Market Overview (30 Dec – 03 Jan) The main Bulgarian index SOFIX decreased this week by 0.39% to 889.27 points. The broad index BGBX40 decreased this week […]
SOFIX inched higher in pre-NYE trade
Market Overview (23 Dec – 27 Dec)
The main Bulgarian index SOFIX increased this week by 0.21% to 892.74 points. The broad index BGBX40 increased this week by 0.05% to 171.82 points and BGREIT remained unchanged this week at 214.66 points.
Corporate News
Trace Group (T57) announced that a JV that they participate in with 33% has signed a contract for road maintenance in the northwest regions in Bulgaria – Vidin, Vratsa, Montana, Lovech, Pleven for BGN 68.3mln and it is valid for 48 months.
MFG Invest (MFG) announced a new investment of EUR 0.2mln via a convertible loan in TETMET SAS, a French company developing Adaptive Space Lattice Manufacturing methods for producing metal constructions. Through this method, constructive elements can be built using 40-70% less materials and 99% less energy. This is the second round of investment for MFG in the company and the current valuation of the company is for EUR 17.5mln.
In the same time, the company devalued to zero 2 of their portfolio investments: KOA Technology Inc and Forge Interactive OOD. KOA Technology Inc was a business payments app for Kenya, which could not find the necessary financing and had to limit its expenses. Consequently, the negotiations for its acquisition could not advance, which is why it started a liquidation procedure. Forge Interactive OOD organized a reality show targeting gamers. The company intended to organize a large gaming tournament in Sofia, but the search for licenses and partnership was unsuccessful. The team is searching for ways to sell its proprietary software and know-how, but MFG Invest considers such outcome to be unlikely.
Economic News
- Producer prices in Bulgaria rose by 1.1% year-on-year in November 2024, rebounding from a 1.3% fall in the previous month. This marked the first increase since August, as prices accelerated for manufacturing (0.7% vs 0.4% in October) while deflation eased significantly for electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply (-2.7% vs -11.1%). Meanwhile, prices moderated for mining & quarrying (25.2% vs 26.5%). On a monthly basis, producer prices increased by 2.9% in November 2024, recovering from a 1.4% fall in the preceding month.
- Bulgaria’s business confidence indicator rose to 17.7 in December 2024, up from 15.8 in the previous month. Expectations for the business situation over the next six months increased significantly (11.4 vs 6.3 in November), while employment prospects for the next three months also showed a slight improvement (5.5 vs 5.4). Additionally, current production activity (-2.4 vs -5.4), the level of orders (-15.4 vs -18) and export orders (-19.2 vs -29.7) were less negative. However, the outlook for production activity in the next three months weakened (7.5 vs 13.5), and expectations for selling prices over the next three months rebounded sharply (7.2 vs -1).
- The number of tourist arrivals in Bulgaria rose by 2.5% year-on-year to 771.9 thousand in November 2024, following a 6% increase in the previous month. An increase in trips with all observed purposes was registered: holiday and recreation (7.7%), professional (9.3%), and with other purposes (2.7%). The EU constituted 47.2% of the total visits to Bulgaria, with Romania (42.7%) being the leading contributor, followed by Greece (25%) and Germany (8%). Meanwhile, arrivals from other European countries accounted for 43.8% of the total, mainly from Turkey (50.5%).
Full article can be accessed here.