Foreign investments in Bulgaria: An inside look

It will take some time before the balance is leveled out and the Bulgarian society starts thinking in the direction of production, and stops being obsessed with the idea of making easy money. The conviction is that to reach the turning point in this balance, the opening of low-paid jobs must be stopped and the popular idea that has taken root in Europe, about Bulgaria being the country with the lowest-paid workers, must be changed. Thus, construction of industrial parks, business zones and business centres, which could help foster production, is essential.

It must be focused on the fact that the investments directed solely to construction and tourism hide a great risk, and Bulgaria lacks buffers that could transfer these risk to other economic branches. Since the beginning of the year, about 30 foreign companies have filed applications to get certified by the Registry Agency. The first certificates, made according to the amendments in the Law of Fostering Investments, passed in August 2007, are expected to be filed in March.

During this year, the Agency will issue certificates only to projects in the field of production and renewable energy sources. The total number of filed certificates is expected to come close to the number of last year.