site.btaEconomy Minister Presents Opportunities for Business, Investments in Bulgaria at Economic Forum in Dusseldorf

Economy Minister Presents Opportunities for Business, Investments in Bulgaria at Economic Forum in Dusseldorf

Bonn/Dusseldorf, February 12 (BTA) - Taking part in a North Rhine-Westphalia - Bulgaria economic forum in Dusseldorf on Friday, Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski presented the opportunities for business and investments in Bulgaria. Attending the forum, organized by the Dusseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry, were over 80 representatives of the business circles from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

"I think all prerequisites are present for us to deepen our bilateral economic and trade ties," Loukarski said, quoted by the Economy Ministry.

He underscored that the Bulgarian government's economic policy is directed at maintaining the financial stability and undertaking active measures for economic growth. He put an emphasis on the Economy Ministry's strengthened export policy. The ministry intends to seek opportunities for increasing the export to the markets of rapidly developing economies, as well as for keeping the market positions of Bulgaria's traditional trade partners, such as Germany.

In Loukarski's words, Bulgaria has high potential to attract investments in sectors with high value added.

Addressing the forum, Garrelt Duin, Minister for Economics, Energy, Industry and Commerce of North Rhine-Westphalia, said that the significant presence of companies at the forum is proof of the existing mutual interest. He agreed with Minister Loukarski that Bulgaria's strategic geographic location makes the country an attractive business destination.

InvestBulgaria Agency Executive Director Stamen Yanev said that the foreign direct investments remain at a stable level, increasing by 37.5 per cent in January-September 2015 compared to 2014. The investments amounted to 1.47 billion euro in January-November 2015, the largest direct investments coming from the Netherlands (681 million euro), Germany (187.9 million euro) and Switzerland (94.1 million euro).

Germany is Bulgaria's leading external trade partner: in 2014 the bilateral trade amounted to 5,864 billion euro (12.1 per cent of the total trade).

The investment opportunities in Bulgaria also featured on the agenda of the talks between Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski and representatives of the German company Boco Boddecker & Co. GmbH & Co. KG in Bonn on Thursday, the Economy Ministry reported Friday. The meeting was part of Loukarski's visit to the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Boсo Boddecker is a leading producer of innovative latching systems for hoods and tailgates and hinges and locks.

During the meeting, the German company's representatives said that they are exploring Bulgaria's investment climate because they would like to expand their activity within Eastern Europe, and Bulgaria is one of the attractive business destinations for them.

Loukarski said that his country is a very good business destination which offers the lowest tax levels in the EU and preferences for investors, such as a zero per cent taxation when the profit is reinvested in regions with unemployment of over
25 per cent. He added that Bulgaria's unemployment level has dropped to under 10 per cent in the last year and its GDP reached 2.9 per cent, which far exceeds the European Commission's initial forecasts.

The Economy Minister noted that his ministry undertakes active measures to promote investments by elaborating a concept for a National Strategy for Popularizing Bulgaria as Investment Destination 2015-2020. The representatives of Boco Boddecker asked about the opportunities for dual education and finding qualified workers in Bulgaria.