i s s u e 4 5n o v e m b e r 2 0 0 3

A m e r i c a n C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e i n B u l g a r i a

h o m e p a g e : w w w . a m c h a m . b g e - m a i l : a m c h a m @a m c h a m . b gBus in e s s Pa rk So f i a , M lados t 4 A re a , Bu i l d ing 2 , F lo o r 6 , 1 7 1 5 So f i a

Te l . : ( 3 5 9 2 ) 97 6 9 5 6 5 Fax : ( 3 5 9 2 ) 97 6 9 5 6 9

Thanksgiving: A Time for Charity

and Generosity

Thanksgiving: A Time for Charity

and Generosity

a m c h a m e v e n t s

The First AmCham Thanksgiving

Community Dinner 2

Mobikom Launches CDMA2000 System 6

Amendments to Bulgarian Commercial Law

Discussed at Seminar Organized by

Ernst & Young, AmCham 7

AmCham Participates in SEEF 8

m e m b e r n e w s

AIMS – The Largest Network in Europe 10

BAEF Awards Indoor Advertising in Young

Entrepreneurs Competition 11

c o r p o r a t e s o c i a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y

Red Devil Social Corner 12

o p i n i o n

Bulgaria Can Manage

Without IMF Money 14

r e g i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n

Slovakia: On the Road

to the European Market 16

a n a l y s i s

Employee Remuneration Packages in Bulgaria 18

n e w m e m b e r s

Allan Collautt Associates

Balkan ES Team Ltd

Cefin Bulgaria EOOD 19

l e i s u r e

Lindt – Taste the Chocolate Passion 20

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c o n t e n t sA m C h a m m e m b e r s

3M (East) AG . AA KRES EOOD . ABB (Asea Brown Boveri) Ltd. . AbC.R.O. - Bulgaria EAD .Abela Airport Services Ltd. . Abrotea Bulgaria AD . Accor Services Bulgaria . ACDI / VOCA .Acsior . ACT Soft Ltd. . Address Bulgaria Holding JSCo.- A real estate company . ADIS Ltd. .AES Corporation . AFA OOD . Ahrend Profesionalni Interiery S.R.O. . AIG Bulgaria . AIG LifeBulgaria . AIMS Human Capital . Albena Joint Stock Company . Alexandrov Ltd. . Allan CollauttAssociates, Inc. . Allied Pickfords Bulgaria . American Bar Association and CEELI . AmericanCollege of Sofia . American Construction Products JSC . American University in Bulgaria .Amylum Bulgaria AD . Anglo-American School of Sofia . Anton Preslavski, Liebert Hiross . APIS- Hristovich Ltd. . APOLO Ltd. . Aries Commerce . Association of Bulgarian Broadcasters -ABBRO . AT Engineering 2000 Ltd. . AUBG - Elieff Center for Education and Culture . AvendiLtd. . AVIS . AVON Cosmetics Bulgaria Ltd . Balkan ES Team Ltd . Balkan News CorporationPlc. . Baxter AG . Bayer Bulgaria . BearingPoint LLC . BG Radio . Bodyguard-Fire-K Ltd.. Borislav Boyanov & Co. . Bristol-Myers Squibb . BTC-NET Ltd. . Bulgarian American EnterpriseFund . Bulgarian Charities Aid Foundation (BCAF) . Business Links . Business Park Sofia EOOD. Business to Business . CA IB Bulinvest . Cable Bulgaria . Carlson Wagonlit Travel . CefinBulgaria EOOD . Center for the Study of Democracy . Cilag AG International (Johnson & Johnson). Cisco Systems Bulgaria . Citibank, N.A.- Sofia Branch . City University . Clarina / Coca Cola. Coca-Cola Bulgaria EOOD . COLLIERS Continental Properties . Combi Trans Bulgaria Ltd. .Compass Translation Services . ConsulTeam . Contex Drouzhba Ltd. . Corstjens WorlwideMovers Group . CPM International Ltd. . Cresta Marketing S.A. . Curtis / Balkan Ltd. . DeConiM&A . Deloitte & Touche . DHL International (Bulgaria) Ltd. . Diageo Bulgaria Ltd . DIMONBulgaria . Djingov, Gouginski, Kyuchukov, & Velichkov . Domaine Boyar AD . Don & Co. . DowEurope GmbH Representation Office . Dr. Emil Benatov & Partners . Effekten Und Finanz - BulgariaEAD . Eli Lilly and Company . Elido . Ellen Ruth Greenberg, Ph.D., Dr. I.S. Greenberg MedicalCenter . Elta Consult Ltd. . Emerson Process Management AG . Engineeringservice Sofia Ltd.. Entergy Wholesale Operations . ERATO HOLDING PLC . Ernst & Young Bulgaria . EURORSCG New Europe Sofia . Expo Team OOD . First Global Health Corporation . Flying CargoBulgaria Ltd. - Licensee of FedEx . Force Delta Ltd. . General Electric International . GenmarkAutomation Bulgaria . GEO - CAR Ltd. . Glaxo SmithKline . Group 4 Securitas (Bulgaria) Ltd.. Haemimont-Smartcom AD . Hayhurst Berlad Robinson . HEBROS Bank AD . Hewlett-PackardBulgaria EOOD . Hilton Sofia . Honeywell EOOD . Horizon . IBM Bulgaria . In Time Ltd. .Infoguard - Stefan Nedkov . ING Bank Sofia Branch . Interamerican Bulgaria Ins.Co . InterbrandsMarketing & Distribution Inc. . Internet Securities Bulgaria EOOD . Interpartners Plc. . IP ConsultingLtd. . Junior Achievement Bulgaria . Kolbis International Transfer Corporation . KPMG Bulgaria .Kraft Foods Bulgaria . Kulev Project . Lefkowitz & Co / BalkanData . Lexim Sofia Ltd. . LindnerImmobilien Bulgaria OOD . Lirex BG Ltd. . Lowe Swing Communications . M & M Air Cargo ServiceBG Ltd . M3 Communications Group, Inc. A Hil & Knowlton Associate . Maersk Bulgaria Ltd. .Magnetic Head Technologies . Management Systems International . Marsh EOOD . McDonald'sBulgaria . Merck Sharp & Dohme IDEA Inc. . Michael Delia, European Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment (EBRD) . Microsoft Bulgaria . Miltech Ltd. . Moto Pfohe Ltd. . Motorola BulgariaEAD . National DISTRIBUTORS . NDB Ltd. . NDT Equipment Supplies LTD . Net Is Ltd. . NETIS SAT Ltd. . New-I . Nexcom Bulgaria EAD . Nokia Bulgaria EOOD . Novel Consult Law Firm. Oracle East Central Europe Limited - Branch Bulgaria . Pain D'or Ltd. . Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation. Pioneer Semena Bulgaria EOOD . Popov Legal Office . Postbank . PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prima Soft . Procter & Gamble Bulgaria . ProSoft . Radisson SAS Grand Hotel . Rila Solutions. Rockwell/Intelpack . RTC Mobikom . S&D Chemicals Bulgaria . S&T Bulgaria . SanteInternational OOD . Schering - Plough Central East - Bulgaria . SEAF Trans-Balkan Bulgaria Fund. Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan . Sherita M Ltd. . Sofia Echo Media Ltd. . Stefan Dimitrov, NormanManagement Company Ltd. . Student Labour Office . Sun Spree Holidays . TechnoLogica . TheAtlantic Club of Bulgaria . TM Auto Ltd. . TMF . Tumbleweed Communications . UnimastersLogistics Group Ltd. . Unisys Bulgaria Branch . Urban 3000 Ltd. . US Meds - Bulgaria AD . ViaExpo Ltd. . Videolux Ltd. . Vidima AD . Westinghouse Energy Systems Bulgaria Branch . WilliBetz GmbH & Co KG - Balkan Star . WizCom Ltd. . Wrigley Bulgaria . Wyeth-Whitehall Export .Xerox Bulgaria Ltd. . Yordan Tchoudomirov Goleminov . Zlati Dinev Studio

