South Korea is the biggest Asian investor in Bulgaria, said Tsvetan Simeonov, vice-president of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), during a Bulgarian-Korean business forum on Monday. Representatives of 12 Korean IT companies attended the event.

Work on an agreement on mutual promotion of investment is expected to be completed soon. "Co-operation will increase both countries' competitiveness," said Simeonov, adding that opportunities exist in the development of trade.

According to South Korean Ambassador Kim Seung-Eui, the greatest advantage of the Bulgarian IT market is its experts. They can attract a great volume of foreign investment, he said. "The Korean delegation wants to become acquainted with the economic climate in this country and to develop long-term co-operation in high-tech."

Lyubka Kachakova, an MP from the National Movement Simeon II, who has been nominated for deputy economy minister, made a presentation of the parameters of the Bulgarian economy for the past year - the budget deficit, economic growth rate and the volume of foreign investment in the different sectors of the economy.

"Some 600 of a total of 1,000 high-tech companies registered in Bulgaria in the year 2000 are active, and 114 of them are members of the Bulgarian Association for Information Technologies (BAIT)," Kachakova told the Korean delegation. She announced the new government's plans for the promotion of the high-tech sector by passing a law on high-tech parks. President Petar Stoyanov promoted this idea.

"Bulgaria must attract foreign investors by improving the work of the administration, completing the tax reform, simplifying the licensing regulations and fighting corruption," said Kachakova. "Internet technologies should develop as a sector of importance for Bulgaria, and the state administration has to set up rules and streamline the procedures for the business."