Deputy PM to Promote Investments in Bulgaria to Italy's Confindustria

Deputy Prime Minister Daniela Bobeva, who heads a Bulgarian delegation on a visit to Italy, has underscored the importance of advertising the country as an investment destination.

Bobeva, who is to meet representatives of Confindustria on Thursday, told a correspondent of the BGNES news agency that Bulgaria's advantages as an investment destination had been kept secret for too long.

She drew attention to the importance of the opportunity to do business in one of the biggest economies in Europe.

Speaking before the meeting with Italian business representatives, she noted that 53% of Italian investments in Bulgaria were concentrated in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Bobeva said that this allowed Bulgarian small and medium businesses to compete with international businesses.

She pointed out that Italian investments in Bulgaria in the period 1996 – 2013 amounted to EUR 1.5 B.

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister explained that Italian investments in 2013 had amounted to EUR 13.6 M, adding that it was reason enough to seek closer ties with Italian investors.

She noted that Italy's business sector was interested mostly in investments in the sphere of services.

Bobeva made clear that she would present the opportunities for investments in six spheres in Bulgaria to Confindustria representatives, adding that the entity brought together 250 companies.

She informed that Italian investments in Bulgaria had created 20 000 jobs so far.

She argued that bilateral trade had improved despite the economic crisis.

Bobeva noted that exports to Italy had increased by 9.2% in 2013 on an annual basis, while imports from Italy had gone up by 14% over the same period.

She also said that the number of Italian tourists in Bulgaria had increased by 5000 in 2013 on an annual basis.

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