“904 enterprises in Hungary have made use of the government’s competitiveness-increasing funding, thanks to which 425 billion forints (EUR 1.165 billion) in investment is being realised within 30 sectors of industry during the recent and upcoming months, and 155 thousand workplaces are being protected”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday in Debrecen at a ceremony to present local business MST-Engineering Limited with a funding certificate within the framework of the Competitiveness-Increasing Program.

“The government has entered into an alliance with enterprises that are realising development projects and retaining their workforces”, Mr. Szijjártó added. “Thanks to their efforts, the number of people in employment exceeded 4.5 million people at the end of August, an increase of 54 thousand compared to July’s figure”, the politician pointed out.

Mr. Szijjártó indicated that the government is providing 282 million forints (EUR 770 thousand) in state funding towards the 565-million-forint (EUR 1.55 million) investment being realised by Debrecen-based MST-Engineering Limited, which designs, manufactures and distributes machine industry equipment and exports 99 percent of its products, thanks to which the company will be able to preserve 80 workplaces. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the machine industry, which employs over 380 thousand people, and operates with an export ratio of over 90 percent, is one of the determining sectors of the Hungarian economy.

Mr. Szijjártó also spoke about the investment projects being realised in Hajdú-Bihar County, declaring that the country can always count on the County, and pointing out that 35 local enterprises have committed themselves to realising investment projects within the framework of the Program. “The government is providing 8.2 billion forints (EUR 22.5 million) in funding towards to the total development project volume of 16.5 billion forints (EUR 45.2 million), as a result of which enterprises are successfully protecting 4100 workplaces”, he explained.

According to the region’s Member of Parliament Lajos Kósa (Fidesz), the country needs more exporting enterprises like MST-Engineering Ltd., which is reinforcing the Hungarian economy with its export activities and technological development projects.

After being officially presented with the company’s funding certificate from Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, the company’s Sales Director, István Bocskai told reporters that the company is Hungarian-owned, and the company’s turnover, 99 percent of which is derived from exports, has increased by an average of 17 percent every year for the past five years, and now exceeds one billion forints (EUR 2.7 million). The current investment project is aimed at reducing supply costs and enabling the company to operate with shorter shipping times. “Growth is not stopping: We are constructing a new production hall and office building in Debrecen’s new, Southern Industrial Zone”, Mr. Boskai indicated.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade / MTI)