International Investment In Bulgaria Still Strong

by: Tim Wright

The strong growth in the Bulgarian economy is continuing and this is emphasised by the confidence in the market shown by companies such as GE for example.

GE Commercial Finance Real Estate recently announced it will be acquiring a 50% stake of the Mall of Sofia. The Mall is an enormous trade, business and entertainment centre currently under construction in the heart of the capital city.

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

This investment can only encourage the current growing trend in the Bulgarian property market and indicates GE's intentions to expand to the countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Copenhagen Airports has announced it will increase their planned investments in Bulgaria's Varna and Burgas airports from EUR 106M to EUR 140M by the end of 2008. The added investment is been used to bring the airport and its facilities up to date and to deal with the constantly increasing passenger traffic.

A corporate analysis on the airports of Varna and Burgas shows that unless urgent reforms are implemented at both facilities, the airports may see a decrease in expected traffic as soon as next season.

Tour operators are likely to redirect tourists to alternative destinations due to insufficient quality of services 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 at Sofia, Varna and Burgas have seen a 20% increase in passenger traffic.

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

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

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

In closing, the above investments in the real estate sector, 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 expected EU integration in 2007.

About the author:
Tim Wright is an international property investor and is author of "Bulgarian Property - The Overseas Buyers' Kit available at http://www.bulgarianpropertybuyer.co.uk


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Industrial Income Property Financing

by: Cameron Brown

Welcome to the third and final segment of a three-part series about income property. In this segment we will be discussing financing options for industrial income properties as well as the upside (and downside) of owning this type of property.

Financial Concerns

Of the three types of income property, industrial property requires the greatest degree of technical expertise and experience. Likewise, financing the acquisition of an industrial income property can be, at best, very risky without adequate planning and know-how.

The first thing to consider is what kind of industrial application the building will be used for. Not all lenders will fund the purchase of all types of industrial income property types. For example, funding the purchase of industrial real estate to be used for petroleum refining is a risky investment for many lenders. Make sure your lender is able to support your income property goals.

LTV rates for most industrial income property loans run at a maximum of 75%, so plan on having a nice pile of investment capital on hand. Industrial loan interest rates can also be a little higher than for other income property types-usually between 5.6% and 7.5%. The 20-year term that comes with most industrial income property loans is fairly typical.

Managerial Concerns

Because of the nature of manufacturing facilities, liability becomes much more important than in residential or commercial income properties. Securing the proper type and amount of insurance can help mitigate much of the risk you will take on after you lease your industrial facility.

While industrial income property comes with certain risks and challenges, it lacks to a large extent, the oft-times inconvenient nature of residential income property management. Don’t expect any late night calls concerning overflowing toilets or broken stoves. Much of the time, the company leasing your property is obligated under contract to handle typical repairs and maintenance to the facility or equipment.

Unlike commercial and (especially) residential tenants, industrial tenants usually intend to lease your facility indefinitely, or until they either liquidate or their operations outgrow your building. This is good news because you are virtually guaranteed cash inflow for the duration of your income property investment.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, investing in industrial income property requires a lot more time, money, and prior experience than it’s commercial or residential counterparts. For investors with the right skills and financial backing, however, the payout can be much more rewarding than any other income property investment.


About the author:
Cameron Brown is an internet marketer specializing in investment property. For more information about residential income property, please visit Security National Capital.


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IndiaStockMarket.com Presents “Twenty six blue-chip companies in India”

by: dawn van zant

For Immediate Release
Date: November 10, 2004

IndiaStockMarket.com Presents “Twenty six blue-chip companies in India” - an exclusive feature by well known market analyst Dr. Udaylal Pai.

POINT ROBERTS, Wash., November 10, 2004 – www.IndiaStockMarket.com, a global investor portal about the Indian stock and investing sector, is pleased to provide investors an exclusive report on India’s Stock Markets. The article features twenty six Indian blue-chip companies, with a brief overview of each. The report was prepared by Dr.Udaylal Pai, a journalist, market analyst, and author, with twenty years of experience in covering business issues in India for international publications.

As interest in the Indian markets increases, the new portal plans to keep investors informed regularly, with content created at the source but with a North American perspective.
InvestorIdeas and ISM are not affiliated or compensated by the companies mentioned in this article. Companies interested in becoming a featured company on this portal please contact us for a proposal.

Report Excerpt: “Twenty six blue-chip companies in India.”

Hero Honda - Racing Ahead

(HHML), the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world, is a joint venture promoted by Hero Cycles (P) Limited and Honda Motor Company of Japan. The company is the market leader in the motorcycle segment with a 44% market share in FY03 (50% in FY02). The company is also the largest producer of motorcycles among all Honda companies in the world. Splendor is the single largest selling two-wheeler model worldwide. Hero Honda's main characteristics are its four-stroke engine technology; fuel efficiency and low exhaust pollution levels. It exports to around 31 countries including Sri Lanka, Africa, west Asia, Bermuda, Zaire, and Paraguay.

