“The turnover of goods between Bulgaria and Germany grew by 22.5% and stood at nearly €3.9 bn last year. By 2015, bilateral commercial exchange is expected to double, compared to the worst year, 2009, and German investments in Bulgaria, which had shrunk to a minimum, are also projected to double,” said Mitko Vassilev, General Manager of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GBCIC), citing German statistics.

Data showed that in 2010 Bulgaria’s exports to Germany increased by 33% and Germany’s exports to our country grew by 15%. “2010 was a good year for our bilateral trade turnover,” commented Vassilev.

Some 58% of businesses which are members of the GBCIC expect sales growth this year and 13.4% of the respondents forecast a decline in their proceeds. A total of 41.8% of the polled businessmen plan to open new working positions, while 17.9% project layoffs. About 50% of German investors plan to increase their exports and this may be considered a key indicator for recovery from the crisis.

This data is from an anonymous survey of GBCIC, traditionally held each March. It involved 68 businesses, most of them small- and medium-sized. GBCIC’s members are 450 companies, most of them operating in the sphere of services - 34%; nearly 24% are manufacturers; and 18% are commercial enterprises; 14% are in the construction industry and 10% - in the energy and water supply sector.

The fight against corruption is the No 1 factor for companies when making their investment choice, with 56.9% of the respondents giving this reply and public infrastructure comes second with 53%.