InvestBulgaria Agency

Economic cooperation with China is on Bulgaria's priority list, taking into account the huge potential and brisk development of the world's second largest economy, Bulgaria's Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski has said.

An investment forum bringing together Chinese and Bulgarian businesses is due on Monday, ahead of the Fourth China-CEE summit in Shanzhou on November 25-27.

The bilateral business event will be held in Shanghai and will involve small and medium enterprises working in agriculture, tourism, cosmetics, and winemaking, the Bulgarian National Radio has said.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has departed for a visit to China with seven ministers for a meeting with the country's leadership and officials from Central and Eastern European states.

The city of Suzhou in Eastern China is due to host the Fourth leaders' meeting of China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries on November 24-25.

A US company is considering the option to use land near Sofia Airport to set up a aircraft parts factory there, a Bulgarian official has said.

Bulgaria's investment promotion agency has signed an agreement with the British Bulgarian Business Association (BBBA) to extend their cooperation.

Bulgaria and Israel have common interests and priorities in a number of areas such as computer technology, education, healthcare, infrastructure, energy and transport, the head of Bulgaria's investment promotion agency has said.

Bulgaria is attracting increased investor interest from Bavarian companies due to the political stability and the clear reform efforts by the government regarding the spheres of judiciary and public administration, according to Ilse Aigner, Bavarian State Minister for Economic Affairs, Media, Energy and Technology.

In the first quarter of 2015 Bulgaria registered a 3.5-fold increase in foreign direct investment, according to Stamen Yanev, Executive Director of the InvestBulgaria Agency (IBA).

In a Tuesday interview for the Bulgarian National Television, Yanev said that in Q1, 2015 FDI stood at EUR 317.3 M, or 0.7% of the GDP, compared to a rate of EUR 89 M in the period January-March 2014.

Foreign businessmen invested BGN 43 M in the Bulgarian budget in 2014 in order to obtain passports and be granted a right to live in the country.

The most of the wealthy applicants for Bulgarian passports originate from Egypt and Lebanon, showed the data of the Interior Ministry, which had been requested by private bTV station.

Stamen Yanev, Executive Director of the InvestBulgaria Agency, has suggested that Pleven anticipates investment amounting to EUR 30 M.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion uniting representatives of regional businesses and the central and local authorities, Yanev noted that it was too early to disclose details about the project.