Publisher

American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria

Design, Prepress and Printing

Milen Marchev

AmCham Bulgaria Magazine reaches members , decision makers in Bulgaria and the United States ,

as well as all AmChams around the world.

The artic les in AmCham Bulgaria Magazine show the opinion of the authors and do not necessarily reflect

the Chamber’s position.

I f you do not receive regular ly the magazine or the AmCham Daily News electronic bulletin, please contact

the AmCham office in Sofia at tel . 9769 565 or e-mail amcham@amcham.bg.

Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria

President Kenneth Lefkowitz Lefkowitz & Co./BalkanData

Vice President Stefan Dimitrov Allied Pickfords

Treasurer Dennis Fiehler Bulgarian American Enterprise Fund

Borislav Boyanov Borislav Boyanov & Co.Amnon Halper AshtromDavid Hampson US Meds – BulgariaJanet Heckman CITIBANKRoumen Mihailov 3M (East) AGFriedrich Niemann Hilton SofiaGeorgi Randelov IBM BulgariaMaria Shishkova AIMS Human CapitalElitsa Tsaneva Ideal Standard

Ex-Officio Member Reginald Miller US Commercial Attache

Executive Director Valentin Georgiev

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For the first time the members of theAmerican Chamber of Commerce inBulgaria and a number of guests gottogether to celebrate Thanksgiving onNovember 20, 2003, just one weekahead of the US holiday, at a charitydinner held in the Sheraton Sofia HotelBalkan.

Debra MacFarland, US Agency forInternational Development MissionDirector, welcomed the guests andshared her feelings aboutThanksgiving. The Choir of theAmerican College of Sofia performedpopular American songs, followed bythe students’ presentation of the

Thanksgiving traditions around theworld, including, of course, the historyof the US Thanksgiving as well as theBulgarian Sirni Zagovezni holiday. Theguests enjoyed the traditionalThanksgiving dinner, chatting, havingfun and listening to a live classicalmusic performance.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving theevening was dedicated to charityfundraising through a Silent Auction insupport of the Young EntrepreneurialSpirit initiative (YES) of the AmChammember Junior Achievement Bulgaria –a NGO working to educate youngBulgarians to value free enterprise,and to understand business and eco-nomics. The Young EntrepreneurialSpirit initiative aims at changing youngpeople’s perception of business and isbased on the strong partnershipbetween education, civil society andthe business sector.

With their kindly donations madethrough the Silent Auction, theAmCham members and their guestsoffered their support to the teaching ofethical and moral business practices toBulgaria’s young generation. All thecontributors were awarded Certificatesof Appreciation by Milena Stoycheva,Program Director of JuniorAchievement Bulgaria.

The First AmCham Thanksgiving Community Dinner

Sheraton Serdika Hall’s splendid

Thanksgiving atmosphere

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USAID PSO Edward LaFarge chatting with

AmCham Vice President Stefan Dimitrov and

Allied Pickfords Country Manager for Bulgaria

Petar Konstantinov

AmCham Board

Member David

Hampson was bril-

liant in his com-

pelling role as Master

of Ceremony at the

Silent Auction.

USAID Mission

Director Debra

McFarland wishing a

happy Thanksgiving

to the guests.

Performance by the American College of Sofia students. The songs of

the choir touched everybody in the audience; the students also presented

Thanksgiving traditions from around the world, including the history

of the US Thanksgiving as well as the Bulgarian Sirni Zagovezni holiday.

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American College of Sofia President Louis Perske and Mrs. Perske

were of prime importance in the preparation of the event.

EBRD Deputy Director Michael Delia enjoyed his birthday surprise in the

company of the Minister of Energy Milko Kovachev and his wife.

JA students from VelikoTarnovo, dressed as pilgrims and Native American Indians,

AmCham and Junior Achievement Bulgaria would liketo thank all the companies and individuals who contributedto the Young Entrepreneurial Spirit Campaign:

Chairman's Club: Contributions of USD 2,500 and above

Hewlett-Packard BulgariaIdeal Standard

Intracom

Director's Club: Contributions of USD 1,000 – 2,500

American Chamber of CommerceSheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan

Manager's Club: USD 500 – 1,000Cilag AG International

Curtis BalkanBalkan Star

Patron's Club:Plevenski Cement ADDr. Ellen GreenbergDr. I.S. Greenberg Medical CenterHilton SofiaPlamen Grozdanov, Domaine BoyarVanya Ivanova, ArtistMichael Delia, EBRDAustrian AirlinesSpasov and Bratanov Lawyer'sPartnershipPain D'or Ltd.RTC MobikomMr. Boni Bonev

Silent Auction Donations and Winners:AmCham Proceeds from Tickets

Austrian Airlines – Mike Hennessy

CD piano – Ron Finley

Domaine Boyar 3 Bottles – Mike Hennessy

Domaine Boyar 6 Bottles – Paul Mulligan

Hilton Brunch – Paul Mulligan

Hilton Brunch – John McFarland

Icon (Rila Monestery) – Tzvetan

Lazhanski (Royal Foods)

Spassov Legal Services – Ken Lefkowitz

Greenberg Mammogram –

Debra McFarland

Oil Painting – George Tabakov,

Bulgarian Economic Forum

Pain D'Or Basket – Michael Delia

Pain D'Or Basket – Mike Hennessy

Painting (students) – Maida LaFarge

Painting (students) – Debra McFarland

Painting (students) – Roumen Mihailov

Painting (students) – Teodor Milev

Painting (students) – Teodor Milev

Stamp Collection – David Hampson

Stamp Collection – David Hampson

Water-color Painting (Vanya Ivanova) –

Frank Zamarripa

Water-color Painting (Vanya Ivanova) –

Michael Delia/Milko Kovachev

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USAID Mission Director Debra

McFarland and AmCham Executive

Director Valentin Georgiev raising funds

for the Junior Achievement campaign

Willi Betz-Balkan Star PR&Marketing

Manager Philip Kittoff was awarded

Certificate of Appreciation by Milena

Stoycheva, Program Director of Junior

Achievement Bulgaria. Certificates of

Appreciation were also awarded to all

the Silent Auction’s contributors.

assisting in the Silent Auction.

