Thursday, May 03, 2007

Digital Media Europe: AIG to acquire 65% stake in BTC

Keywords: BTC, AIG

"Insurance company AIG has agreed to acquire a 65 per cent stake in the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), the former state-owned telecoms company, for €1.08 bln."
Source: Digital Media Europe

Monday, March 12, 2007

European Headquarters in Sofia?

Reid Hoffman: What is the best city and country to locate a European headquarters? What are the key issues in making a decision (such as employment law, cost, available talent, etc.) that are specific to Europe?

John Pfeiffer: To add some variety to the mix consider Sofia, Bulgaria. I've lived their 3+ yrs: they've just entered the EU, have a cheap educated work force, cheap land (don't just lease, invest), the airport gives you a plane hop to western europe, the Black Sea is 4 hrs away and the night life is quite nice (quality of life!). There is the foreign language and bureaucracy but it's just a small cost balanced against your low labor and cheap land savings.
Source: LinkedIn

Bloomberg: Jet-Setting for the Masses

"Drewek, who turns 50 in April, is counting on the Ryanair price bump to help his latest venture, Bulgarian Country Cottages BG EOOD. The company is building homes near a ski resort and national park in Razlog in Bulgaria, one of the EU’s newest members. 'It’s part of the pitch,' he says of the expectation that low-cost carriers will fly into remote airfields. 'It will be a second wave of property increase.' "
Source: Bloomberg

Monday, February 26, 2007

Daily Telegraph: British invasion brings boom for Bulgaria

Keywords: Veliko Turnovo

"A wave of British buyers looking for a slice of Bulgaria's burgeoning housing market has led to an influx of money into the former communist state.

In the medieval city of Veliko Turnovo, perched on three hills above the Yantra river in central Bulgaria, there used to be only two estate agents.

In the last two years, however, at least 80 new ones have opened their doors to a wave of British buyers looking for a slice of the Bulgarian housing market."
Source: Daily Telegraph

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Independent: Property market heats up in Bulgaria's resorts

"What country is this? At its top ski resort, prospective property investors check in to the Hotel Kempinski, one of the world's top brand names. The rooms are Wi-Fi equipped, and there's a cigar lounge, vitamin bar and spa. Nearby, one of Britain's most up-market estate agents, Savills, is selling apartments for more than £320,000 each.

In the same country's most popular coastal area, Obzor on the Black Sea, exclusive interior-design company Yoo has created a spa resort. The 257 apartments are on sale through another top-end British estate agent, Knight Frank, for up to almost £200,000.

Is this Italy? The US? Maybe France? No - it's Bulgaria."
Source: Independent

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Time: Bulgaria Beckons

"Hospitality in hand, Bulgaria is the next little thing on the international travel scene. The Balkan nation joined the European Union on Jan. 1, with blue flags waving in the streets on New Year's Eve, yet only in recent years have tourists ventured much beyond Black Sea beach towns and into the Ohio-size expanse of rose farms, medieval monasteries and Roman ruins. Visitors, especially Western Europeans, are flocking to ski resorts in the Rila and Pirin mountains and have even sparked a property boom in Bansko, where investors are scooping up cheap vacation homes."
Source: Time