PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - May 16

SOFIA, May 16 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

GENERAL AND POLITICS

-- Bulgarian government said it was ready to finance the construction of key highway linking Sofia with Black Sea port of Burgas if the concessionaire fails to find funds to launch the the project (Monitor, Standart, Sega, Novinar, Duma, Trud).

PARI - Legislation compels Bulgarian dairies to import milk and raw materials instead of using local farms' production, Mihail Tachev, chairman of National Association of Milk Processors says.

BUSINESS

-- Bulgaria's largest mobile operator MobilTel, part of Telekom Austria (TELA.VI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said its client base has expanded by 13.7 percent to reach 5.1 million people at the end of March and posted profit of 154.4 million euros ($239 million) in the first quarter of the year, up 8.9 percent on annual basis (Pari, Standart).

TRUD - Retail chain Metro Cash & Carry said it will invest over 30 million levs ($23.75 million) in a new outlet in the northern town of Pleven, to be completed by the of the year.