Bulgaria has been included for the very first time in The Social Media Bible, a global bestseller by Lon Safko, thanks to Bulgarian PR guru Maxim Behar.

Behar has authored the Chapter on Bulgaria in “The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success”, after the publisher invited him to explain the influence of social media in his native country.

A prominent media, communications and PR expert, for three consecutive years, Behar has dedicated his guest speaker presentations at the World PR Forum”Communication on Top” in Davos, Switzerland, to social media and their influence in modern communications.

“Bulgaria is undoubtedly a social media country. This is true not only because it is ranked 55th among the world’s countries on Facebook with almost 2.5 million users, but also because Bulgaria is full of young, intelligent, very enthusiastic, and quite ambitious people. The characteristics of the market – relatively stable with an extremely attractive tax policy and good niches for business – mean that many ideas and sales initiatives are able to find customers and places to thrive,” Behar writes inThe Social Media Bible.

“I am really excited about having a feature story on how Bulgaria uses social networks in my new book, The Social Media Bible, Third Edition! They are so far ahead of many other countries and the people there really understand the importance of connecting as a society! Thank you Maxim, thank you Bulgaria!” author Lon Safkostated specially for Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) and Novinite.bg.

The third edition of the Social Media Bible was released by Wiley Publishing at the end of April 2012, and just in a couple of days it has generated record sales in the US and worldwide. On more than 600 pages, the book covers a wide range of different case studies, countries and practices.

Its electronic version at amazon.com has been assigned a five-star ranking ever since its appearance on the market.

“The social media phenomenon is still ramping up, and this book provides useful and timely business advice,” the “father” of Internet Vint Cerf says about The Social Media Bible.

“Bringing Bulgaria to The Social Media Bible is a great achievement for the country, and it has finally received its deserved place in this global bestseller. I was delighted to accept Lon Safko‘s invitation to write the essay about my native country but our arrangement is that in a year from now, the book’s next edition will also feature case studies from our business practice at M3 Communications Group, Inc., which is affiliated with the leading PR firm Hill+Knowlton Strategies since August 2000 “, Behar explained.

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Bulgaria‘s government has gotten Georgia‘s authorities to agree to almost double the number of permits for Bulgarian freighters and transport companies, the Bulgarian Transport Ministry announced.

After negotiations, Bulgaria and Georgia have agreed to increase the number of universal freighter permits (which are valid for both bilateral and transit services) from 800 to 1 500. The number of permits for/to a third party has been also been increased from 150 to 200.

Georgia agreed to increase the quota for Bulgarian freight transport companiesduring a sitting of the Joint Bulgarian-Georgian Commission on International Auto Transport that was held in Sofia on May 9-10, 2012, the Bulgarian Transport Ministry announced Monday.

The sitting was chaired by the CEO of Bulgaria‘s Automobile Administration Executive Agency Valentin Bozhkov and the Director of the Georgian Automobile Administration Mikheil Khmaladze.

During the meetings, Georgia has explained the recent increase of the no-permit fine for foreign freighters entering its territory from GEL 500 to GEL 5 000 in order to crack down on freighters that choose to pay the fine instead of procuring a permit.

At the same time, Bulgaria has committed to distribute the permits only totransport companies that are indeed going to carry out freight and passenger services.

The government said the general agreement to boost the number of Georgiantransport permits for Bulgarian companies was reached during Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov’s visit in Georgia in April 2012.

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Retirement age in Bulgaria for males and females will be the same after 2020, according to the Minister of Social Policy and Labor, Totyu Mladenov.

Mladenov explained Monday that in 2017 retirement age for men would reach 65 while by 2020 the one for females will be 63, and it will increase, along with the required years of service, by 4 months each year for both sexes. He added that making retirement age the same after 2020 can only happen gradually.

The Minister further informed that debates on retirement age of army personnel and employees of the Interior Ministry with the participation of the labor unions are pending.

The minimum retirement age in Bulgaria was increased by 4 months as of January 1, 2012, as part of a controversial retirement reform package that kicked in.

The same measure will be applied on the first day of each of the upcoming several years, until the retirement age in Bulgaria reaches 65 years for men and 63 for women.

Up until the new pension reform was approved in December 2011, Bulgaria’sretirement age was 63 years for men and 60 years for women.

In addition, the minimum time served by police and military officers in Bulgaria required for retirement has been increased by 2 years, reaching 27 years.

