$ආൾඋංർൺඇ &ൺආൻൾඋ ඈൿ &ඈආආൾඋർൾ ංඇ %ඎඅൺඋංൺ Board of Directors Annual Report For the Year 2016 M E M B E R S H I P K P I E V E N T S D E CE M B E R 2 0 1 6 D D D D D 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 B U D G E T 2 0 1 6 - 2 0 1 7 2 0 1 6 P O L I C Y / A D V O C A C Y
Transcript
Board of Directors
Annual Report For the Year 2016
MEMBERSHIP
K
PI
EV
ENTS
DECEMBER 2016DDDDD 6666666666666666DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 2222222222222222222222222222222222222222222000000000000000000000000000000000000000000011111111111111111111111111111111111111111666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666
BUDGET 2016-2017
2016 POLICY/ADVOCACY
Contents
Report of the Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
On behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors it is my pleasure to present you with our Annual Report for 2016.Let me highlight the Chamber events and initiatives in 2016 – our strong involvement in advocacy, our devotion to continuously working towards achiev-ing a more sustainable business climate in the coun-try and our efforts in extending our network, within the country and abroad. In 2017 the Chamber will mark 22 years of presence in Bulgaria, with over 340 members in major industries!Let me start with the fact that this year AmCham
successfully modernized all communication channels and this was done
for the bene t of the AmCham community! Now AmCham Bulgaria has a brand new website, a new Weekly newsletter and a rebranded AmCham Magazine, now entitled Business Connect. All up-grades are designed to help companies become more visible, interactive and involved in the AmCham activities. AmCham renewed bi-monthly magazine Business Connect will be a showcase of best business prac-tices and will include in-depth analyses of major po-litical and economic trends – national, European and global ones. We believe that the revamped magazine will allow the Chamber to develop still further its communication with the business community and Bulgaria’s institutions. Taking into consideration the importance of the digi-tal economy and the European Union’s digital single market initiative, as well as the emerging digital op-portunities as drivers of innovation, competitiveness and growth, the Board of Directors decided
to establish a new AmCham Digital Working Group.
AmCham Committees were very active during the year on different policy and legislative initiatives. During the AmCham board of directors strategy meeting in January some organizational changes took place in the committees’ structure. Two of the committees were merged, namely Human Resources and CSR Committees to form the Human Resources, Education and CSR Committee. Tax committee
expanded to Tax and Finance Committee. Later on, a new Capital Markets Working Group was estab-lished within the Tax and Finance Committee. Fur-thermore, AmCham has joined the Council for Capi-tal Market Development in Bulgaria as an associate member. The Council was created in October, 2016 by the Central Depository and Bulgaria’s Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) in partnership with 15 local associations. The committees developed and submitted a series of position papers to the Government for improv-ing the existing policy and legislative framework in Bulgaria. Let me recognise the efforts of all of the committees’ chairs:co-chairs Alex Nestor and Aneliya Erdly (Energy and Mineral Resources Committee), Dr. Krassimira Chemishanska (Healthcare Committee), co-chairs Dobromira Manasieva, Elitza Barakova, and Zlatina Kushkieva (Human Resources, Education and CSR Committee), co-chairs Radoslav Rizov, Zlatina Ru-seva-Savova (Public Procurement and EU Funding Advisory Committee), co-chairs Vyara Stankova and Boyan Gyuzelev (Quality Management Committee), co-chairs Milen Raikov and Stanislava Taneva (Tax and Finance Committee).AmCham commenced the year with a key initiative in support of the judicial reform together with ten chambers of commerce, bringing together businesses from the US and leading European countries. The chambers sent an open letter to Bulgarian institu-tions and media, as well as held a number of meet-ings with Government’s representatives to discuss the judicial reform and its impact on the business environment in the country.
Highlights of AmCham Work in 2016
Report of the Board of Directors
2Report of the Board of Directors
In May, AmCham
Submitted to the Government legislative proposals on the Bill for a brand new Concessions Act, which will also cover public private partnerships and related large investment opportunities in the country.
