Djankov Emphasizes in London Bulgaria's Quest for Chinese Investors

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has emphasized the plans and efforts of Bulgaria's government to attract large-scale investments from the People's Republic China.

"China is the economy of the 21st century. We've seen growing interest from Chinese investors of coming to our region, specifically Bulgaria," Djankov said at the Bloomberg Businessweek European Leadership Forum in London, as cited by Bloomberg.

Bulgaria's Finance Minister, a former senior World Bank expert and a globally recognized economist, has pointed out further that the Bulgarian government will intensify its efforts to attract Chinese companies.

He mentioned China's interest in investing in nuclear power facilities in Bulgaria. During a meeting in New York between Bulgaria's PM Boriosv and China's PM Wen Jiabao, the latter declared that China would invest in Bulgaria's future second nuclear power plant in Belene if the plant did not use Russian technology. As Bulgaria has already made agreements with Russian company Atomstroyexport for that, however, it has been unable to take advantage of the Chinese interest.

We are trying to attract Chinese investments in infrastructure, energy and export-oriented industries in order to support our economy after the hardest recession that Bulgaria has seen in the past decade, Djankov states.

Bloomberg reminds that the Chinese company Great Wall Motor Co is building an EUR 80 M car manufacturing plan in Bulgaria, near Lovech.

Djankov is also quoted as saying that Bulgaria seeks to attract foreign investors, including Chinese firms, with its 10% corporate and income tax, the lowest in the EU, and with its stable finances, despite the fact that the debt crises in its neighbors Greece and Romania have affected the region.

Over the past few months, the Bulgarian government has intensified its contacts with the Chinese authorities – both the central government in Beijing and the government of the Zhejiang Province.

In addition, Bulgaria's Economy Minister Traicho Traikov has mentioned numerous times that China is interested in acquiring port and airport concessions in Bulgaria. At the same time, Bulgarian Transport Minister Tsvetkov received an invitation for joining a future Asia-Europe high-speed rail, together with China and Turkey.