Last but not least, AmCham Bulgaria

would like to thank everybody who

took part in the organization of the

first Thanksgiving community dinner

and especially Mr. Louis Perske, ACS

President, the Choir as well as the

students and the teachers from the

American College of Sofia for their

wonderful performance.

Special thanks to the Massachusetts

Center for the Book which contributed

a number of books on Thanksgiving,

illustrations from which were shown on

screen during the event.

The Story of Thanksgiving

In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall

harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along

with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They

found they had enough food to put away for the winter. The Pilgrims had beaten the

odds. They built homes in the wilderness, they raised enough crops to keep them alive

during the long coming winter, and they were at peace with their Indian neighbors.

Their Governor proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the

colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians. The custom of an annually

celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. In 1817

New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of

the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863

President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each

president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth

Thursday of each November as the holiday.

Huawei Technologies company hasbeen chosen as a supplier of the equip-ment largely because it offers completetechnical solutions for CDMA 2000, fromservices servers to telephones.Mobikom earned the distinction as thefirst Bulgarian company to switch to 3Gmobile communications standards.The question one must ask is: WhyCDMA Technology? The world isdemanding more from wireless commu-nication technologies than ever before.More people around the world are sub-scribing to wireless services and con-sumers are using their phones morefrequently. Add in exciting Third-CDMA2000 representing a family ofITU-approved, IMT-2000 (3G) standardsthat includes CDMA2000 1X andCDMA2000 1xEV technologies. They deliver increased network capac-ity to meet growing demand for wirelessservices and high-speed data services. CDMA2000 1X was the world's first 3Gtechnology commercially deployed inOctober 2000.

Generation (3G) wireless data ser-vices and applications - such as wire-less email, web, digital picture tak-ing/sending and assisted-GPS positionlocation applications - and wirelessnetworks are facing greater demandthan they did a few years ago. Andthese networks will be asked to domore tomorrow.CDMA consistently provides bettercapacity for voice and data communi-cations than other commercial mobiletechnologies, allowing more subscribersto connect at any given time, and it isthe common platform on which 3Gtechnologies are built.The CDMA air interface is used in both2G and 3G networks. 2G CDMA stan-dards are branded cdmaOne andinclude IS-95A and IS-95B. CDMA isthe foundation for 3G services: the twodominant IMT-2000 standards,CDMA2000 and WCDMA, are based onCDMA.The CDMA Development Group (CDG)announced that the subscriber base for3G CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO hadexpanded by 10.5 million in 3Q 2003 toreach 64.5 million users, while the totalnumber of CDMA users worldwide grewto 174 million during the same period."CDMA2000 is expanding rapidly and iscontributing to significant advance-

ments of CDMA across the globe. TheCDMA2000 subscriber base doubledduring the first nine months of 2003,and operators are reporting that highdemand for CDMA2000 services isspurring growth in net additions andboosting revenues." said Perry LaForge,Executive Director of the CDG."We expect this trend to continue andanticipate that the CDMA2000 base willreach 75 million by the end of theyear."CDMA2000 is the clear leader in dataservices. According to the EMCDatabase, CDMA2000 accounted for 54percent of data users worldwide and74 percent in regions outside WesternEurope in 2Q 2003. While only 2 per-cent of worldwide GSM subscribersuse GPRS data services, more than14 percent of CDMA subscribers utilizeCDMA2000 data services. CDMA continues to be the fastestgrowing technology worldwide. In theyear between September 2002 and2003, CDMA added more than 39 mil-lion subscribers, which represents 29percent growth compared to 24 percentfor GSM, 7 percent for TDMA and 20percent for the overall industry.CDMA will continue to capture greatermarket share and, according toDeutsche Bank, its share will double toreach 26 percent by 2008, with 60 per-cent of CDMA subscribers usingCDMA2000 1X, 1xEV-DO or 1xEV-DV.In the Americas, CDMA carriers added18 million new subscribers in the pastyear to reach 102 million users. In theU.S, CDMA continues to be the tech-nology of preference. According to theEMC database, CDMA subscribersaccounted for 44 percent of all U.S.wireless subscribers in Q3, comparedto 26 percent for TDMA and 15 percentfor GSM. The CDMA2000 base grew2.5 times in the Americas, and today,one in four CDMA users in the regionhas access to 3G services. The third quarter of 2003 also sawthe deployment of 10 new CDMA2000networks. There are currently 71 livenetworks in 36 countries across sixcontinents.

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Business After HoursBusiness After HoursMobikom Launches CDMA2000 System

AmCham Pressident Kenneth Lefkowitz (left) dis-

cusses the new CDMA 2000 opportunities with

Tim Buiserett, General Manager, MOBIKOM.

The first Bulgarian company involvedin mobile communications, Mobikom,and Huawei Technologies, one of thebiggest net solutions providers,launched the new generation mobilesystem CDMA 2000.

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Amendments to BulgarianCommercial LawDiscussed atSeminar Organizedby Ernst & Young,AmCham From left: Anelia Dinova, PI Partners, Deputy Minister of Justice Sevdalin Bojikov,

the AmCham President Kenneth M. Lefkowitz, and Nick Davies – E&Y.

Ernst & Young, PI Partners and AmCham organized an opendiscussion to share the international experience in the fieldof corporate restructuring in light of the BulgarianCommercial Act amendments of June 2003. The event tookplace on November 27, at Hilton Sofia.The first session was related to EU accession. It highlightedon the process that underpin reforms and supplementation tothe Bulgarian legal framework.The second session was an overview of principles accordingto the Commercial Act amendments, while the third sessionconcerned economic and financial reporting issues. Thetopic was the business combinations in the context of cor-porate restructuring. The fair value problem and other ambi-guities were discussed as well.The fourth session was dedicated to corporate restructuring– some issues from a tax perspective.

