Economic relations between Bulgaria and Belgium before the Second World War

Even in the first 2–3 decades after the Liberation the economic ties between Bulgaria and Belgium marked an astonishing progress. In those years the Belgian economy was among the most prosperous ones in Europe. Thanks to its traditions in the different sectors, the favorable natural and geographical conditions and the human factor, soon after its foundation in 1830 the Belgian state became a model for the young Balkan nations, not only in political constitution and cultural progress but also with its effectively working economy. Facts show that during the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20thc. held first place (per capita) in coal, steel and machinery output. Quite early and very successfully in the country were introduced the new technologies, typical of the second industrial revolution (in the chemical industry, power production, etc.). Banking and insurance, trade and the economic legislation were also at a high level. Belgians were very active in capital investment abroad. The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th c. were characterized by the famous “Belgian expansion”. It is no accident that on the eve of the First World War Belgium was among the largest investors worldwide, yielding precedence only to “the big” – France, Britain, Germany and the USA.

Bulgaria did not stay aside from the interests of the Belgian trade and industry. Already in the 1880s some big transactions were concluded, and in the next two decades Belgium became an important economic partner of the young Bulgarian state. Along with the Belgian activity and initiative, other factors were also at work. One of them was the improving economic situation in Bulgaria, which created more attractive conditions for foreign investors and tradesmen. It is worth noting the role of the human factor in the progress of the bilateral relations. Prior to the First World War hundreds of Bulgarian young people studied in Belgian secondary and higher schools. Particularly important for the training of engineers and architects were the technical schools in Gent, Brussels, Liege and Leuven. A great role in the formation of trade cadres played the Higher Institute of Commerce in Antwerp, from where more than a hundred Bulgarians graduated by 1914. Dozens of lawyers and economists also obtained their education in Belgium. Naturally, the presence of numerous Belgian trained specialists in Bulgaria contributed for the intensification of the bilateral economic relations.

The direct investments in the industry were of paramount importance to the country. The first enterprises with Belgian capital were set up even before 1900. In 1898 the sugar factory in Sofia was opened. It was built by the financial-industrial group, founded by the well-known Ernest Solvey. (His main line was the chemical industry, and more specifically soda production. It may be significant that a century later the Solvey group came back to Bulgaria, this time as owner of the Devnya plant.) The Sofia sugar factory was the largest industrial plant in the country at the time. Its setting up started not only sugar production but also the cultivation of a new culture – sugar beet, which stimulated Bulgarian agriculture. Later, in 1912–1913 in Ruse another, even larger, sugar factory was constructed with Belgian capital. Along with these industrial enterprises, in the early 20th c. with Belgian investments were built or modernized the first safety-match factory in Bulgaria in Kostenetz, the leather factory Penkov & Popov in Ruse, etc. In 1909 a Belgian group took over the Electricity Company in Sofia, set up a few years earlier.

Apart from the processing industry Belgian investors showed interest in other sectors of Bulgarian economy. Here we can mention the coal mine “Prince Boris” in the Tryavna Balkan Mountain, and the Troyalo mine near the village of Aldomirovtsi, Slivnitsa District. A recapitulation shows that on the eve of the First World War Belgium was the largest foreign investor in Bulgarian industry. What is more, the Belgian enterprises were among the largest in the size of fixed capital.

Belgians had an important contribution for the urbanization of some large Bulgarian cities. In 1901 they set up the first tram company in Sofia, which set the beginning of public electric transport in the capital. Before the First World War the Liege Compagnie generale de conduits d’eau built and ran the water-supply plant in Plovdiv. In the early 20th c. the Belgian financial circles showed interest in crediting and insurance in Bulgaria. Among the various initiatives, worth of mention is the large share of the bank Credit Anversois in the share-capital of the largest private commercial bank in the country, Balkan Bank, established in 1906. Through it Belgian capital flowed in some industrial plants such as the Energy factory in Ruse.

The bilateral trade relations also made fast progress at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th c. Bulgarian statistics even shows that on the eve of the Balkan wars Belgium was the largest foreign-trade partner of the country. Here it should be noted that the large export of Bulgarian goods were also due to the strategic situation of Belgium, the port of Antwerp in particular, via which part of them went to Germany and other countries. Nevertheless, in the period until 1914 Belgium was a very important market for the Bulgarian (mainly agricultural) products and exporter of machinery and technical equipment to our economy.