jeudi 27 février 2014

US-based TeleTech to acquire Bulgaria's Sofica Group


 US-based TeleTech Holdings is to acquire Bulgaria's biggest business process outsourcing company Sofica Group.

The deal value has not been disclosed so far, according to reports of Capital daily. The transaction is to be closed next week.

TeleTech Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:TTEC), founded in 1982, is a leading global provider of analytics-driven, technology-enabled customer engagement solutions.

Sofica Group, founded in 2004, is the largest customer management services provider in Bulgaria. The company has a staff of 800 and provides customer services in over 15 languages. The Company also operates in Skopje through its subsidiary Sofica Macedonia. It provides a wide range of business process outsourcing, information technology outsourcing, human resources outsourcing, and other services. The biggest shareholder in the company is a natural person, Bogdan Petrov, who is also its co-founder.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Bulgarian company will become a part of TeleTech's Customer Management Services segment, providing customer lifecycle management services across multiple channels in over 18 languages out of Central and Eastern Europe.

According to Martin DeGhetto, Chief Operations Officer of TeleTech Holdings Inc., the acquisition of the Bulgarian company provides an opportunity to expand multichannel services and language options for customer service.

DeGhetto has described Sofica Group as a company with a good managerial team, highly qualified staff and stable technological infrastructure.


Source : novinite

Delhaize : vers une cession des activités en Bulgarie


Dans un communiqué laconique, Delhaize annonce avoir signé un accord avec AP Mart, qui est en cours d'enregistrement, en vue de la vente de ses activités en Bulgarie.

'La transaction devrait avoir lieu au deuxième trimestre 2014 et est soumise à l'approbation réglementaire ainsi qu'aux conditions normales de clôture et d'ajustements du fonds de roulement', précise le groupe belge de distribution alimentaire.

D'après des données publiées sur le site Internet de Delhaize, le groupe exploitait 43 magasins et employait un peu moins de 2.000 personnes en Bulgarie en 2012.


Source : Cercle Finance

mardi 18 février 2014

Bulgaria's Export Up 6.8% in 2013



In 2013 the export of Bulgarian goods has risen by 6.8% and the imports by 1.3%.

The National Statistics Institute (NSI) data shows that the exports are increasing both to EU member states and non-EU countries, while the import is coming predominantly from the EU.

The value of exported goods in 2013 has reached BGN 43.4 B, while the import was worth BGN 50.5 B. The trade balance is still negative, but by BGN 2 B less than in 2012.

The main EU trading partners of Bulgaria are Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece, France and Belgium who form 71.6% share of Bulgaria's export for the EU member states.

The main EU imports come from Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece and Spain.


Source : novinite

lundi 17 février 2014

Carrefour plans to invest new EUR 12 mln. in Bulgaria


Three new stores of the French supermarket company Carrefour will be opened in Bulgaria this year. The expansion is funded by the Greek group Marinopoulos SA, which holds the rights to the brand in Greece, Cyprus and the Balkans. The company operates in Bulgaria by the company CMB Bulgaria. The investments this year will be to the amount of about EUR 12 million, announced Milos Ristic, CMB Bulgaria’s CEO. He did not exclude new stores to be opened if there are good locations.


Source : capital.bg

jeudi 13 février 2014

Bulgarian skis are sold worldwide


“Bulgarian skis are sold worldwide. Among our major markets are Japan, USA, Canada and Europe. Practically our market is the global one, as the two brands that we owe, known together as Amer Sports are number one in production and hold more than 20% of the market”, said in an interview for capital.bg Yordan Lambrev, CEO of “Amer Sports Bulgaria”.

The company owns a ski factory in Chepelare from the end of 2008 and chose Bulgaria as a major center for alpine skiing and ski for a long race with major brands Atomic and Salomon. The factory was modernized and the production capacity was increased to 1 million pairs of skis per year.


Source : capital.bg

mardi 11 février 2014

Petroceltic to invest USD 4 million in Bulgaria in 2014


Irish oil and gas exploration and production company Petroceltic International said it will invest USD 4 million in Bulgaria this year. The company has acquired Melrose Resources in 2012 and obtained the rights for exploration and extraction of gas in the block “Galata” in the shelf of Black Sea. The total sum, envisaged for investment in the present year include USD 2 million for development and USD 2 million for exploration activities. The company has invested USD 49 million in Bulgaria in 2013. It became clear that Melrose resources Bulgaria, as was named local subsidiary of Melrose Resources has changed its name under its new owner- Petroceltic.


