The subcontractors for the Belene nuclear power plant that will work alongside Russia's AtomStroyExport will not have to undergo a competitive selection procedure.

Under the agreement with AtomStroyExport, it has to subcontract 30% of the value of the Belene construction contract to Bulgarian companies which means procurement contracts worth a total of 1.3 euro.

The Public Procurement Act does not obliges to organise a competitive procedure, said the spokesperson of NEK, the national power utility in charge of the project.

A provision in the law allows the no-bid award of procurement contracts related to natural gas, heating or electricity.

NEK chief executive director Lyubomir Velkov recently said a list of 50 candidate subcontractors had been approved.

The official said the candidates were selected based on their references.

In related news, a source close to the talks with Germany's RWE and Belgium's Electrabel for a 49% stake in the Belene project company said that the energy ministry was unhappy with the financial parameters of the two offers.

Two weeks ago, economy minister Petar Dimitrov said these were not offers but only proposals that did not satisfy the interests of the state.(Dnevnik)

Israel's BSR Europe will build a mixed-use office and residential complex in Varna, on the Black Sea, Dnevnik learned from Anetevents, one of the agencies handling the PR of the investor in Bulgaria.

The Varna One compound will be partially located on the site of former engines maker Vamo.

The remainder of the Vamo site is owned by ECE Projektmanagement which plans to build Cherno More Park.

The project will reportedly offer 54,000 sq m of retail space. According to executive director Plamen Ilchev, the ECE Projektmanagement investment will top 150 mln euro. Ground for the project will be broken this fall.

The BSR Europe development will have a footprint of 74,421 sq m, comprising six Class A office and five residential buildings and two hypermarkets.

Varna One is BSR Europe's third project in Bulgaria. It will be implemented in partnership with Luxembourg-registered Edmond de Rothschild Real Estates.(Dnevnik)

The switch from proportional to risk-weighted premium installments payable to Bulgaria's Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will happen in 2009, said the annual report of the fund for 2007.

In order for the transition to happen, a number of changes will have to be made to the legislation governing deposit insurance.

The report said DIF hopes to move by the end of 2008 the relevant legislative proposals for approval by the finance ministry.

After a round of discussions with the local banks, the central bank and the finance ministry, it was decided to settle on a scheme that combines both qualitative and quantitative criteria.

The quantitative criteria are capital adequacy, return on capital, return on assets, efficiency coefficient, asset quality indicator and liquidity indicator.

The qualitative criteria are the supervisory rating assigned by the Bulgarian National Bank and a grade assigned by an international rating agency.

The information used to determine the bank-specific risk-weighted premiums will not be made public.

At the moment, each bank remits to the DIF an annual premium equal to 0.5% of the total amount of the deposit base for the preceding year, determined on an average daily basis.

DIF reported a financial result of 127.8 mln levs for 2007. It said the local banks remitted 106.6 mln levs in premiums last year versus 84.8 mln levs in 2006.

The increase in premiums is due to the larger deposit base which topped 21.3 bln levs in 2007 versus 16.966 bln levs in 2005.

The share of deposits of up to 40,000 - the amount insured by DIF, make up 99.14% of total deposits.(Dnevnik)

Bulgarian maritime carrier NMB plans to buy two 200,000 DWT vessels, a board member said on Wednesday.

The carrier will go through with the purchase if an agreement is reached with an Indian company for the provision of shipping services over a period of six to eight years, said Kiril Domuschiev, NMB board member and member of the managing board of KG Maritime Shipping which recently wrapped the acquisition of a 70% stake in the maritime carrier.

KG Maritime Shipping is 30%-owned by local company Advance Properties while the remaining equity is controlled by KG Maritime Partners. In turn, KG Maritime Partners is 99%-owned by German charterer Martrade Shipping&Transport, based in Duesseldorf.

The talks with the Indian partner, for the shipping of ore between India and Africa, are at an initial stage. There will be no clarity on the progress of the negotiations in the next 5-6 months, said Domuschiev.

The pressing task for the new owner is lowering the average age of the NMB fleet from 25 to 10 years over the next half a decade. All ships older than 30 years, or 40% of the NMB fleet, will be sold, said Domuschiev.

For starters, NMB would like to buy ten 34,000 DWT vessels and as many vessels with a tonnage of 20,000 to 25,000. The 780 mln levs that KG Maritime Shipping has pledged to invest in NMB will be spent on new vessels.

Talks are also underway with a Korean ship-builder for the delivery of handysize vessels of 15,000 to 35,000 DWT.

The company will reflag its vessels in another EU state. The privatisation contract obliges the new owner to keep 60% of the fleet flagged in an EU member state.

The banks that will finance the investment program would prefer if the NMB vessels are not flagged in Bulgaria, said Domuschiev. Some of the NMB vessels are currently flagged in Malta. The company is also considering as options the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Greece.(Dnevnik)

Former majority owner of Bulgarian steel mill Kremikovtzi, Valentin Zahariev, plans to regain control of the debt-laden company, the businessman told Dnevnik.

He said he has already sent a letter of intent to the court-appointed receiver of the steel mill and to economy minister Petar Dimitrov.

Under the plan, Zahariev's Intertrust holding will take charge of the plant under as an operator to get it back on its feet. The company will be paid an operator's fee.

'At a later stage, say in 3 to 5 years, we may bid for some of the Kremikovtzi assets,' said Zahariev.

Zahariev said Intertrust has prepared a environmental program that will ensure the steel maker is issued an integrated pollution prevention and control permit.

He refused to say if there are plans to shut down some production facilities.

In 1999, Zahariev's Finmetals Holding bought Kremikovtzi for $1, undertaking to implement an investment program and settle the company's outstanding liabilities.

The new owner defaulted on the post-privatisation commitments, prompting a local court in 2005 to attach its 71% stake in Kremikovtzi. Later that year, Zahariev sold to Pramod Mittal, the current owner of the steel mill, not only his shares in Kremikovtzi but also the company owning the attached shares.

Earlier this year, Bulgaria's Post Privatisation Control agency won a 239 mln levs court ruling against Finmetals over unfulfilled post-privatisation commitments. An appeal ha seen launched.(Dnevnik)