Greek and Romanian companies transfer operations to Bulgaria because of the crisis

Over the first six months of 2011 alone, some 800 Greek companies transferred their operations to Bulgaria, most of them because of the Greek crisis, posted the Greek Reporter online edition. According to data of the National Revenue Agency (NRA), a total of 2,074 Greek companies have filed corporate income tax statements for 2010. This is 183%, or almost three times more than in 2006, (one year before the accession of Bulgaria to the EU). Some 800 companies with a 100% Greek participation, or 38% have been registered with NRA’s territorial structure in the town of Blagoevgrad. A total of 699 companies operate in the capital Sofia, 127- in the city of Plovdiv, and 58 - in the town of Pazardzhik.

"The uncertain economic environment and continuing protests forced Greek businessmen to set up businesses in our country," said for Klassa Kamen Kolev, Vice President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association. According to him, the companies’ transfer is proof of the security of the business environment in Bulgaria. “In terms of red tape, corruption and business regulations, our country is comparable with our southern neighbour,” said Kolev. According to the Hellenic Business Council in Bulgaria, Greek companies currently employ a total of 82,000 people in Bulgaria.

Some of the registered companies are small enterprises buying property or cars, but the ones which have real business activities are numerous. The number of Greek companies transferred to our country is expected to increase by the end of 2011. Meanwhile, companies with entirely Romanian capital which have filed corporate income tax statements for 2010 has increased 8.2 times, compared to 2006, marking a 700% growth, showed NRA statistics. Experts from the Revenue Agency reported that a total of 272 companies with 100% Romanian participation have filed corporate income tax statements in 2010, while in 2006 they were merely 33.

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