The sessions were moderated by Nick Davies fromErnst&Young, Valentin Georgiev from AmCham, the DeputyMinister of Justice Sevdalin Bojikov, Anelia Dinova from PIPartners, Diana Nikolaeva from Ernst&Young and EmilDelchev, Ernst&Young.The amendments to the Commercial Act adopted in June2003 have filled a gap in the legal framework for companyrestructurings in Bulgaria. The European Union concepts forbusiness transformations, complex multi-parties transactions,which imply the exchange /swap of shares from differentstand-alone companies, for the first time, become part of theeconomic and legal environment in Bulgaria.Am Cham will endeavor to assist its members in developingfull understanding of the legislative changes enforced. Morefocused articles on the various aspects of these changes areexpected to be published in the first months of the new year.

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With remarks regarded as equal in impor-

tance as those delivering from the Davos

Economic Forum, and aimed at encourag-

ing the extension of business contacts

between the plenary sessions ended the

anniversary Fifth Southeast Europe

Economic Forum 2003 in Sofia held on

November 3-5.

The Bulgaria Economic Forum serves as a

natural venue for stimulating higher and

sustainable growth in Southeast Europe;

the development of know-how and the type

of management Europeans require, accord-

ing to Georgi Tabakov, chairman of

Bulgaria Economic Forum which help

organise the event. The forum provided dif-

ferent points of view regarding the eco-

nomic environment in the region with a

special focus on the host country, Bulgaria.

More than 1,500 representatives from the

business community, governments and

NGO’s from the Balkan countries, the

European Union, the USA and other

regions, took part in this year's forum, enti-

tled Integrating the Southeast Europe

Economic Space.

Participants included: The President Georgi

Parvanov, the Prime Minister, Republic of

Montenegro Milo Djukanovic, John Mroz,

President and Founder, EastWest Institute,

USA, John Riddle, Deputy Special

Coordinator, Stability Pact for South

Eastern Europe, Thor Bjorgolfsson,

Chairman of the Board, Pharmaco Group,

Christos Katsanis, Executive director, United

Bulgarian Bank, a Member of NBG Group,

as well as Valentin Zlatev, General Director,

LUKOIL Bulgaria.

Developing an economic strategy cement-

ing the development of the region as a

whole had been suggested by Bulgarian

president, Georgi Parvanov. The Bulgarian

head of state

proposed five key steps

The first deals with creation of the free

trade zones in the region. Building transport

infrastructure is the second step. According

to Mr. Parvanov, the projects should be

financed by the budget and by different

programmes. The third step is completing

the construction of the existing infrastruc-

ture and liberalising trade in energy, for

which a regional contract has to be signed.

Boosting cooperation in the field of new

technologies, the academic and scientific

exchange is the fourth step. Creation of an

institutional framework for coordination of

the different initiatives is also necessary.

The Deputy PM and Minister of Economy

Lidya Shouleva articulated the institutional

approach toward the problem with the busi-

ness climate in Bulgaria. According to her

the competitiveness of Bulgarian compa-

nies remains low. Many of the companies

are far behind the European technological

requirements, explained Minister Shouleva.

The investment volume in Bulgaria is not

sufficient enough, due to the privatization

model, chosen by the country, noted Mrs.

Shouleva.

The level of the corruption in Bulgaria

remains high, although there has been a

slight downward trend, according to the

experts from Vitosha Research.

The most corrupt areas

remain the public employees: doctors,

judges and policemen, the data reveals.

30-40% of the population is inclined to give

bribes, if this is the only way a problem

can be solved. The most important condi-

tion for counteraction of this phenomenon

is enforcement of the rule of the law, said

Borislav Boyanov, Chairman of SEE Legal.

“Foreign investors in Bulgaria should be

given guarantees that their investments are

protected and that the laws are transpar-

ent”, her Excellency Baroness Henrietta

van Lynden, ambassador of the

Netherlands said. Among 35 participants in

the fifth exhibition of Dutch companies

were TNT, KLM, Frans Maas, Philips,

Smart Co. etc.

The main topics in the Energy Strategy

presented by the Minister of Energy and

Energy Resources, Milko Kovachev, were

security of supply in the sector, competi-

tion, environment protection, privatization

and liberalization of the market. The min-

AmCham Participates in SEEFAmbitious Forum Outlines EconomicStrategies for the Future

AmCham stand attracted distinguished guests

and forum participants: Rosen Plevneliev (left),

BPS, presents BPS to Alex Lamnidis, Executive

Director, AmCham Greece

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ister highlighted the fact that the Italian

energy company ENEL is interested in

funding the Bulgarian energy sector. After

becoming the first big private operator on

the Bulgarian electricity market through

the privatization of Thermo Power Plant

Maritza Iztok 3, ENEL’s expert team con-

ducted a series of technical missions in a

number of Bulgarian thermo power plants.

Minister Kovachev did not explain which

facilities had been visited, but he recently

announced that the company was interest-

ed in TPP Bobov Dol, TPP Varna and

some Hydro Power Stations.

During the SEEF a special joint exhibition

stand was organized for AmCham Greece,

Hungary, Serbia & Montenegro and

Bulgaria. AmCham demonstrated the

opportunities arising from their regional

network. At the AmCham’s stand was pre-

sented the developments in Business Park

Sofia in 2004, where there would be 10

new buildings.

AmCham members participated in the

SEEF panels. The president of AmCham

Kenneth Lefkowitz moderated the discus-

sion on gas transit. Other AmCham partic-

ipants included members Borislav Boyanov

/Borislav Boyanov&Co/, Friedrich Niemann,

Hilton. The president of MNS Advisors Paul

Saks participated in the mortgage financ-

ing panel; Kevin Daly from

Standard&Poor’s in the credit ratings dis-

cussion.

The forum was attended also by the mem-

bers of AmCham – ADIS, Address, COL-

LIERS, Center for the Study of Democracy.

Executive director of AmCham Greece

Alex Lamnidis and Les Nemethy –

EuroPhoenix, BoD, Member of

AmChamHungary, were guest-speakers in

the panels.

During the SEEF conference Mr.

Alexander Lamnidis, Executive Director

of the American-Hellenic Chamber of

Commerce presented his view on

South-East European cooperation:

"The competition will intensify and each

of the countries in the region does not

possess a big enough or diverse enough

economy to attract major foreign capital

interest. The combination of all SE

European countries, though creates an

entirely different picture with 130 mil

inhabitants and skills in several sectors

like IT (in Bulgaria), Energy (in Romania),

Tourism & Banking (in Greece),

Construction & Energy (in Turkey) etc.

