SCANDINAVIAN airlines SAS have shown interest in the privatisation of the national air carrier Bulgaria Air. The news came from Transport and Communications Minister Nikolai Vassilev, who met the company management in Stockholm (Sweden) on September 8.
Vassilev and the Bulgarian Investment Agency chairman Pavel Ezekiev toured the Scandinavian countries last week, to promote the Bulgarian IT industry and transport companies.
SAS expects the Bulgarian Parliament to approve the strategy for the privatisation of Bulgaria Air and to acquaint itself with the terms and conditions outlined, Vassilev said.
Vassilev also met with the management of Ericsson, acquainting them with the policy of the Bulgarian Government in the field of telecommunications, as well as the award of a third-generation GSM licence. Ericsson said they intended to boost their presence in Bulgaria by investing in the production of software for telecommunication services.
An Ericsson conference will be held in Sofia in October, when the decision for producing mobile phone software in Bulgaria is to be taken, Ezekiev said. Ericsson also intends to open a client centre for maintenance and development of telecommunication companies' systems.
The Swedish company is the main supplier of equipment for Bulgarian Telecommunication Company (BTC) and the country's second mobile operator GloBul.
Norwegian company Ipzone has already said it would invest $60 million in developing telecommunication infrastructure and wireless Internet in Bulgaria.
Finish Sonera Group PLC and Nokia are also mulling over possibilities to enter the Bulgarian market.
Vassilev and the Swedish Minister for Communications and Regional Policy Ulrica Messing discussed pending privatisation deals of Navigation Maritime Bulgare, Bulgarian River Shipping Corporation and Bulgaria Air, as well the award of concessions of airports and ports.
Vassilev had also offered Finland, Norway and Sweden authorities to increase automobile permits and invited them to visit Bulgaria.
While Vassilev and Ezekiev were touring Scandinavia to promote the country's IT and communications industry, Oxford Business Group (OBG) published its newest research on Bulgaria, saying that back in Sofia many are awaiting a final decision on Bulgaria's third GSM license - most likely to be awarded at the end of this month to the newly privatised BTC.
Analysts have long predicted that recent liberalisation of the telecom sector - and most notably the priva Since the question is about indictable offences, all related documents were handed over to the National Investigation Service. Four customs employees were dismissed for involvement in the cases.
Velchev was not able to provide information otisation of BTC - will unleash fresh demand for IT services, OBG wrote. Strong growth, especially in mobile voice services (where expansion is widely expected to reach 20 per cent this year), is therefore forecast to pull along some segments of the IT market.
Growing domestic demand for IT services is good news for companies looking to diversify their customer base. A large proportion of software development companies have positioned themselves as cost-effective outsourcing centres. One of the top IT companies, Datecs, generated 85 per cent of its revenue from abroad in 2003.
Although global IT demand is picking up following a slump over the last few years, there are still good reasons to diversify. Bulgaria's IT sector faces increasing competition both regionally and globally. Luring new customers away from countries such as India is getting increasingly more difficult, because there are problems with the scalability of IT projects and fewer fiscal advantages.
While Bangalore has long been established as the tax haven for foreign IT companies, the approach of EU membership is limiting the Government's room to manoeuvre when offering foreign investors fiscal incentives, due to strict competition and state aid requirements, OBG said.
The main asset of the Bulgarian IT industry remains its highly educated specialists and long established IT traditions. Yet neighbouring Romania is snapping at Bulgaria's heels in trying to establish the same credentials on the global IT market. Romania joined this race much more recently and to its credit has done a decent job in promoting itself as an IT country.
While the race for position in the world market continues, growing local demand will continue to be of interest to both Bulgarian and foreign companies. The market is still maturing, rising from a low base, with the greater part of IT revenues generated through hardware sales. According to recent figures, last year some 151 million euro, or 48 per cent of the total IT market, was contained within the computer hardware segment.
