The Minister of Finance received in his office the Executive Director at the Board of the World Bank Group Franciscus Godts and assured him of Hungary’s support for the capital increase at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

Within the World Bank Group, negotiations on a capital injection at the IBRD and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) were concluded in the spring of 2018. The financial transaction is in the phase of approval at member countries, and the increase may enter into force after the initiative has been officially endorsed by at least 80 percent of shareholders. In Hungary, the motion on capital increase, the amendment of the Articles of Association and later on the subscription of shares and the capital transfer require parliamentary approval. Hungary’s Ministry of Finance has already factored in the amounts due later for the capital increase in the preparation phase of the 2019 Budget Bill and the medium-term outlook, Mihály Varga said.

The Minister of Finance added that Hungary’s weight within the Bank was going to remain unchanged after the capital increase, thanks to which the World Bank could become much more active concerning issues such as the financing of water management projects.

At the meeting, the IFC’s new institutional strategy was also on the agenda. The minister noted that the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary have asked the IFC to assign an expert to Central Europe who is well versed in the region and can help with business development in the countries of the Visegrad Group. Under the new strategy, the Bank is to appoint a team of three experts to focus on the region.

(Ministry for National Economy)