National Bank accepts anti-graft commission's arguments for sub-governor's ousting
Yesterday, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) board of directors unanimously accepted the arguments of the Anti-Corruption Commission, which declared that sub-governor Andrey Gyurov is ineligible to hold the post because of a potential conflict of interests - he was found to have retained his interest in trading companies even after he had joined the bank's management.
However, the board also said that the final decision for his potential removal lies with parliament and accepted that Gyurov has the right to take the ruling of the anti-graft institution to court (which he has already done).
According to Venko Sabrutev MP from the WCC party, which was the one that nominated Gyurov for the position, his removal is linked to the attempt of the status quo to eliminate him as a potential candidate for the caretaker prime minister position. After the constitutional changes, the president can choose among 10 high-ranking officials for the post of caretaker PM, with Gyurov being the only figure not linked to GERB.
Heatwave ignites coal-fired TPPs, including permanently shut ContourGlobal Maritsa-3
The extreme heat, which has persisted into a second week, has literally set the energy market on fire. Since the beginning of July, electricity exchange prices are at their highest level for 18 months, coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs) are running at levels comparable to midwinter and Bulgaria is exporting huge amounts of electricity to the region.
The restart of the TPPs, whose coal-powered energy has generally become uncompetitive on the international markets, is once again lucrative because of exports to the region and the high prices, which have reached 1,500/MWh levs in evening hours. There is also a record-high domestic consumption for this time of the year, as air conditioners are increasingly used in the heat. In real terms, electricity consumption on hot days is not much different from that of last winter.
Specifically, for 17 July the base load exchange price was over 440/MWh levs, which has not happened since the winter of 2022-2023. At this rate, it is quite sufficient for coal-fired power plants to operate at a profit.
IMF: State-owned companies in Bulgaria are expensive, inefficient and carry risks for all
Large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Bulgaria have low profitability and inefficient allocation of resources, and although they are not significant in terms of share they are crucial in the production network, which can negatively affect the productivity and competitiveness of the whole economy, a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published on Wednesday claims.
The liquidity and solvency risks in several key SOEs are evident and, although the low level of SOE debt poses a minimal fiscal risk, their economic and financial performance could have important fiscal implications and be a problem in the long term.
National Bank accepts anti-graft commission's arguments for sub-governor's ousting
Yesterday, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) board of directors unanimously accepted the arguments of the Anti-Corruption Commission, which declared that sub-governor Andrey Gyurov is ineligible to hold the post because of a potential conflict of interests - he was found to have retained his interest in trading companies even after he had joined the bank's management.
