ECONOMIC AND TRADE RELATIONS BULGARIA - KOREA Korea - Bulgaria forum 26 November 2008 Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry2 Contents Bulgaria and Korea – similarities and differences Legal Base Bilateral Trade Investments Perspective sectors for economic cooperation Cooperation in IT The role of BCCI BCCI address

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry3 Bulgaria – Korea similar and different Area: 111,000 sq km Population: 7.7 mln GDP per capita: USD Economic growth: 6,3% /2007/ Area: 98,480 sq km Population: 48.3 mln GDP per capita: USD Economic growth: 5% /2007/

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry4 Legal Base - I Agreement for avoidance of double taxation – March 1994 Agreement for removing visa requirements – July 1994 Agreement for cooperation between the Executive Agency for promotion of SMEs and the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) – April 2002 Agreement for mutual protection and promotion of investments in power since18 November 2006 Agreement for cooperation between the Executive Agency for Trade Promotion at the Ministry of Economy and the Korea International Trade Association /KITA/– August 2002 Agreement for cooperation between the Bulgarian Branch Chamber of Machine building and the Korea Association of Machine Industry (KOAMI) – January 2003

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry5 Legal Base - II Agreement for cooperation in the field of IT and communication technologies – April 2003 Agreement for cooperation between the Bulgarian IT Association and the Korean agency for IT promotion – April 2003 Agreement for cooperation between the Bulgarian Export Insurance Agency and the Korean Export Insurance Corporation (KEIC) – July 2003 Cooperation agreement between the Bulgarian CCI and the Korea CCI - 1 October 2004 Memorandum of understanding for creation of a Committee for industrial cooperation between the Ministries of Economy of Bulgaria and Korea – in power since 28 March 2008 Agreement for economic cooperation signed on 30 October 2008 in Seoul by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and Korea

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry6 Foreign Trade Bulgaria – Korea m USD І-VІІ 2007 І-VІІ 2008 Export Import Total Balance Source: Ministry of Economy and Energy

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry7 Turnover Bulgaria - Korea Source: Ministry of Economy and Energy

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry8 Main export and import items 2007 Export from BulgariaImport from Korea CopperCars MolluscaPolyesters Alluminium scrapRefrigerators Electrical transformersElectrical instruments EnginesSynthetic yarns

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry9 Investments in Bulgaria mln euro Total South Korea

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry10 Investment Climate Stable business and political environment EU membership Free trade with the EU preferential trade partners, including EFTA, Turkey, Mediterranean countries, Western Balkan countries, South Africa, Mexico, Chili, etc. 10% corporate income tax rate VAT exemption on equipment imports for investment projects over EUR 5 million Excellent climate, natural scenery, food and hospitality

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry11 Perspectives in the bilateral economic relations IT Industry Spare parts for cars Textile Environmental industry Agriculture Tourism

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry12 Cooperation in IT Long traditions in the IT and communication – liberalized telecommunication market and competitive IT industry Over people employed in the IT sector The average wage in IT companies in Bulgaria is two times higher than the average wage in the country 8.65 % share of IT sector in GDP (2007) The average growth of IT sector in Bulgaria in the last 5years is 15 % - two times more that the real GDP growth Fast developing external market of IT industry, which marks 57.7 % growth in 2005 and 63.6 % - growth for 2006 High gross profit of IT companies in 2007, reaching more than 0,5 bil USD

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry13 The role of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Promotion of the international economic relations Joined activities with Korea CCI Equal services for Bulgarian and foreign companies

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry14 The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry more than members 28 regional chambers 90 sectorial / branch chambers good contact with the Government “open doors” policy

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry15 Thank you! Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, 9, Iskar Str. Tel: ( ) Fax: ( ) Web: