National Statistical Institute

"Annual business statistics" Department

Anelia Viharova

State expert

2, P. Volov Str.; 1038 Sofia, Bulgaria

AViharova@nsi.bg

+359 2 9857 129

The FDI statistical survey in the non-financial sector provides information for the share of foreign owners in the equity capital and the inter-company debt transactions (loans) between the foreign direct investor and the investment enterprise - total and by countries of the foreign investors.

· Classification of Economic Activities (CEA-2008, for international use NACE.BG-2008) - in force since 2008;

· National Classification of Economic Activities (NCEA-2003, for international use NACE.BG-2003) - for the period 2002 - 2007;

· Classification of territorial units for statistical purposes in Bulgaria (NUTS) - (version 14.02.2009 and 19.06.2006);

· Nomenclature of the countries and territories by statistical purposes.

The FDI statistical survey is annual, exhaustive and covers the non-financial enterprises in which the foreign direct investor owns from 10 to 100% shares in the equity capital, with a lasting interest and significant degree of influence on the management. The annual statistical questionnaire provides information on the volume of foreign direct investments as of 31.12 of the reference year.

The statistical questionnaire contains indicators, characterizing:

• The share of foreign owners in the equity capital;
• The long and short-term inter-company debt transactions (loans) between foreign direct investor and investment enterprise (unpaid part of liabilities and trade credits both from direct investor to investment enterprise and from investment enterprise to direct investor are included);
• Net operating profit for the reference year;
• Distributed profits during the reference year;

The data on each indicator are shown as a total for the enterprise and separately for the foreign share, broken down by countries of the foreign investors.

The total volume of the foreign direct investments in the non-financial sector as of 31.12 of the reference year is formed as a sum of the foreign direct investments in the non-financial enterprises.

The volume of the foreign direct investment in the investment enterprise is defined as a sum of:

• The foreign share in the equity capital of the enterprise;
• Plus the amount of the unpaid part of long and short-term loans and trade credits granted by the foreign investor to the investment enterprise as of 31.12. of the reference year;
•  Minus the amount of unpaid part of the long and short-term loans and trade credits granted by the investment enterprise to the foreign investor as of 31.12. of the reference year.

Units of the statistical survey are the non-financial enterprises - residents of the Bulgarian economy in which the foreign direct investor owns from 10 to 100% shares in the equity capital with a lasting interest and significant degree of influence on the management.

The FDI statistical survey is exhaustive and statistical population is made up of all non-financial enterprises in which the foreign direct investor owns from 10 to 100% shares in the equity capital for the period 2000 - the last reference year.

The data refer to the activities of non-financial enterprises in which the foreign direct investor owns from 10 to 100% shares in the equity capital, carried out in the country.

2000 - the last reference year.

Not applicable.

From 2000 to 2006 - thousand USD, since 2007 - thousand EURO

Calendar year

International legislation:

· "Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual", 6th Edition (BPM6), International Monetary Fund;

· "OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment" - 4th Edition (BMD4), 2008;

· "Foreign AffiliaTes Statistics (FATS) Recommendations Manual", 2012 Edition, Eurostat.

Bulgarian legislation:

• Law on Statistics;
• National Statistical Programme;
•  Accounting and tax legislation.

The data are exchanged under signed agreements, ensuring protection of the confidential information.

Regulation (EC) N 223/2009 of 11 March 2009 defines common criteria for protection of confidential data and methods for sending the information to and its use by Eurostat. The Law on Statistics ensures the protection of statistical confidentiality and the use of individual data of enterprises for statistical purposes only.

The individual (primary) data are confidential according to the Law on Statistics and European legislation. To ensure their protection and inability to be identified, the aggregated indicators are also defined as confidential when:

· Criterion A - the indicator is calculated from one or two enterprises;

· Criterion B - one enterprise forms 85% or more of the total value of this indicator.

The data are published in accordance with the deadline specified in the Release Calendar presenting the results of the statistical surveys carried out by the National Statistical Institute.

The calendar is available on the NSI website: http://www.nsi.bg/en/node/480

Data are published on the NSI website and are available to all users of statistical information.

Yearly

Regular press release for the preliminary data on foreign direct investments in the non-financial sector as of 31.12st of the reference year.

• Statistical Yearbook;
• Regions, districts and municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Data on Foreign direct investments in the non-financial sector as of 31st of December are available to all users of the NSI website under the heading Statistical data - Business statistics - Investments - Foreign direct investments: http://www.nsi.bg/en/content/6192/annual-data, as in INFOSTAT.

Not available.

Information service on request, according to the Rules for dissemination of statistical products and services of NSI.

The requirements of the international standards for foreign direct investments set in guides of International Monetary Fund, OECD and Eurostat for definition of enterprises under international control and developed statistical methodology: http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/metadata/Investments_Method_1.2_en.pdf

Not applicable.

This includes the improvement of the on-line based information system 'Business statistics', which ensures strict arithmetical and logical input control. The additional output control is made when are registered differences between the definite ultimate owner from annual report and this one, indicated in EuroGroups Register.

This is made in accordance with the standard criteria for assessing the quality - relevance, accuracy and reliability, timeliness, comparability and coherence.

The main users of SBS data are:

· Eurostat and other international organisations;

· Interested state institutions under signed agreements;

· Research institutes, universities, economic analysts and students;

· Private non-governmental organisations, agencies, associations, media, etc.;

· Directorates and departments in the NSI.

There has been no study of user satisfaction, but no cases of outstanding requests for information are registered.

Full compliance with the Bulgarian and the European legislation.

Information on the calculation of foreign direct investment is based on the annual accounts of non-financial enterprises, as full coherence of the input data is provided.

The FDI survey is exhaustive and there are no sampling errors.

Not applicable.

The deadlines for the publication of FDI data are t+11 months for the final data, where t is the reference year.

The deadlines under item 15.1 are strictly followed.

For the country data are comparable.

The comparability of the data is limited by the use of different classifications of economic activities (NACE.BG-2008 and NACE.BG-2003), if there is a difference in the scope of the activity and currency used.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

NSI of Bulgaria is making extraordinary efforts to reduce the respondents' burden. An example is the signed agreement called "Single Entry Point" between NSI and the National Revenue Agency for a single providing of the annual reports and using the data from both institutions. Developed by NSI on-line based information system "Business Statistics" and ensured methodological and technical assistance to respondents during the reporting campaign are highly appreciated by respondents and help to reduce their workload.

The National policy, as well as Eurostat's, allows the revision of already published data if there are serious reasons.

The revised data replace the already published data as soon as possible after the revision is made.

Information on the foreign direct investments comes from "Reference for foreign direct investments as of 31.12 of the reference year", included in the annual report of non-financial enterprises. The sources of the data are the accounting records of the enterprises.

Yearly

The statistical survey is exhaustive and covers the non-financial enterprises in which the foreign direct investor owns from 10 to 100% shares in the equity capital.

Data validation is made by additional logical input control and comparison between the output data and the results of the previous year and other surveys, carried out by NSI.

The survey is exhaustive and further data evaluation is not made.

Not applicable.