Buy & Sell Bulgaria Insight Newsletter

Bulgarian economy ranks 39 in the world this year according to the annual ranking of different countries’ competitiveness conducted by the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2008. Bulgaria has been evaluated along with other 55 countries, considered world economy leaders.

There are four main evaluation criteria for the international competitiveness of a country: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.

This is the third time Bulgaria has been included in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranking. The good news is that Bulgaria has moved up in the list. The country was ranked 41 in 2006 and 2007 due to problems created by bureaucratic obstacles for business development, unfair competition, corruption, poor infrastructure and lack of qualified work force.

According to the Center for the Study of Democracy in Bulgaria, the ranking has contributed a great deal for the establishment of a competitiveness policy on the part of the Bulgarian government.

Today the Center presented the results regarding Bulgaria’s ranking in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2008. The press conference was held in Hall 1 of the Center. The meeting also focused on the government policies for the development of the economy, and the measures needed to be taken to increase the income of Bulgarian workers.

The idea for a new and modern theatre building in Varna dates from the beginning of the XX century. It is associated with the formation of a professional theatrical company, requiring an appropriate building. The old “Union” hall no longer suited the growing cultural need of the city. In 1909 at the first municipality meeting the new mayor Ivan Tserov, a cultural and educational activist, brought the subject of a new building. The councilors agreed and determined the future location - the south corner of the city garden, between the Clock Tower and the Mahmud fountain, facing the square.

The famous architect Nicola Lazarov won the competition for the project of the new theatre building. He is also author of Radio Varna building and the National Theatre “Ivan Vasov”. The building had the interior design of the theatre in Sofia - a 1000 seats capacity, divided in stalls and 2 balconies. On March 26th 1912, “the second day of Easter, the base stone of the city theatre was laid in grandeur…” In the presence of the Varna society the mayor Tserov held a rousing speech. It is followed by the officials and Lazarov signing formal documents and building it in a special stone case. Different Bulgarian coins were also laid in the base.

READ MORE »

There are many birthday boys and girls in June. Our dear colleagues Petar Baramov (Personal Assistant to the MD) & Evgeni Vladov (Driver), and our clients and good friends Nick Cook, Katie Lowe, Mogens Hviid, Shirley Wallis and Kenneth Corkett, have their special day this month. We would like to wish them all Many Happy Returns and the best of luck!

It is our company policy to celebrate all Great Events!!!

Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves - to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today

Stewart B. Johnson

The star changed her dresses several times, and at the finale of the concert came back for an encore.
The world known pop diva Kylie Minogue performed a two hour concert to the Bulgarian audience at the Sofia stadium of “Locomotive”. The singer arrived in the country with a new image and shine, to perform her album - “X”, published in November 2007, after her successful fight with breast cancer.
Using an effective multimedia, surrounded by 14 dancers and several acrobats, Kylie Minogue performed one of her biggest hits and some songs from her new album. Her second performance - “Can”t Get You Out Of My Head”, managed to electrify the public and let it dance to the beat of the song.
In a completely new arrangement sounded hits such as “Spinning Around”, “On A Night Like This”, “Slow”, “Fever” and others. Her version of the hit of Barry Manilou of 1978 — “Copacabana”, was accompanied by many dances and much charm.
The song “Kids”, performed together with Robbie Williams, let the public sing in one voice again. Among the hits from her new album the performances of “2 Hearts” and “In My Arms” showed up.
After more than an hour and a half show, during which Kylie changed her performing dresses 6-7 times, she came back for an encore in order to sing three songs, last of which was “I Should Be So Lucky”, included in her first studio album “Kylie” (1988).
Kylie Minogue performed a great show, accompanied by choreography, lighting effects, dancers and a live band. The singer skillfully maintained a high emotional charge with the public, having short but friendly talks with it.

The concert of Kylie Minogue, organized by “Sofia Music Enterprises”, is part of the world tour of the pop icon, which started on 6^th May in Paris. The tour includes 53 concerts across Europe, for the first time in her career, Kylie will have concerts not only in Bulgaria but also in Turkey, Romania, Spain, Luxembourg and Russia.

