{"id":14908,"date":"2018-12-06T14:35:11","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T12:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/?p=14908"},"modified":"2019-03-22T23:06:52","modified_gmt":"2019-03-22T21:06:52","slug":"sofia-investment-agency-publishes-a-new-report-on-the-economic-and-investment-profile-of-sofia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/sofia-investment-agency-publishes-a-new-report-on-the-economic-and-investment-profile-of-sofia\/","title":{"rendered":"Sofia Investment Agency Publishes a New Report on the Economic and Investment profile of Sofia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14912 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Heade-IPI-2-02-01-eng-01.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"149\" srcset=\"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Heade-IPI-2-02-01-eng-01.png 600w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Heade-IPI-2-02-01-eng-01-300x75.png 300w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Heade-IPI-2-02-01-eng-01-260x65.png 260w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Heade-IPI-2-02-01-eng-01-50x12.png 50w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Heade-IPI-2-02-01-eng-01-150x37.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team of Sofia Investment Agency published its new report titled <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sofia: Economic and Investment Profile<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, developed by the Institute for Market Economics for Sofia Investment Agency. The paper contains data and analysis of the leading industries, the target sectors for investments, the importance of infrastructure, local taxes and business conditions, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as well as information about Sofia\u2019s performance in comparison to<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> other popular business destinations in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Key report highlights: <\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Sofia is th\u0435 city with the highest living standard in Bulgaria, producing about 40% of the country\u2019s GDP.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14919 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/GDP_eng.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"309\" height=\"190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/GDP_eng.jpg 309w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/GDP_eng-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/GDP_eng-237x146.jpg 237w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/GDP_eng-50x31.jpg 50w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/GDP_eng-122x75.jpg 122w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 309px) 100vw, 309px\" \/><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The biggest change in the structure of Sofia\u2019s economy, following the recession in 2009, was the crisis in\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">construction<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: its share in the local economy declined from 11% in 2008 to below <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5%<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2017. At the same time, the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">manufacturing<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> industry increased its weight in the local economy, following a series of investments in new manufacturing facilities and already existing o<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nes reaching a share of 10.4% in Sofia\u2019s economy. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stable growth is observed also in the sectors of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Administrative and Supporting Activities<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professional Activities and Research<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (which also include part of the outsourcing industry and the IT sectors). This shows the ability of the local economy to attract and develop precisely such <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">types of<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> businesses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Being the main economic centre in Bulgaria, it is no surprise that Sofia attracts about half of the investments in the country: by the end of 2017, the city had attracted EUR \u20ac12.2 billion of foreign investments or about EUR \u20ac9<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">200 per capita, which is nearly three times the average for the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The largest recipient of FDI in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sofia<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the large sector of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trade, Transport and Tourism<\/span><\/i> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">attracted <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14926 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/FDI_ENG-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"370\" height=\"290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/FDI_ENG-1.jpg 370w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/FDI_ENG-1-300x235.jpg 300w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/FDI_ENG-1-186x146.jpg 186w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/FDI_ENG-1-50x39.jpg 50w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/FDI_ENG-1-96x75.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" \/>about 34% of <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">all <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">foreign investments by 2017. The second largest recipient of foreign investment are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real Estate Operations<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, attracting about 20% of all FDI in Sofia.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Sofia has the highest employment rate of 75% &#8211; an absolute record both for the city and the country. The highest share of employment is in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">trade <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 nearly 180 000 people or 1\/4 of the labour force in the city.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Since 2012, there has been a substantial rise in jobs in the IT industry and professional activities \u2013 a consequence of the boom in these sectors over the last few years. The number of employees in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Administrative and Supporting Activities<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is also increasing, which can be partially attributed to the growth of the outsourcing industry.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; In 2017, the average annual salary in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sofia<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was BGN 15 700, which is more than 30% higher than the average salary in the country &#8211; an increase by nearly 73% <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the last 10 years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; None of the major local taxes and fees in Sofia Municipality <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">changed <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">during the last 7 years (2012-2018), <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14928 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Labor-eng-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"472\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Labor-eng-1.jpg 472w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Labor-eng-1-300x129.jpg 300w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Labor-eng-1-260x112.jpg 260w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Labor-eng-1-50x22.jpg 50w, https:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Labor-eng-1-150x65.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px\" \/>indicating a relatively stable and predictable tax environment. The main differences in taxation between\u00a0Sofia and the other regional cities in the country is in the levels of the patent tax for retail and the waste collection tax &#8211; both are significantly higher in Sofia.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; In Sofia<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> M<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">unicipality, the internet speed of 17 Mbps exceeds the average for the country, which is an important factor for the business development in the Capital. Sofia also has the largest share of households with internet access &#8211; 76% in 2017, while <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the average<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the country was 67%. The city also ranks first in the number of people aged 16-74 who use Internet &#8211; 78% in 2017, compared to 66% for the country. All this comes to show that Sofia municipality provides good conditions for internet access and the relatively young and educated population uses it<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the report, the Sofia region will continue to concentrate a growing share of the economic activities in the country. The highly qualified workforce will keep attracting investment in <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">such <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fast growing sectors as the IT industry, the outsourcing of business services and some high value-added manufacturing activities.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sofia is also very well-positioned to develop some new forms of economic relations such as <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">digital and shared economy services<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This is possible because of the suitable IT infrastructure: highly educated people, high average internet speed, a number of IT companies and specialists, but also because of the large size of the local population.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More detailed data, charts, analyzes and trends can be found in the full version of the report.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[su_button url=&#8221;http:\/\/investsofia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Economic-and-Investment-Profile-Sofia-ENG-2018.pdf&#8221; target=&#8221;blank&#8221; background=&#8221;#545557&#8243; color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; size=&#8221;7&#8243; center=&#8221;yes&#8221;]Download full report[\/su_button]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[su_spacer size=&#8221;10&#8243;][su_spacer size=&#8221;10&#8243;][\/su_spacer]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The \u2018Sofia: Economic and Investment Profile\u2019 <\/span><\/em><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">report was developed by the Institute for Market Economics for Sofia Investment Agency.<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have any questions related to the report or other data regarding the investment climate in Sofia, do not hesitate to contact our team at <a href=\"mailto:contact@investsofia.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contact@investsofia.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The team of Sofia Investment Agency published its new report titled \u2018Sofia: Economic and Investment Profile\u2019, developed by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":14910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investsofia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}