We have to regard the region as a whole

but not individual countries, in order to

attract major investments as at present

75% of all direct investments in the world

originate from and flow into 12 countries,

and certainly no SE European country is

among them.

Over the past decade, a major shift in

trade has taken place for Greece.

Namely, Turkey came to be the 5th

largest trading partner of Greece out

placing France, and in 2003 Bulgaria is

expected to enter into the top 5 list, as

trade for 2003 runs at 25% growth from

the year before.

This means that Greece is shifting its

trade interest form other W. European

countries to the SE European region (as

it should have been the case long time

ago.) The trade growth between the SE

European counties works as a catalyst in

the political relations and enhances them,

even before the Bulgaria joins the EU in

2007.

The American Chambers in the region as

many NGOs play their positive role in

developing relations, cooperating and co

organizing events for their members so

that they pave the way for further trade

growth”.

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The prestigious magazine Search Consult, which follows thedevelopment of the HR consultancy business, has made publicthe results of its global research, ranking AIMS network numberone in Europe and among the leaders worldwide. The strongpositioning on the old continent put AIMS way ahead of Amrop,Korn/Ferry, Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles and others. With 47 European offices and a total of 68 offices worldwide,AIMS can provide assistance to company activities practicallyanywhere where you may need it. At the beginning of November 2003 at the world meeting ofAIMS network in Paris the membership was increased by com-panies from Mexico, China and Canada.Participants from almost all countries noted the tendency ofconcentration of investments in Asia, impacting the HR con-sultancy market, thus opening new vistas for development.China, India and the Philippines were quoted among the mostpromising countries.

AIMS members concurred in stat-ing that present tendencies inalmost all countries speak of increased company interest inassessment and development of staff. Thus, the AssessmentCenter and Coaching grow in popularity among profession-als. Working ahead of time, AIMS is fully equipped to meetthe challenge and provide best in class services. The Bulgarian member of the network - AIMS HumanCapital Bulgaria - is proud to announce the opening of itsbranch in Macedonia. The office is fully operational as ofJuly 2003 and is already servicing some of the biggest

international investors in the country.AIMS Human Capital Macedonia is the only company on theground, providing the full range of consultancy services:• recruitment and assessment of highly qualified employees• HR consultancy• training and development

In Skopije you can contact Goran Pazdrijan at:Skopije 1000, Mitropolit Teodosij Gologanov st., 57Tel.: + 389 2 3109 515,Fax: + 389 2 3215 571Mobile: + 389 75 414 300, e-mail: info@aims.com.mkwww.aims.com.mkIn Bulgaria contact us at: Sofia 1000, 199 Rakovski Str.Tel./Fax: + 359 2 963 3575, 963 3595E mail: office@aims.bg, www.aims.bg

www.aims-network.com

The Largest Network in EuropeAIMS

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So far, his company has signed 17 con-tracts with institutions, hospitals andfirms. Mr. Ivanov expects to sign 30more contracts by the end of the year.Two second awards of USD 3000 weregiven to: Miriana Nikolova for her projectfor decorative lamps and to JordanVassilev from Stara Zagora for his ped-agogical services company. Three thirdplace awards of USD 1500 were distrib-uted among Diliana Sirmanova for herglass products and decorative art com-pany. Persian Parvanov received finan-cial support to help facilitate the devel-opment of his tourist websiteposoka.com. The third winner in the cat-egory was Ivanka Peichinova for thefamily hotel in the Cigov Chark Area inthe Rodopa mountains.BAEF granted a total of USD 16 500 inawards. According to the rules of thecompetition participants must presentdetailed business plans to further devel-op their businesses. It is expected thatthe competitors demonstrate strategicthinking, are realistic in their expecta-

tions and have basic knowledge infinances, marketing and legislature. Theother criteria include the project valuefor the country and the way it is pre-sented in front of the board of judges.“It is very difficult to choose the winnerslargely because the contestants are get-ting better every coming year”, saidTomas Higgins, Managing director ofBAEF. He added that BAEF was verypleased with the excellence of the con-testants.This year among the members of thejury were: Senior Advisor Nikolai Yarmov,Business Development in USAID,Vencislav Vassilev, Bulgarian Director ofConsortium FLAG, Zhulieta Hubenova,Director of Bulgarian EBRD Programmeof business consulting financing ser-vices, Chavdar Selveliev, Chairman ofBulgarian Entrepreneurs Association,Svetla Konstantinova from MarketEconomy Institute, Tom Higgins, manag-ing director of BAEF and Bistra Kirovafrom Investments Dept., BAEF.For the last ten years, the jurors dis-cussed and evaluated more than 1000business plans. As a rule of the contestparticipants must be between 18-29years of age. More than three thirds of

the projects which receivedawards over the last 10 years,had demonstrated successfulexpansion of their businesses.For the first time this year theco-organizer of BAEF’s com-petition was the companyJobTiger. The aim of the com-petition is to encourage youngBulgarians to develop theirown businesses, and hencecreate a generation of youngcitizens who will lead the

Bulgarian economy in the 21st century.In 2002 four projects were awarded fordemonstrating sound business develop-ment schemes and two were awardedfor starting successful businesses. Theprime award of 6000 USD receivedMaria Dermendjieva for her multimediadevelopment school. The two secondaryawards of 3000 USD were received byGalina Dimitrova and Irina Evgenieva.The three third place awards of 1500USD were distributed among ValentinMitov for his basketball academy, IvanIvanov for family farm development pro-ject and Iva Vaneva for wooden decora-tive coverings.

BAEF Awards IndoorAdvertising in YoungEntrepreneursCompetition The Bulgarian-American EnterpriseFund (BAEF) announced the awardsfor its 11th annual Young BulgarianEntrepreneurs competition. The 29-year-old winner, Milen Ivanov, and hiscompany Indoor Advertising receivedthe primary award of USD 6000 tofurther develop indoor advertisingagency business.

íhe Managing director of BAEF, Tom Higgins, /centre/

shows the winner’s certificate.

The 29-year-old winner, Milen Ivanov /third right/,

will further develop his indoor advertising agency.

BAEF is a private US corporationestablished in 1991 by the U.S.Congress through the Support for EastEuropean Democracy (SEED) Act.BAEF's mission is to actively participatein the development and expansion ofthe Bulgarian economy by investingwisely in the Bulgarian private sector.BAEF accomplishes this task by:• providing equity investments and loans

to companies with high growth potential • leveraging its capital through co-

financing with local or foreign partners • actively managing its investments • identifying and eliminating obstacles to

private sector development throughdirect advocacy with the Bulgarian gov-ernment

The Fund has a capital base of USD57 million and has succeeded in rais-ing additional funds from internationalfinancial institutions. BAEF has devel-oped a trained staff of 80 with exten-sive knowledge of Bulgarian compa-nies and industries.