The Indian two wheeler sector is the largest in terms of volumes (70%) among all the segments in the automobile industry. The segment can be further categorized into three main sub-segments - scooters, motorcycles and mopeds. With strong brand equity of its fuel-efficient vehicles, a wide range of motorcycles, and backing of the global leader Honda, HHML is well placed in the sector.

Asian Paints - Painting the world red

Asian Paints are the market leader in India’s paint industry with a commanding market share of about 39% in the organized segment. It is among the top ten players in the decorative segment in the world! Asian Paints has also undertaken overseas acquisitions which has transformed it into India’s premier multi-national paint company.

Apart from the domestic market, the company has expanded its presence in the international arena through acquisitions in the recent past (operates in about 22 countries). On a consolidated basis, 73% of revenues comes from domestic paints markets, 21% comes from international business and remaining 7% from chemicals business.

Asian Paints is positioned to benefit from the housing construction boom in the country. The company has presence in both Decorative and Industrial Coating segment of the Paint business. Both this segment constitutes 92% of the topline of APIL.

BPCL - Leading player in Gas

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has made rapid strides and emerged as one of India’s leading petroleum majors alongside its public sector units.

(PSU) peers such as HPCL and IOCL. The company’s current refining capacity stands at 8.5 MTPA and is expected to increase to 12 MTPA by FY05. Its two subsidiaries Numaligarh and Kochi Refinery increase the combined capacity to 19 MTPA. BPCL`s network includes 4,850 retail outlets and 1,800 LPG distributors. It plans to enter exploration in next three years and is known for its pro-activeness.

Full article: http://www.indiastockmarket.com/ISM/Article/Blue-Chip.asp

Disclaimer: ECON Investor Relations Inc is the owner of this domain.

ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: investor relations, media relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors; for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefor investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research.

The site is compensated by its "Featured Companies, as outlined in our on-line disclaimer at: www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp

Contact:
Dawn Van Zant / Trevor Ruehs
dvanzant@investorideas.com, truehs@investorideas.com

Toll free: 800-665-0411



About the author:
ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: investor relations, media relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors; for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefor investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research.


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Invest Now for Dividends Later

by: Charles Kassotis

No matter what age you are or even your level of employment or economic position, it may be a good idea to start preparing now, even in a meager way, for eventual financial security. Some people feel they need every dollar they make to get by from one paycheck to the next. While this may be true for some, there are others who squander significant sums on insignificant things. They could be socking that money away into an investment account that, over time, could lead to huge savings and a comfortable retirement.


It isn’t hard to get started. All you need is $100 to $500 to open an account, and anywhere from $25 to $50 monthly to continue building your stock or mutual fund portfolio. In fact, a young person aged 20 could deposit $2,000 and then not another dime. In forty years he or she might have tens of thousands of dollars. The stock market has followed fairly predictable patterns since its inception in the 1800s in New York City. Although historic events like the Great Depression and several global wars have impacted its activity, the gains and losses remain fairly consistent, with most investors earning a predictable return on their investment.


Of course, no one can predict what the future holds, or whether the pattern will continue. And none of us should invest more money than we can afford to lose—just in case the world economy crashes one of these days. But with steady deposits that continue to compound and earn interest over time, a sensible and prudent investor can substantially increase the amount of money going for retirement or a dream vacation at some future point.


If you are thinking about opening an investment account, do a little online browsing for more information. Visit sites like E-trade or Scott’s Trades to see how the process works. Start reading your newspaper’s financial pages for details about the latest stock prices and market trends. Do a little paper trading by following the daily stock news. Instead of actually purchasing stock, however, work it out on a piece of paper by pretending to buy a certain amount of stock for the specified price and then watching to see how it performs over the following week. Chart your gains or losses to figure out whether your stock deal was successful. If you do this for several months, you will soon learn to understand more about the stock market and how to buy and sell like the pros.


Even if your budget is tight, try to set aside a little money to open an investment account from any windfalls that come your way from job bonuses, inheritances, or cash gifts. Some people set aside their annual job raise, or part of it, as part of their investment strategy. Then, as your budget becomes looser with paid-off bills or grown-up kids, you may be able to start having a standard monthly amount deducted automatically from your paycheck and deposited into your investment account. This could take the form of a Roth IRA (individual retirement account), a money market fund, a mutual fund portfolio, or individual stock shares.


It probably is a good idea to take an investment class at the community college or sign up for a financial planning seminar. Success may be just a few years away if you start now and plan right.

About the author:
You can find more great investment information at http://www.investmentcentral.com


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