This is simply a chocolate cheesecake to die for. If you like chocolate, if you like dark chocolate with fruit and nuts, and if you like luscious, velvet-textured mascarpone - need I say more? Before embarking on a baked cheesecake remember that, to prevent cracking, it’s best cooled slowly in a switched-off oven. So you will need to make it well ahead. Serves 6-8.

Ingredients for the filling:

3½ oz (100 g) dark chocolate, with 75 per cent cocoa solids
1 x 250 g tub mascarpone
2 oz (50 g) raisins
4 oz (110 g) whole hazelnuts
1 x 200 g tub fromage frais (8 per cent fat)
2 large eggs
1½ oz (40 g) caster sugar

Ingredients for the base:

2 oz (50 g) whole hazelnuts
4 oz (110 g) sweet oat biscuits
1 oz (25 g) butter, melted

Ingredients for the chocolate curls to decorate: 3½ oz (100 g) dark chocolate with 75 per cent cocoa solids

To serve: crème fraîche or pouring cream
1 level teaspoon cocoa powder

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C). You will also need a 7 inch (18 cm) cake tin, preferably springform, with a depth of 3 inches (7.5 cm); if shallower than this, line the sides with silicone paper (baking parchment).

First of all, place all of the hazelnuts for the base and the filling into the oven and toast to a golden brown; use a timer and have a look after 5 minutes, giving them 5 extra if they need it. Then remove them from the hot tray to cool. Set aside 4 oz (110 g) for the filling. Meanwhile, make the base of the cheesecake by crushing the biscuits in a polythene bag with a rolling pin - not too finely, though, as it’s nice to have a fairly uneven texture then chop the remaining 2 oz (50 g) toasted hazelnuts. Tip all the crushed biscuit crumbs into a bowl, then add the chopped nuts and melted butter and mix everything very thoroughly before packing into the base of the cake tin, pressing it very firmly all over. Now place the tin in the oven and pre-bake the crust for 20 minutes. Then remove it and let it cool while you make the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to gas mark 2, 300°F (150°C).

To make the filling, first place 2 inches (5 cm) of water into a saucepan, then put the saucepan on to heat and, meanwhile, break the chocolate into small squares and place this into a basin. As soon as the water is boiling, remove the pan from the heat and place the bowl on top until everything melts. Don’t be tempted to put the bowl on top of the saucepan while the water is still boiling - because of the high cocoa solid content, this chocolate mustn’t get overheated or it will separate. Now spoon the mascarpone and fromage frais into a large bowl and whisk them together until smooth, preferably with an electric hand whisk. Then add the eggs and sugar and give it another good whisking before adding the melted chocolate - use a rubber spatula so that you get every last bit of chocolate from the basin - and then lightly fold the chocolate into the egg mixture. Finally, add the raisins and toasted hazelnuts.

Now pour the mixture into the tin, smoothing it out with the back of a spoon, then place it on the centre shelf of the oven and bake for 1¼ hours. After that, turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake inside until it’s completely cold.

To make the chocolate curls: melt the chocolate as before, then pour it on to a flat, smooth surface. The underside of a large plate will do. It should form a circle of about 6 inches diameter (15 cm) and ¼ inch (5 mm) thick. Place the plate into the fridge to chill for 45 minutes. What you want is the chocolate to be set hard enough so that if you press the surface of the chocolate it doesn’t leave an indentation.

Now take it from the fridge and use a cheese slicer, otherwise a sharp knife will do if you hold the blade in both hands. Just pull it all along the chocolate towards you and it should curl up. What is very important to know here is that if it doesn’t curl and you end up with a pile of chocolate shavings they’ll look just as nice - either way, place them in a rigid plastic container and then put this in the fridge until you need them.

To serve the cheesecake, sprinkle the surface with chocolate curls, dust with a sprinkling of cocoa powder and serve in slices with crème fraîche or cream, handed round separately.

The restaurant exists since 2005 and has been established as a place where more than 30 dishes of the Black Sea mussels are offered. They are delivered every day, fresh, from the farm “Dalboka” near Kavarna. The restaurant is situated near the Sea Garden, just by the coast and has two levels with a magnificent view to the sea and beautiful Bay of Varna. The capacity is 120 seats.

Rating 8/10

The International Children’s Day (ICD) is celebrated in numerous countries, usually (but not always) on June 1^st each year.

