Almost half of Bulgarian firms, or 45.9 per cent, face corruption problems, a poll by Enterprise Surveys, the enterprise analysis unit of the World Bank, showed on April 10.

About 19.8 per cent of respondents said they had to offer public officials gifts to secure a public procurement contract. About 6.15 per cent resorted to bribes when meeting with tax officials and 2.11 per cent when applying for a business permit.

About 16.1 per cent of companies are ready to give kickbacks to public officials, half the Eastern European average of 33.9 per cent.

One in three companies (28.1 per cent) see crime as the second-largest obstacle to doing business. Three in four companies, 75.1 per cent, pay security companies, compared with the regional average of 60 per cent.

About 23.33 per cent see tax administration as the most serious hindrance to business operations. Another 21.26 per cent believe the most serious impediment is licences and permits. A company needs 136 days to acquire a building permit and 48 days to get a licence.

Infrastructure is also a drawback. It takes 85 days past the prescribed deadline to connect newly-built premises into the power grid. The average in Eastern Europea is 17 days.

Enterprise Surveys sees innovation and technologies as the core competency of Bulgarian business. About 22.25 per cent have international quality assurance certificates, whereas the regional average is 12.61 per cent.

The survey covered 1015 Bulgarian companies, 386 per cent of which small, 407 medium and 222 large enterprises. Of the total, 889 were owned by Bulgarian capital and the remaining 126 are foreign-owned.