Entrepreneurs expect to make 7.2% more investments in Bulgaria in the current year, in comparison with the previous 2012.

The data comes from the investment business inquiry of the country's National Statistics Institute (NSI) carried out among industrial enterprises in October 2013.

According to the main industrial groupings, the highest relative share in planned investments in 2013 belongs to the energy and water-related industries (42.7%); followed by industries producing intermediate goods (34.6%) and industries producing non-durable goods (14.0%).

The business inquiry data further shows a forecasted decrease 9.3% of the volume of investments in the industrial sector in 2014, in comparison with 2013, as about 38% of the enterprises do not plan any expenditure on acquiring fixed assets over the next year.

The energy and water-related industries again form the highest relative share - 53.4%. They are followed by the industries producing intermediate goods and industries producing non-durable goods, by 24.8% and 12.8% respectively.

In the direction of investments in 2014, the highest share is expected to be for mechanization or automation of existing production processes and for introduction of new technologies - 38.7% of the total amount of investments in industry.

Investments for increase of production capacity are second with a 26.1% share, followed by these for replacement of worn-out equipment - 22.8% and for protection of the environment, work safety measures, etc. - by 12.4%.

Regarding factors "production demand," "financial resources or expected profits" and "technical factors" that may influence investment decisions in 2014, positive assessments prevail as their influence is rated as "stimulating" or "very stimulating." In the group "other factors," 23.8% of the enterprises indicated their influence is "stimulating" and 41.5% abstained from assessment

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