site.btaInvestBulgaria Agency Handles Lv 3,000 Mln Projects in 2014, Executive Director Says in BTA Interview

InvestBulgaria Agency Handles Lv 3,000 Mln Projects in 2014, Executive Director Says in BTA Interview


Sofia, December 22 (BTA) - Certificated projects will bring
1,200 million leva in investments to Bulgaria in 2014,
InvestBulgaria Agency Executive Director Svetoslav Mladenov said
in a BTA interview. This year his Agency is working on projects
worth 3,000 million leva.

By November 2014, the Agency approved the issuance of
certificates for 16 investment projects: 14 for Class A1
Investments, one for a Class B Investment, and one for a
Priority Investment Project, Mladenov said.

The investment projects certificated in 2014 are valued at 1,800
million leva. Once they are finally completed, they will have
created 10,080 jobs. By comparison, in 2013 the InvestBulgaria
Agency proposed to the Ministry of Economy and Energy to
certificate 15 investment projects to an aggregate value of
106.3 million leva, which plan to create 894 jobs.

At present, certification is pending for another 14 investment
projects worth 330 million leva, planning to open 2,677 jobs.

Mladenov said that serious interest has recently been expressed
in investments in organic farming, the textile industry and the
energy sector. Investment projects in high-technology health
care are picking up as well. The Executive Director hopes that
next year will see progress in the implementation of a number of
investment projects in the tourism industry. He also expects a
sustained and growing interest in business process outsourcing
and in the IT sector, in opening new plants for the manufacture
of car parts and automotive systems.

In 2015, the InvestBulgaria Agency will focus on attracting
companies wishing to implement investment for at least ten
years, contemplating less aggressive initial growth but
sustained development providing employment to more Bulgarian
citizens, Mladenov said.

The Agency offers investors projects in various sectors which
have been submitted by partner-seeking Bulgarian companies. "We
have agreed with the Privatization and Post-privatization
Control Agency to pool our efforts in pro-active investment
marketing," the interviewee pointed out.

"In September, the central bank set the inflow of foreign direct
investment in Bulgaria between January 1 and August 31, 2014 at
1,221 million euro. On December 15 it was announced that the
January - October FDI flow was 804.9 million euro, after an
adjustment of the figures for that period. On the basis of these
reports, in the middle of the year I forecast 1,200 million
leva investments on certificated projects, and I believe that
this forecast will be realized," Mladenov said.

"A total of 246 investment queries were handled in 2014,
compared to an Economy Ministry-approved plan target of 155.
This is an indication that the interest shown in this country
considerably exceeds expectations. Quite a few of the companies
came to get familiar with the opportunities on site," the
Executive Director pointed out.

"We held ten forums in host countries of potential investments
in Bulgaria: Germany, Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries,
the US, China, South Korea and Russia," Mladenov said.

"On the whole, 2014 can be described as vibrant and exciting in
terms of investments," he pointed out, listing as success
stories the car parts plants finished by WitteAutomotive, BHTC,
ALC, Nestle's new process, and Miroglio's new textile factory.