Bulgaria – country profile

Economic overview of Bulgaria

6 March 2014

Focus on Bulgaria

• Member of EU, NATO and WTO

• Strategic geographical location and openness to foreign markets: crossroad between Europe, Asia and Africa

• Competitive labour cost and favourable taxes in the EU

BBB-Negative13.12.2013

Baa2-Stable22.07.2011

BULGARIA SOVEREIGN CREDIT RATINGS

Economic structure

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

1.3 1.52.6 2.2

3.4 3.2

0.4

-4.5

2 1.6

-0.4

4.75.5

6.7 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.2

-5.5

0.4

1.8

0.8

Real growth rate (%)

European Union 28 Bulgaria

GDP: High growth, small contraction in 2009, moderate pace after 2010

Rapidly growing GDP per capita

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011* 2012*0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

3,4394,017

4,648 4,605 4,7855,240 5,430

Bulgaria, euro per capita

Source: Eurostat Source: National Statistical Institute

Economic structure (2)

Diversified structure of GDP

Agriculture, forestry and

fishing7%

Construction6%

Trade and transporta-

tion 20%

Information and com-

munication5%Mining;

manufactur-ing; electric-ity, gas; wa-ter supply

25%

Financial and insurance ac-

tivities8%

Public admin-istration so-cial security; education;

health 13%

Real estate activities

9%

Professional and scientific

activities5%

Arts and recreation

2%

2012Source: National Statistical Institute

Financial stability

Bulgaria has one of the lowest budget deficit (-0.8%) – 6th place in the EU

Source: National Statistical Institute

Financial stability (2)

Bulgaria has the SECOND lowest government debt (18.5%) in EU

Source: National Statistical Institute

Export and Import of goods

Significant increase in export – average over 11% yearly

TOP 10 Bulgarian partners in Export and in Imports

Source: Bulgarian National Bank

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

12,01213,512

15,204

11,699

15,561

20,264 20,79318,479

21,861

25,094

16,87519,245

23,406 25,484

Million Euro

Export Import

Germany

Turkey

Italy

Romania

Greece

France

Belgium

China

Russia

Spain

2,127

1,956

1,764

1,671

1,494

825

765

595

562

540Poland

France

Turkey

Greece

Romania

China

Italy

Germany

Russia

587

762

1,194

1,354

1,401

1,657

1,673

2,475

5,158

2012, Million Euro

Export Import

Export and Import of goods (2)

Source: National Statistical Institute

Largest share of manufactured goods, fuels and machinery

Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes

Beverages and tobacco

Chemicals and related products

Crude materials, inedible, except fuels

Food and live animals

Miscellaneous manufactured articles

Machinery and transport equipment

Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials

Manufactured goods

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

0%

1%

11%

9%

7%

6%

24%

25%

16%

1%

2%

8%

9%

10%

14%

17%

17%

23%

Structure

Export Import

2012

Export and Import of goods (3)

2nd place Sunflower seeds3rd place Unrefined copper4th place Zinc plates and foil8th place Yarn of wool10th place Unwrought lead11th place Wheat12th place Vermouth & grape wine

flavoured with substances

IN WORLD EXPORT OF

Source: Intracen, 2012

BULGARIA RANKS

Foreign direct investment

Financial intermediation Manufacturing Other services

Education Health and social work

Fishing Agriculture, hunting and forestry

Mining and quarrying Real estate and business activities

Hotels and restaurants Not allocated

Transport and communication Construction

TradeElectricity, gas and water supply

TOTAL

-200.00 0.00 200.00 400.00 600.00-151

-67-4

06715193237

70248

306425

536

Millon Euro

FDI flows in 2012 amounted about 1,5 Billon Euro

Source: Bulgarian National Bank

Competitiveness

After accession of Bulgaria to the EU, the country’s position has improved - 22 places up

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

79 76 7671 74

6257

Bulgaria – Global Competitiveness Index

Source: World Economic Forum

Taxation

Bulgaria is the 7th least tax burden country in Forbes ranking of “Tax misery and Reform Index”

Labour costBulgaria has the most competitive labour cost in EU

Source: Eurostat

Internet speed

Bulgaria ranks 8th place in top-speed internet access according to Akamai's World Report Q1 2013

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry9 Iskar str.,1058 Sofia, BulgariaTel: (+359 2) 8117 400 Fax: (+359 2) 987 32 09Web site: www.bcci.bgE-mail: bcci@bcci.bg

Thank you for attention!

Tsvetan SimeonovPresident of the BCCI