Furthermore, in June AmCham submitted its pro-posals on the Draft Concessions Act to the Parlia-ment as well, and representatives of the Public Procurement and EU Funding Advisory Committee held a follow-up meeting with the Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee Chair.
Again in June, AmCham Bulgaria issued a letter of support for the timely adoption of the EU-US Privacy Shield Agreement and submitted it to the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Bul-garia to the European Union Mr. Tzantchev. The AmCham Letter underlines the importance of data ows in today’s global economy.
In September and October, AmCham
submitted proposals and comments on the Draft Ordinance for the scope and methodology for undertaking regulatory impact assessment (RIA).
AmCham has been very active in public with regard to its initiatives and providing comments on the busi-ness and investment climate in the country. AmCham leadership had media interviews for the mainstream media: BNT, Bulgaria on Air TV, BI Television, Bloomberg TV, Trud daily, Manager magazine, etc.
To highlight some of our most important events, the chamber had its annual Business Luncheon with the Government in March. Economic growth, energy security and diversi cation, and judicial and health-care reforms were discussed in detail during the meeting. AmCham members had the opportunity to address business issues and provide recommenda-tions to the Government of cials on how to improve the investment climate in the country.
Strengthening of Bulgarian, American and global econ-omies, promoting economic growth, expanding trade, as well as nancial and scienti c cooperation were mentioned as top priorities for the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria Eric Rubin during the AmCham business lunch in May. The US envoy elaborated on a number of topics related to Bulgaria’s economy, bilateral trade with the U.S., Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and military cooperation before more than 200 business representatives and media.
Another important event was the discussion “2016 Presidential Election: Sofia Perspective”
organized by the American Chamber of Commerce
in October. American residents in Bulgaria, leading political analysts and journalists discussed the US presidential campaign and shared expectations about the impact of elections in Bulgaria and worldwide.Last but not least, AmCham Bulgaria and BCause Foundation resumed the Volunteer Day’s initia-tive in May. Over 475 volunteers from 18 AmCham member companies participated in activities in Chelopech, So a, Pleven, Stara Zagora including cleaning, planting trees, renovation of fences, assis-tance to centers for orphan children and houses for elderly people, etc.In 2016 AmCham continued to raise funds for char-ity initiatives and projects that reached the amount of BGN 56 400. Thanks to its members, AmCham successfully accomplished the Thanksgiving com-munity dinner held in November when BGN 52 770 were collected in total from open bid, silent auction, raf e and scholarships donated by companies. The funds were designated for “Get ready to succeed” program and “We Can” fund of BCause Foundation in favor of orphan students in secondary schools and universities.Let me highlight one more great initiative of Am-Cham – Member-to-Member Executive Meetings! In 2016 AmCham organized more meetings with speci c industry sectors to further expand network-ing opportunities between companies.In the past year AmCham had the pleasure of partnering with a number of institutions, business organizations and bilateral chambers as the U.S. Em-bassy in Bulgaria and the U.S. Commercial Service, the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the French-Bulgarian Chamber of Com-merce and Industry, Con ndustria Bulgaria, and the Austrian Business Circle.In conclusion, on behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to assure the AmCham community that we will continue working hard in 2017 to ful l our mission and goals. We will aspire towards even higher membership engagement and will focus our activities on matters of importance to you, our mem-bers, based on your input and constructive feedback. Our achievements would not have been possible without the continuous support and enthusiasm demonstrated by our members and the commitment of the AmCham Of ce team.On behalf of the Chamber, I would like to sincerely thank you for your trust and I look forward to contin-uing our productive cooperation in the years ahead!
