top of page
bulgaria
BULGARIA

Why Bulgaria

Bloomberg has ranked Bulgaria as the sixth best country for doing business in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The World Bank rates Bulgaria thirty eighth for ease of doing business. A T Kearney ranks Bulgaria as number one in Europe and ninth globally as an outsourcing destination. 

​

Over  the  past  ten  years,  the  UK  has  been  the  fifth  largest  investor  in Bulgaria.  Large  British  companies  operating  in  Bulgaria  include  Shell,  GlaxoSmithKline,  AstraZeneca,  Petroceltic,  Nuvia,  JCB,  White  Young  Green,  Mott  McDonald,  IPF  Provident,  Dyson  and  William  Hughes.  Small and medium sized companies also successfully enter and operate in various export sectors and in offshoring/outsourcing.

​

Bulgaria is a stable, reliable and predictable partner for doing business

  • 3.2% y-o-y growth of the GDP in 2018

  • 19.6% Governmental Debt to GDP (Feb 2019)

  • 6.2% Unemployment rate (Feb 2019)

  • 3.2% Inflation rate (Feb 2019)

 

Political and business stability

  • Bulgaria is an EU, NATO and WTO member

  • The stability of the local currency is guaranteed by the currency board, pegging the Bulgarian lev to the euro

 

Low cost of doing business

  • Bulgaria has the most favourable tax regime in Europe. Corporate income tax rate is 10%, the lowest in the EU.  Personal income tax is 10 %, flat rate.  Businesses registered in high-unemployment areas are granted a full tax rebate.

  • A two year VAT exemption on imported equipment for investment projects valued at €5 million and creating at least 50 jobs

  • 5% withholding tax on dividends and liquidation quotas (0% for EU tax residents)

  • Bulgaria offers the most competitive costs of labor in Central and Eastern Europe

  • A good comparative level of administrative and utilities costs. The cost of electricity for industrial users is 70% lower than the European average

 

Strategic location

Located at the heart of the Balkans, Bulgaria is a strategic logistics hub. The ease of cargo transportation is enhanced by

  • Five Pan-European corridors ( IV, VII, VII, XI, X), which pass through the country

  • Transport program TRACECA, which connects Europe with Caucasian and Central Asian region

  • Four major airports: Sofia, Plovdiv, Bourgas and Varna

  • Two main seaports: Varna and Bourgas

  • Numerous ports at the Danube River

 

Access to markets

Bulgaria provides direct access to the following key markets:

  • European Union - zero tariff market with population of 500 million

  • CIS – an emerging market with a high potential

  • Turkey - zero tariff market of near 80 million population

  • Middle East – a market with high purchasing power

  • North African market

 

Human resources

  • Labour is well educated, highly skilled and multilingual

  • 62% of the total population is employable

  • 63 000 graduates of 53 universities annually

  • 98% of the high school students study a foreign language (usually English) and 73% study a second language (mainly German, French, Spanish, Russian)

bottom of page