site.btaBICA Presents Business to the Rules Awards AIKB; BTA Wins Award for Unbiased Economic Information

Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) presented the Business to the Rules Awards for 2023 on Monday. BTA was awarded for conscientious and impartial presentation of economic information.

BICA prioritizes efforts to lighten the economy and limit the gray sector, stated the Chairman of the BICA Management Board of the Association, Vasil Velev, during the ceremony.

He cited the latest data on the share of the gray economy in Bulgaria (about 21.5%) and pointed out that the goal should be to reach the average values for Eastern and Southern Europe (15%).

The BICA Business to the Rules Awards aim to highlight stimulating examples of success in the fight against the informal economy and to distinguish leading institutions and individuals with an active position and contribution in limiting of the gray economy.

The 2023 Business to the Rules Awards had three categories.

Bozhidar Bozhanov (MP from the PG of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria) and a group of MPs were awarded for implementing “a normative act or administrative practice that lead to limiting the gray economy and improving the business environment”, on the occasion of changes in the Labour Code they tabled, starting the transition from paper to electronic employment records.

Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Governor Dimitar Radev was awarded as a “person or organization that has contributed to the limitation and prevention of the informal economy through an active position”.  This was a recognition for the BNB institution and its employees, said Radev and stressed the importance of this recognition, which comes from representatives of businesses, the most constructive part of society, which is doing "so well under such difficult conditions ".

The BNB has a key role in the preparation and introduction of the euro as an official payment unit in Bulgaria, the organizers pointed out.

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and Kiril Valchev, the Agency's Director General, were awarded as “a journalist or media that contributed to changing public attitudes towards intolerance towards the informal economy".

Valchev pointed out that BTA reports impartially and accurately all the news related to the efforts to limit the gray economy, but stressed that more importantly, in the last three years, as part of its new "Economy" section, BTA highlights the good and strong sides of the Bulgarian economy, including naming companies and their products. The BTA Director General noted that many Bulgarian media mention names of companies and products only in cases of paid advertising or when the news is negative. BTA brings to light the successes and good sides of the Bulgarian economy, he said.

BTA’s award was in recognition of conscientious, impartial, objective, complete, accurate, reliable, timely and ethical presentation of economic information from the country and abroad, as well as for the establishment (from October 1, 2021) of the Economy section, as part of the BTA’s new strategy, and for its constant work to increase transparency.