March 17 (SeeNews) - A German investment fund becomes the owner of the biggest air carrier in Slovenia; the largest economy in the region faces possible macroeconomic imbalances; and a fugitive bank tycoon in Bulgaria may lose assets worth 714 mln euro - read our selection of the most interesting news in Southeast Europe over the past week:
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SLOVENIA COMPLETES SALE OF MAJORITY STAKE IN ADRIA AIRWAYS - SDH
Slovenian state holding company SDH, which is coordinating the privatisation process in the country, said that the sale of the government's stake in Adria Airways to German owned fund 4K Invest has been completed and the fund now holds 96.09% of the air carrier.
On the basis of the share purchase and sale agreement from January 18, SDH has transferred to the buyer, the Luxembourg-based investment fund 4K Invest, through its 100% subsidiary AA International Aviation Holding GmbH, 6,343,743 shares in Adria Airways, SDH said in a statement on its website on Tuesday. Following a capital increase from March 8, 4K Invest now owns 96.09% of Adria Airways, it added. Read more at: http://bit.ly/1VjHJem
SIEMENS-LED TIE-UP GETS 71.9 MLN EURO TO BUILD 51 MW WIND FARM IN BOSNIA
Bosnian power utility Elektroprivreda HZHB said on Friday it awarded to a consortium led by German engineering group Siemens a contract worth 71.9 million euro ($81.2 million) for the construction of a 51 MW wind farm in Mesihovina, in the municipality of Tomislavgrad. http://bit.ly/1UmCf31
DUTCH INTL INSURANCE CONSORTIUM TO TAKE OVER ROMANIA'S CARPATICA ASIG
Netherlands-based International Insurance Consortium (IIC) said on Thursday it has signed an agreement on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Romanian general insurer Carpatica Asig, which is undergoing a financial recovery procedure.
IIC intends to execute the transaction before the summer, depending on regulatory approval, it said in a press release. Read more at: http://bit.ly/1pqhtCs
BULGARIAN ASSET RECOVERY BODY SEEKS SEIZURE OF 714 MLN EURO PROPERTY FROM CORPBANK OWNER - REPORT
Bulgaria's Commission for Illegal Assets Forfeiture (CIAF) has asked the Sofia City Court to allow the seizure of property worth 1.4 billion levs ($809.4 million/714.2 million euro) from fugitive tycoon Tsvetan Vassilev, the owner of bankrupt Corporate Commercial Bank (Corpbank), local media reported. The claim includes properties in several Bulgarian cities and in Switzerland, as well as motor vehicles, pictures and others, state-owned news agency BTA reported, quoting CIAF head Plamen Georgiev. http://bit.ly/1pqJqKp
ROMANIA FACES RISK OF MACROECONOMIC IMBALANCES, IMF CAUTIONS
Romania has made important progress in addressing economic imbalances and restoring growth, but macroeconomic policies have weakened recently and hard won gains are at risk of being reversed, the IMF said. Romania's 2016 budget inappropriately gives stimulus when consumption growth is already strong, the fund said in a statement on Monday following the completion of a mission for an annual evaluation of the Romanian economy. http://bit.ly/1UvFZha.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Romania's real GDP growth to reach 4.2% in 2016, decelerating to 3.6% in 2017.
BULGARIA RAISES 2 BLN EURO IN 7-YR, 12-YR EUROBONDS AT FAVOURABLE YIELDS
Bulgaria's finance ministry said on Tuesday it has raised 1.99 billion euro ($2.22 billion) through the sale of 7-year and 12-year euro-denominated bonds, priced to yield 2.156% and 3.179%, respectively, taking advantage of favourable market conditions after extensive easing measures adopted by the European Central Bank (ECB) last week.
Bulgaria sold 1.14 billion euro in 7-year bonds with a coupon of 1.875% and 850 million euro in 12-year securities with a coupon of 3.0%, the ministry said in a statement. The yield on the 7-year tranche was the lowest on record for the southeast European country. http://bit.ly/1pQCw1D
VIG EYES INCREASE IN MARKET SHARE IN CROATIA, SERBIA, KEEPS FOCUS ON CEE
The Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) said on Thursday it aims to increase its market share to at least 10% in Croatia, Serbia, Poland and Hungary over the medium term.
VIG earns around half of its premiums in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), while generating more than 50% of its profits in the region, hence the company is maintaining its business focus on CEE and the cornerstones of its strategy, the insurer said in a statement, quoting VIG managing board chair Elisabeth Stadler. http://bit.ly/1S8jmNI
BULGARIA'S BULGARTABAC HALTS MIDDLE EAST EXPORTS AMID SMUGGLING ACCUSATIONS
Bulgarian tobacco group Bulgartabac Holding [BUL:57B] said on Wednesday it will stop exports to the Middle East as of April 1, blaming negative publicity by local media Capital and its owners for a sharp drop in orders to the company. http://bit.ly/1pM2dQL
MOLDOVA'S ECONOMY SHRINKS BY REAL 0.5% IN 2015 - PROVISIONAL DATA
Moldova's economy fell by 0.5% in real terms in 2015 mainly due to setbacks in agriculture, trade, and public administration, the country's statistics office said on Wednesday. Calculated in current prices, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) totalled 121 billion lei ($6.1 billion/5.5 billion euro) last year, the office said in a statement. http://bit.ly/1UHmOkA
INTERVIEW
VISA PREDICTS BOOM IN CLOUD-BASED PAYMENTS IN SEE IN NEXT 5 YEARS
Cloud based payment technology will accelerate drastically and become the new payment trend in the next five years in the countries in southeast European (SEE), Berna Ulman, Visa Europe's executive director for SEE, said on Thursday.
"The implementation of cloud technology freed the whole system of payments, and those projects are booming right now. The cloud based payments would really pick up a lot in the following years," Ulman told SeeNews in an interview. Read the ful text of the interview at: http://bit.ly/1XxLSda