Suzanne
17-03-06, 02:32 PM
Bulgarian private carrier Hemus Air will launch flights from Sofia to London and Berlin from April 9 and intends to operate a regular service to all European capitals within 2 years, said the company's executive director Dimitar Pavlov.
Hemus Air will fly to London's Heathrow Airport on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays.
Hemus Air will become the first Bulgaria carrier to resume flights to Heathrow after the landing and take-off slots of bankrupt national flag-carrier Balkan Airlines were sold for Gatwick slots.
The flights to Berlin will be available on Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays.
The return fares to London and Berlin start at 199 euro without airport charges.
Hemus Air said it is also in talks with potential partners to launch flights to Istanbul. Pavlov said the company will try to join one of the existing airline alliances.
The company executive confirmed Hemus Air's interest in the upcoming privatisation of national flag-carrier Bulgaria Air. The flag-carrier is in bad shape and should be privatised as soon as possible, said Pavlov. The privatisation of the flag-carrier should be used by the Bulgaria air carriers as an opportunity to form an alliance, said Pavlov, adding that the native airlines will find life very difficult after Bulgaria joins the Open Skies agreement in the fall.
The privatisation strategy requires eligible strategic investors to have sales of 150 mln euro for each of the past 2 years and 750,000 passengers, a requirement that none of the local carriers can meet.
Hemus Air, owned by Balkan Hemus Group, intends to bid for Bulgaria Air in the capacity of financial investor via the Central Co-operative Bank (CCB).
According to the DAXI legal information system, Balkan Hemus Group is wholly-owned by foreign trade company Chimimport. Chimimport owns CCB Asset Management which, in turn, controls CCB. Liechtenstein-registered Chiminvest Institute owns 98% of Chimimport.(Dnevnik)
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Bulgarian central bank sees credit growth slowing to 24% by mid-'06
Bulgaria's credit growth rate will slacken to 24-25% by June versus 33% at end-2005, provided that the banks observe the existing lending restrictions, the central bank projects in the latest issue of its economic overview.
However, the bank notes that demand for corporate and consumer credits remains high.
In the last quarter of 2005 alone the banks disbursed credits to the total worth of 1.45 bln levs.
By end-2005 the credits/GDP ratio reached 45%, picking up 8 percentage points year-on-year.
In absolute terms, credit growth has declined fractionally and the companies should not be experiencing any liquidity constraints, the central bank said. A growing number of companies choose to draw cheaper credits from abroad.
Household credits are expanding their share in the banks' portfolios, to 37% of the credit total by end-2005 versus 31% a year earlier, the overview notes.
The central bank said the hike in interest rates across Europe and the U.S. is unlikely to be replicated here .
Bulgaria's forthcoming accession to the EU will boost investor interest, foreign capital inflows and exports of investment commodities, said the central bank.
Annual inflation is expected to rise to 7.78% in the first quarter of 2006 on the back of the higher excise duty on cigarettes and then drop to 7.5% in the second quarter, said the central bank.
The current account deficit/GDP ratio is expected to improve to less than 14.5% in the first quarter and further to 14% in the second quarter.
Exports will grow by an average of 22-24% annually in the first quarter and 19-24% in the second quarter, boosted by the local economy's improved competitiveness and higher growth in the Eurozone, said the central bank, adding that economic growth will remain stable.
(Dnevnik)
http://news.dnevnik.bg/
Hemus Air will fly to London's Heathrow Airport on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays.
Hemus Air will become the first Bulgaria carrier to resume flights to Heathrow after the landing and take-off slots of bankrupt national flag-carrier Balkan Airlines were sold for Gatwick slots.
The flights to Berlin will be available on Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays.
The return fares to London and Berlin start at 199 euro without airport charges.
Hemus Air said it is also in talks with potential partners to launch flights to Istanbul. Pavlov said the company will try to join one of the existing airline alliances.
The company executive confirmed Hemus Air's interest in the upcoming privatisation of national flag-carrier Bulgaria Air. The flag-carrier is in bad shape and should be privatised as soon as possible, said Pavlov. The privatisation of the flag-carrier should be used by the Bulgaria air carriers as an opportunity to form an alliance, said Pavlov, adding that the native airlines will find life very difficult after Bulgaria joins the Open Skies agreement in the fall.
The privatisation strategy requires eligible strategic investors to have sales of 150 mln euro for each of the past 2 years and 750,000 passengers, a requirement that none of the local carriers can meet.
Hemus Air, owned by Balkan Hemus Group, intends to bid for Bulgaria Air in the capacity of financial investor via the Central Co-operative Bank (CCB).
According to the DAXI legal information system, Balkan Hemus Group is wholly-owned by foreign trade company Chimimport. Chimimport owns CCB Asset Management which, in turn, controls CCB. Liechtenstein-registered Chiminvest Institute owns 98% of Chimimport.(Dnevnik)
print this article | send
Bulgarian central bank sees credit growth slowing to 24% by mid-'06
Bulgaria's credit growth rate will slacken to 24-25% by June versus 33% at end-2005, provided that the banks observe the existing lending restrictions, the central bank projects in the latest issue of its economic overview.
However, the bank notes that demand for corporate and consumer credits remains high.
In the last quarter of 2005 alone the banks disbursed credits to the total worth of 1.45 bln levs.
By end-2005 the credits/GDP ratio reached 45%, picking up 8 percentage points year-on-year.
In absolute terms, credit growth has declined fractionally and the companies should not be experiencing any liquidity constraints, the central bank said. A growing number of companies choose to draw cheaper credits from abroad.
Household credits are expanding their share in the banks' portfolios, to 37% of the credit total by end-2005 versus 31% a year earlier, the overview notes.
The central bank said the hike in interest rates across Europe and the U.S. is unlikely to be replicated here .
Bulgaria's forthcoming accession to the EU will boost investor interest, foreign capital inflows and exports of investment commodities, said the central bank.
Annual inflation is expected to rise to 7.78% in the first quarter of 2006 on the back of the higher excise duty on cigarettes and then drop to 7.5% in the second quarter, said the central bank.
The current account deficit/GDP ratio is expected to improve to less than 14.5% in the first quarter and further to 14% in the second quarter.
Exports will grow by an average of 22-24% annually in the first quarter and 19-24% in the second quarter, boosted by the local economy's improved competitiveness and higher growth in the Eurozone, said the central bank, adding that economic growth will remain stable.
(Dnevnik)
http://news.dnevnik.bg/