Bulgaria's Economy Rating Upgraded : now Best in Balkans

On July 22, 2011 Moody's upgraded the credit rating of Bulgaria from Baa3 to Baa2 with a stable outlook. This is the first increase of the credit rating of Bulgaria in the last 5 years and the level achieved is now the highest since Moody's started grading the country.

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The increase of Moody's rating distinguishes Bulgaria from other countries in the region. While the rating of Greece was dramatically downgraded during recent months, Bulgaria's rating has moved consistently upwards. Romania's rating has not been increased and is now lower than that of Bulgaria.

In fact, Bulgaria currently has the highest grade rating on the Balkan Peninsula, including those of Greece, Romania, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. What is more, Bulgaria now has a higher rating than the problematic Eurozone and EU members: Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Latvia and Hungary, which is a reversal in the situation of just a few months ago.

This is the beginning of a process for Bulgaria, which – if brought successfully to an end through sound economic policy – should result in increasing the investment trust in the country, despite the problems of the other countries in the region. As Estonia previously managed to set itself apart from the troubles in the other Baltic countries and achieve a fast and stable recovery of investments and economic growth, Bulgaria has the chance to accomplish such developments in the same manner.

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Bulgaria's Stock Exchange - SE Europe's Top Performer

Read more on our websites ...
MovetoBG.com - and Twitter @MovetoBG
Bulgaria Gateway - and Twitter @BulgariaGateway
Property Partners BG - and Twitter @PropertyPtnrsBG - or on Facebook

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More Positive Economic News - Boom in Electric Cars

The large-scale industrial conversion of conventional cars into electric vehicles is expected to become Bulgaria's new major industry, according to a report from EVIC, the Electric Vehicles Industrial Cluster.

Property in Bulgaria - Today's Top Listings

Living in Bulgaria - Today's Top Stories

The development of Bulgaria's electric vehicle industry is expected to experience a boom in 2012, said Iliya Levkov, Chair of Bulgaria's Electric Vehicles Industrial Cluster (EVIC)

EVIC, a 100% Bulgarian NGO designed to spur co-operation and co-ordination between various firms and organisations in order to help initiate the industrial production of electric cars in Bulgaria, was formed in November 2009 when a number of designers and industrial manufacturers from the machine building sector, communications and oil industries, top universities and research institutions came together.

Following more than a year of negotiations, EVIC has just reached an agreement with Avtomotor Korporatsiya, the official importer of Citroen, for the industrial conversion in Bulgaria of two Citroen models - Berlingo and Jumper - into electric vehicles, a deal described by Cluster Secretary Ivan Kostov as revolutionary.

Alongside Bulgaria, only a handful of countries in the world such as the USA and Italy, have the experience and capacity for the industrial conversion of conventional cars into electric vehicles.

"Bulgaria holds an extremely important position in the production and conversion of electric vehicles .." explained Iliya Levkov ".. and we see a boom of converted vehicles in Bulgaria in 2012. We are convinced of that because, parallel to our production talks, we have also negotiated with delivery, shipping, and logistics companies and with business clients ready to buy the cars."

"This industry is just emerging and has an enormous potential, with high added value, significant investment and highly-skilled labour .." he continued ".. and it can uplift Bulgaria's economy. This sector should be the number one priority in government economic policies because we have the chance to make it happen right here, right now."

The full interview and report can be read here

Related articles:
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Bulgaria's Stock Exchange - SE Europe's Top Performer

Read more on our websites ...
MovetoBG.com - and Twitter @MovetoBG
Bulgaria Gateway - and Twitter @BulgariaGateway
Property Partners BG - and Twitter @PropertyPtnrsBG - or on Facebook

FeedWind

Bulgaria's Stock Exchange - SE Europe's Top Performer

Sofia Stock Exchange has been the top performer in South East Europe since the beginning of the year, according to a Financial Times ranking.

With a rise of 29% in USD terms and 22% in local currency, Bulgaria has posted the world's best performance results in USD and lies second only to Zambia in local currency.

According to the article the markets in the region have benefited, first of all, from the coherent international support extended by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund from 2008 onwards, with programmes for Hungary, Romania, and Serbia. These combined well with the Vienna Initiative, an informal grouping of multilateral agencies and international banks active in eastern Europe, which successfully put pressure on the banks to continue investment in the region.

While it was clear by mid-2009 that the region would avoid financial meltdown - and that Europe had much bigger difficulties in Greece, Ireland and Portugal - it has taken time for confidence to return. The key point is that there are no signs that conditions are getting any worse .. and that is critical for astute investors seeking bottom-end opportunities.

Also, unlike the EU's Mediterranean problem countries, public and private debt levels are generally low - around 75 per cent of GDP for Romania and even less for Bulgaria.

Bulgaria's only stock exchange became a public company in the middle of December last year after the Financial Supervision Commission approved its prospectus and the bourse was listed on its own platform. The capital of the bourse is a total of Bulgarian Leva (BGN) 6,582860 in shares at BGN 1 each.

At the beginning of October 2010, Bulgaria's Finance Ministry raised its share in the country's stock exchange from 44% to 50% plus one share through the purchase of an additional 715000 shares apiece. The bourse now plans to sell the remaining 50% held by investors including brokerages and banks into the public domain.

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Our aim is to provide a single source of information, advice and practical help for everybody visiting Bulgaria. So, whether you are planning a relaxing holiday break, a travel adventure, a fact-finding trip for your property purchase - or if you are thinking of moving here permanently, we recommend that you visit our websites at:

MovetoBG.com - and Twitter @MovetoBG
for comprehensive information, advice and assistance

Bulgaria Gateway - and Twitter @BulgariaGateway
for accommodation options, resources and services

Property Partners BG - and Twitter @Prop_PartnersBG - or on Facebook
for all the latest real estate listings and offers of properties for sale

Bulgaria to Benefit from Major Outsourcing Uplift

In February 2011, The Financial Times reported that the global outsourcing industry will see wide-reaching shifts as a result of the political turmoil in the Middle East - and the latest reports coming out of Bulgaria suggest that their forecast was spot-on ...

