Page 79 - bne IntelliNews Southeastern Europe Outlook 2025

The project should be completed in 2025 and the local authorities have pledged to provide full support to Remus.
5.3 Real Economy – Bulgaria
5.3.1 Retail
Retail trade has been constantly rising in Bulgaria over the past two years, mainly due to falling inflation and wage hikes that have increased households’ disposable incomes. It was particularly high in April and July, coinciding with Orthodox Easter and one of the busiest summer tourist months.
Bulgaria's retail trade, excluding motor vehicles and motorcycles, saw a 5.1% y/y increase in turnover in October compared with 4.8% y/y in the previous month, according to the latest available preliminary and seasonally adjusted statistics office data.
Most major retail sectors experienced growth. Sales of food, beverages and tobacco rose by 10.9% and non-food products (excluding fuel) by 6.7%.
On the other hand, automotive fuel sales in specialised stores decreased by 11.4%.
Month on month, retail trade turnover grew by 0.8%. Food, beverage and tobacco sales moved up by 1.1%, while non-food products increased by 1.8%. Automotive fuel sales increased by 3% during the same period.
According to the business climate indicator, retail trade remained unchanged m/m at 23.7% due to the pessimistic assessment of the current situation and negative expectations about the business situation in the next months.
5.3.2 Banks
Bulgarian banks remained stable amid the economic crisis and political uncertainty over the past three years. The country joined the EU’s banking union in 2020, which was an additional guarantee for the stability of the sector.
The aggregate net profit of Bulgarian commercial banks increased 0.6% y/y to BGN3bn in the first ten months of 2024, according to Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) data.
Through October, the liquidity coverage ratio was 255.7% compared to 244.1% at the end of September. The liquidity buffer stood at BGN49.4bn.
The net stable funding ratio (NSFR), applied since June 28, 2021, was BGN162.4% as of end-September, with a minimum regulatory requirement of 100%. At end-September, the available stable funding
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