News| NEWS BULGARIA |
 |
 |
 |
|
************************************************************************************
Among the large-scale construction projects announced or started just before the economic recession hit in late 2008, Sopharma Business Towers is among the handful that were not put on ice once the full effect of the financial crisis was felt. It now nears completion, with company officials expecting to get a key operations permit in August, which would allow the office building to open their doors in late September. The key, according to Sopharma Imoti executive director Boris Borissov, was sound planning. "Facing a recession, it is necessary to have the financing in full even before the project begins. Risks can be lowered significantly by pursuing an investment in a 'green' office building, which ours is," Borissov told The Sofia Echo. Hotels with more than 100 rooms can successfully attract an international operator, Fichoux said on the sidelines of a discussion organised by Cushman & Wakefield's Bulgarian partner, Forton International. As to small family hotels, alternative options should be examined. In April, French hotel operator Accor launched the construction of a hotel in Sofia under its Novotel brand in co-operation with Bulgarian investment company MHQ on the Tsarigradsko Chaussee Boulevard, near The Mall shopping centre. The location has also lured another international hotel operator, which is expected to start building a hotel by the end of the year together with Austrian real estate company Robul. "The entry of more operators and established brands will improve the quality of business," said Fichoux.
The Paradise Center mall will offer a total of 80 000 square meters of commercial space plus 25 000 square meters of entertainment venues, according to Forton International, the company that will manage the leasing of space, as cited by the Pari daily.
In Q1 2011, new housing contracted by 5.3 per cent in annual terms to 3109 units. The largest number of residential permits were granted in the Black Sea cities of Varna and Bourgas, which accommodated 103 and 94 new buildings, respectively. Sofia was third with 40 residential buildings.
The iPhone and iPad maker's brand is now worth $153 billion, almost half Apple's market capitalization, says the annual BrandZ study of the world's top 100 brands. Apple's portfolio of coveted consumer goods propelled it past Microsoft to become the world's most valuable technology company last year. Peter Walshe, global brands director of Millward Brown, says Apple's meticulous attention to detail, along with an increasing presence of its gadgets in corporate environments, have allowed it to behave differently from other consumer-electronics makers. Full Story ...
In the first quarter of 2011, Sopharma registered total revenues of BGN 60.0 M (a 13% increase year-on-year), total expenditures of BGN 45.3 M (16% more year-on-year), and net profit of BGN 13.1 M; its sales amounted to BGN 57.8 M, a 12% increase compared with the first quarter of 2010. For April 2011 Sopharma reports a 20% year-on-year growth of its sales. According to preliminary data, in the first four months of 2011 its sales income grew by 15% year-on-year, including a 3% drop in sales on the Bulgarian market, and 24% increase in export sales. Full Story ... Popiordanov spoke in Sofia Thursday at the opening of "Green Days", a festival that he initiated to support healthy life and environment-friendly practices, alternative and eco tourism as well as the production of green or organic food and bio-cosmetics. According to the chair of the alternative tourism association, the production of biofood is on the rise in Bulgaria, and is the only trade that has seen uninterrupted growth in the recent years. He further interpreted the 2010 growth in sales to mean that Bulgarian consumers trust organic food. In his words, it is crucial for the people to support the producers of green food because of the many challenges they face. |
World-known Australian golfer and golf courses designer Gary Player opened a golf complex, Thracian Cliffs, near Kavarna, on the Black Sea, Saturday. The complex covers an area of 164 ha near the coastal line and is the biggest sport and tourist facility in Bulgaria. The project is fully financed by Bulgarian capitals. Over 160 million leva have been invested in it so far. Player voiced the opinion that this is the best golf course at international level. He has implemented over 300 projects across the world so far. A golf course is not merely a playing ground but also a tourist attraction, Player said adding that rich businessmen, who visit Thracian Cliffs would inevitably invest in the country.
The city hotel segment in Bulgaria's capital Sofia is still at the development stage and room still exists for new projects, but only in the city centre, says Frederic Le Fichoux, who oversees hotel business at international consultancy Cushman & Wakefield, said on May 18 2011.
A total 601 new residential properties were built in Bulgaria in the first quarter of 2011, up by 16.7 per cent compared with the same period of the previous year, the National Statistics Institute said.
LONDON (Reuters) - Apple has overtaken Google as the world's most valuable brand, ending a four-year reign by the Internet search leader, according to a new study by global brands agency Millward Brown.
Bulgarian pharmaceutical giant Sopharma has registered record sales for a fourth quarter in a row at the beginning of 2011.
The sales of organic foods in Bulgaria grew by more than 15% in 2010 year-on-year, according to Lubomir Popiordanov, head of the Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism (BAAT).