Bulgaria will not face second recession, but growth will stall - Finance Minister
Bulgaria is unlikely to see a second blow of the crisis, but the slowdown in Germany's economy will affect the country's gross domestic product, which will slow its growth to an annual three per cent in the next two years against a previous Government forecast for a rise of five per cent to six per cent, Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov said in an interview with television station bTV on September 11 2011.Meanwhile, pensions will not increase in 2012, because the Budget lacks sufficient funds, Dyankov said.The Government, however, sticks to its policy to boost income, as evidenced by the hike in the minimum monthly salary and the widows' pensions.Bulgaria has been witnessing growth in economy for four consecutive quarters. In addition, the wages of workers in export-oriented sectors have risen by 12 per cent since the start of the year.The country's economy will likely see full recovery in several months, Dyankov said, expecting that consumption will increase further and revenue in the services sectors will start to rise.Asked about the country's banking system, he said that it was the most stable among countries of the scale of Bulgaria in the EU, thanks to Bulgarian National Bank's (BNB) conservative policy in the past 15 years and the security it has established. (Source: The Sofia Echo)