The ICD had its origin in Turkey in 1920 (April 23^rd) and later on the World Conference for the Well-being of Children in Geneva, Switzerland in 1925. It is not clear as to why June 1^st was chosen as the ICD: one theory has it that the Chinese consul-general in San Francisco (USA) gathered a number of Chinese orphans to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in 1925, which happened to be on June 1^st that year, and also coincided with the conference in Geneva.

June 1^st has since been observed as the ICD by numerous countries, especially by Communist countries; in the Western world the ICD is usually celebrated on other days of the year (if at all), and there is often little public awareness about these celebrations. Consequently there is sometimes a misperception that June 1^st as the ICD was a Communist invention. Nonetheless, in recent years even some groups within the United States started observing the ICD on June 1^st.

In Bulgaria, The Children’s Day is celebrated by many parties and amusements organized for the kids. Various companies, media, the municipality and many others, gather children to listen to some music, play games, have fun and refreshments. The young ones feel very excited on this day and receive all sorts of presents from family and relatives.

We are proud to present to you the company magazine VARNA INVESTOR, which will be available end May. There you will find information about the Group and its companies, property market trends, investment opportunities, projects, local legal and tax laws, useful information while you are in Bulgaria, articles about the country and especially Varna, the Sea Capital, and other curious news. Should you wish to have this guide, please contact us at: lili@buy-sell-bulgaria.com and we will send you a complimentary copy.

By Christopher Violaris, C.E.O

Eurolink Investment Group Plc.

The dark clouds of the new economic recession are becoming thicker and thicker on the economic horizon of the West, while the prices of basic commodities are going through the roof, thus making any thoughts or plans for a quick recovery totally unrealistic.

Though the leading Western Central Banks were quick to intervene and tried to support the collapsing financial institutions in trouble, their intervention caused more doubts and insecurity among the investors. The Example of Northern Rock in the UK and leading lenders in the USA is causing serious concerns all over the financial world globally.

In my opinion, we have not seen the real thing yet! Those involved may have felt the repercussions but the real, unfortunately long term, consequences are still to come and they will not just limit themselves in the financial sphere! I expect that a very serious socio-political cost will be the final price, a very dear price to pay indeed!

READ MORE »

We are happy to welcome 2 new girls to the Group. Daniela Dimova has been appointed as Sales Assistant. She will take care of all existing and new company investors, by arranging flights, hotels and transport during their visit, maintaining their purchase records, answering their enquiries and other ad hoc tasks. Aylin Yusein, has accepted the role of Office Assistant. Aylin will be responsible of meeting guests and clients in the office, taking incoming calls and assisting all members of staff for any occurring issues. Good luck guys!

Daniela Dimova	Aylin Yusein

One of the legal aspects, concerning Bulgaria’s membership in the EU, was its obligation to introduce a new Commercial Register. It represents a centralized database, containing a list of all companies, registered in Bulgaria, as well as details about them - name of traders, branches, managerial staff, company’s address, specific documentation, etc. Up to now all these were kept only in the courts’ filing sections as simple paper files. By introducing this innovation, it was made possible for all files to be scanned and entered in the Bulgarian Commercial register in the form of electronic files.

The Register is completely accessible through the internet from any computer, in any country in the world. Presently it is only in Bulgarian and it will take some time for its English version to be introduced as well.

One of the main advantages of the Register is that it offers the possibility for accepting applications, acts of the court and others in electronic form. The only requirements are that you have electronic signature and follow the legal procedure for applying through electronic documents. This will significantly speed up the applications’ processing times and will make the registration of new companies easier.

The Register is maintained by the Bulgarian Registry Agency and they are responsible for guaranteeing the security of the data, contained in it.

In conclusion we would like to inform you that all companies, registered in Bulgaria before 2008 must be pre-registered, in order to be entered in the Register. This is compulsory, but the government has provided a 3-year period for doing it. If you have not done it yet, we advise you to contact your lawyer who can easily do this for you.

Marks & Spencer Group Plc is the largest UK clothing retailer.

Photo by www.marksandspencer.com

Marks & Spencer Group Plc, the largest UK clothing retailer, announced it has entered a joint venture with Marinopoulos Group to expand in the Balkans, Bloomberg agency reported.

