Kristalina Georgieva becomes head of the International Monetary Fund. She is not only the first East European to become managing director of IMF, but also the first official from the region to head one of the global financial institutions. Ms Georgieva had a long career at the World Bank. She had also had a stint at the European Commission between 2010 and 2016 as a Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and later as a Vice President and Budget Commissioner. Following her unsuccessful run for Secretary-General of the UN, she returned to the World Bank as its CEO. In 2019 Ms Georgieva was put forward for several high-ranking posts in the EU, but finally, she received support to be the EU's candidate for the IMF.
Bulgaria allowed Russian planes going to Serbia with weapons to fly over its territory. The sophisticated air-defence systems took part in joint Russia-Serbian military training and Bulgaria had few reasons to refuse overflight rights. But the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to comment and latter it admitted that only one flight took place, while public data shows that several Russian military cargo planes flew over Bulgaria en route to Serbia. It is quite possible that the government didn't want to cause additional problems with the Kremlin while in Sofia the Prosecutors Office charge a Bulgarian politician with espionage regarding two Russian organizations.
A Serbian politician accused Bulgaria of running an espionage ring in Belgrade, intended to disrupt relations between Serbia and Russia. Given Sofia's Russia-friendly policy the charge of Milovan Drecun, chairman of Kosovo commission in the Serbian Parliament, is bizarre. But it comes during infighting between pro-Russian and pro-EU factions in Belgrade.
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
Bulgarian medical equipment manufacturer BTL Industries, which is currently working in rented premises, is investing about €10 million in its own plant in the city of Plovdiv in order to meet growing demand. The plant, which will employ 500 people, is expected to become operational in 2021. Besides being a production base, BTL Industries also has an R&D centre in Sofia. The company exports its products to over 120 countries worldwide. In the first half of 2019 sales nearly doubled to 101 million levs.
ENGINEERING
US-headquartered semiconductor foundry Globalfoundries will acquire the process design kit (PDK) engineering team of Sofia-based Smartcom Bulgaria, consisting of over 125 employees. The deal will be completed upon receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals. Since 2015, Smartcom has supported Globalfoundries' PDK development and quality assurance for different platform technologies. Smartcom specializes in microelectronics and electronic design automation, carrier-grade telecom professional services, embedded systems and IoT. The company has subsidiaries in the UK and Turkey.
AUTOMOTIVE
German automotive components manufacturer VOSS Automotive has inaugurated its first production plant in Bulgaria. The company has invested 15 million euro in the first stage of the project located in Bahovitsa Industrial Park, near the city of Lovech, creating 100 jobs. The number of people employed at the plant is expected to reach 900 by the end of next year, VOSS Automotive said. The company specializes in the production of fuel and coolant lines and fittings, quick connector systems, thermal management lines and fittings, and other components.
LOGISTICS
The Bulgarian unit of Danish bedding and furniture retailer JYSK has officially inaugurated a 100 million euro distribution centre in the Sofia-Bozhurishte Economic Zone. The facility has a total built-up area of over 90,000 square meters and capacity to handle 121,632 pallets. The distribution centre, which will mainly supply JYSK's stores in Bulgaria, Romania and the Western Balkans, is expected to employ 300 people. JYSK entered the Bulgarian market in 2005 and currently operates 27 stores in 17 cities in the country.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
Bulgarian company Biovet, a unit of drug maker Huvepharma, has opened a 150 million euro production plant for feed additives, enzymes, probiotics and other pharmaceutical products. The project in the town of Peshtera was partially funded with a 100 million euro loan from the European Investment Bank. Some 200 people are expected to be employed at the new production site. Biovet has production sites in three Bulgarian towns - Peshtera, Razgrad and Botevgrad. The company's sales grew to 285.5 million levs in 2018 from 245.6 million leva the preceding year.
FOOD
The Bulgarian unit of confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate Mondelez International has launched a new packaging line for chocolates at its plant in the town of Svoge, following an investment of over 11 million euro. The new line has a capacity of 6,600 chocolates per minute. With the new facility, the plant's annual output grows to over 32,000 t. To date, Mondelez has invested over 54 million euro in the Bulgarian plant. Mondelez Bulgaria employs over 850 people in the country, 550 of whom are at the Svoge plant.
Kristalina Georgieva becomes head of the International Monetary Fund. She is not only the first East European to become managing director of IMF, but also the first official from the region to head one of the global financial institutions. Ms Georgieva had a long career at the World Bank. She had also had a stint at the European Commission between 2010 and 2016 as a Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and later as a Vice President and Budget Commissioner. Following her unsuccessful run for Secretary-General of the UN, she returned to the World Bank as its CEO. In 2019 Ms Georgieva was put forward for several high-ranking posts in the EU, but finally, she received support to be the EU's candidate for the IMF.
Bulgaria allowed Russian planes going to Serbia with weapons to fly over its territory. The sophisticated air-defence systems took part in joint Russia-Serbian military training and Bulgaria had few reasons to refuse overflight rights. But the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to comment and latter it admitted that only one flight took place, while public data shows that several Russian military cargo planes flew over Bulgaria en route to Serbia. It is quite possible that the government didn't want to cause additional problems with the Kremlin while in Sofia the Prosecutors Office charge a Bulgarian politician with espionage regarding two Russian organizations.
