Western Bulgaria and the energy sector are most attractive for investments

Western Bulgaria and the energy sector are most attractive for investments, shows an analysis of InvestNet.bg – the Bulgarian investment and business network. Information activities and telecommunications are also attractive to businesses and the health care sector is next in the ranking.

A pilot study for the third quarter of 2010, shows that the investment activity in the country is unlikely to improve before the end of the year. Entrepreneurs described the high unemployment, the indebtedness of the Eurozone countries, and in particular for Bulgaria - the budget deficit, as the main factors that deteriorate the investment climate.

InvestNet.bg together with GS Research created an index for the investment sentiment (willingness readiness) - ISI-GSIN (Investment Sentiment Index - GS Research & InvestNet.bg) and maintain that it is a unique leading indicator for the Bulgarian economy. The value of the index for the third quarter of 2010 is 46.64 points.

The situation seems much more optimistic in the next year when an improvement in the investment climate can be expected, analysts claim.

The highest possible value of the index is 100 points and the lowest is 0 points. The interpretation of the index is as follows: an index value of 50 points means that the investment attitudes remain stable or neutral. Index value of above 50 points indicates that the investment willingness is improving, and if it is below 50 points - it means that it is worsening.

The expectations of the creators of the ISI-GSIN are similar with respect to the capital market development - the index value will remain almost unchanged or it will improve slightly by the end of the year and it will gradually improve next year. The FDIs (foreign direct investments) and the portfolio investment should also record a growth in 2011, according to the forecasts.

FDIs in Bulgaria are ?358.5 mln or 1% of GDP in the first half of 2010, shows the latest data of BNB (Bulgarian National Bank). Last year these stood at ?1.6 bn. According to Borislav Stefanov, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Investment Agency, until the end of 2010, FDIs in the country would reach the amount of ? 2 bn.