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Dear Reader,

Starting with the current issue, by the end of next year, thepresent half page will be called Red Devil Social Corner. Itis not a sign of demonstration. It is our understanding that acompany is measured not only by its financial indicators butalso by its level of engagement in contemporary society.

Sincerely,Red Devil Team

Breast Cancer Awareness CampaignEverybody should be informed, involved and aware!

Red DevilSocial Corner

iF YOUR ADWERE pLACED HERE,

YOUR MESSAGE

• WOULD BE CONVEYED TO THE LEADING US, INTERNATIONAL AND BULGARIAN

COMPANIES OPERATING WITHIN BULGARIA;

• WOULD REACH THE DESKS OF SENIOR EXECUTIVES AND DECISION-MAKERS

WHO DEMAND HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES;

• WOULD TRAVEL ACROSS THE EUROPEAN CONTINENT AS WELL AS THE

UNITED STATES, TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK

OF AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE;

• WOULD SERVE AS AN IDEAL NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY FOR POTENTIAL

FOREIGN INVESTORS AND BUSINESSMEN VISITING BULGARIA.

THE RIGHT MESSAGE TO THE RIGHT AUDIENCE.

ADVERTISE IN THE AMCHAM BULGARIA MAGAZINE

THE PRIMARY FORUM FOR AMCHAM NEWS, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSES, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, NETWORKING, TRAVEL AND LEISURE SUGGESTIONS

CALL NOW TO FIND OUT MORE ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES on (+359 2) 9769 565 or 9769 566 e-mail to amcham@amcham.bgvisit us at www.amcham.bg

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Stable economic growthsustained

Since early 1997, the governmentnegotiations with the IMF have beenrunning relatively smoothly with onlyminor disagreements on the fiscalobjectives. The former cabinet ofIvan Kostov and the current cabinetof Simeon Saxe-Corbug have beensupporting conservative fiscal poli-cies and despite setbacks on theside of the energy reforms and pri-vatisation, the country has beenoften seen as the best-case exampleof positive IMF interventions. Thegood economic indicators this yearcombined with better-than-projectedfiscal revenues have initially suggest-ed a very easy completion of thefourth and last performance review.The statements from the ongoing IMFmission, however, suggest that thelast performance review under the 2-

year standby credit, as well as theparallel talks on a new precautionaryagreement, will not pass that easy.Apart from the rapidly expanding CAgap, the economy is facing muchhigher risks stemming from the gov-ernment plan for a sharp reversal toexpansive fiscal policies. The solidexternal position of the country couldeasily handle this expansion.However, setting up a large expendi-ture base for next year with off-bal-ance transfers at some 2% of GDPand the likelihood of a left-cabinet inmid-2005 with plans for a further fis-cal expansion, in our view, could dan-gerously challenge the central bankcapacity to sustain the fixedexchange regime in medium to longterm.

IMF remarks getting edgy

The IMF team remains very positive

on the country's growth potential butis apparently facing a tough dilemmawhether to take radical moves againstthe government plan for fiscal expan-sion or to complete positively the SDR240mn credit expiring this year and todelay the tough debates on the fiscalpolicy for the next arrangement.Completing his mandate with thecountry, IMF desk-chief for BulgariaJerald Schiff said last that the coun-try had already progressed significant-ly and could afford to pay less atten-tion to the Fund visits. He remainedoptimistic on the chances for a posi-tive completion of the current IMFagreement but did not avoid the criti-cal statements on the next year's bud-get and the growing concerns on theexternal balance. Schiff reiteratedafter a meeting with finance ministerMilen Velchev that the planned off-balance transfers from the fiscalreserve to infrastructure projects

Bulgaria Can Manage Without IMF Money

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should be booked in the expenditurepart of the budget and not in thefinancing part. If added to the expen-diture part, those transfers would yieldan effective general budget deficit of2.7% of GDP next year instead of the

widely announced target of 0.7%.Those expenditures were not includedin the initial projections on the macro-economic framework for next yearand were politically influenced by thejunior ruling partner Movement forRights and Freedoms (MRF).

The situation is getting more compli-cated with the weak position of thegovernment, which has to balancebetween risks of breaking the goodrelations with the IMF and losing itsthin majority in the parliament. Thepressure from the junior ruling part-ner MRF recalls the motives ofVelchev for his rejected resignation inthe summer. The recent rumours andofficial statements from MRF promptthat the party would not go that far toask a replacement of Velchev but it is

not clear how the backroom politicaltrade has affected the budget for nextyear.

Follow-up agreement withIMF may be delayed

Given the government hints to complywith the IMF recommendations for afully-balanced budget this year, thelast tranche under the SDR 240mnagreement expiring in February nextyear will be most likely disbursedwithin the agreed schedule. However,we expect the IMF executive board totake a more critical stance on thegovernment fiscal expansion plan andwe do not exclude possible delays forthe approval of the follow-up agree-ment with the Fund. The tone of theconcluding IMF statements will large-ly depend on the compromises thegovernment would make to cut theoff-balance accounts and the com-mitment of the government to includefiscal safeguards for large expendi-ture cuts next year in accordancewith the external balance perfor-mance.

External balance risks

The CA gap this year is likely toreach the record 7.5% of GDP evenwith a modest end-year spending ofthe fiscal surplus accumulated in thefirst 10 months of the year. The rapid-ly growing credit market and the fis-cal expansion from a roughly bal-anced budget this year to an effectivedeficit of 2.7% of GDP next yearwould probably push the CA gapclose to the double-digit benchmarknext year. The fiscal and foreignreserve could easily cover the gap inshort terms but the deficit may not besustainable in medium terms and mayprompt the export lobbies to push forexchange rate devaluation. As manyhouseholds suffered significant lossesfrom exchange rate effects in differ-ent phases of the transition period,devaluation rumours and speculationscould easily cause a currency substi-tution accompanied by currency mis-matches in the bank portfolios.

This article is based on extracts from ISI Emerging MarketsIntelliNews publications Bulgaria This Week and BulgariaCountry Report. For more detailed information please contactISI Emerging Markets office in Sofia at +359 2 9806598 orsales-bg@securities.com.

Outside the central Slovak town of Kremnica, there is anobelisk marking the geographic centre of Europe. While offi-cial credit for this title has never been given, Slovakia is sit-uated at the heart of Europe, and at the crossroads of westand east.