Sincerely,
Krassimira ChemishanskaPresidentAmerican Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria
3
KPINumber
Plan/Actual 2016
Number Plan 2017
Description
MEMBERSHIP 339 / 341 356 Period 01-11/2016 EVENTS Conferences and Roundtables
2/2 2 Analytics Roadshow Sofi a 2016 - AmCham & SAS, April 22
2016 U.S. Presidential Election: Sofi a Perspective, Oct. 26
Business Meetings - Luncheons, Breakfasts & General Assembly
8/ 10 8 Member-to-Member Executive Meetings, Feb. 8, May 17
Business Breakfast with the World Bank, Jan. 12
Business Breakfast with British Bulgarian Business Association and Indian Bulgarian Business Chamber, Feb. 24
Business Luncheon with the Bulgarian Government, March 25
Business Breakfast with AON, March 30
Business Luncheon with H.E. Eric Rubin, US Ambassador, May 20
Business Breakfast with ILAC, Sept. 14
General Assembly, Dec. 8Social / Sports Events 4/3 4 AmCham Ski Tournament, March 19
Independence Day Celebration, July 2
Thanksgiving Community Dinner, Nov 22Networking Receptions 6/ 2 6 Meet the New Members Party, March 24; Sept. 28INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Events / Projects 4 4 AmCham EU Brussels Policy Briefi ng for AmChams
in Europe, March 16-18
AmChams in Europe 2016 USA Conference Washington DC and Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 8-13
AICR & CBG Business Leaders Networking Event, Rome, Bulgarian Embassy, June 22
AmChams in Europe (ACE) Best Practices Conference, Slovenia, Oct. 14-16
LOCAL COOPERATION Events / Projects 4 4 Capital 10th Annual Government Meets the Business
conference, Jan. 19
IDC Predictions 2016, Feb. 9
Innovation Explorer 2016, Feb. 25
AmCham BCAF Volunteer Day, May 14
7th BAPRA Bright Awards
AmCham & Atlantic Club - Public lecture by H.E. Eric Rubin, April 7
Yearbook 2016 500 copies, A4 Visit Europe Guide - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine
4 4 Quarterly
COMMITTEES 4/4 5 Human Resources, Education and CSR Committee 4/2 4 Healthcare Committee 5/2 4 Public Procurement and EU Funding Advisory
Committee 4/1 3 Quality Management Committee4/3 4 Tax and Finance Committee5/3 4 Energy & Mineral Resources Committee0/1 5 Digital Working Groupn/a 4 Capital Markets Working Group
LOBBYING AmCham Advocacy Activities in 2016In 2016 AmCham Bulgaria prepared and submitted position papers and offi cial letters related to the following policy and legislative initiatives:
Position paper on the Draft new Concessions Act
Two position papers on the Draft Ordinance for the scope and methodology for undertaking regulatory impact assessment (RIA)
Position paper on the Draft Act for amendment and supplement of the Act for Medicinal Products in Human Medicine (AMPHM)
Position paper on the Draft Act for amendment and supplement of the Administrative Procedure Code
Letter underlining the role of the EU – U.S. Privacy Shield Agreement for the Transatlantic Economy
Support letter for the timely adoption of the EU – U.S. Privacy Shield Agreement
Letter regarding AmCham Bulgaria’s participation in the Energy Strategy Working Group to the Ministry of Energy
Joint advocacy initiatives: AmCham Bulgaria, together with nine bilateral chambers, prepared in January
2016 an open letter in support of the judicial reform underlining its importance for improving the investment climate in the country. The letter received wide media coverage and representatives of the Chambers had the opportunity to discuss their members’ concerns with regards the judicial reform with Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds and Economic Policies – Mr. Tomislav Dontchev and Deputy Prime Minister for Coalition Policy and Public Administration and Minister of Interior – Ms. Rumyana Buchvarova, and Minister of Justice Ekaterina Zaharieva
Group of 11 bilateral chambers, including AmCham Bulgaria, submitted a position on the Draft Independent Financial Audit Act related to proposed measures for mandatory audit fi rm rotation for public interest entities and mandatory joint audits for fi nancial institutions
Five bilateral chambers, including AmCham Bulgaria, submitted a position on the Draft new Food Act related to provisions for labeling of food products
5
Relocations and Moving, 0.90%
Real Estate, 3.50%
Public Relations, 0.60%
Pharmaceutical and Chemical,
3.80%
Outsourcing, IT Services, 3.50%
Of ce Equipment,
0.30%
Media and Entertainment,
1.80%
Marketing and Advertising,
1.20%
Manufacturing, 6.10%
Logistics and Transportation,
1.80%
Investment Advisory and Management Services, 3.50%
Agriculture, 1.20% Audit and Accounting, 2.30%
Automobile Construction and Engineering, 3.80%
Consultancy and Legal
Services, 9.65%
Consumer Goods, 3.20%
Couriers, 0.90%
Defense, 0.60%
Education, 2.00%
Energy, 3.50%
Finance and Banking, 5.85%
Food and Beverage,
2.90%
Individual3.51%
NGO6.73%
Foundations and Associations, 3.20%
Healthcare, 3.20%Human
Resources, 2.30%
Industrial Equipment and
Trade, 4.10%
Information and Communication
Technologies, 11.40%
Travel and Tourism, 4.40%Services,
5.00%
Insurance, 2.00%
In 2016 we are facing an increase in the membership - as of November 30 the members' number is 342 and 31 new members joined the Chamber.
