Retail centers, office buildings and industrial parks have taken away the limelight invariably held so far by holiday complexes at local property exhibitions.

The shift reflects the saturation of the resort apartments segment as well as the tightening of the credit market in the wake of the global financial crunch.

The trend was visible at the Balkan Real Estate Exhibition which wrapped on Sunday in Sofia.

One segment of the market that continues to engage the attention of the investors are shopping malls. There are at least 10 mall developments advertising for tenants at the moment.

There is also a wide selection of retail parks in the offing.

Israel's Ginio Group is developing Universe Shopping Center in Plovdiv, Bulgaria second most-populous city.

The design of the project is completed and construction is expected to begin soon, said Stanimira Baronova from Ntech BG, the consultancy that will market the leasable space in the complex.

The 60,000 sq m center will deliver 50 shops with a combined lettable area of 17,000 sq m. The project is scheduled for completion in 2009.

Ginio Group intends to build a similar park in Stara Zagora but design work on that project is yet to get underway.

Polish developer GTC showcased three local retail developments, in Stara Zagora, Varna and Burgas.

Market sources said the Polish company plans a retail center in Ruse as well.

The Burgas retail center will have 130 shops and 37,000 sq m of lettable space. It should be ready by mid-2009.

The GTC complex in Stara Zagora will offer 130 shops with 27,000 sq m in lettable floor area. It should be ready by June 2009.

The Varna mall will be the biggest of the trifecta with 160 stores and 38,000 sq m of lettable space. It is scheduled for completion by April 2009.

Colliers International, Foros, Forton and Source have the agency contracts for the nation's remaining shopping mall developments, most due for completion in 2009.

Victoria Group, a local conglomerate active in the tourism and real estate sectors, presented two large-scale projects in Plovdiv.

The company is developing the Maritsa congress center in the area of the Plovdiv fair The mixed-use scheme will have a build area of 45,000 sq m, including a 7,000 sq m retail center. underground parking, 150 offices hotel rooms and a sports center. Construction is scheduled to start in May and finish by 2009.

Victoria Gardens is mixed-use residential office and retail scheme with a build area of 44,000 sq m. It will also feature an indoor race track and a multi-use sports auditorium. The complex will comprise four apartment buildings with 270 units, 43 retail outlets and over 180 offices.

Construction is expected to get underway this year.(Dnevnik)


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Banks to view applicants' full credit history
Enhanced data retrieval functions of the central credit register of the Bulgarian National Bank will soon enable the local banks to view not only the applicant's current credit record on outstanding loans but also his previous history.

It is currently being determined what additional information will be included in the register database to make possible the retrieval of the full credit history of applicants.

These will most likely include APR, the number of days for which principal or interest have been past due, the size of the renegotiated or restructured credit and liquid security, among others.

The banks have proposed to enable the viewing of the applicant's credit history two to five years back.

The project is being co-ordinated by the Association of Banks in Bulgaria and the BNB.

The additional information that the banks will supply to the register will enable its use for oversight purposes as well.

The proposed changes would not require any revision of the existing credit register regulations. Those would be necessary only if the scope of the register is expanded to include the business of leasing companies not owned by a bank and other financial institutions.

At the moment, only banks and bank-owned leasing companies provide and retrieve information to and from the register.

Source: http://news.dnevnik.bg/