The Burgas Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) says in an analysis of Bulgaria's strengths for business that global companies increasingly weigh several factors when they choose where to invest. These include predictable rules, skilled workers, infrastructure and low taxes. The analysis looks at firms that are closing or moving operations, among them the Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze SE (SEBN SE) plant in Karnobat, where about 800 jobs are affected.

The Japanese company has already closed its plant in Mezdra and is scaling back work in Karnobat. Some production has moved to Moldova and Romania. The Karnobat plant will close fully in March 2027, the company told BTA in early December last year. SEBN SE says it is cutting back because of high production costs and a sharp rise in labour costs.

The chamber lists other cases. Takeaway is ending its work in Bulgaria. Bosch plans to close its engineering centre in Sofia by mid-2027, which affects about 670 people. The MD Elektronik plant in Vratsa, with about 550 jobs, has closed. BTB Bulgaria is ending production, and about 400 jobs are affected. Unilever is moving production from Debelets to Romania, Greece and Turkey.

The BCCI says productivity, access to funding and the administrative environment also count for more when firms pick a location. But the biggest factor is whether the rules, including tax rules, are predictable. The chamber says the proposed tax changes are not behind the decisions by Takeaway and Bosch.

The analysis also covers the finance ministry's proposal for a one-off extra tax on 2027 profits. It would hit companies in six sectors: banks, insurers, telecoms firms, big food chains, currency exchange offices and fast-loan companies. The threshold is a company's average taxable profit for 2020–2025 plus 20%. Profit above that level would face an extra 33% tax.

For business, the chamber writes, the issue is not only the size of the tax but how predictable tax policy is, and whether firms can trust that the rules will stay stable over the long term. The BCCI says a change in banks' capital position could affect the terms of loans to firms. The analysis quotes Bulgarian National Bank governor Dimitar Radev, who says the method for calculating banks' extra profit covers periods with very different economic conditions: a pandemic and near-zero interest rates, then an inflation shock and rising rates.

In a survey of 83 companies by the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, 70% plan to keep or raise their investment in Bulgaria, and 77% are not considering moving their operations. Firms name low taxes and a stable tax system among the main advantages.

The BCCI notes that wages in Bulgaria are rising, the working-age population is shrinking, and firms in many sectors struggle to find staff. "Bulgaria can no longer rely only on being cheaper than other countries," the chamber writes. It says the country still has relatively low taxes, EU membership, a good location, access to the single European market and a sizeable industrial base.

The chamber says conditions should be created for the next wave of investment: technology, automation, research and development, engineering services, high-productivity manufacturing and human capital.