in Q3, the National Statistics Institute says.

Global food prices rebound, FAO says

For the first time in six months, global food prices rose overall in January 2012, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation said.

Bulgaria mulls tighter regulation of bank fees - updated

The package will be discussed with the Association of Bulgarian Banks before the amendments are submitted to Parliament.

Bulgarian ICT Watch event in March

Debate at the half-day event will cover what has been achieved so far and what further can be done by the Bulgarian Government to support development of the market.

Movers and shakers

Selectivity, not popularity, is the driving force behind Sofia's most exclusive members' only club.

Appointments

British Council

British Council

Lyubov Kostova was appointed country manager of British Council Bulgaria effective January 1, replacing Tony Buckby, who left in October 2011 to take a similar position at British Council Greece. Kostova has been with British Council Bulgaria for 11 years, as public communications manager and, since 2008, as the head of project and partnerships department. Prior to joining the British Council, Kostova was head of international activities at the National Academy for Theatre and Cinema Arts (NATFIZ). She has a degree in Indian studies from Kliment Ohridski Sofia University.

CEZ

CEZ

Stefan Apostolov is the new chief executive of CEZ Razpredelenie Bulgaria, the power transmission subsidiary of Czech energy company CEZ in the country. He replaces interim chief executive Ales Damm, who remains the chairperson of the CEZ Razpredelenie management board. Apostolov has 30 years of experience in the energy sector, joining CEZ in 2007 as director of customer service and was later appointed as head of business development. Apostolov has a master's degree in electric systems from the Belorussian National Technical University in Minsc, management diplomas from Open University London and New Bulgarian University, as well as a master's degree in business administration from Plovdiv University.

BASF Bulgaria

BASF Bulgaria

Valentina Dikanska is the new general manager of chemical industry giant BASF subsidiary in Bulgaria, taking over from Herbert Fisch, BASF vice president for Southeastern Europe. Dikanska, who started her career as an expert in the Finance Ministry, joined BASF Bulgaria as director of finance and administration in 2002. She becomes the first Bulgarian to hold the top management position in the company in its 40-year history on the Bulgarian market. Dikanska holds a master's degree in economics from the University for National and World Economy in Sofia.

Rompetrol Bulgaria

Rompetrol Bulgaria

Alexander Albin has been appointed chief executive of fuel distributor Rompetrol Bulgaria, replacing Nichita Sorin, who left to become chief executive of Rompetrol Gaz in Romania. Albin was previously chief executive of Rompetrol Georgia. He has more than 15 years of experience in the oil and gas industry; prior to joining Romania's oil group Rompetrol in 2008 as an adviser, he oversaw operations at Atyrau refinery in Kazakhstan, owned by Rompetrol's parent company KazMunaiGaz. He previously held top management positions at two other leading Kazakh oil and gas companies.

© 2000-2012, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.

Web Design by RIZN

Sofia Echo Media is part of the Economedia Group.
The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted. Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site. Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com. Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments. The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes, and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.