After significant growth in visitors last year as a result of civil unrest in the Middle East, Bulgaria is now likely to attract outsourcing investments diverted from the region.

According to CallPoint New Europe, a major services outsourcing company operating in Bulgaria, European firms that have been using the services of outsourcing centres in Egypt and Tunisia are currently considering moving their operations to more secure locations such as Bulgaria and Romania.

Bulgaria's advantages are said to be their EU membership, a lower risk of terrorist attacks and revolutions and greater political stability and as well as their strong cultural, physical and economic proximity to Europe.

"We are currently holding talks with investors, mostly from France, who are pulling out of North Africa and are looking towards Eastern Europe as an outsourcing destination. That is why, for these and other projects, we have grounds to believe that we will appoint at least 250 new employees by the end of the year. We have positive expectations for our business and expect a double-digit growth," Filip Ugrinov, CEO of CallPoint New Europe, is quoted as saying.

CallPoint New Europe has sales offices in New York, London, and Paris, and delivery offices in Bucharest, and Bulgaria's Sofia and Plovdiv.

For advice, assistance and information about Moving to Bulgaria, we recommend that you visit our website at MovetoBG.com - and for accommodation options, resources and services, we suggest Bulgaria Gateway

5 Simple Steps to Easier, Faster and More Profitable Property Purchase in Bulgaria

Purchasing property in Bulgaria is now well established, simple and straightforward and can be summarised into two main categories, namely: property with land and property without land. The defining issue is that under current Bulgarian law foreign persons may own physical property (ie: bricks and mortar) but they are not allowed to own land or properties that come with land, such as: houses with gardens, villas and building plots. New-build apartments do not normally have land attached and, accordingly, can be purchased by private individuals. However, until 2014 when the law is scheduled to change, the only way to buy a property with land is to form a Bulgarian limited company. The company that you register will own the property and you will own the company and its assets.

This is the way that the 54000 or so British people who own property with land in Bulgaria purchased their homes. But now there is a radical new approach that makes the whole process easier, faster and even better value for money - don't just buy a house, buy a business.

Here's the logic …

More and more people are planning to leave the UK for a new life in Bulgaria and, at the same time, there are thousands of houses, flats, villas, building plots, holiday homes and village properties available throughout the country - cities, towns and villages, rural countryside, beaches and mountain resorts.

So, first of all, there's a mountain of research to do … Where are the best areas? What's the local infrastructure like? What about schools and shops? Is there easy access to the hospitals, transport facilities, supermarkets and services in the nearest town? Then you need to find your agent … one you can trust ... one that stacks up well against your background and status checks ... one that has the staff, resources, experience and expertise in place to provide you with a one-stop service. Then it's on with setting up your business … solicitors, paperwork, notaries, bank accounts and so on. And that's all before you have even started thinking about your property, viewing trips or transferring funds.

While this traditional process for purchasing your property in Bulgaria works well, it is all somewhat complicated, expensive and time-consuming, to say the least. But now it doesn't have to be like this because one of the country's leading expat information and advice centres, MovetoBG.com, has come up with a much simpler and more effective 5-step formula.

Here's how it works …

Step 1: Rather than spending your valuable time and money on searching for property, focus your energies on finding a suitable business for sale - there are plenty available.

Step 2: When you have identified a potential business to buy, instruct your lawyer to carry out all the appropriate due diligence and status checks.

Step 3: Negotiate and agree terms - your solicitor should now confirm the purchase price and a list of the business assets (property or properties)

Step 4: Arrange for transfer of the Notary Acts (title deeds) of the property (or properties) that the business owns, together with any other assets and the administration of the business.

Step 5: Complete the purchase, take over the shareholding and become the Owner / Manager of your business. At this point you will also take over ownership of the property (or properties) that the business has purchased.

And just consider the advantages …

• No need for all the background research - the owner of the business that you buy will already have done that
• No need for checks or searches on the property (or properties) that the business owns - your solicitor will be able to easily verify these issues from the company documents
• No need to identify, select or work with a real estate agent - you will be able to buy the business using the services of a solicitor
• You will be able to easily arrange a continuation of the business administration using the same accountants and solicitors as applicable
• You will be able to operate the business as either a trading or a non-trading company as you choose
• You will save the time and costs involved in setting up a new business - usually 4 to 5 weeks, at a cost of 500 to 600 euro

There may also be additional assets included in the purchase price - there will probably be a business bank account already set up and there could be a domain name and website available

So, you have now bought your business and, the property (or properties) that the business owns have been transferred to you as the new Owner / Manager, This means that you are now in exactly the same position that you would have been in if you had followed the more "traditional" route outlined above.

But by following the 5 Simple Steps, the whole process has been made much easier, much faster and much more profitable for you

And here's yet another bonus …

If you are fortunate enough to find a business to buy that owns multiple properties, you will have a choice of where to live, which property (or properties) to keep within your business, and which ones to sell ... and if you do sell properties from within the business, you will immediately start recovering your initial outlay for the purchase of the business

There are a number of websites offering Businesses for sale in Bulgaria and a search on Google will locate these for you. For a direct example of a current offer, though, you can also check this Business Purchase Offer on our MovetoBG.com website

For advice, assistance and information about Moving to Bulgaria, we recommend that you visit our website at MovetoBG.com - and for accommodation options, resources and services, we suggest Bulgaria Gateway