"Tienzhin State Farms Agribusiness Group" announced a plan, approved by the Government of Tienzhin, to invest EUR 100 mln. in the construction of agro business park for processing agricultural production in Bulgaria. The idea is to attract 5 more Chinese companies to invest in the construction of new facilities. Serious intentions to invest in other subsectos of the food industry, machinery and tourism were announced at investment forums in Beijing and Shanghai, organized by InvestBulgaria Agency. Both forum attracted more than 350 participants from business and political circles in China. Special guests in Shanghai were Dong Tao, vice president of the Shanghai Board for foreign investment and development, representatives of the Office of International Affairs of the municipality of Shanghai. Also many media representatives were at the event.
The forums are part of the initiative to promote Bulgaria as a business and investment destination in 10 cities, 7 countries in Europe, Asia and North America in the period 21 October - 20 November 2014. The project is funded by the OP "Competitiveness" of the EU under the title "Bulgaria: expand your business' and aims to provide the international business community arguments to choose Bulgaria to establish and expand business.
Kostadin Djatev, Deputy Executive Director of InvestBulgaria Agency(IBA), presented the investment climate in Bulgaria, highlighting the competitive advantages of our country - macroeconomic stability, low taxes and flat tax, low operating costs, fixed exchange rate of the bulgarian lev to the euro and incentives set out in the Investment Promotion Act. "Investments in production in Bulgaria allow Chinese companies free access to the European market, thus significantly saving duties, taxes and operating costs," said Mr. Djatev. He highlighted the strategic position of Bulgaria as a bridge to markets in the EU, Turkey, Middle East, Russia and Ukraine. Valentin Georgiev, AmCham Executive Director, invited the Chinese business to benefit from the advantages of our country. He gave examples of successful US investments in logistics and research centers in Bulgaria, software development and other services.
Mr. Djatev presented the priority sectors in the economy, which were also focused on this year's forums in China - machine building, electronics, agriculture and food, tourism and SPA. Lyubomir Hristov, Deputy Mayor in transport in Sofia, presented concrete projects in which can be invested through public-private partnership in the field of transport infrastructure and the development of SPA. "There are many thermal springs around Sofia, which offer excellent opportunities for the development of successful business" said Hristov.
The emphasis in the forums in China was sharing personal experiences of Chinese investors in Bulgaria. The Executive Director of " Tienzhin State Farms Agribusiness Group" shared to audience an emotional story about the company's success in the country and invited his countrymen to follow them. Li Jai, owner of "Jai Travel", told about the huge opportunities for investment in Spa and tourism that Bulgaria gives. Anton Donchev, Permanent Representative of "Litex Motors" in China, presented the company's successful partnership with the Chinese automaker "Great Wall", which has a plant in Lovech. Their example proved contagious and representatives of IBA were inundated with questions and specific requests, and promises for recent visits to Bulgaria.
Representative of “Export Import Bank of China” showed the funding mechanisms for projects of Chinese companies in Bulgaria.Representatives of Chinese law firms outlined the legal framework for business development of Chinese companies in Bulgaria and the possibility of litigation to solve problems both on Bulgarian and on Chinese territory, advantage which few European countries have due to lack of bilateral agreements in this area .The moderator of the forums Nelson Wong, a real fan of Bulgaria, emotionaly presented the reasons why he love our country and the motivation to make efforts to promote Bulgaria in China. "Bulgarian wines are superb, but are unknown to the Chinese market. We need to make a campaign to promote Bulgarian wine as a single brand, but to do this all Bulgarian wineries should make a concerted effort. The market is so large that all will benefit if Bulgarian wine becomes a trend,"said Mr. Wong.
At the forums were expressed intentions by a recycling cars company and auto parts companies to invest in Bulgaria. Many questions were asked about investment opportunities in telecommunications, export of organic food from Bulgaria to China as well as the participation of Chinese companies in strategic infrastructure projects.