issue 158 april 2015 AmCham Events: U.S. Investors Outline Joint Projects in Stara Zagora A Woman Elected AmCham President For The First Time Bulstrad Life Vienna Insurance Group, EVS Translations Bulgaria, Harley-Davidson Sofia, NDB & Telelink Met With AmCham Community Where The Pipe Routes Lead American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria Business Park Sofia, Mladost 4 Area, Building 2, Floor 6, 1766 Sofia Tel.: (359 2) 9742 743 Fax: (359 2) 9742 741 homepage: www.amcham.bg e-mail: [email protected] editorial Dear Reader, An important event co-organized by AmCham raised the issue of economic develop- ment in various Bulgarian localities. The round table titled “U.S.-Bulgaria Economic Partnership for More Business Opportunities” presented prospects for joint business projects between the Stara Zagora Region and U.S. companies (see page 4). This get-together of investors and local authorities showcased the potential for mutually beneficial arrangements that can improve the economic lot of smaller municipalities. The case of Stara Zagora seems promising so far. At the same time, notoriously forlorn towns such as Vidin, Montana, Silistra, or even regional powerhouses with solid business reputation such as Blagoevgrad, Haskovo and Pleven have been neglected by foreign investors. Some troubling numbers came from the Institute for Market Economy (IME) recently. According to the statistics, since 2010, Bulgaria has no region with a natural increase of the population and no municipality has more children than retirees. IME also reported that as a recent trend, foreign investment has ceased growing, with the exception of Sofia, where FDI exceeds 9,000 Euro per capita. Burgas boasts 5,000 Euro per capita and Varna’s is around 3,000 Euro. Yet that’s about it, because the rest of the country cannot even approach such per-capita ratios. In Bulgaria’s Northwest the situation is quite dire – the region of Montana reports just 21 Euro per capita in FDI. It is no secret that regional economy possesses some tremendous unrealized potential – be it in unemployed who can fill in jobs, be it in unoccpied buildings and land, or stemming from low rents. After all, how many more new offices and factories can Sofia accomodate? The key, it seems, lies in the concerted efforts by local municipalities, NGOs and citizens to meet interested investors and attract them with preferential treatment and business guaran- tees. AmCham Bulgaria Magazine April 2015 April Magazine AmCham Bulgaria Only then the tide may start turning. Sincerely, Milen Marchev Editor-in-Chief page 1 contents AmCham Bulgaria Magazine is a primary forum for political and economic analyses, news, viewpoints as well as for the presentation of new business opportunities. The articles in the AmCham Bulgaria Magazine express the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria. Publisher Writers: American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria Boyko Vassilev, Marina Tzvetkova, Business Park Sofia, Mladost 4 Area Mina Georgieva, Panayot Angarev, Building 2, Floor 6, Sofia 1766, Bulgaria Yuliana Boncheva Tel.: +359 (2) 9742 743 Fax: +359 (2) 9742 741 Advertising e-mail: [email protected] AmCham Bulgaria: www.amcham.bg Nadejda Vakareeva, [email protected] Editor-in-Chief AmCham Bulgaria Magazine: Milen Marchev Milen Marchev, [email protected] Deputy Editor-in-Chief The AmCham Bulgaria Magazine reaches a broad audi- Christopher Karadjov ence of AmCham members, leading US, Bulgarian and international companies, US and Bulgarian decision-mak- Senior Editor: ers, all AmChams around the world. Irina Bacheva Subscription is free of charge. If you would like to sub- scribe to AmCham Bulgaria publications, please contact ISSN 1312-935X the AmCham Bulgaria office. 2 AmCham Bulgaria Magazine April 2015 April Magazine AmCham Bulgaria amcham bulgaria Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria President Ms. Krassimira Chemishanska Amgen Bulgaria Vice President Mr. Alex Nestor Individual Member Vice President Mr. Daniel Berg European Bank for Reconstruction Contents and Development (EBRD) Treasurer Ms. Petya Dimitrova Eurobank Bulgaria amcham events Members Mr. Plamen Zhechev Cisco Systems Bulgaria Mr. David Butts CMS Cameron McKenna EOOD U.S. Investors Outline Joint Ms. Diana Pazaitova Fama Consulting Mr. George Brashnarov Nemetscheck Bulgaria Projects in Stara Zagora Region . 4 Mr. Peter Lithgow AES Corporation Mr. Sergey Koynov Forton International Mr. Solomon Passy Atlantic Club Bulgaria Mr. Venislav Yotov AIG Europe Limited (Bulgaria Branch) amcham news Ex-Officio Member Mr. Thomas Bruns Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. Embassy Krassimira Chemishanska of Amgen Bulgaria Executive Director Mr. Valentin Georgiev Becomes AmCham President . 