Besides enjoying excellent transportation infrastructure toneighboring EU member and candidate states, Slovakiaserves as a commercial base for operations in its easternneighbor Ukraine, as well as in other countries of easternand southeastern Europe.

With expected EU accession to come in 2004, Slovakiastands ready to use its prime location as a springboard intothe common European market and continue developing itscommerce in eastern and southern Europe.

According to the 2001 census, the total population of theSlovak Republic is 5,379,455, with a density of 109,9 peopleper square kilometer. Of this, 51.4 per cent are women and48.6 per cent are men. Economically active population wasmeasured at 49.6 per cent.

Small towns and villages account for the majority of the peo-ple and the population of Slovakia’s capital and largest city,Bratislava, is 452,000. The second largest city, KoӞice, in theeast of the country, has a population of around 240,000.

Political Outlook

After parliamentary elections in September 2002 MikulásDzurinda returned to the head of government and his newcabinet was installed on October 16th. Mr. Dzurinda’sDemocratic and Christian Union (SDKU), which finished sec-ond in the election, formed the coalition with four center-rightparties: the SDKU, the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), theChristian Democratic Movement (KDH) and the Alliance ofthe New Citizen (ANO). The new government coalition has anarrow legislative majority, with 78 seats in the 150-memberparliament. Although the Movement for a DemocraticSlovakia (HZDS) received the most votes in the election, its19.5% showing was by far the lowest in its history, continuinga trend of declining popular support for Mr. Meciar since

1992. The other main opposition party, Smer, led by the pop-ular and populist Róbert Fico, has vowed not to co-operatewith the HZDS and to play a “constructive” role instead.

Investment Incentives

The Slovak Government provides a series of attractive incen-tives for both foreign and domestic investors. These includean attractive tax credit system, together with cash grants fornewly created jobs and for training. Legislation relevant tothese incentives includes the Act on State Aid, the Act onInvestment Incentives, the Income Tax Act and theEmployment Act.

Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) isthe leading implementation agency for FDI support and is adirect competitor to agencies in Hungary, the Czech Republicand Poland. SARIO’s activities leading up to an influx ofinvestmnets will have to be challenged into the following fourvenues – image making, investment generation, support for

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Slovakia:On the Road to the Europ ean Market

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investors and investment climate improvement. The strategyfor FDI is to encourage existing investors to realize their pro-jects with a high level of added value and earn the highestpossible investments volumes with high added value on thepart of investor.

Economy

Slovakia’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been growingsteadily, reaching 3.3 per cent in 2001 and projected at 3.6per cent in 2002. Growing domestic demand has been dri-ving the rise, aided by gains in fixed investment. In 2003 realGDP growth is forecast to rise to 4.1% and 5% in 2004.

The tax credit system

The tax credit incentive has been fully accepted by theEuropean Union and as a result, Slovakia is currently the onlycountry in the Visegrad Four that can offer certainty withregard to its tax based incentive package.

The Slovak tax credit system provides a benefit of up to 50per cent of the qualifying expenditure on investment outsidethe Bratislava region. In the Bratislava region the benefit canamount to up to 20 per cent of the qualifying expenditure.These tax credits apply for a period of up to 10 years, sub-ject to these regional state aid limits.

Visa

The issue of the entry of a foreigner in the territory of theSlovak Republic is regulated by §3 of the aforementionedlaw. It states that a foreigner may enter the territory of theSlovak Republic solely through those border checkpoints,which have been designated, for international tourism andunder condition that he is a holder of a valid travel documentand was granted a visa of the Slovak Republic unless theinternational agreements by which the Slovak Republic isbound state otherwise.

Communications

Slovakia’s developed telecom infrastructure has been liberal-ized and the fixed line monopoly of Slovak Telecom (ST) isset to expire in January 2003. Besides fixed lines, Slovakia

has two wirelesses GSM and UMTS service providers –EuroTel and Orange – and a third combined GSM UMTSlicense as yet unclaimed.

Following a period of modernization, ST lines were 70 percent digital by the end of 2000, while GSM coverage of thecountry exceeds 98 per cent of the population.

Slovakia also has well-developed data transfer services with6 licensed companies and 30 Internet service providers.

American Chamber of Commerce in the Slovak Republic

The American Chamber of Commerce in the SlovakRepublic started its operation in 1993 in Bratislava, capi-tal of the Slovak Republic. In just a few years it unitedmore than 240 multinational and Slovak companies includ-ing many significant investors in the Slovak Republic. InOctober 2003 Róbert Simoncic, the General Manager ofMicrosoft and a member of the AmCham Slovakia Boardof Directors, officially took over the Chair of the EuropeanCouncil of American Chamber of Commerce (ECACC).

AmCham’s effort is to create positive business conditionsand environment that would positively influence develop-ment of investments existing in the Slovak Republic andsupport influx of the new investments to this area. Throughits effort, AmCham tries to increase quality of everyday lifein the Slovak Republic.

Throughout the past year, AmCham Slovakia has fre-quently shown that it is dedicated to serving its membersthrough the support of its three main pillars: contacts,information and advocacy.

For contacts:Hotel Danube Rybné nám. 1813 38 Bratislava, SlovakiaTel.: (+421-2) 54 64 05 34Fax: (+421-2) 59 34 05 56E-mail: director@amcham.skWeb: www.amcham.sk

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Training policies

People, the human side of the businessequation might easily be overlooked inthe present high-tech world. Todaymost managers admit their teams needpeople skills. Whether you're planning,building a team, project managing,dealing with customer needs, managingyour time or other types of humanresource needs, training has a greatreturn on investment. The organizationsthat will succeed in the future arethoughtfully developing their mostimportant resource: the people theyemploy.

Training and development possibilitiesare becoming more and more importantfactors in the compensation packageof Bulgarian employees as well.Therefore, trainings mark a steadygrowths in the past 3 years. Latestresults show that up to 91% of the sur-veyed organizations provide trainings totheir professional staff.

Training seminars vary from external-ly organized open trainings to inter-nally custom designed and presented

trainings and in recent years evenuniversity courses. Internationallyreported move to onlinetraining/learning is not felt on theBulgarian market yet.

37.5% of the organizations providecompany-sponsored education to theiremployees. The most common degreesbeing sponsored by employers are MBAand ACCA (for accounting and finan-cial professionals)

Employee turnover

Some interesting trends are observedalso in the supply and demand ofskilled professionals during the pastyear. The number of employees leavingand hired by the companies indicatesthat there is an increasing demand forpersonnel in the Customer service andMarketing function. IT, Logistics andFinance are also developing areas thatattract more professionals.