Membership 2016AmCham Membership Development
Membership Structure by Field of Business, as of November 30, 2016Th e sectors with biggest shares among the membership are ICT with 11.4%, Consultancy and Legal services with 9.65%, followed by Manufacturing with 6.14%.
Membership Structure by Membership Type, as of November 30, 2016
Local, 36.84%
International 52.63%
Associate, 0.29%
6events
BUSINESS BREAKFAST: The World Bank’s Diagnostic of Health Financing in Bulgaria
Capital 10th Annual Government Meets the Business conference: Bulgaria amid the Global Uncertainty
Member-to-Member Executive Meetings
IDC Predictions discussion forum
Business Breakfast with British Bulgarian Business Association and Indian Bulgarian Business Chamber
Innovation Explorer 2016
2 Virtual Dialogues on TTIP hosted by the U.S. Embassy
AmCham Ski Tournament
Meet the New Members Party
Business Luncheon with the Bulgarian Government: Priorities of the Bulgarian Government in 2016: Policies and Measures for Promoting Economic Growth
Business Breakfast with AON
AmCham & Atlantic Club - Public lecture by H.E. Eric Rubin
BAPRA Bright Awards Contest
Analytics Roadshow So a 2016 - AmCham & SAS
AmCham BCAF Volunteer Day
Member-to-Member Executive Meetings
Business Luncheon with H.E. Eric Rubin, US Ambassador: "U.S. - Bulgaria Bilateral Trade and Investment Relationship within the Context of the Transatlantic Economic Partnership"
Independence Day Celebration
Business Breakfast with ILAC
Meet the New Members Party
U.S. Presidential Election: So a Perspective
AmCham - AHK - The Power of Leadership
Thanksgiving Community Dinner
General Assembly
AmCham Events in 2016
7
Bulgarian ministers and AmCham members discussed on March 25, 2016 measures for economic growth, ju-dicial reform, energy diversi cation, and health reform during a discussion entitled “Priorities of the Bulgarian Gov-ernment in 2016: Policies and Measures for Promoting Economic Growth” held at the So a Hotel Balkan with some 200 business reps, foreign envoys and media.
Bulgaria’s government was represented by: Tomislav Donchev, Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds and Economic Policies, Ekaterina Zaharieva, Minister of Justice, Bojidar Loukarski, Minister of Economy, Temenuzka Petkova, Minis-ter of Energy, Peter Moskov, Minister of Health, Ivelina Vasileva, Minister of Environment and Water.
“Although Bulgarian government is op-timistic about reaching 3% growth, the entrepreneurial activity in the country is very low, with only 5.7% of the work force able to develop an own business”, said Tomislav Donchev.
It is of vital importance for the economic growth to speed up the judicial reform as the legislative changes will be factors for economic development and attracting of investments, said Krassimira Chem-ishanska, AmCham president in her welcoming address.
The main priority is the construction of the interconnector Greece - Bulgaria, which is important not only for us but for the entire region of Southeast Eu-rope, said Minister of Energy Temenu-zhka Petkova.