In December, Bulgaria’s Parliament expectedly rejected the veto imposed by outgoing President Georgi Parvanov on retirement age changes.

The controversial “retirement reform” to up the pension age was initiated byFinance Minister Simeon Djankov in the fall of 2011 as a way of saving budget funds sooner rather than later; an earlier agreement with syndicates and business organizations was supposed to delay the increase of the retirement age in Bulgaria till 2021.

Also on Monday, Totyu Mladenov voiced hope that by 2013 unemploymentamong young Bulgarians would decrease by 4%-5% and that an agreement with the business and the labor unions will be signed by the end of May regarding offering first jobs for youth.

The Minister declared the Cabinet is undertaking a number of measures to reduceyouth unemployment.

According to flash results from the Labor Force Survey, carried out and published by the National Statistical Institute, NSI, in the first quarter of 2012 theunemployment rate in the country has reached the staggering 12.9%.

Many companies who delayed payments to their workers have shortened the period of default to 1-2 months, according to Totyu Mladenov, Minister of Labor and Social Policy.

Mladenov’s Thursday statement came after claims of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) that companies owed over BGN 1.5 B in unpaid salaries and social security contributions.

The Labor Minister reminded that the Chief Labor Inspectorate (CLI) and theNational Revenue Agency (NRA) were exercising control on a daily basis over 500 employers who were delaying payments to their workers.

He added that irregular payers had paid salaries amounting to over BGN 6.7 M in the past week only.

Mladenov added that the joint control by the NRA and the CLI would continue because it had turned out to be productive.

The Labor Minister reminded that employers who had turned insolvent but had failed to declare the fact within 30 days, as was the case with the Lead and Zinc Complex (LZC; OTZK), were referred to the prosecuting authority, as provided in the Penal Code.

Bulgaria’s unemployment rate saw a minor decline of 0.1 pp in April 2012 compared with March 2012, the Bulgarian Employment Agency announced.

A total of 16 out of Bulgaria’s 28 administrative districts have seen negligible drops inunemployment, 4 have retain their rates from March 2012, and 8 have seen an increase in the number of the unemployed.

Bulgaria’s employment offices listed a total of 373 524 unemployed persons in April 2012, with 24 727 finding jobs over the month, which is 5 558 more than those who found jobs in March.

The Employment Agency says the rise in employment is due to creation of new jobs as well as the expansion of the national employment programs under EU Operational Program “Human Resources”.

The largest number of new jobs in Bulgaria in April 2012 was created by the processing industry – 3 381, followed by trade – 2 002, hotel and restaurant business – 1 997, agriculture – 1 441, and transport – 965.

In the first two months of 2012, Bulgaria’s exports to the EU exceeded BGN 3.3 B, decreasing by 8.1% from the same period in 2011.

In the period January – February 2012, Bulgaria’s imports from EU countries increased by 6.7% on the year to BGN 4.1 B (CIF prices), according to data of theNational Statistical Institute (NSI).

Two-thirds of Bulgaria’s exports to the EU went to five countries – Germany (11.9% decrease from January-February 2011), Italy (7.9% increase), Romania (23.6% decrease), Greece (17.3% decrease) and France (12.6% increase).

January and February 2012 were the first two months to bring a decrease after a constant increase in exports in 2011.

Exports fell by 7.3% in January and by 8.9% in February, as compared to the same months in 2011.

In the period January-February 2012, Bulgaria’s foreign trade balance (export FOB – import CIF) with the EU was negative and amounted to BGN 709.4 M.

At FOB/FOB prices (after eliminating transport and insurance costs on imports) thetrade balance was also negative and amounted to BGN 520 M.

According to NSI data published about a month ago, Bulgaria’s total exports in the first two months of 2012 came in at BGN 5.7 B, while imports amounted to BGN 6.9 B.

Danish no-frills airline Cimber Sterling said on Thursday it has declared bankruptcy after its owners pulled financial support from the company.

“Because of this the board of directors has decided to declare the company bankrupt,” Cimber Sterling said in a statement.

Cimber Sterling was hit by fierce competition between low-cost carriers and rising costs when it expanded beyond its home Scandinavian region.

“The board of directors and the management team have worked intensely to ensure a turnaround of the company for several months but unfortunately we did not succeed before we ran out of time,” Chief Executive Jan Palmer said in the statement.

