The state shipping company Navibulgare expects its profit to increase by some 140% to more than BGN 45mn (EUR 23mn) this year. The profit of the company surged by 59.6% y/y to BGN 29.35mn in Jan-Aug, according to the financial statement presented to the local stock exchange. The company is undergoing a privatisation procedure in which 23 companies have purchased tender documents for the 70% stake offered by the state but only three candidates have submitted requests for participation in the tender -- Greece’s Chartworld Shipping Corporation, India’s Essar Shipping&Logistics and the consortium KG Maritime Shipping set up by German charter firm trade Shipping Transport (70%) and local Advance Properties (30%). The privatisation agency will wrap up the certification process for meeting all bidding requirements for strategic investor or consortium led by a charter firm by Oct 19 and will accept preliminary offers by Nov 8. The net asset value of Navibulgare indicates that the price offers for the 70% stake should exceed EUR 350mn but the weak competition may result into disappointing price and investment commitments.