Thu, Nov 05 2009
A scene from central Sofia.
Photo: Georgi Kozhuharov
After its recent expansion in Romania, Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize was said to be interested in entering the Bulgarian market.
Four luxury hotel chains eye Bulgaria
International hotel chain operator Marriott will launch operations in Bulgaria through a hotel complex in Obzor on the Black Sea, Russian developer AKG 2000, who is in charge of running the project, said. Marriott will run a hotel containing 180 rooms, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a spa and wellness centre, restaurants, cafes and a conference centre.
Alex Oreshkov, general manager of Sofia's landmark Princess Hotel, gets to work at about 8.30am and leaves just less than 12 hours later, on an average day. He dismisses the myth that being a top executive means working excessive hours. Similarly, he scorns the idea that an executive should need to micro-manage every department, looking over the shoulders of the chefs, checking how the laundry is being done.
Bulgaria’s tax on gambling could be raised to 15 per cent as early as next year, according to a Cabinet plan made public on November 4.
Bulgarian banks will put forward a set of measures for implementation by the Government, designed to improve market conditions and preparing the ground for a long-anticipated cut in lending rates.
There should be no modifications or speculations when it comes to the currency board, Bulgarian National Bank governor Ivan Iskrov said.
The Bulgarian deposit market exhausted its capacity to provide liquidity for local lenders as recession strengthened its grip on the economy, the latest figures from the Bulgarian National Bank showed.
Loans written off as losses by Bulgarian banks rose to 1.843 billion leva in the first nine months of this year, central bank figures showed.
Plovdiv would certainly be a great investment for the Marriott hotel chain. The city has a big potential with not enough brand hotels. I really hope that the city would be considered if not in the future.
Thats a bit harsh Dianne, build out standards are not necessarily bad, its the fit-out and maintenance that needs Marriot to consider
"it must be built to standards approved by Marriott"
Well that puts any hotels in Bulgaria out of the picture, unless it includes badly built properties in its portfolio.