The public enterprises that have been pledged as collateral to this loan will be released
The loan of the State Consolidation Company (SCC) to the Bulgarian Development Bank, amounting to BGN 126.4 million, has been fully repaid. This way the Bulgarian taxpayers will no longer have to pay the accumulating interest on the loan, which so far is BGN 22 million. In the last year alone, these interest payments amounted to over BGN 6 and a half million. The repayment of the loan became possible after the Minister of Economy and Industry Bogdan Bogdanov took all necessary actions according to the law and recovered BGN 45 million to the State Consolidation Company from the company that was entrusted with the implementation of the project for the unrealized government complex.
With the repayment of the full amount of the loan, all foreclosures and liens that have been made over time on a significant portion of the state-owned enterprises to the SCC will be removed. Among them are LB Bulgaricum EAD, Kintex EAD, Niti EAD and others. Up to that point, these companies had been pledged as collateral for the loan.
It will be recalled that the loan liability has been accrued over the years by the SCC, in relation to an advance paid to the company that was the contractor of the failed government complex, as well as due to a liability bought by the SCC in 2018, relating to Kemira EOOD, which has already been referred to the prosecution and the state continues to suffer damages.
‘Our top priority from now on is the future of the Ministry’s public enterprises and the more than 5,550 people working in them. By repaying the full amount of the loan, significant savings are made on the money that has been spent so far. Our next steps are related to the development of these companies to ensure their sustainable management on a market basis. They will no longer be pledged as collateral for this loan. We are preparing a specific plan, which will be discussed in a wide circle — with colleagues from the Council of Ministers, with representatives of various parliamentary groups and with the economic committee in the National Assembly,’ the Minister of Economy and Industry said.
In Bogdanov’s words, the development of state-owned enterprises will be focused in four main areas — clean technologies and circular economy, defence aerospace, food and biotechnology, critical minerals, metals and raw materials.
He pointed out that all the necessary actions under the law were also continuing to protect the state’s interest and to recover more financial damages generated in previous years in various areas. ‘Discussions are ongoing and we have the assurance from the company that has been contracted to execute the government complex that it will refund the rest of the amount that was advanced for the project,’ he stressed.