Source : capital.bg

lundi 10 février 2014

Second company start to produce gas in Bulgaria


The first exploitation wells in the gas field near village Deventsi is close to 4200 m depth and soon will begin industrial tests, said Stefan Anastasov, CEO of the company concessionaire Direct Petroleum Bulgaria. The company is the second, after Melrose Recourses and will supply the Bulgarian consumers with natural gas from domestic production. The concession contract of the company is from the beginning of 2013 and is for 35 years. The reserves of gas near Deventsi are 6 billion cubic meters - as consumption of Bulgaria for two and a half years.


Source : pressadaily.bg

vendredi 7 février 2014

Bulgaria : German investor opens a new factory


Another investment of large producer of auto parts has already been secured - Nexans Autoelectric German will open a factory for cable equipment in Pleven. The company is part of the French group Nexans, and the investment in Bulgaria will be made by registered subsidiary Elektrokabel Bulgaria. The plant is planned to become operational by the end of 2014, InvestBulgaria Agency announced.
Construction of new production facilities began after 18 months of active support by the Agency to conclude the necessary contracts. Work on them was completed in late 2013 and construction could begin as early as this spring.
Plans are to build a plant area of 5,000 sq.m., in which will be invested several million EUR, the Agency reported without specifying the amount. The new production will run in several stages, as at full capacity it will employ 600 employees in production, administration, logistics and quality control. The original plan of the German company was ambitious - 2000 employees and a plant of 15 thousand sq.m.
Nexans Autoelectric opted for Pleven after exploring investment opportunities in several countries of Eastern Europe. Among the decisive factors for the choice of location were the best infrastructure, the quality of the workforce, a stable currency and Bulgaria's membership in the EU.
"When choosing the location we spent the time necessary for an in-depth analysis and we're confident that by the end of 2014 we will be able to supply our customers with high quality products from the plant in Bulgaria," said project manager Michael Krupp .


Source : capital.bg

jeudi 6 février 2014

BULGARIA : INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN A PROCESS OF REALIZATION


Festo Production SPLTD

Festo Production SPLTD is in the process of completing its new production buildings, which will allow doubling of both the company’s production capacity and personnel. It will be located in the complex Festo in Sofia. The new warehouse will have a built-up area of 3473 square meters and joint floor area of 8654 square meters. It will have three floors and will be connected to the existing building via walkway. The investment is assessed at EUR 10 million and is funded by internal loan by the mother company. Construction of the new building is expected to terminate in the first half of 2014. More than 500 jobs are to be created in that way, too.
Festo Production SPLTD is a subsidiary of high-tech German company Festo AG&CO. It is a leading global enterprise for production of magnetic sensors. Except for Sofia, the company has an outsourced department for tool outfit, based in Smolyan.

Standard Profile JSC

Owners of Stara Zagora-based company for rubber sealants for cars Standard Profile, part of Actera group with a registered office in Istanbul, plans construction of still another plant in the town. The new facility will have an area of 4000 square meters and is to be exactly the same as the first one. The investment is justified by winning a colossal project for production of full range of rubber sealants for the new Opel Astra model, as well as by the accomplished agreement with Daimler for equipping Smart micro cars. The new plant will be built by 2015 and will ensure jobs for 1000 more people. Thus in just a few years number of employees in Standard Profile Bulgaria is to reach 2000. Total investment is assessed at about BGN 12 million.
Standard Profile Bulgaria exports all its products, as it delivers ready goods to more than 10 factories. Major customers of the company are General Motors, Fiat, Volkswagen, Renault and Daimler. Products of the Stara Zagora-based plant are exported to four continents-Europe, South and North America and Asia.


Source : InvestBulgaria Agency

mardi 4 février 2014

Bulgarie : La grande distribution alimentaire en 2014: les chaînes ouvriront de nouveaux magasins


Selon les estimations des principaux opérateurs sur le marché bulgare, la part des chaînes de distribution à dominante alimentaire s’est élevée, en 2013, à environ 40%. Cette tendance à la hausse des parts de marché des GSA se poursuivra en 2014. Les projets de développement de la majorité des chaînes présentes en Bulgarie prévoient l’ouverture de nouveaux points de vente. Kaufland prépare l’ouverture de deux nouveaux magasins en province, et Lidl Bulgaria d’au moins cinq. Billa Bulgaria annonce la construction de sept magasins en 2014 et de huit en 2015. D’ici avril 2014, Carrefour prévoit d’ouvrir trois nouveaux magasins.


Source : Presse bulgare