The post-privatization economic activi-ties of manufacturing companies andthe lean production schemes of fewgreen-field investors account for the

decreasing employment needs ofManufacturing and Maintenance staffin production environment. However,although number show that manufac-turing operations are being optimizedand this leads to diminishing numbersof employed in these functions, high-caliber managers and professionalswith experience in large-scale produc-tion environment mark a unique pauci-ty on the market.

The AIMS Human CapitalCompensation and Benefits Survey2003 reveals several significant trendson the Bulgarian market. Theincreased number of participants is amark for the high interest and aware-ness of the market influence on com-pensation levels. On the whole, it canbe stated that the value of the humancapital in Bulgaria is increasing withslow, yet steady pace.

Employee RemunerationPackages in BulgariaAIMS Human Capital 2003 Compensation and Benefits Survey (continued from issue 44)

Functions Employees Employees

hired leaving

Marketing 79 33

Customer Service 276 127

Logistics and

Purchasing 35 28

Finance 36 22

Administrative 40 27

Human Resources 19 13

Information

Technology 46 14

Engineering 43 11

Quality Assurance 8 6

Manufacturing 182 231

Maintenance 24 47

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Balkan ES Team Ltd, NIKE Representative for BulgariaNIKE is the world’s most competitive sports and fitness com-pany and one of the most popular trade mark and brand. Alot has happened at NIKE in the 30 years since the compa-ny entered the industry. It remains totally focused on creat-ing performance opportunities for everyone who would ben-efit, and offering empowering messages for everyone whowould listen.

Balkan ES Team Ltd Sofia as a legally representative for thecountry, introduced NIKE genuine goods on Bulgarian marketin 1997. Today there are numerous points of sales all overBulgaria and two NIKE Exclusive Stores in Sofia. As a partof NIKE community, the company’s mission is to bring inspi-ration and innovation to everybody – if you have a body, youare athlete.

Silva KamenskaGeneral Manager

Tel: 359 2 954 95 63, 954 69 57, 951 69 5714, Kniaz Boris I St,

1463 Sofiae-mail: nike.bg@techno-link.com

Cefin Bulgaria EOOD was established in July 2000 as anauthorized Iveco dealer for the territory of Bulgaria. Thecompany started with social capital of 800,000 BGN invest-ed in the construction of administrative premises, bondedwarehouse, spare parts warehouse and service workshopfully equipped in compliance with the Iveco standards.

Cefin Bulgaria is a part of the Cefin Group, the latter beinga private initiative dated from 1995 and aimed at creating inCentral and Eastern Europe state-of-the-art providers of inte-grated services (sales, after sale, technology and financing)in the commercial vehicles sector. A strategic activity in thegroup’s business structure is the partnership with Iveco, fol-lowed by providing domestic and cross-border leasingthrough Afin Interantional and its local offices, and develop-ment of electronic products and applications.

In 2002 Cefin Bulgaria reached more than 50 % of all Ivecosales in Bulgaria, and through its winning concept of offeringfinal solution to transport needs, occupied the position ofbest performing Iveco dealer.

Daniel Marin, Managing Director4, Bezimenna Str., Drujba I, Sofia 1528

Tel./Fax: 02/ 9736 756, e-mail: office@cefin.bgwww.cefin.bg

Allan Collautt Associates, Inc. (ACA) is a professional orga-nization in which professionalism is inherent to all compo-nents of the corporation including: staff; products and ser-vices; interaction with customers, vendors and third parties.Our professional approach is also evident in our managementof service delivery, in our customer support, and in our firmcommitment to continued enhancement of our products. Thiscommitment assures the satisfaction of the changing needsof our customers and, ultimately, the satisfaction of theneeds of the populations whom they serve. During its almosttwo decades of continuous business operations, ACA hassuccessfully established standards that blend the company’sinnovative products and services with well measured conser-vative use of technologies. As a result, our customers enjoythe benefit of highly effective and often visionary solutionsthat are combined with proven and tested technologies. Thus,the risk of implementing insufficiency mature and/or high

maintenance technologies is substantially reduced.Through its value base and its diverse knowledge and prac-tical experience with the field of Human Services and publichealth, ACA succeeded in establishing and maintaining astrong community focus in its consultation and its productsand services. The staff of the corporation demonstrates auniquely effective combination of experience in health andHuman Services, information technology, research and devel-opment, and business management.

Allan Collautt Associates, Inc. /ACA/Tel: 359 2 944 2531

Gen. Danail Nikolaev 7,1504 Sofia

e-mail: kondakov@centrum-group.comwww.acainc.com

ACA

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Since more than 150 years Lindt, the chocolate manu-facturer of Swiss origin, is known for chocolate cre-ations of unusually high quality and delicacy. The secretof this delicate premium chocolates is the tireless pur-suit of the Lindt Master chocolatiers to use only ingre-dients of highest quality, their care for detail and theiruse and constant further development of state-of-theart technology. All this with the aim to fulfil the highexpectations of the community of real chocolate loversall over the world.

But what's the story behind that success?

The cradle of the famous "melting" chocolate of Lindtgoes back until the year 1845 when David Sprüngli-Schwarz and his son Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann openeda shop in Zürich and offered the latest fashion, "solidchocolate". The success became even bigger whenthey later on bought the factory and technological inno-

vation of Rodolphe Lindt, the so called "conching". Thisnew technology allowed to produce for the first time achocolate with a silky, shiny shine that melted smooth-ly on the tongue. Before that chocolate used to taste abit sandy and sour. Lindt's "melting chocolate" soonachieved fame, and contributed significantly to theworldwide reputation of Swiss chocolate.

In 1949 Lindt & Sprüngli's development team was pre-sented with the difficult task of creating a chocolate barwith a particular smooth and creamy filling that would bea completely different kind of experience. One of the mostfamous products of Lindt - that of Lindor - was born.

This was the start of the long story of a product whoseshape and design have been continuously developedand adapted to changing customer needs over the past50 years. One thing never changed - the original recipeof thin chocolate shell that encases a heart of wonder-fully soft-melting mixture of creamy, top-quality filling.

In 1967 Lindt had the brilliant idea of marketing theLindor recipe in ball form which appeared to be the per-fect shape for revealing the perfect taste, followed laterby LINDOR products in all their many shapes (e.g. bars,balls, hearts, squares, Easter eggs and Christmas treedecorations).

Lindor is the most soft-melting chocolate in the wholeLindt assortment and thus the "archetype" of what peo-ple expect from a chocolate. It's not only Lindt's bestseller world wide, but also a lot of people in Bulgaria arepassionate about this special praline product.

These are only some of the greatest moments in thelong and successful history of Lindt. The wonderfulstory of chocolate passion continues…

Lindt – Taste the Chocolate Passion