Bulgaria seeks investment in luxury projects

[LahoreEstate]

Sunday, February 01, 2009
By our correspondent

KARACHI: A foreign trade delegation on the request of UK Trade and Investment and a group of British companies visited the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently where it made a comprehensive presentation on investment opportunities in the real estate sector of Bulgaria.

The delegation said the current world financial crisis has had no direct effect on Bulgarian economy in general and the real estate in particular because there are no banks in Bulgaria which suffered losses due to the crisis, despite the fact that the whole world, especially the West and UAE, was poorly affected after the collapse of property market.

The delegation informed local businessmen that Bulgaria will become part of the eurozone in the next few years and its currency leva is already pegged to the euro. “Bulgaria will be lifting border controls by March 2011 to cover all areas of Schengen cooperation.”

It said currently Bulgaria has become more of a buyer’s market and foreign investors are seeking properties for pure investment and capital growth. Minimum investment required in property is $500,000 to qualify permanent residence of Bulgaria, it further said.

An investor after securing a permanent residence of Bulgaria can enjoy same rights as Bulgarian citizens and spouses and children under 18 years could also benefit from the investment, it articulated.

The delegation is currently looking for investments from Pakistan in a couple of luxury projects, such as Ephesus Boutique Hotel, Paris Boutique Hotel, Helios Boutique Hotel, Sofia West Boutique Apartments, Adriana Apartments and Ross House. The group is also looking for opportunities for massive investment in Pakistan.

Sheikh Humayun, Standing Committee on Foreign Investment FPCCI Chairman commented that the housing and construction industry in Pakistan is also unaffected by the global recession as house mortgage is not very common in the country and the banks exposures are less in the housing sector. He urged the delegation to invest in Pakistan as the demand for housing and hotel projects are high and lucrative, due to the fact that there is more demand than supply.

He further stressed joint reciprocal marketing strategies to be developed between both the sides.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=160127