Events at Focus
Economy, Energy and Judicial
Reform Discussed at AmCham-Government Meeting
March
25,
2016
8events at focus
AmCham Bulgaria, British Bulgarian Business Association, Indian-Bulgarian Business Chamber and the law of ce Boyanov&Co. in February hosted a busi-ness breakfast on the 2016 – Challenges in the Field of Taxation. During the event were discussed the new treatment for VAT purposes of the use of goods for personal needs, the so called “weekend tax” and Foreign Account Tax Compli-ance Act (FATCA) rules.
Guest speakers were Rosen Ivanov, Director, Tax and Social Security Meth-odology Directorate, National Revenue Agency who elaborated on the “weekend tax” practical aspects and legislative op-portunities. The weekend tax envisages that goods purchased by companies us-ing tax incentives are subject to taxation if they are used by employees for per-sonal purpose outside work, according to new regulations that were proposed by Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry in 2015.
AmCham Bulgaria and the BCause Foundation (BCAF) resumed Volunteer Days initiative on May 14, 2016. Over 475 volunteers from 18 AmCham mem-ber companies participated in activi-ties in Chelopech, So a, Pleven, Stara Zagora to make the environment better: cleaning, planting, renovating of fences, assistance in centers for orphan children and houses for elderly people.
Among the AmCham member com-panies were: Amdocs, CEZ Bulgaria, ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3, Dimitrov, Petrov & Co., Dundee Precious Metals, JTI Bulgaria, MARSH, Microsoft Bulgar-
ia, Mobiltel, PMI-Bulgaria, Provident, Radisson Blu, Sano , Sogelife, Stanton-Chase, Telenor, The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria VMWare.
The formal opening of Volunteer Days took place at the Military Museum in So a. The volunteers from Philip Mor-ris company were warmly welcomed by Elitsa Barakova, executive director, BCause, Valentin Georgiev, executive director, AmCham Bulgaria, Maria Galindo, U.S. Commercial Attaché and Dr. Daniela Tsankova-Gancheva, deputy director, Military Museum.
Weekend Tax and FATCA Discussed with Boyanov&Co. Law Offi ce
AmCham and BCause Foundation Resume Volunteer Days initiative
May
14,
2016
February
2016
9events at focus
AmCham Bulgaria hosted 21st annual celebration of the American Independ-ence Day on July 2nd, 2016 to mark the 240th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States with hundreds of guests at the American Col-lege of So a.
The American Ambassador Eric Rubin, AmCham President Dr. Krassimira Chemishanska, Executive Director Valentin Georgiev, American College of So a President Richard Ewing, and the master of ceremony David Hampson greeted the guests from the AmCham community.
Strengthening of Bulgarian, American and global economies, promoting eco-nomic growth, expanding of trade, as well as nancial and scienti c coopera-tion are top priorities for the US Ambas-sador to Bulgaria Eric Rubin as stated during the AmCham business lunch on May 20, 2016 held at the So a Hotel Balkan. The US envoy elaborated on a number of topics relating to Bulgaria’s economy, bilateral trade, Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), military cooperation before more than 200 business representatives and media.
In his address to the business, Mr. Ru-
bin said that every AmCham company represents an American success story. “Your businesses are the building blocks of our commercial partnership and of our two countries’ prosperity. In my three months in Bulgaria, I have had the pleasure to join some of you as you cel-ebrated key milestones – opening new facilities, expanding your operations, or pro ling technological innovations.”
AmCham was praised by the ambassa-dor for its role for the strong commercial partnership between US and Bulgaria over the past 25 years that would not have been the same without Chamber’s vision and energy.
Ambassador Rubin Analyses U.S.-Bulgaria Economic
and Investment Partnership
AmCham Celebrates July Fourth
May
20,
2016
July
2,
2016
10events at focus
A revival of the liberal democracy, unity in the EU and NATO, going out of the trap of populism clichés are key factors to avoid crises of destructive nature, concluded the participants at the discus-sion “2016 Presidential Election: So a Perspective” organized by the American Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 26, 2016.