As IT penetration increases, reaching smaller and medium enterprises, analysts hope the weight will shift in favour of software developers and system integrators. In the meantime, all eyes are on the best clients in banking, financial services, industries and manufacturing - all of which are set to grow this year, prompting higher IT expenditure, OBG said. - Business Staff
Vassilev and the Bulgarian Investment Agency chairman Pavel Ezekiev toured the Scandinavian countries last week, to promote the Bulgarian IT industry and transport companies.
SAS expects the Bulgarian Parliament to approve the strategy for the privatisation of Bulgaria Air and to acquaint itself with the terms and conditions outlined, Vassilev said.
Vassilev also met with the management of Ericsson, acquainting them with the policy of the Bulgarian Government in the field of telecommunications, as well as the award of a third-generation GSM licence. Ericsson said they intended to boost their presence in Bulgaria by investing in the production of software for telecommunication services.
An Ericsson conference will be held in Sofia in October, when the decision for producing mobile phone software in Bulgaria is to be taken, Ezekiev said. Ericsson also intends to open a client centre for maintenance and development of telecommunication companies' systems.
The Swedish company is the main supplier of equipment for Bulgarian Telecommunication Company (BTC) and the country's second mobile operator GloBul.
Norwegian company Ipzone has already said it would invest $60 million in developing telecommunication infrastructure and wireless Internet in Bulgaria.
Finish Sonera Group PLC and Nokia are also mulling over possibilities to enter the Bulgarian market.
Vassilev and the Swedish Minister for Communications and Regional Policy Ulrica Messing discussed pending privatisation deals of Navigation Maritime Bulgare, Bulgarian River Shipping Corporation and Bulgaria Air, as well the award of concessions of airports and ports.
Vassilev had also offered Finland, Norway and Sweden authorities to increase automobile permits and invited them to visit Bulgaria.
While Vassilev and Ezekiev were touring Scandinavia to promote the country's IT and communications industry, Oxford Business Group (OBG) published its newest research on Bulgaria, saying that back in Sofia many are awaiting a final decision on Bulgaria's third GSM license - most likely to be awarded at the end of this month to the newly privatised BTC.
Analysts have long predicted that recent liberalisation of the telecom sector - and most notably the priva Since the question is about indictable offences, all related documents were handed over to the National Investigation Service. Four customs employees were dismissed for involvement in the cases.
Velchev was not able to provide information otisation of BTC - will unleash fresh demand for IT services, OBG wrote. Strong growth, especially in mobile voice services (where expansion is widely expected to reach 20 per cent this year), is therefore forecast to pull along some segments of the IT market.
Growing domestic demand for IT services is good news for companies looking to diversify their customer base. A large proportion of software development companies have positioned themselves as cost-effective outsourcing centres. One of the top IT companies, Datecs, generated 85 per cent of its revenue from abroad in 2003.
Although global IT demand is picking up following a slump over the last few years, there are still good reasons to diversify. Bulgaria's IT sector faces increasing competition both regionally and globally. Luring new customers away from countries such as India is getting increasingly more difficult, because there are problems with the scalability of IT projects and fewer fiscal advantages.
While Bangalore has long been established as the tax haven for foreign IT companies, the approach of EU membership is limiting the Government's room to manoeuvre when offering foreign investors fiscal incentives, due to strict competition and state aid requirements, OBG said.
The main asset of the Bulgarian IT industry remains its highly educated specialists and long established IT traditions. Yet neighbouring Romania is snapping at Bulgaria's heels in trying to establish the same credentials on the global IT market. Romania joined this race much more recently and to its credit has done a decent job in promoting itself as an IT country.
While the race for position in the world market continues, growing local demand will continue to be of interest to both Bulgarian and foreign companies. The market is still maturing, rising from a low base, with the greater part of IT revenues generated through hardware sales. According to recent figures, last year some 151 million euro, or 48 per cent of the total IT market, was contained within the computer hardware segment.
As IT penetration increases, reaching smaller and medium enterprises, analysts hope the weight will shift in favour of software developers and system integrators. In the meantime, all eyes are on the best clients in banking, financial services, industries and manufacturing - all of which are set to grow this year, prompting higher IT expenditure, OBG said. - Business Staff
