Romanian companies opting for Bulgaria

Ruse has become attractive not only for Romanian companies, but also for Greek firms, according to the Bulgarian press. Emilian Enev, official of the Chamber of Commerce in Ruse, told Business Standard that Romanian enterprises are operating on the local market mainly in the field of trade and less in the area of production. He said that there has been no spectacular rise in the number of Romanian companies in Ruse. The Head of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), Kamen Kolev, said that Romanian and Greek companies are attracted to the Bulgarian market because expenses, operating costs and salaries can be up to 40 percent lower there. Ruse has lately witnessed a significant increase in rental demands for office space, and this trend is expected to continue through 2009. Companies are relocating their business in an attempt to protect their activities against the sharp effects of the financial crisis, and to find a more favorable business environment elsewhere. „Some companies may relocate to Bulgaria to pay a lower profit tax, but I do not see the point,“ Gabriel Biris, representative of the Biris Goran law firm, told HotNews. Biris added that, if the company moves to Bulgaria but keeps a working point in Romania, the „profit obtained in our country is taxed here, and not in the neighboring country“. Certain trade companies, and even agricultural equipment companies, have opened working points south of the Danube. (V.P.)