World Bank: Bulgaria Loses BGN 2 M Daily from Energy Mess

The excess of electric power generating capacity of Bulgaria is so large that there will be a surplus of energy in the country even in 2030 when consumption will be higher.

The conclusion comes from the report of the World Bank and the European Commission on the Bulgarian energy sector.

Germanwings expands into Greek market

Low Budget airline Germanwings announced its plans to expand into Greek market, following the airline’s launch of its first direct flight in May from Hannover to Thessaloniki.

The company is to expand with three summer destinations from the new Hub Hamburg to Heraklion, Kos and Corfu. 

Serbian Nordeus to open development center in Skopje

Belgrade-based Nordeus has decided to expand its business by opening a new development center in Skopje.

Nordeus has been constantly growing since the launch of its main product - the Top Eleven Manager game. Aside from this football manager game, the company has also decided to strategically expand its business and start developing other gaming products.

Construction of Bogdanci wind park begins

Cornerstone laying ceremony marked Saturday the start of the construction of "Bogdanci" wind park. This is the first wind park in FYR Macedonia which will provide pure energy from renewable source using the wind energy. 

Foreign supermarket chains struggling in Croatia

Foreign supermarket chains are struggling in Croatia and can not compete with the major local player, according to data from Financial Agency (FINA).

Croatia’s largest supermarket chain Konzum topped the list of leading supermarkets in the country in 2012 with revenue slightly up to just under 2 billion euros.

Slovenian Peko Sale Aborted

The sale of state-owned footwear maker Peko to Croatian Osimpex appears to have been aborted, as Osimpex said Thursday it did not extend its offer beyond its 30 April validity after failing to obtain bank loans for the EUR 2m deal.

Montenegrin Prime Minister opens Port Milena bridge, an EUR 13.9 million investment.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović inaugurated the bridge over the Port Milena channel, connecting the town of Ulcinj with Štoj and Ada Bojana. The investment was worth EUR 13.9 million and the project was initiated in 2010. 

Bulgaria Govt Allocates BGN 3 M to Tourism Promotional Campaign

Bulgaria's caretaker government has granted a total of BGN 3 M to the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism (MIET) for the implementation of the annual program for national tourism advertisement.

CEZ Files Lawsuit Against Albania

The Czech power company CEZ announced on Thursday that it has launched arbitration proceedings seeking compensation for damages incurred during its investment in an Albanian electricity company.

“The arbitration proceedings have been formally initiated by sending a notice of arbitration,” CEZ said in a statement. “However, this does not prevent a potential out-of-court settlement between the parties.”

Low cost Ryanair confirms the launch of flights from Podgorica

The largest low cost airline company in the world, Ryanair has confirmed that it will start flights from Podgorica to the European airports. The official announcement of Ryanair has also been accompanied with the launch of first tickets for two destinations. The company said that the first flight will be made on June 20.

McDonalds in FYR Macedonia closed indefinitely

MINA finds that the reasons for the closure of all McDonalds restaurants in FYR Macedonia was dispute in contract and contractual obligations between the franchise owner Sveto Janevski and McDonalds' corporate European office.

Skopje to get 30 mln euro DoubleTree by Hilton hotel

The Hilton hotel brand is set to enter FYR Macedonia after Skopje-based franchisee Stone Bridge Hotel on Monday broke ground for the construction of a DoubleTree by Hilton worth 30 million euro ($39 million), the FYR Macedonian government said on Monday.

Oracle to invest EUR 100 million in Romanian expansion

American software producer Oracle will invest EUR 100 million in Romania in expanding its existing capacities, according to Dan Şova, the minister delegate for Infrastructure Projects and Foreign Investments. Oracle’s new investment in Romania will be mainly directed to call centers, according to the minister.

BiH more efficient than Croatia and Serbia in the Wood Sector

Wood sector of BiH is making larger profit than the wood sector of Croatia and Serbia.

Benchmark report for 2012, presented by the Association for Business Counselling in BiH, showed that the BiH wood sector companies make more than 70% of overall income and have larger profit per employee in comparison to companies from Croatia and Serbia.

Slovak bank sues Greece over 2012 bond swap

Slovak bank Postova Banka said it is suing Greece at an international arbitration tribunal over the forced exchange of the country’s bonds last year.

According to Reuters, Postova said it and shareholder Istrokapital SE were suing Greece at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) because it believed Greece broke international treaties in the bond swap.

The newest shopping center in Bucharest, Promenada, to open this fall

The new shopping center Promanada in the Floreasca area of Bucharest, developed by Raiffeisen Evolution, will open in October this year. So far, work has been 75 percent completed, and 90 percent of the 38,000 sqm leasable area has been rented out to companies such as Peek & Cloppenburg, Indi­tex, H&M, C&A, Billa, according to Ziarul Financiar daily.

Slovenian Government updates 2013 Deficit Estimate from 2.8% of GDP to 4.98%

Based on estimated budget revenue and expenditure until the end of 2013, Slovenia's deficit is to stand at EUR 1.8bn at the end of the year, which amounts to 4.98% of the country's GDP. The figure is much higher than 2.8% envisaged in the 2013 budget when passed by the previous government.

First Marriott hotel for Serbia to be built in Belgrade

Marriott International, Inc. has announced the opening of a hotel with 107 rooms "Courtyard by Marriott Belgrade City Center" at the beginning of 2014 in Belgrade.

The first Marriott hotel in Serbia will be located in Vasina Street, close to Republic Square, National Museum and the National Theatre, at 17 kilometers from the international airport "Nikola Tesla". It was announced that the hotel will be primarily aimed at business people. All rooms will have working space, great lighting and bathroom like a mini spa.

Bulgarian Tourists Go Greece on Easter Holidays

More than 120.000 Bulgarian residents plan to spend the Easter holidays in Greece, obviously undisturbed by the economic turmoil in the neighboring country. Traffic through Bulgaria-Greece border checkpoints increased sharply on Wednesday morning, the most intensive being at the Kulata, the Bulgarian Border Police announced. The checkpoints are working at full capacity and manage to deal with the large number of Bulgarians who have decided to celebrate Easter in Greece, police said. Traffic on Bulgarian motorways and roads has picked up as people started traveling to their chosen destinations.

Greece seals deal with Emma Fund for OPAP

The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) accepted on Wednesday the revised offer from the Greek-Czech investment fund Emma Delta for the acquisition of 33% of Greece’s OPAP’s shares. 

Emma Delta, a fund comprised of Greece’s Melissanidis Group, Czech private equity company PPF Group NV and Italy’s Lottomatica Group SpA, raised its bid by 30 mil. euros (payable in installments) to 652 mil. euros. (6.20 euro/share), while the Greek State will also receive 60 mil. euros (0.57 euros/share) in the form of cash dividend for 2012.