The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry finds allies in all investors who create job opportunities in the country

• ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA put forward updates and predictions for the business climate in our country
• Nearly 70% of the Austrian companies report keeping up or improving the business environment in our country, and as much as 20% are genuinely optimistic about 2024.

The Austrian trade representation (ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA) in Bulgaria announced the results of its traditional annual business climate survey, conducted at the end of 2023 among 96 managers of Austrian investor companies in Bulgaria.

The event was attended by Philippe Kupfer, Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of Austria and head of ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA, the President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tsvetan Simeonov and representatives of Austrian businesses.

BCCI President Tsvetan Simeonov stated:

" The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry regards every foreign company investing in the country as an ally. Traditionally, Advantage Austria's survey among Austrian businesses in Bulgaria is an important part of the overall assessment of the economic environment in Bulgaria and its elements. As a whole, there are no significant differences between the ratings of Advantage Austria and the results from the annual surveys of the European chambers, conducted in Bulgaria by the BCCI.

Yet, the approach of Advantage Austria allows more questions to the assessment of Austrian companies, which is to the advantage of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in shaping positions and policies on leading economic and investment topics in Bulgaria."

Philippe Kupfer emphasized on the quite optimistic expectations of the Bulgarian-Austrian business despite the complex situation in the world: "The results of the survey reveal greater optimism about Bulgarian business climate development compared to last year’s 12%, with the optimists now reaching almost 19%. Austrian companies in Bulgaria look ahead with courage, ready for the introduction of the euro and the AI. At the same time, many of them express their fears of the unfavorable geopolitical environment of military conflicts and sanctions, and consider it to be the biggest cause of concern for their business," Mr. Kupfer shared.

Philippe Kupfer talked in detail about the results of the annual survey among Austrian companies with regard to the business climate in Bulgaria.

Data:

The 2023 general assessment of the Bulgarian business climate shows that 23% of the managers (compared to 19% in 2022) see improvement and 46% see no change. A significantly lower percentage of them report a deterioration - 31% compared to 45% in the 2022 survey. In terms of business environment for 2024, optimistic expectations are stronger, 19% predicting an improvement (12% last year) and 37% – worsening (10 percentage points less than the previous survey). At the same time, 43% do not expect significant changes during the year.

A high percentage of Austrian company managers (23%) are expecting to expand their personnel, 37% predict an increase in turnover, and 25% foresee an increase in investments. According to data, 40% of the managers think that AI will boost the products and services and that the importance of this cutting-edge innovation will be growing.