“All enterprises will be receiving the requested funding towards the investment projects they have undertaken to realise within the framework of the competitiveness program; the government has more than tripled the originally planned budget”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Monday at a funding certificate award ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“The government launched the competitiveness-increasing program with a budget of 50 billion forints (EUR 145.2 million)”, Mr. Szijjártó stated.
“806 enterprises have submitted applications within the framework of the program, undertaking to perform 377 billion forints (EUR 1.095 billion) in investment in accordance with the funding agreements concluded to date, towards which the government is providing over 170 billion forints (EUR 493.5 million) in state funding. Hungarian enterprises have utilized the past months well”, the Minister underlined.

The representatives of three enterprises were officially presented with their funding certificates at the Ministry on Monday. The 556-million-forint (EUR 1.61 million) investment project being realised by Caadex Ltd. is receiving 277 million forints (EUR 804 thousand) in state funding. OROSházaGLAS Ltd’s 438-million-forint (EUR 1.27 million) investment can count on receiving 219 million forints (EUR 636 thousand) in state funding. The Hungarian state is contributing 282 million forints (EUR 819 thousand) in funding towards the 565-million-forint (EUR 1.63 million) investment project being undertaken by SIIX Hungary Limited.

The Minister declared that all applicants and enterprises that conformed to the legal criteria of the tender will be receiving the requested funding towards their investment projects.

He explained that workplaces can only be created through investment projects. “In the current economic situation, we need workplaces and the performance they generate, not benefits, indebtedness and vulnerability”, he declared, adding: “For this reason, the government has committed itself to supporting investment projects realised by enterprises that are capable of creating and are willing to create jobs”.

According to Mr. Szijjártó, enterprises representing over 30 sectors are receiving funding from the program. The latest three enterprises to be awarded funding are protecting 566 jobs thanks to their investment projects, towards which the government is providing a total of 779 billion forints (EUR 2.26 billion) in state funding.

“The investment projects will be increasing the individual competitiveness of these enterprises, and the performance of the Hungarian economy is made up of the individual performance of its enterprises”, he underlined, adding: “We owe enterprises a debt of gratitude for their decision to invest, and for instead of complaining, using this period of crisis to make sure they are as strong as possible after it is over”.

Managing Director of Caadex Limiter Gábor Szanyi said the family business operates in Baranya County, and the company group currently employs 160 people. The company deals in the manufacturing of steel structures and tinsmithing industry products. The company will be using the funding to construct a new steel structure production unit and colouring plant, and plans to increase the number of their employees by 100.

Director of OROSházaGLAS Limited István Tóth spoke about the fact that the company is involved in glass industry processing, and employees 200 people. Among the company’s references, he listed the toughened-glass facade of the Infopark D building and the 12-metre glass beams of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA), while the glazing of the jungle under the new Biodome in Budapest’s City Park is currently nearing completion. Thanks to the tender, the company will now succeed in realising its preliminary investment plans and will be purchasing new equipment, while not having to worry about paying salaries, he stated.

Managing Director of SIIX Hungary Limited and the company group’s European Director Saito Yoshihisa expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the company has already been operating for 3-4 years at its new site in Nagykőrös. The company has already been present in Europe for 16 years, in Slovakia and Lithuania. As an automotive industry supplier, the company immediately lost almost all of its orders when the coronavirus pandemic broke out, and the company’s partners ceased production. Thanks to the funding, the company will prepare for next year and realise development projects, while retaining all of its staff, he stated. The company currently employs 230 people, and plans to take on a further 200 employees in future.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade / MTI)