Bulgarian entrepreneurs expect 2020 to be better against the background of cautious global economy forecasts
At a press conference, the President of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tsvetan Simeonov and the Chamber’s team of economic analysts presented the results of the “European Economic Survey 2020”*. For Bulgaria, the survey was conducted by BCCI among 555 companies, as part of the general survey of EUROCHAMBRES, involving 53,000 companies from 28 European countries.
“The expectations of Bulgarian entrepreneurs for 2020 are optimistic, against the background of cautious forecasts for the global economy”, Tsvetan Simeonov commented on the results of the survey, which are motivated by the stable macroeconomic indicators of our country. Along with the positive expectations for the business climate, investment and employment in our country, the surveyed companies also pointed out some difficulties they experience, the main ones being the lack of skilled labour, the prices of energy and raw materials, and labour costs.
Nearly 63% of the Bulgarian entrepreneurs that took part in this year’s survey expect an improvement of the business climate in 2020, while in 2019 their share was 54%. There are no surprises, however, in the difficulties faced by companies. Businesses are concerned that they will not be able to cope with the growing demand for their products and services because it is becoming increasingly difficult to find workers with the right qualification.
According to the survey, Bulgaria is in the top 5 countries with the highest expectations for a better business climate and resumption of the investment activity in 2020 compared to 2019. Traditionally, better earnings are expected from exports than from sales on the domestic market. Around 53% of companies expect increased sales abroad, and just over 44% are optimistic about higher domestic demand. For employment, the projections for 2020 are for stabilisation and slight growth.
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*The 27th survey of the business climate in Europe, organized by the Association of the European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBRES). Bulgaria is taking part in the survey for the 21st consecutive year. The survey is done through a standardized questionnaire. In Bulgaria, BCCI organizes the participation of companies from all sectors and branches (with the exception of the financial and agricultural sectors).
