International Investment in Bulgaria Still Strong

GE Commercial Finance Real Estate has recently announced that it will acquire a 50% interest in the Mall of Sofia. The Mall is a huge trade, business and entertainment center currently under construction in the center of the capital.

The acquisition costs approximately EUR 37M and was made by a consortium of GE Commercial Finance Real Estate and Quinlan Private.

This real estate investment can stimulate only the current growing trend in the Bulgarian market and extend to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Gives intentions of GE

Copenhagen Airports has announced increase in Bulgaria Varna and Burgas airports from EUR 106m to EUR 140M by the end of 2008. Their planned investments The added investment is used to update the airport and its facilities and to cope with the increasing passenger traffic.

A collective analysis of the airports of Varna and Burgas shows that unless urgent reforms at both facilities, the airports can be seen as early as next season. Decline expected traffic

Tour operators are to lead to alternative destinations due to insufficient quality of services likely to tourists and this would have a knock-on effect for hotels with poor bed occupancy and a possible slowdown in the overall economic development of the region. Bulgaria's top three airports in Sofia, Varna and Burgas have seen a 20% increase in passenger traffic.

New European low-cost air carrier Wizz Air's first flight with destination Sofia completed.

Tickets for the flight started selling in Bulgaria for three months, and 155 passengers were on board the new beginning.

Wizz Air is now the Sofia-Budapest route flies four times a week, and is looking to expand the number of flights from other Bulgarian airports and increase the destination sites throughout Europe, focusing on the markets of Central and Eastern Europe. The airline took the end of May from the southern Polish city of Katowice, initially flying to London Luton Budapest, Rome, Milan, Venice and Berlin.

Finally, the above investments in the real estate, infrastructure and travel reflect the growing confidence in the future of Bulgaria as a major player in the region and move the country closer to the expected integration of the EU in 2007.

Tim Wright is an international real estate investor and author of "Bulgarian Property - The Overseas Buyers' Kit available