Swedish-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce launched
The official opening ceremony of the Swedish-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce (Swecham Bulgaria) was held in Sofia on January 17, with positive messages about developing Swedish investment in the country.
Deputy Economy Minister Liliya Ivanova told the opening ceremony that in the past 13 years, Swedish investment in Bulgaria was close to 300 million euro, with a growth in volume of trade by October 2018 of 11.3 per cent, to a value of nearly 343 million euro.
Bulgaria’s Economy Ministry would make every effort to make Bulgaria an even more attractive investment destination for Swedish capital, Ivanova said.
Sweden’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Louise Bergholm, emphasised the strong presence of Swedish firms, with close to 40 subsidiaries of Swedish companies present in Bulgaria, representing a broad range of industries.
There was an increasing number of Swedish investments in the digital economy, she said.
Stefan Bengtsson, chairperson of Swecham Bulgaria, said that plans were for the chamber to hold a monthly meet-up on various topics, and later in 2019, an inaugural Swedish Week, details of which would be announced later.
A survey among 32 Swedish companies, the results of which were presented at the launch event, showed optimism about prospects in Bulgaria.
Eighty-seven per cent expected to expand in the mid-term, while 90 per cent expected to grow their turnover in the next three years.
Half expected to increase staff levels in 2019, while more than half expected to do so in the next three years.
(Main photo, from left: Deputy Economy Minister Liliya Ivanova, Swecham Bulgaria chairperson Stefan Bengtsson and Swedish ambassador Louise Bergholm)