7 3M Bulgaria EOOD . AA KRES EOOD . Abbott Products EOOD . AbbVie EOOD . Actavis Bulgaria . Adecco Bulgaria ltd. Advance International Transport EOOD . AES Corporation . AFA OOD . AGORA-IN Ltd. AHNtech Branch Bulgaria . AIG Europe Limited (Bulgaria Branch) . AIMS Human Capital . Air Berlin PLC & Co. Radoslav Rizov with Microsoft Elected Co-chair Luftverkehrs KG . Albena AD . Alfred C. Toepfer International Bulgaria EOOD . ALICO Bulgaria ZhZD EAD, a MetLife Inc. Company . All Channels Communication . ALD Automotive . Alliance One Tobacco Bulgaria . of Public Procurement Committee . 7 Allied Pickfords Bulgaria . Alpha Bank Bulgaria . America for Bulgaria Foundation . American College of Sofia . American English Academy . American Research Center in Sofia . American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) . Amgen Bulgaria EOOD . Amway Romania Marketing Srl . Anglo-American School of Sofia . AON Bulgaria . APOLO Ltd. Arexim Engineering . Ashtrom International Ltd. Association Srednogorie Copper Industrial Cluster amcham events . Astra Zeneca Bulgaria EOOD . AT Engineering 2000 Ltd. Atlantic Club Bulgaria . Atos IT Solutions and Services EOOD . Attica Media Bulgaria Ltd. August Research . Aurubis Bulgaria AD . Auto Bavaria Ltd. AVON Cosmetics Bulgaria . AW-Tronics . Axway Bulgaria EOOD . Baker Tilly Bulgaria . Balkan Star Automotive AmCham, Aon Discuss Employee Benefits . 8 EOOD . Ballistic Cell Ltd. Baxter Bulgaria EOOD . BC Serdon . Berlitz Schools of Languages . BG Radio . BICA International Ltd. BMG Ltd. BMW Vertiebs GmbH - Branch Bulgaria . BNP Paribas S.A. - Sofia Branch . BOYANOV & Co. Braykov's Legal Office . British American Tobacco Bulgaria . Brown Forman Beverages Worldwide Sofia Branch LLC . bTV Media Group . Bulgarian American Enterprise Fund . Bulgarian AmCham Members Showcase Services . .10 Charities Aid Foundation (BCAF) . Bulgarian Executive Search Association . Bulgarian Property Developments EOOD . BulPros Consulting JSC . Bulstrad Life Vienna Insurance Group . Business Intellect Ltd. Business Park Sofia EOOD . Carat Bulgaria . Castello Precast OOD . Center for the Study of Democracy . Chaos Group . Forty Candidates Take Part in the Cheque Dejeuner Bulgaria Ltd. Chevron Bulgaria Exploration and Production EOOD . Cisco Systems Bulgaria . Citibank Europe Plc, Bulgaria Branch . Club 50 Plus . CMS Cameron McKenna LLP - Bulgaria Branch . Coca-Cola Third Round of “100 Jobs” Meetings . .12 Enterprises Services Bulgaria EOOD . Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria AD . Coface Bulgaria Credit Management Services EOOD . COLLIERS International Bulgaria . Comverse . Congress Engineering Ltd. Construction Management Group . Contitrans M Ltd. ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 AD . Credit Agricole Bulgaria EAD . Curtis / Balkan Ltd. Dalkia Bulgaria EAD . Danailov, Mihaleva, Nedelchev & Co. Delchev & Partners Law Firm . Deloitte analysis Bulgaria EOOD . denkstatt Bulgaria OOD . Deutsche Bank AG . Devin AD . DHL Express Bulgaria Ltd. Diamed Ltd. Dimitrov, Petrov & Co. Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov, & Velichkov . Dobrev & Lyutskanov Law Firm . Dr. I.S. Greenberg Medical Center . Drujba Glassworks SA . Dundee Precious Metals Inc. DuPont Property Market Grows in Q1 . .14 Pioneer . EcoPack Bulgaria AD . Edenred Bulgaria . Ekoterm Proekt EAD . Ekotoi - Service Ltd. Ekzotika EOOD . Electron Progress EAD . Elevat Ltd. Legal House . Eli Lilly and Company . Eltrak Bulgaria Ltd. EMC Computer Systems Austria GmbH . Emerson Process Management . EnergoService AD . Engineeringservice Pipe Dreams. .16 Sofia Ltd. Enterprise Communications Group OOD . EOS Matrix Ltd. Ernst & Young Bulgaria EOOD . EPAM Systems . EQE Control . ESRI Bulgaria Ltd. Etap Adress . Eurobank Bulgaria . Eurohold Bulgaria . European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) . European Trade Center EOOD . Evrika Commerce Ltd. Expat Capital . Experian Bulgaria EAD . FairPlay International . Fama Consulting OOD . Flying Cargo By Marina Tsvetkova Bulgaria Ltd. - Licensee of FedEx . Force Delta Ltd. Forton International AD . Foundation Glob@l Libraries - Bulgaria . Fox International Channels Bulgaria EOOD . GAEA - Green Alternative Energy Assets EAD . Galardo EOOD . Gasstroymontaj Jsc . General Electric International . Georgiev, Todorov & Co. Geostroy AD . After The End of South Stream . .20 Geotechmin OOD . Geotrading AD . Gi Group . GIFTA . GlaxoSmithKline . Grand Hotel Sofia . GTC Bulgaria . Helios . Power Hewlett-Packard Bulgaria Ltd. HILD Asset Bulgaria Jsc. Hilton Sofia . Honeywell EOOD . IBM Bulgaria . ICAP Bulgaria JSC . Ideal Standard - Vidima AD . Incotex Group Ltd. Industrial www.stratfor.com Holding Bulgaria . Informa Association . InterConsult Bulgaria Ltd. Interdean Relocation Services . Interlang Ltd. International Data Corporation (IDC) . Intertek