Quest for Peace: Hamas Contemplates Truce Amid Ceasefire Talks
Efforts persist to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with the latter considering a proposed 40-day truce from Israel.
Companies are withdrawing their bids for privatization of the troubled Bulgarian State Railways company, BDZ Holding, according to outgoing Transport Minister, Ivaylo Moskovski.
Moskovski sees the large-scale protests against the privatization, held over the weekend in Bulgaria, as the most likely reason for this retreat.
The outgoing Minister explained the remaining bidders are also very alarmed by the rallies, but added he had no information about the concrete investors backpedaling on the deal.
He further notes all of the above is quite troubling since another failed privatization procedure would threaten the salvaging of the company.
"The World Bank is giving money to the State for BDZ on condition we successfully privatize its Freight Services. This is the only way to save the railways. We must ask the demonstrators if they are willing to foot the bill to repay creditors. Passenger Services must remain State-owned as a stable company, providing transport to Bulgarians. To people protesting now against these processes, I may also say they are late. They should have done it at the time BDZ was taking these loans, which was during the term of the previous, Socialist-led cabinet of the Three Way Coalition," said the Minister.
At the beginning of February, the Sofia City Court ordered a freeze of 100% of the assets of the cargo unit of Bulgarian State Railways company, BDZ Holding.
The freeze happened on the request of the Dublin-based German-Irish bank Depfa Bank, which owns bonds from the first bond loan for BDZ. BDZ owes to Depfa about BGN 6.3 M.
Experts comment that both – the freeze and the claim – would hurdle the privatization of the cargo unit. The freeze actually and effectively stops the procedure. Those who deal with frozen assets face prosecution under the law.
In mid-November 2012, Bulgaria's Privatization Agency launched a second privatization procedure for BDZ's Freight Services, after the first one fell through.
The second attempt to sell the cargo unit of BDZ only included strategic and financial investors.
The privatization of BDZ's profit making unit, Freight Services, is to secure money to cover huge debts of the company and help revive its other unit, Passenger Services.
However, experts from the railway sector have already said the State should not count on receiving much as the revenues of the cargo unit dropped by 30% in 2012, while the debt keeps climbing up.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
The Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Bulgaria is set to embark on a significant transition as it begins the process of replacing Russian nuclear fuel with American fuel from Westinghouse
In a significant stride towards enhancing connectivity between Turkey and Bulgaria, the launch of direct flights between Istanbul and Sofia marks a milestone in air travel
As the clock ticks down to midnight tonight, Bulgarians are reminded that April 30th marks the final day for filing their 2023 personal income tax returns
Bulgaria's National Bank has disclosed the country's external debt figures, revealing a notable increase in gross foreign debt at the end of February 2024
In March, there was a significant uptick in Bulgarians traveling abroad, marking a 19.1% increase from the previous year, amounting to 679.1 thousand trips
Bulgargaz, the leading public gas supplier in Bulgaria, anticipates a notable decrease in the price of natural gas for the upcoming month of May. According to Lyudmila Vitanova
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022