advertisement
Fri, Feb 10 2012
Bulgarian households lose 83 billion leva in recession
Unemployment has been rising everwhere, including the UK
Bulgarian households have seen 83 billion leva wiped off their incomes after the property market burst, reducing prices by about 20 per cent.
This represents 130 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), said Kristofor Pavlov, chief economist with UniCredit Bulbank.
Speaking at a Euromoney forum on the economic crisis, Pavlov explained that hard times have prompted households to save more and consolidate debts.
Savings currently account for about six to seven per cent of Bulgarians’ disposable income. About 70-80 per cent of households' financial assets are parked with deposits and so domestic demand would not help the economy recover, Pavlov predicted.
Unemployment is expected to peak in 12 months and the crisis will hit hardest in 2010, Pavlov forecast.
He said the Bulgarian economy would pull itself out of recession in the second quarter of next year but recovery would be painful.
UniCredit calculated that Bulgaria’s GDP would contract by 2.5 per cent in 2009, dragged down by the services sector.
The rebound will be spearheaded by the corporate sector and industry, according to Pavlov. Infrastructure projects will be the engine behind the rebound and a full absorption of European funding allocated to Bulgaria until 2013 will bolster GDP by four per cent, he added.
This represents 130 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), said Kristofor Pavlov, chief economist with UniCredit Bulbank.
Speaking at a Euromoney forum on the economic crisis, Pavlov explained that hard times have prompted households to save more and consolidate debts.
Savings currently account for about six to seven per cent of Bulgarians’ disposable income. About 70-80 per cent of households' financial assets are parked with deposits and so domestic demand would not help the economy recover, Pavlov predicted.
Unemployment is expected to peak in 12 months and the crisis will hit hardest in 2010, Pavlov forecast.
He said the Bulgarian economy would pull itself out of recession in the second quarter of next year but recovery would be painful.
UniCredit calculated that Bulgaria’s GDP would contract by 2.5 per cent in 2009, dragged down by the services sector.
The rebound will be spearheaded by the corporate sector and industry, according to Pavlov. Infrastructure projects will be the engine behind the rebound and a full absorption of European funding allocated to Bulgaria until 2013 will bolster GDP by four per cent, he added.
-
Print
-
Send via email
- Translate to
-
Share:
Comments
To post comments, please, Login or Register.
Please read the The Sofia Echo forum comments policy.
Bulgaria unemployment rate reaches 8.23% in October
Seven thousand people lost their jobs in October, labour minister says
Unemployment in Bulgaria surpasses eight per cent in September
In total, 297 515 people applied for work in September alone, as unemployment in Bulgaria continues to rise.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
- Economedia Group portfolio:
- In Bulgarian:
-
Business:
Капитал,
Кариери,
Пазари,
Ho Re Mag,
Регал,
Градът.bg,
Одит,
Foton.bg,
Online shop
- News: Дневник, Европа, Foreign Policy - България
- IT: IDG.BG, Computerworld, PC World, CIO, Networkworld
- Entertainment: Бакхус
-
In English:
The Sofia Echo
It's bad everywhere. That photo up there isn't BG you know...
Well said, expat.
The construction sector will be dying for another 3 years. The tourism industry will not start until there is something to offer them.
"...He said the Bulgarian economy would pull itself out of recession in the second quarter of next year but recovery would be painful."
I will be very much interested if and how this will happen - pulled itsef out of recession. I strongly hope he is right, but I have deepested doubts on this. What industry will be the driver for this, construction (hardly), service (fist have to improve quality), tourism (very unlikely, because of overbuilding and low service quality), industry? (too low productivity). and all this in combination with a strong EUR begged currency...
[...]
Read the full comment /> I fully agree it will be very, very painful and not only in 2010 but also the upcoming years....
This is a very simplified way to price losses. It suggests that liquid money has disappeared while in fact reference is made to the value of real estates, which has been traded on a small scale and has been heavily overpriced anyway in this country. It is also not direcly related to GDP losses, as one can understand later from your message.