The retailer bought 50 % of Marks & Spencer Marinopoulos BV, which operates 38 Marks & Spencer stores under franchise across Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and also in Switzerland, for EUR 50 M, the London- based company said in a statement.

“Our joint venture with Marinopoulos will mean we can really put M&S on the map in this part of the world,” Carl Leaver, the retailer’s director of international business, said in the statement, as cited by Bloomberg agency.

There are many birthday boys and girls in May. Our dear colleagues Lili Gospodinova (Corporate Public & Customer Relations Manager), and our clients and good friends Clare Guiver, Alan Coleman, Mario Gatt, Maria Spiteri and Clifford Kyprianou, have their special day this month. We would like to wish them all Many Happy Returns and the best of luck!

It is our company policy to celebrate all Great Events!!!

Ingredients:

1 pc of chicken chest
1 cucumber, 200 gm
2 carrots
Sesame
Vinegar
Olive oil
Salt
Dill

Cut the meat and vegetables in stripes and sprinkle the sesame and dill on top. Add the vinegar, oil and salt according to your taste preference. Serves 2. Enjoy!

The name of Aladzha monastery comes from the Turkish word for colourful (”aladzha”) due most probably to the bright colours of its wall paintings, dating back to the early Middle Ages. The monk’s cells, common rooms and sanctuaries, dug directly into the limestone rock and situated on two levels high above the ground, were connected via an external staircase. The lower floor hosted the monks’ private cells, common rooms (i.e. kitchen, dining room) and a small church, while the upper level was dedicated entirely to a chapel. According to some historians, primitive monks’ cells were built and inhabited already in the 4th century AC. The entire monastery is considered to date back to the 12th century AC. Unfortunately, nowadays only few of the frescoes are preserved (most of these to be found in the chapel) but the experience of visiting a monastery dug high above the ground into a steep rock is unforgettable. The monastery is declared a cultural sight and houses a small museum. Less than a kilometer away from the Aladzha Monastery, you can find a similar monastery complex, called Katakombite (The Catacombs). Katakombite has an origin and history similar to those of the Aladzha Monastery, though its remains are far less preserved.

The Aladzha monastery is not a functioning cloister and does not offer accommodation or food. Nevertheless, there is a rich choice of such facilities in the nearby resorts of Golden Sands and St. Konstantin and Elena

The Aladzha rock monastery can be reached easily from Varna and Golden Sands by car or bus with the distance from the bus stop being only a five-minute walk.

The fish restaurant Villa Burov is located in the most picturesque part of the Sea Garden in Varna. More than 100 years ago, the area was the place where ministers, bankers and diplomats would choose to spend their holidays and vacations. Nowadays, the restaurant’s guests can enjoy the symbiosis of nature, the architecture, the luxurious interior and exquisite cuisine. The menu includes fresh fish’s fillet, wild fishes, octopus, squids, Black Tiger shrimps, many salads, pork fillets, beef fillets and a long wine list.

Villa Burov has outside seats in the beautiful garden and inside seats, situated in 4 guest halls on two floors, with 3 bay-windows, air-conditioner, parking lot, kid’s corner in the garden, exquisite interior and background of mainly retro or Italian instrumental music.

Rating of 9/10

To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change more often.

Winston Churchill

The Sofia Weekly

An exhibition dedicated to the Cyrillic Alphabet was open by Bulgarian Socialist Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The exhibition, which was organized at the initiative of Bulgarian MEP from Atanas Paparizov, attracted the interest of the European deputies. Its opening was preceded by a lecture and a discussion on the topic “Multilinguism and Inter-Cultural Dialogue - Cyrillic Alphabet’s Message to Europe”.

The leader of the Party of European Socialists group in EP Martin Schulz was a special guest at the ceremony. “The contribution of the Cyrillic alphabet to the cultural diversity and inter-cultural dialogue of Europe, and to the European linguistic heritage, is especially important”, Schulz said.

The thirty pictures - one for each letter in the Bulgarian alphabet - will be exhibited at the ASP Building of the European Parliament.

Just to let you know of our working hours and staff available during the Easter and May National Holidays. Our staff will be unavailable in end of April and beginning of May 2008. The office will be closed on Monday, 28th April (Easter), Thursday, 1st May (Labour Day) and Tuesday, 6th May (Day of the Bulgarian Army).