Debts of Bulgarian companies were 160 billion leva

Debts of the business in the country reached a record amount of 160 billion, announced yesterday, the Vice-Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) Kamen Kolev. This means that companies in Bulgaria have to return 1.5 times more money than earn. Enormous amount of EUR 100 billion are inter-company obligations, but most of them – to 60 billion, is overdue.

Data from the BIA announced yesterday, were present. Only 1-2 years ago, late payments were around 40 billion, ie the increase was nearly 50%. The entire corporate debt at the end of 2007 in the amount of 116 billion, a cross-company – 81 billion from the Chamber acknowledged that the statistics overstate their real picture slightly, but not in our organization to have a accurate data for corporate debt.

Country this year is expected to produce gross domestic product of 63.7 billion Given that business has returned to EUR 160 billion, the ratio of corporate debt / GDP ratio was 250 percent, according to BIA data yet. For comparison the rate in the U.S. is about 100% and the EU – to 130%. „Worse is that the operating revenue of the companies are 9% lower than the amount of debt, ie what they produce is less than what they have to return, without counting the informal economy, „explained Mr. Kamen Kolev.

According to him, the crisis is certainly among the reasons for the deepening of the problem. The outstanding debt burden in the economy and prevent a serious increase in GDP. Thing is that this can now lead to a chain of bankruptcies of firms, particularly smaller companies.

„Even if you are a newly established, fair company, go to market payments to suppliers, workers, produce something, provide it to the client, but it pays you. Thus, without it you want, and you enter the vicious circle of debt „experts explain. The most serious is the situation in the transport sector and construction companies for white and brown goods. Payments from abroad, many companies are exporting too slow.
The state must stop delay payments to businesses – from VAT on medicines for roads, etc., insist on BIA. We travel agencies due to private sector 130 million levs, said Kolev. He advises businesses to conclude arbitration agreements and to explore their counterparties to defend themselves. An urgent need to introduce a fast and simple procedures for recovery, say lawyers. Currently, bankruptcy procedures take an average of 3 years. Moreover, phishing flourish cluster schemes in which, by legal tricks and bribes bilk their supposed business partners.

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Finance