AUSTRIA HAS INVESTED OVER EUR 6.5 BILLION IN BULGARIA OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS AND AUSTRIAN INVESTORS SHOW NO SIGNS OF LEAVING THE COUNTRY – THESE ARE THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE ROUNDTABLE ORGANIZED BY WOLF THEISS AND THE AUSTRIAN EMBASSY IN BULGARIA
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Sofia, 21 May 2010 – Law firm Wolf Theiss in cooperation with the Austrian Embassy - Commercial Section in Bulgaria organized an Austrian Roundtable with the participation of the business community and the Bulgarian government. The roundtable brought key Austrian direct investors and their Bulgarian counterparts together to raise and address recommendations and feedback based on their corporate experience in Bulgaria. The Austrian investors exchanged knowledge and know-how helpful for defining further strategies, tools and techniques suited to Bulgaria’s investment friendly climate. Among the participants in the Austrian Roundtable were: Mr. Traicho Traikov, Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, the Austrian Commercial Counsellor Mr. Michael Angerer, and Wolf Theiss partners Mr. Dieter Spranz and Mr. Richard Clegg. Further participants in the discussion on the challenges and successes of Austrian direct investments in Bulgaria included representatives of BauMax Bulgaria, EVN Bulgaria, Mobiltel, Raiffeisen Investment Bulgaria and Wienerberger Bulgaria as well as Invest Bulgaria Agency. “The relationship between Austria and Bulgaria continues to be particularly strong and there is a significant amount of steady investment between the two countries. Austrian companies and financial institutions are continually looking for investment opportunities and partners in Bulgaria and are privileged to support and facilitate the successful negotiation and development of business and joint ventures between companies in the two countries,” commented Richard Clegg, managing partner of the Wolf Theiss office in Bulgaria. Тhe Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Mr. Traicho Traikov, stated that the government has already adopted 136 measures to reduce the financial burden on business by 20% and is considering other financial incentives for foreign investors in Bulgaria. “I hope that during the next few months we will announce the achieved results. Bulgaria, for example, is competitive in outsourcing and this will be one of the fields in which we are planning to introduce stimuli.” he added. The representatives of Austrian companies in the country were unanimous that Bulgaria is a wonderful place for investments with a wide range of advantages, for example, from a 10% corporate tax rate to well trained and motivated employees. However, it has not succeeded in advertising itself adequately during the past years. The Austrian business representatives desire the following from the Bulgarian government: consistency in actions, improvements and coordination in state and municipal administration and infrastructure, guaranteed transparency and open competition, as well as determination when taking economic measures and starting on infrastructure projects using EU funds as soon as possible as Bulgaria remains in competition with other countries to attract foreign direct investments. Download .pdf > |