A court will appoint one or more administrators for the bankrupt airline, Cimber Sterling said, adding that it would work with them to try to preserve as much of the operations as possible under a reconstructed company.

But Cimber Sterling said passengers tickets were “worthless” and the airline’s website said all flights were cancelled.

“It is the expectation that a plan can be drafted within the next three days concerning the future of the company activities,” Cimber Sterling said.

The Danish budget airline Cimber Sterling began regular service of the Sofia-Copenhagen line in March 2010.

The Sofia-Copenhagen flights were conducted on Thursdays and Sundays. This was the only route that the company serviced.

In the middle of October Cimber Sterling, together with Swiss International Air Lines and Pegasus, excluded Bulgaria’s capital Sofia from their destinations for the winter season.

Swiss International Air Lines used to carry out daily flights between Sofia and Zurich, while Danish Cimber Sterling used to execute two flights weekly.

Turkish airline carrier Pegasus also used to fly twice each week between Sofia and Turkey’s second largest airport of Izmir.

It was not immediately clear whether the three companies’ regular flights would be halted only for the winter season or for a longer period.

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A total of 15 companies have made bids in the tender for the engineering andconstruction of the southwestern Bulgarian highway Struma (running from Sofia to the Greek border), including several unexpected first-timers.

The 15 bids for the construction of Lot 2 of the Struma Highway, a 37-km section from the town of Dupnitsa to the city of Blagoevgrad were opened on Friday.

The bidders which have never tried out for a Bulgarian highway tender before include the Russian company Mostovik, the Spanish FCC Construction (currently building the second Bulgaria-Romania Danube bridge), and five Italian constructioncompanies.

The tender for Lot 2 of the Struma Highway has attracted public attention since it is the first highway tender in Bulgaria for engineering and construction in which the low price is not the decisive factor for winning it because of the special features of the southwestern road such as the rough terrain and the environmental requirements.

Thus, the Bulgarian Road Infrastructure Agency will pick 8 bidders with the most suitable experience and the highest turnovers, and those will be expected to provide price offers by early July.

The construction of Lot 2 of the Struma Highway is expected to cost about BGN 200 M, VAT included, and will be funded under EU Operational Program Transport; it is supposed to be completed in 27 months, once an executor gets selected.

According to the head of the Road Infrastructure Agency, Lazar Lazarov, the Agency will most likely have made a contract with an executor by November 2012.

Out of the 15 bidders for Lot 2 of Struma, five are independent bidders – the Greek companies Aktor, GEK Terna, and J&P Avax, Austrian company Strabag, and Italian company Societa Italiana Per Condotte D’Acqua.

The other four Italian companies bidding in the tender are united in pairs: Todini Construzioni Generali SpA and Salini Construction, and Salvatore Matarrese SpA together with ICS Grandi Livori SpA.

A consortium called DMX, consisting of the Turkish company Dogus, Russian company Mostovik, and Varna-based Bulgarian company Hydrostroy has been noted as one of the most interesting participants in the tender.

Spanish company FCC is paired with Pernik-based Bulgarian company SK 13 Patstroy.

German company Max Boegl is bidding together with Sofia-based firm Injstroi, and Austrian company Porr Technobau. Czech company OHL is bidding together with the Bulgarian Trace Group Hold.

Three more Bulgarian companies – Glavbolgarstroy, Monolit 3, and Patnostroitelna Tehnika – are also bidding together with partner firms.

The headquarters of the Bulgarian Customs Agency will be moved to the Danube city of Ruse as part of the decentralization plan of the government.

The news was reported in the Parliament Friday by Deputy Prime Minister andFinance Minister, Simeon Djankov, cited by Darik radio.

Djankov, who is the mastermind of the plan, explained to the Members of the Parliament that institutions will be gradually moved from the capital to other cities across the country, initially to those having large universities with wire connections to link these institutions to the central government.

The Minister promised that the move of each particular institution will be carefully examined and planned according to its specifics and the specifics of the respective region.

“For this reason, parts of the Agriculture Ministry and Economy Ministry will go to the second largest city of Plovdiv, because it is the center of a farming and tourist region. Because we now want to develop precisely archeological and SPA tourism. This is why I want the Customs to go to Ruse, because our largest Customs revenues are generated there,” the Minister pointed out.

He voiced his belief that the plan would stir heated debates, but also that he stands firm behind the idea, which had proven its efficiency thorough similar practices in other countries.