American residents in Bulgaria, lead-ing political scientists and journalists analyzed the US presidential campaign between the two candidates Hillary Clinton, Democratic Party and Donald Trump Republican Party. The par-ticipants shared expectations about the impact of elections in Bulgaria and worldwide.
The presidential campaign in the United States clearly shows the need for rede- ning of globalization, said political
analyst Ognyan Minchev, director of the Institute for Regional and International Studies during the discussion.
Participants in the discussion were: the moderator Ralitza Kovacheva, program director, Bulgarian International Televi-sion, Daniel Smilov, program director, Center for Liberal Strategies, David Hampson, managing partner of Tech-nology Transfer, Kenneth Lefkowitz, managing partner, New Europe Cor-porate Advisory, journalist Eric David Halsey, Ivo Indzhev, journalist.
United States Has to Redefi ne Globalization, Say Political Analysts
AmCham succeeded to raise BGN 56 400 in 2016 for charity initiatives and projects. The 14th annual AmCham Thanksgiving community dinner held on Nov. 22, 2016 collected BGN 52 770 in total from open bid, silent auction, raf e and scholarships donated by companies. The funds were designated for “Get ready to succeed” program and “We Can” fund of BCause Foundation. The auction and raf e items were raised for scholarships in favor of orphan stu-
dents in secondary schools and univer-sities.
Among the biggest scholarship con-tributors during the Thanksgiving were: ContourGlobal Maritsa East-3 provided BGN 15 000, Amgen Bulgaria gave BGN 10 000 and BGN 2000 were donated from Fama Consuting. AES, Congress Engineering and Telenor successfully outbidded numerous silent auction items.
AmCham Fundraising for Charity Reaches BGN 56 400 in 2016
Nov.
22,
2016
October
26,
2016
11
Energy and Mineral Resources Committee
CO-CHAIRS: Alex Nestor, AmCham Vice-President Aneliya Erdly, Silver Ridge Power
ISSUES AND Main focus of the Committee’s activities and discussions in 2016 was the ongoing ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES: liberalization of the energy sector as special attention was paid to a World Bank
presentation of its recommendations for power sector’s nancial stabilization and market liberalization in Bulgaria.
AmCham Energy and Mineral Resources Committee submitted a formal request let-ter to the Minister of Energy for participation in the working group which is draft-ing a new Energy Strategy.
In October, the Committee discussed its recommendations for the energy and min-eral resources sector which will be included in the updated AmCham White Paper.
AmCham Energy and Mineral resources Committee was also active in the Bilateral Chambers’ Joint Iniviative by providing expertise in the energy sector.
Healthcare Committee
CHAIR: Dr. Krassimira Chemishanska, Amgen Bulgaria
ISSUES AND In January, the Healthcare Committee organized a Business Breakfast with ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES: guest speakers from the World Bank who presented a report on health nancing in
Bulgaria with focus on private out-of-pocket health expenditure and hospital care expenses.
In March, the Healthcare Committee had a meeting with guest speakers from Check Point Cardio to discuss challenges and opportunities in promoting e-health in Bul-garia.
In November, the Committee developed and submitted a position paper on the Draft Act for Amendment and Supplement of the Act for Medicinal Products in Hu-man Medicine (AMPHM).
ISSUES AND At the beginning of the year, two of the existing AmCham Committees were ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES: merged to form Human Resources, Education and CSR Committee.
In January, the AmCham Tax and Finance and Human Resources Education and CSR Committees had a joint meeting to discuss “Supply of staff arrangements in companies part of international groups – tax, accounting and legal aspects.”
In March, the CSR Subcommittee had a meeting with focus on employee engage-ment’s trends and developments. During the meeting were presented the results of the study on workplace giving among 100 fast growing companies in Bulgaria, as well as information about the following BCause projects: Responsible Company – Responsible Employees Annual Awards, and 15 years of More & More – (project on payroll giving).
In May, the CSR Subcommittee and BCause resumed the Volunteer Days initiative and gathered 475 volunteers from 18 AmCham member companies who partici-pated in activities to the bene t of the environment and disadvantaged people in Chelopech, So a, Pleven, and Stara Zagora.
