To France, one of Europe’s largest economies, Bulgaria is still largely a terra incognita. In an overview of bilateral trade turnover and foreign direct investment (FDI) dynamics, Bulgaria’s Economy and Energy Ministry concedes that figures are still below potential.

Representatives of the French business community in Bulgaria concur, attributing faint interest to Bulgaria’s relatively low exposure with the French.

Figures from the National Statistical Institute (NSI) serve as testimony to this end. France ranks eighth in Bulgaria’s 2007 trade partner scoreboard with exports (in CIF prices) worth 1.481 billion leva, up 48.3 per cent on the year and imports (in FOB prices) of 1.051 billion leva, an increase of 6.7 per cent on the year.

These figures give France a mere 5.9 per cent chunk of the EU total and 3.5 per cent of the global total. The same comparison for imports puts France’s shares on 6.5 per cent and 3.98 per cent, respectively.

Investment statistics reveal a similar picture. With $329.9 million of FDI in Bulgaria in the 13 years to 2006, the country is the 15th largest investor in Bulgaria, according to combined statistics of Bulgaria’s state-run investment promotion authority InvestBulgaria Agency and the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). With the peak years being 1999 with $78.1 million of investments, 2004 ($63.4 million) and 2006 ($55.6 million), annual investment spendings often hover in the single digits, data of the Bulgarian Economy and Energy Ministry shows.

Investment spread by sectors sees industry attracting the lion’s share of investments (58 per cent), ahead of finance (28 per cent), trade (11 per cent), agriculture, banking sector, construction and communications (7.5 per cent). Notwithstanding, it is two French banks that top the individual investment spending chart, Societe Generale infusing in its Bulgarian arm $53 million and BNP Paribas $21.8 million. Next in line are wool processing company Dewavrin with an 18.4 million euro investment backlog and cement producer Ciment Francais (15.9 million euro).

InvestBulgaria Agency listed four French companies among Bulgaria’s largest investors in 2007 and their arrival in Bulgaria is expected to substantially ramp up the investment column. Montupet earned a place with its car equipment factory in Rousse (70 million leva), electrical equipment and automation producer Schneider Electric with a new plant in Plovdiv (31 million leva), liquefied gas producer Air Liquide with a facility off Pernik (1.7 million euro), Dalkia with the purchase of the heating utility in Varna (6.78 million euro) and retailer Carrefour with a trade centre in Sofia (81 million euro).

Among other French heavyweights present in Bulgaria, but obscured by more modest presence in the investment scoreboard, are car manufacturers Peugeot and Citroen, energy and industry conglomerate Alstom.

The spread by number of French firms active in various sectors in Bulgaria diverges from that by size of investments, according to data The Sofia Echo obtained from the economic department of the French embassy in Bulgaria. Of the 142 French companies with outposts in Bulgaria, 30 per cent are active in the services sector, 15 per cent in the food industry and 14 per cent in the automobile industry.

While investment figures are representative of the outreach of French firms in Bulgaria, they do not fully illustrate the extent of mutual business permeation. Representatives of the French Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce (CCFB) said that queries from French business companies seeking sub-contractors or partners in Bulgaria are growing in multiples. Yet others, also looking to expand their presence to Bulgaria without physically entering the country, are keen on setting up joint ventures, finance projects otherwise operated by Bulgarian partners, they said. These are the kind of business partnerships that contribute to the growth of Bulgaria’s GDP, yet that value has been invoiced by Bulgarian companies and, hence, falls out the statistical scope of French business presence in Bulgaria, the CCFB officials maintain.

While more limited, Bulgaria’s business permeation in France is also a work in progress. A score of Bulgarian businesses have found the bulk of their clients in the country of Nicolas Sarkozy. For example, Object Builder Software (OBS), one of Bulgaria’s largest IT companies with 400+ staff, performs almost seven out of 10 projects for French businesses. Rumours have it that a Bulgarian company active in the electronic part assembly business is building a factory in France in what would be Bulgaria’s first greenfield investment in this country.

The CCFB also hopes that the mulled promotional campaign of Bulgaria with the French business community will materialise and allow for intensification of business ties to levels close to potential.