13.04.2019

Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov, in his capacity of Governor for Bulgaria in the World Bank Group, and Mr. Shaolin Yang, MD and WBG Chief Administrative Officer, signed in Washington an Agreement regarding the provision of support for the establishment and operation of a World Bank office for shared services and other functions in Sofia.

The office will function as a centre for technologically oriented shared services and will be in charge of the World Bank Group’s internal corporate and IT operations; the plans are other units for the provision of financial and administrative services to be structured over time. The structure will provide an opportunity for uninterrupted provision of internal services in the areas of IT, financial management and human resources management. It is expected to engage a large number of IT specialists and other highly qualified and motivated experts who will replace and expand the services provided by the World Bank’s headquarters to its units worldwide, and the employees in Bulgaria will be also engaged in the development of products with high added value.

Bulgaria stood out among the applicant countries for the deployment of the centre due to its strategic location, stable political and economic environment, highly qualified workforce, good infrastructure and costs/quality of life ratio, as well as other requirements which significantly affect the functioning of such outsourced activities of the international financial institution.

The opening of the office in Bulgaria will have a positive impact on the country’s economic environment – it will help to ensure jobs for high-tech specialists and to build upon the potential in high value added sectors. The presence of a prestigious organisation like the World Bank Group in Bulgaria will further improve the reputation of our country vis-à-vis the international investor community as an attractive destination for business and investment. The project will be implemented in stages. The initial stage is expected to start in July 2019. The full capacity of more than 300 occupied jobs is planned to be reached within a five-year period.

The agreement between the Republic of Bulgaria and the World Bank was signed during the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), held this week in the US capital.