Bulgaria's revenue from tourism is expected to nearly triple by 2013, reaching EUR 6 billion, the deputy chairman of the State Tourism Agency, Stanislav Novakov, said. He presented a draft national strategy for development of the sector in 2008-13. Some EUR 250 million will be necessary for achieving the objectives in the strategy, PARI wrote. Financing will be sought under the regional development operative programme.

The revenue from Bulgarian and foreign tourists in 2007 is expected to amount to some EUR 2.4 billion. The figure is forecast to reach EUR 3 billion in 2008. One of the main trends in 2007-20 is connected with the increasing requirements of tourists towards the quality and diversity of services. Therefore Bulgaria will try to position itself in a higher segment in terms of prices and added value. According to experts Bulgaria should rely on the differentiation of products, giving priority to cultural, health, business and eco tourism. Improving the infrastructure is also included as a priority in the strategy, which is yet to be discussed and approved by the cabinet.
 
 
 Politics
 
Bulgaria President: Package of Deals with Russia Huge Success
 
Bulgaria promoted successfully its national interests in the deals with Russia, which will lure investors, open jobs and enhance security, the president said on Sunday as he reported on the first year since his re-election, Sofia News Agency wrote.

Bulgaria and Russia signed eight agreements during President Putin's visit to Bulgaria last week. The three most important ones concerned the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant, the Burgas - Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, and the Bulgarian section of the South Stream transit gas pipeline. Putin's two-day visit in Sofia, which ended Friday, stirred controversy with critics saying Bulgaria becomes the Trojan horse of Russia's energy policy in the European Union.

 
 Economy
 
Pension funds eye infrastructure projects
 
Pension funds demand that they should be allowed to invest up to 15% of their assets in infrastructure projects of national importance, a letter of Dimitar Zhelev, executive director of Aliianz Bulgaria Holding to prime minister Sergey Stanishev reads.

Pension companies want to be able to purchase stocks or bonds in large-scale projects such as Bourgas-Alexandroupolis, South Stream, Nabucco and the Belene nuclear power plant. Thus Bulgarian capitals will be invested in the Bulgarian economy and at the same time will provide financial resources for important projects, Zhelev said. This would also allow more than 3 million Bulgarians to participate indirectly in these projects and to get a return on the investment, Zhelev said.

Talks with all members of the Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Security Companies (BAAASPSC) have been held so far and they are supportive of the initiative. Thus the state will be able to receive BGN 400-500 million long-term project financing.

 
 Business
 
Bulgaria c-bank jitters over credit risk
 
The aggressive pursuit of bigger market share and overlending pose a risk to the financial stability of the Bulgarian banking system, the central bank said in its Q3 2007 market overview. The end-September data of the central bank points to a quick absorption of the capital surplus at several local banks and the subsequent need to issue more share capital. The latest figures indicate that credit growth jumped 64% to 37 bln levs in 2007 or 67% of the nation's GDP. Credit risk continues to be top concern from the point of view of the asset structure and market behavior of the banks, said the central bank.
 
 
 International
 
Obama says South Carolina win turns a page
 
Democrat Barack Obama said Sunday that his landslide win in South Carolina's presidential primary marks a turn in political history, showing that a black candidate can appeal to voters of all colors and in all regions, AP reported.

The Illinois senator told a raucous crowd of more than 9,000 here that his big victory Saturday disproved the old notion "that if you get black votes, you can't get white votes," and vice versa. "We're going to write a new chapter in the South, we're going to write a new chapter in American history," he said during his 64-minute speech to a capacity crowd at the University of Alabama at Birmingham basketball arena. The crowd was roughly two-thirds black and one-third white. Earlier Sunday he made a similar argument, responding to comments by former President Clinton that some interpreted as an effort to diminish Obama's win Saturday over Hillary Rodham Clinton. Bill Clinton noted that Jesse Jackson won the South Carolina primary in 1984 and 1988. Jackson never became the party's presidential nominee. Obama, speaking during a television interview, said "there's no doubt" that Jackson set a precedent for blacks seeking the presidency. But he noted that was two decades ago.

Source AMCHAM BULGARIA