“The beginning will be difficult, but in the long-term the advantages of this policy will largely exceed any temporary inconvenience,” Djankov concluded.

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The creditors of Bulgaria’s incumbent telco BTC, which operates under the brand name Vivacom, may be expected to put the company up for sale again no earlier than in one or two years, according to insiders.

“The collapse of talks for BTC sale means lenders will have to seek restructuring options for the debt-laden company and manage it themselves,” Capital Daily reported, citing insiders.

According to the report the planned sale of Bulgaria’s incumbent telco BTC failed after its creditors rejected the offers of all three bidders, including Turkcell, the biggest Turkish mobile-phone company.

The restructuring talks will aim at securing better terms and reducing the debt, which is burdening BTC, its parent company NEF Telecom Bulgaria and the holding company that owns NEF Telecom.

According to the report some of the subordinated non-performing loans may be transformed into equity capital, others restructured or even written down.

If the debt is reduced, in one or two years the company will be more likely to attract a quality investor and higher bids, the insiders said.

Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche ?ank, Castle Hill, the European Investment Bank and Raiffeisen Zentralbank arranged EUR 1.3 B of loans to finance Vivacom ‘s 2007 buyout.

The mezzanine subordinated non-performing loans total EUR 400 M. The mezzanine lenders include French financial group AXA, Austrian investor Mezzanine Management, US Tennenbaum Capital Partners, Darby Overseas Investments, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.

The creditors hired Morgan Stanley in London last year to help sell the company, after it breached the terms on the loan.

Last month Turkcell emerged as the most likely buyer of the Bulgarian telco, but the deal collapsed after the Turkish operator demanded that a huge part of the price (from EUR 100 M to EUR 200 M) is deposited in an escrow account until the state settles its scores with BTC previous buyers, Capital weekly reported, citing insiders.

The Turkish company reportedly put in a bid of over EUR 870 M.

Earlier reports said the Turkcell valued Vivacom at about USD 1.4 B, but the Turkish company described the potential bid amount in the media as “groundless”.

BTC‘s creditors, who put the company for sale, have described the other two bids – by Bulgaria’s Corporate Commercial Bank and Icelandic businessman Thor Bjorgolfsson – as too low, the insiders said.

According to the report there is still a slight chance for clinching a deal with Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri, but the odds of success have been set at mere 1-10%.

The creditors’ decision is expected to be officially announced in a few days, according to the report.

Turkcell announced its decision to make offer for a 93.99% stake in the Bulgarian company, which operates under the brand name Vivacom, at the beginning of March in a statement to Istanbul Stock Exchange, becoming the only strategic investor in the tender.

Another three binding bids were submitted for Bulgaria’s telecom Vivacom, but their amounts were not disclosed either.

Tsvetan Vassilev, the head of Bulgaria’s Corporate Commercial Bank, and Icelandic businessman Thor Bjorgolfsson have made bids for Vivacom, heir to the state-owned Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC).

The third bidder to meet the February 27 offer deadline was Pamplona Capital Management LLP, a London-based private equity firm.

The deadline for submitting binding bids, initially set at February 17, was extended by ten days at the request of Turkcell, who needed more time to take a definitive decision.

Vivacom – formerly known as the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC) – has gone through a number of controversial privatization deals.

The long-drawn-out and widely criticized EUR 230 M sale deal for 65% stake in Bulgaria’s telecom operator BTC was sealed at the end of February 2004 after nearly two years of procedural predicaments, legal and political battles.

Months later Icelandic businessman Thor Bjorgolfsson bought Viva’s stake for EUR 300 M and resold it to the investment company AIG Central Europe for EUR 1.08 B.

AIG Investments acquired 65% of the former state-owned telecommunications firm in May 2007. Then in August of the same year it upped its investment to 90%.

Chinese telecoms and media tycoon Richard Li, chairman of Asian telco PCCW, inherited control of Vivacom in March 2010 as part of the acquisition of AIG Investments, a unit of the troubled US insurance group which spans asset management and private equity investments.

The unit was renamed Pinebridge Investments ahead of the takeover by Li’s Pacific Century group.

Dubai-based Oger Telecom was the closest to taking over the management of the company following negotiations that dragged on for nearly half a year. The deal however failed because the final offer was not satisfactory, according to insiders.

The nation of 7.7 million people has three mobile operators, which are foreign owned. Mobiltel is controlled by Telekom Austria, while Globul is the local unit of Greece’s OTE.