Businesses in Bulgaria are emerging from stress and beginning to think about investments, according to Finance Minister Petar Chobanov.

Chobanov and the Executive Director of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB), Dimo Spasov, met Thursday in Targovishte with representatives of local businesses, according to reports of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA).

Speaking Friday in the northeastern city of Targovishte, Chobanov noted that a number of indicators had improved since the beginning of 2014 and that there was an upturn in the business environment and even in the sphere of construction.

He said that there was an uptick in retail trade and that consumer trust had also gone up.

Chobanov admitted that the activity had not reached pre-crisis levels but the plan was to make gradual and sustainable progress and create jobs.

Bulgaria's Finance Minister explained that the business sector had demanded more efforts aimed at reducing the administrative burden from the government.

The meeting in Targovishte was part of a series of meetings across the country aimed at acquainting local companies with the new opportunities for obtaining funding from the Bulgarian Development Bank, as well as the entire range of instruments providing access to flexible loans at low interest rates to small and medium-sized enterprises.

During the meeting on Friday, it was also announced that an office of the Bulgarian Development Bank would be opened in Targovishte.

Targovishte will be one of the 12 cities in Bulgaria where the BDB is to open offices in a bid to provide easier access to the services of the bank, according to Dimo Spasov, CEO of the BDB.

He made clear that the BDB office in Targovishte would have a staff of at least two people who would present the entire range of services of the Bank and its subsidiaries.

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