In November, the HR Committee organized a round table to discuss the revision of 2016 AmCham White Paper and delivered speci c policy recommendations on labor and employment issues, education and training to be included in the updated White Paper.
The Committee had also a meeting with guest speakers from Marsh and Willis Tow-ers Watson for Bulgaria who presented tendencies in policies and practices concern-ing total remuneration in Bulgaria in fast-moving consumer goods, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and business process outsourcing (BPO) sectors.
Public and Legal Affairs Committee
CHAIR: Venislav Yotov, AIG Europe Limited
ISSUES AND AmCham Public and Legal Affairs Committee’s priorities in 2016 were: ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES: improvement of the business environment and investment climate; promotion
of the principles of transparency, predictability and sustainability in policy and legislative processes; strengthening of the rule of law and good governance in the country.
AmCham Public and Legal Affairs Committee developed two position papers re-lated to the proposed Draft Ordinance for the scope and methodology for undertak-ing regulatory impact assessment (a number of AmCham proposals were taken into consideration in the nal document).
The Committee submitted two letters of support for the timely adoption of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement related to the transatlantic transfers of data.
In 2016, AmCham Public and Legal Affairs Committee reached out to different stakeholders including authorities, business organizations, and NGOs.
132016 policy/advocacy report
Public Procurement and
EU Funding Advisory Committee
CO-CHAIRS: Radoslav Rizov, Microsoft BulgariaZlatina Ruseva-Savova, AmCham Board Member
ISSUES AND In 2016, the Committee continued its efforts in promoting transparency and equal ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES: access to public procurement and providing up-to-date information to the AmCham
membership in the area of public procurement, EU funding opportunities, and public-private partnerships (PPPs).
In May, the Committee submitted to the Council of Ministers and the Parliament comments and proposals related to the Draft new Concessions Act.
Among the topics covered during the Committee meetings in 2016 were: key as-pects of the newly adopted Public Procurement Act; the proposed new Concessions Act; and different EU funding opportunities.
In 2016, AmCham Public Procurement and EU Funding Advisory Committee reached out to different stakeholders including, Members of the Parliament, repre-sentatives of the Council of Ministers’ administration, and business organizations.
Quality Management Committee
CO-CHAIRS: Vyara Stankova, Intertek BA Boyan Guyzelev, Intertek BA
ISSUES AND ACTIVITIES: In 2016 the AmCham Quality Management Working Group was upgreaded to a Committte. In March, the AmCham Quality Management Committee had a meeting with guest speakers from Intertek BA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Law Firm McGregor and Partners to discuss the new challenges in information security man-agement; information security as a process; emerging security challenges in cloud computing and the challenges before the business in relation to data protection, namely the new EU General Data Protection Regulation and the EU – U.S. Privacy Shield agreement on transatlantic data transfers.
Tax and Finance Committee
CO-CHAIRS: Milen Raikov, EY BulgariaStanislava Taneva, Citibank Bulgaria
ISSUES AND In 2016, the AmCham Tax Committee was reformed to Tax and Finance Committee. ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES: Throughout the year, the Committee monitored and provided up-to-date information
to AmCham members on key policy and legislative initiatives in the area of taxation.
Among the topics covered during the Committee meetings in 2016 were: tax, ac-counting and legal aspects of supply of staff arrangements in companies’ part of international groups and requirements for non- nancial reporting for large public interest entities.
AmCham Bulgaria, together with the British-Bulgarian Business Association, Indian-Bulgarian Business Chamber and the law of ce Boyanov&Co. organized a business breakfast on the 2016 challenges in the eld of taxation as the new treatment for VAT purposes of the use of goods for personal needs (the so-called “weekend tax”) and the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) rules.
In February, the Committee submitted a position paper on the Draft Act for amend-ment and supplement of the Administrative Procedure Code.
The Committee leadership supported the Group of 11 bilateral chambers’ posi-tion on the Draft Independent Financial Audit Act related to proposed measures for mandatory audit rms’ rotation for public interest entities and mandatory joint audits for nancial institutions.
