(Reuters) - Three European railway companies are interested in buying all or part of Greece's railway business, as the debt-laden country sells assets to satisfy its lenders, people familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

Russia is considering buying the entire Greek railway network and its operator Trainose, while Romania's largest private railway company, Grup Feroviar Roman (GFR), has expressed interest in the cargo business, two high-level Greek officials said.

Bulgaria's first major highway, "Trakiya", linking Sofia to the Black Sea coast at Burgas is to be completed ahead of schedule, Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova announced.

Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri, the biggest Turkish mobile-phone company, has emerged as the most likely buyer of the Bulgarian incumbent telco BTC, local media reports say.

The Turkish company has put in a bid of over EUR 870 M for a 94% stake in the company, which operates under the brand name Vivacom, Capital daily reported, citing well-informed sources.

Denver-based Molson Coors said it will purchase StarBev and its nine breweries in central and eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, as it expands its operations further.

The price of the deal is EUR 2.65 B (USD 3.54 B).

Bulgaria's auction of state-owned construction company Technoexportstroy has failed to draw any bidders, the sale body announced.

The open auction to sell construction company Technoexportstroy, scheduled for May 2, was cancelled due to lack of bidders, Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency announced.

Watson Pharmaceuticals, a US generic drugmaker, is in talks to acquire Actavis, which is the biggest producer of medications in Bulgaria.

The information about the upcoming sale was reported by Financial Times. According to the publication, the price would be around EUR 4.5 B.

A working group at the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) has come up with a proposal for a 12.73% increase in prices of natural gas and an increase of 7-12.5% in prices of central heating, depending on the heating utility.

According to the website of the energy watchdog, a meeting of DEKVR's consultative council is to be held on March 21 on the issue of the Q2 2012 prices of natural gas, central heating and cogeneration electricity.

Seventeen years after Bulgaria's last failed attempt to revive its automobile industry, the country has pinned new hopes on the launch of mass production of cars under the Chinese Great Wall badge, due on Tuesday.

The first car assembled here was rolled out in the middle of November last year at a factory near the town of Lovech, Northern Bulgaria. Mass production however will be launched with the official opening of the plant on February 21.

Bulgaria's parliamentary health commission is about to launch a probe into local pharmaceutical company Sopharma over suspicions of monopoly, its head announced.

The move came following an investigation by TV 7 channel, which showed that Sopharma sells its medicines to Bulgarian patients and hospitals at higher prices than in Turkey or Serbia.