Maxim Behar: Bulgaria and the Czech Republic must develop much better and closer business relations

Host (Veronika Denizova): Ten business leaders founded the first Bulgarian-Czech Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria. This took place at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bulgaria, in the presence of Martin Dvořák, Czech Minister for European Affairs, and His Excellency Miroslav Toman, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Bulgaria. Leading the new organization is renowned Bulgarian PR expert Maxim Behar, who was elected chairman, and Georgi Petkov, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Czech-rooted company BTL Industries, is the vice chairman. Maxim Behar will tell us more about the new chamber and Bulgarian-Czech economic relations. Hello! Thank you for being with us.

Maxim Behar: Good afternoon! Thank you for the invitation. I'm delighted to present the new chamber, which has been a dream of mine for over 20 years, here on Bloomberg TV.

Host: What prompted its creation, and why now? It seems a bit overdue – I would have expected such a chamber to exist for years.

Maxim: I expected it, too. Over the years, I met with various ambassadors and business people from the Czech Republic, and I always suggested we create an organization to bring us together – a chamber, business club, or something similar – so we could meet every few months to promote Czech business in Bulgaria and vice versa. But it never happened. A few weeks ago, I met with Ambassador Toman and told him all this, and he asked why I hadn't done it yet. At the time, he mentioned that Minister Dvořák would arrive in two weeks and thought establishing a chamber would take longer. I told him it would be done in two weeks and gathered friends and colleagues who do business with the Czech Republic. I myself studied and graduated in Prague and until recently managed the Czech office of an American company, Hill & Knowlton, which we work with here in Bulgaria, and I have great regard for the Czech Republic. We founded the chamber last week, and Minister Dvořák, the Ambassador, and many other friends attended. Now, we're developing a program and aiming to finalize a solid strategy by the end of November for our work in 2025. I look forward to engaging in projects that will benefit both Bulgarian and Czech businesses.

Host: These ten businesses are just the beginning. What is the potential for this chamber? How many Czech businesses operate in Bulgaria and, conversely, how many Bulgarian businesses are in the Czech Republic?

Maxim: It's only a few days after the establishment, and we have nine new membership applications, which we hope to approve by the end of November, as news of the Bulgarian-Czech Chamber spread quickly. I expect the chamber's capacity to reach between 250 and 400 members, although there aren't many visible large Czech businesses in Bulgaria. We have "Energo-Pro," "bTV," "Yettel," owned by the large Czech conglomerate "PPF Group," "Troyanska Slivova," owned by "Jelinek," another large Czech company, "Korado," a radiator manufacturer in Strazhitsa, and a few other big Czech players. But about 1,000 to 1,500 small businesses in Bulgaria are trading with the Czech Republic, and I think they'll be the backbone of our work. I checked the annual trade turnover between Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, which stands at about 800,000 to 1 million euros annually, providing a massive opportunity for growth. Interestingly, turnover grew by 15-20% annually from 2021 to 2023, signaling progress. I'm confident we'll host interesting events to facilitate business. Beyond trade, the chamber aims to organize charitable events, conferences, and discussions to strengthen Bulgarian-Czech cooperation.

Host: You mentioned consulting as one of the chamber's services. What consulting needs do businesses looking to expand between Bulgaria and the Czech Republic typically have?

Maxim: This was proposed by colleagues at the founding meeting. A Czech company entering Bulgaria, whether to invest, sell products, or explore the market, needs reliable business sources. We'll provide this, as we're the market players and can quickly direct Czech companies to the information they need here, from market conditions to investment-friendly policies. We aim to foster smoother relations between businesses in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

Host: What specific characteristics of the Czech market should Bulgarian businesses consider if they want to enter it?

Maxim: The Czech market is very saturated – the opposite of Bulgaria's, where a business can still enter with a modest investment and find a niche. In the Czech Republic, the market is highly developed, and competition is greater. Czechs, as business-oriented people, are pragmatic, with little room for emotional appeals in business, unlike Bulgaria, where emotions often drive interactions. Doing business in the Czech Republic requires respect for the specifics of each country and market.

Host: As an expert in communications, PR, and corporate image, I must ask you about the most significant political event this year – the U.S. elections. What communication messages did you notice in the campaigns, and what effectiveness can you draw from them?

Maxim: It was very interesting yet somewhat repetitive and monotonous, as both Kamala Harris and the familiar Donald Trump stuck closely to their lines, delivering very precise, programmed messages. I was surprised by Trump’s disciplined and consistent campaign. At the same time, I'm a bit concerned about some of his messaging, as it often tends to be extreme. Harris seemed a bit more tolerant, softer, using more intelligent language to convey her message to voters. But the most striking aspect is that everything is on a knife’s edge right now. By this time tomorrow, we’ll have a rough idea of the results, but today, everything hangs in the balance, and no one can make any predictions. The American business world seems to lean slightly toward Trump, and the reasons are clear – they prefer someone with business experience, even if it's not always respectable, not always accurate, with a few legal issues and controversies. In fact, about 90% of Americans are familiar with the contradictions of business; someone somewhere might have broken a law but ultimately succeeded. Meanwhile, the business community is a bit hesitant about Harris, mainly because she has never been in business, and her messages were much more general and less targeted than Trump’s. I can’t predict what the choice will be for either candidate. What I do know for sure is that the world will change significantly if Donald Trump becomes president. There’s another very clear prediction for today, November 5: whoever wins, the other will challenge the results, claiming victory, and his supporters – likely about 49.5% – will feel cheated. This close divide and the suspicions of election tampering are perhaps the biggest problem America faces right now. We remember how George Bush won against Al Gore and how contested those results were. Later, Netflix made a film revealing that votes initially given to George Bush had actually been intended for Al Gore in Florida. But by then, Bush had completed his term, and the film brought in lots of money for Netflix without providing any justice for Americans. Today, we’ll see what the voters and results will reveal, and I hope America continues to be a leader in the free market. The country should demonstrate that, despite the challenges, democracy – even when difficult and contradictory, occasionally stumbling and falling – always gets back up and is still the best way to do something creative and innovative and to keep moving forward, especially for business. This is incredibly important right now, even though statistics show that the business sector in America has been thriving in recent years – more jobs have been created, and revenue has significantly increased. Just look at private companies like Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon, and many others. The figures being discussed today were unimaginable a decade ago. Today, one company has $600 billion in personal wealth, not to mention corporate wealth, while another has $900 billion. Elon Musk put down $44 billion to buy a media company like Twitter, rebranding it without any notable change. They’re currently operating with amounts that reflect a very healthy market and economy. It’s crucial that whoever wins the election aims to make the market even freer, to limit American political influence, and to strengthen economic influence, especially in emerging markets.

Host: Thank you very much, Mr. Behar!

Maxim: Thank you!

Host: Best of luck with the new chamber, and we hope to showcase its success stories here on Bloomberg.

Maxim: I'd be delighted to invite Bloomberg to our first event.

Watch the full interview here.