Bulgaria is seeing impressive retail growth, with foreign companies entering the market joining the already thriving domestic firms. Shopping culture is changing in the country as the competitive and fast-growing environment encourages companies to offer different retail options. Growing incomes and high demand have hastened the development of malls, retail centres and out-of-town hypermarkets. The…
As part of a strategy to pull in an uninterrupted flow of tourists throughout the year, Turkey's ministry of culture and tourism is moving ahead to place numerous destinations with geo-thermal resources on the global map. Continuous investment in tourism infrastructure, along with promotion abroad of health tourism, will be key to the future success of the segment. The central Anatolian province…
The government's M-Taiwan (mobile Taiwan) plan to build up wireless broadband technology looks set to push WiMAX to the top of the telecoms agenda in 2007. As the government hopes Taiwan can become a major centre for the development of WiMAX technology, there are some concerns over the way licences for any new mobile technology will be issued. According to a leading industry group for the technology,…
Bulgaria's tobacco industry is undergoing radical restructuring, with the sale of state tobacco giant Bulgartabac. Sale of the firm's factories have met with high demand on the stock exchange, and foreign investors have purchased some of the holding company's key subsidiaries. Bulgartabac Holding Group, previously 80% state-owned and in the process of privatisation, is considered one of the leading…
In a recent bid to resolve Istanbul's seemingly intractable congestion problem, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a bold proposal - to limit car numbers and freeze the number of license plates being granted to drivers in the city. In spite of widespread condemnation, the proposal highlighted the need to take drastic measures in a choking urban hub, which accounts for 25% of all automobiles in…
While political squabbles continue, with new stand-offs between the president, the parliament and the prime minister over such questions as land sales and the presidential control of foreign policy, the business community is posting its forecasts of which way the economy is heading in 2007. The banking sector, which was the most dynamic sector in 2006, for instance, is showing early signs of another…
On January 4, Taiwan's high-speed rail network opened to the public for the first time. Once fully completed, the train will take passengers from Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung, the island's second biggest city in the south, in 90 minutes compared to four hours on the standard network. The 345km line runs down the western side of the island, through the country's most heavily populated area. The…
Dubai looks set to enter the first division of world football, with news that the state owned corporation Dubai International Capital (DIC) is closing in on a buyout of English Premier League giant Liverpool. In a deal worth an estimated $880m, DIC would acquire the majority stake in the club, winner of 18 English league titles and a number of European trophies, including the 2004-05 Champions League.…
Many projects are underway to improve Bulgaria's road network, with motorways planned or under construction across the country. However, completion will only become a reality in the medium term, while one of the major projects is currently suspended due to tense contractual wrangling. The country's road infrastructure is not of the standard that it should be to exploit the country's links to Central…
For years, South African Airways (SAA) has dominated the skies of South Africa, but with the introduction of low-cost airlines, companies such as Mango, 1time and Kulula.com have managed to grab their own piece of the sky. With tickets as low as $24 for a one way trip from Johannesburg to Durban, these innovative companies afford a newly forming middle class the opportunity to explore their country. …
