Bulgaria is beginning to appear in various rankings of the most attractive outsourcing destinations. Recently, consultants from Deloitte recommended focusing of business activities in three key spheres, including outsourcing and attraction of foreign investors. The three types of services mostly outsourced to Bulgaria include data processing, software programming and dealing with foreign clients through call centres.
Last week, the biggest project of this kind by a foreign investor in Bulgaria was announced. Hewlett Packard established a global client service centre in Sofia. The centre has 1000 employees. Nearly 2000 people are employed in offshore and outsourced businesses in Bulgaria. Official statistics on the number of services outsourced to Bulgaria businesses are still lacking. Interest among foreign companies is growing, and between 10 and 20 European companies negotiate every month about relocation of their activities to Bulgaria. The country is attractive because of its proximity to Western Europe, relatively low salaries and qualified labour force, Capital newspaper reported.