The day in 3 news: Bankrupt KTB returns another 125m euro to creditors, Charters beg for state aid, Sofia expects 880k vaccines by April 30

People queueing in front of Corpbank in December 2014

The day in 3 news: Bankrupt KTB returns another 125m euro to creditors, Charters beg for state aid, Sofia expects 880k vaccines by April 30

People queueing in front of Corpbank in December 2014

© Aneliya Nikolova


Pressure is growing on healthcare as Covid-19 hospitalizations near 9,300. This is 2,000 more than the peak in November. Accordingly, in an emergency session, the Council of Ministers approved an additional 96 million levs (48 million euro) to be transferred from the state budget to the Ministry of Health. About half of the sum is intended for the purchase of the Remdesivir drug. The rest will fund the 1,000 levs in additional remuneration promised to front-line workers for the month of April.

Corpbank's trustees in bankruptcy begin paying back 125m euro

On March 30, the trustees in bankruptcy of the former Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB, or KTB as it's known in Bulgaria) will begin the payout of 250 million levs to the bank's creditors. The sum comes from the 125 million euro received from telecom BTC in May last year. The money was given to BTC by Tsvetan Vassilev's bank for acquiring a majority stake in the telecom in 2012. According to information in the country's Trade Registry, the funds will be distributed among over 7,000 former CCB depositors who are still owed money. So far, the trustees have recovered about 20% of depositors' money at the time of closure.

Charters plea for state support

Aviation in Bulgaria is in desperate need of help. According to the Bulgarian Aviation Industry Association, the industry will need at least 15 million euro to survive the coronavirus crisis. The organization encompasses charter airlines, bases for aircraft repair, and ground handling firms. The industry is very important for local tourism as close to half incoming tourists who travel by air use charters, according to sector representatives.

Bulgaria expects over 800,000 vaccines by the end of April

By the end of next week, Bulgaria should have an additional 250,000 vaccine doses, assures chairman Bogdan Kirilov of the Bulgarian Drug Agency. By the end of April, another 630,000 doses are expected, he said. Of those, 250,000 are Pfizer vaccines, over 80,000 doses are expected of the Moderna vaccine, and about 300,000 of AstraZeneca's. Two batches of Johnson's vaccines are also expected in April but the quantities and specific dates are still unclear.

Pressure is growing on healthcare as Covid-19 hospitalizations near 9,300. This is 2,000 more than the peak in November. Accordingly, in an emergency session, the Council of Ministers approved an additional 96 million levs (48 million euro) to be transferred from the state budget to the Ministry of Health. About half of the sum is intended for the purchase of the Remdesivir drug. The rest will fund the 1,000 levs in additional remuneration promised to front-line workers for the month of April.

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