You told us that you have just reached one million subscribers. Can you tell us what the steps towards this achievement were?
The steps were not easy at all. The company was registered in 1994 when GSM has just started in Europe. In Bulgaria it was not known as technology. At this time in Bulgaria there was only one company offering mobile communications - the British-Bulgarian joint venture Mobikom, but they worked under the old NMT standard. , So in fact we had to develop the market from the very beginning. Until 1997 we had very difficult times. The actual development of our company started in late 1997. After this year we have invested more than 400 million DM in infrastructure, base stations and switches. In fact we created an infrastructure, which was non-existent in Bulgaria up to this moment. We brought the new technology to the country. One million subscribers mean a lot of hard work, not only during the week but also on weekends. A basic prerequisite for our success was the existence of good specialists in the telecommunications sector, which we have in the country. They have studied in Bulgaria and specialized abroad. Our foreign suppliers like Siemens, Alcatel, Nortel say that we have top specialists in this sector. Our suppliers came with the intention to teach us but soon they found that we have well-educated people who can run the business according to western standards.
In almost every interview we have been told that Bulgarians are very well educated, that they have a lot of potential.
Yes, that's true. The general education standards in Bulgaria are very high. As for MobilTel, the average age of the people working in the company is 32-33. They are young, ambitious, adaptive and they have bigger opportunities to work abroad where they would have been paid much higher than in Bulgaria. However, they prefer to stay in this country because they have confidence in the company, they think that we are stable and they can rely on us for a normal future in their own country.
How could you explain the fact that your staff perceives you as a stable company?
This is due to the growth rate we had during the last 3 years. Every year we nearly double our subscribers, we double our revenues, and we double our profit. The salaries in the company are much higher than the average for the country. In addition, we have a lot of social incentives for our employees, like educational and qualification programs, free of charge health care, etc.
How did you finance the 400 million DM investment?
Partly by credits from abroad, which we have already repaid. The basic financial and investment factor, however, was the mobilization of our internal resources.
Do you work with Bulgarian banks or international ones?
As far as the credit is concerned, we worked with Swiss banks. Of course in our everyday activities we work with Bulgarian banks.
You said you were the pioneer in GSM technology but now there are new players coming in. Globul has been here for several months. Do you see this in the market, the sector, and the competition?
We have always said that we are not afraid of the competition. This is something absolutely normal for a market economy and it keeps you in shape, in good shape. One million is a big figure for Bulgaria, but on the other hand there is still a very great potential, this market is still in the very beginning of its development. We spent a lot of money on advertising, we created this market and we developed this market. Now GSM telephone is not a luxury, now it's a necessity. Everybody already knows that to be more mobile, you need a mobile phone and I hope that very soon, in 2 or 3 years we shall reach the figures, which are characteristic for the western countries - 50-60%, even 70%.
You are talking about mobility, a lot of people travel around. Do you work on the roaming, what stage is it in? Do you have already a lot of roaming agreements?
Yes, we have a lot. We have contracts with 106 countries and 270 roaming partners so we cover a big part of the world but we are still working on signing contracts with more partners. I do not want to sound megalomaniac, but we are trying to cover the world, even the remotest places. Even though not so many people are traveling to those places, we want to give real freedom to our subscribers, so that they could feel free and they could have the opportunity to talk with the phones, which they bought in Bulgaria.
What about the people who are coming to Bulgaria?
It's the same problem, because if you have a roaming agreement, it works both ways.
And what about the services you provide. Are you going to extend those services, are there any stops?
No, we shall not stop. We are developing our services, and at this moment we provide each and any service the other operators offer. We are not technological laggards. In fact we were the first GSM operator in Europe, providing GPS services. It is not a cheap service, the market is just starting its development, the profit rate is not so high as in the sector of the telephones, but we are following our strategy.
A lot of companies that work with GPS also work with insurance companies. Do you have any partners in the insurance sector?
Yes, one of the shareholders in GPS Bulgaria is an insurance company, a Bulgarian one. In addition to this we work with other insurance companies, including several foreign ones. GPS was not known in the country 2-3 years ago, so again our task was to educate the people and to develop this market from the very beginning. That's why we spent a lot of money on this education, so now it will be much easier for Globul because everybody knows how to use the mobile phone, what GPS, Voice-mail or SMS means. | So what will be your competitive advantage against Globul?
For the time being it's the coverage. In other words - the investments made. We cover 90% of the population and about 80% of the territory of the country. And we are working on the expansion of this coverage and improvement of the services. There are obstacles, of course: we don't dispose with the frequencies, necessary to provide services corresponding to the Western standards.
Why is that?
It depends on the Government. In the beginning these frequencies were used by the Government, by the Ministry of Defence, so they had to be freed for public use. Bureaucracy, arbitrary pricing, insufficient and unclear legislation were the obstacles, hindering our quick access to those frequencies.
How do you define your relations with the Government and the regulatory body of the telecom sector?
There was a period when politics and politicians were exerting some direct pressure on business, but now we have very good relations and normal working contacts, especially with the new Government. I hope that this new co-operation and new relations will continue in the future. All the people in this Government are very young, dynamic and optimistic about the future of Bulgaria, they have very big plans and I hope that they will succeed. We are one of the biggest companies in the country, not only in the sector of telecommunications, but in the economy of Bulgaria as a whole. As I told you, we have invested a lot, we have paid about 200 million DM on all kind of taxes to the Government, and I hope there will be better times for us in the future.
Do you feel that you have social responsibility towards your country?
Yes, of course. Bulgaria is passing through difficult times and we feel obliged to help people. We are one of the biggest employers here, we are big sponsors, we spend about 4 million DM per year as donations to orphanage houses, schools, churches, theatres, individuals, physically disabled persons, etc. In fact MobilTel is a significant factor in all spheres of our social life.
You seem to be very patriotic company do you promote your image around the world and promote Bulgaria as a result?
Yes, I think that the mere fact that this company is doing so well in Bulgaria serves as a business card for the country. There are good opportunities for investment in this country, so we say to investors, Come to Bulgaria, we are doing well, and you will have the same opportunity in our country!
Do you think that the fixed lines telecommunication market will be opened soon to the private sector?
Yes, we hope that finally this sector will be opened and the monopoly of the Bulgarian Telecommunication Company will not be unnecessarily prolonged, because it is an obstacle to faster development. The privatisation of BTC is a indispensable step in this direction.
Do you want to enter the fixed lines market as well? If so, are you working with partners to do this?
This goes beyond our interests for the time being.
If all goes well it should be privatized within 7 months, should it not?
Yes, I hope so. This is a strategic move for the Bulgarian economy and it should mark the end of the privatisation process in the country. In fact this is supposed to be the final touch in building the market economy here.
You manage one of the biggest companies in the country. Do you see that as a challenge or as a burden?
Of course it is a challenge for me. But as I told you before I have a very good staff, very good people working with me, the whole company is one team. We all work together to reach our goal.
We are curious about knowing a little bit about your background. What did you study and how did get to this position today?
I graduated the Sofia University of National and World Economy, and my educational background is international economic relations. I did my PhD degree in Moscow, again in the field of international economic relations. Then I finished an MBA program in City University in Seattle, I have worked for a number of foreign companies, including a German and an Austrian one, in Beijing for a joint-venture, and of course, for several Bulgarian companies.
As a businesswoman, what will be your message to our business readers?
Come to Bulgaria and you will find good opportunities for investments. You will meet wonderful people here and you will not regret that you have come to this country.
Note: World Investment News Ltd cannot be held responsible for the content of unedited transcriptions. |
