Parliament rejected on March 6 a draft bill on nationalisation of all companies sold by the state after May 11 1992, tabled for discussion by ultra-nationalist Ataka party, Bulgarian news agency BTA said.

The draft bill, filed a day earlier, envisaged for the state to regain control on vital sectors of the country's economy such as energy, transport and metallurgy.

According to the draft bill companies would have been subject to nationalisation only when it was indisputable proven that the state interest was harmed as a result of their privatisation.

Such cases would have been assets sold by the state ten times lower than the market price. The draft bill also provided for compensation only to those who have made investments in the companies or the successors of the current owners.