EVERY SECOND COMPANY WAITS A YEAR FOR PAYMENT

The problem with debt between companies will bother business again this year. Around 43% of the Bulgarian companies didn’t manage to receive their money from debtors – the state or private partner organizations, for a period of a year or even longer. This embarrasses their work and creates problems with payment to their colleagues or staff, show an analysis of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) for 2016.

The average liability size is not indicated, but the summarized references show that it is a matter of hundreds of millions. At the same time the state in the face of municipalities and the central authority has overdue payments to their partners for BGN 287.4 million as stated in the latest data of the Ministry of finance.

Nevertheless numbers show a slight improvement. A year earlier – in 2015, the companies with uncollected receipts were 55%, shows the data from BIA’s annual survey among 700 companies.

At the same time one third of companies declare that they will propose projects to some of the OPs. This means that some of them have savings for the co-financing of projects. Meanwhile, the business is planning to extend production, to develop new products and to step on new markets. Employers also plan to hire more employees and to increase salaries. However, the problem with finding qualified employees remains. If a year or two ago labourers were the most wanted, now almost every second company experiences a lack of managers, shows BIA’s analysis.

ABSORPTION

By the end of last year Bulgaria has managed to absorb only 7.33% of the European funding. Out of the only programme for business projects - OP “Competitiveness” 9.5% of funds are already paid out. Traditionally, the most interest is expressed in the measure for machines and equipment purchase. In the first programming period this was the section, which funding was exhausted immediately.

What is the average period of payment delay (in %)?

Source: BIA