June 28 (SeeNews) - Britain's decision to vote out of the EU has prompted mixed reactions among representatives of the outsourcing sector in Bulgaria, a key industry for the Southeast European country, industry officials told SeeNews.
Bulgarian outsourcing companies could see their business grow as companies operating in Britain come under increased cost-cutting pressure following the Brexit, Ivaylo Slavov, CEO of IT company BulPros, said.
"It all depends on how quickly the companies operating in Britain take the respective decisions," Slavov said. There will be huge pressure on them to optimise costs, which in turn could mean more business for companies in Bulgaria, he added.
His optimism, however, is not shared by other representatives of the industry. Britain's decision to leave the European Union will prompt labour legislation changes which will affect negatively Bulgaria's outsourcing sector in the long term, Stefan Bumov, chairman of the Bulgarian Outsourcing Association, and board member in Teletech, told SeeNews.
"If the British pound continues to depreciate versus the euro, Bulgarian outsourcing companies will become less competitive," Bumov commented.
However, in short term Bulgaria's outsourcing sector will not be affected as the UK is not a key market for most of the outsourcing companies present in Bulgaria, he added.
For his part, Slavov said he does not expect new companies to enter the Bulgarian outsourcing market as this is rather a long-term strategic decision which is not influenced by concrete events such as the Brexit.
Other industry officials approached for comment by SeeNews declined to make any projections regarding the Brexit effect on Bulgaria's outsourcing sector.
"It is too early to say what will be the Brexit effect on outsourcing. We should wait about two or three weeks for political discussions, to get a more clear idea of things," Plamen Tsekov, CEO of software firm ScaleFocus and member of the board of the Bulgarian Outsourcing Association, told SeeNews.
Outsourcing generates around 3% of Bulgaria's GDP.