“The level of new investments in Hungary managed by the investment promotion system could break new records again this year”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at a press conference to assess the work of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) during the first six months of 2017.
During the first half of the year, a record number of 47 new investments in Hungary were successfully agreed upon with the involvement of the HIPA, compared to 71 new investment projects for the whole of last year. The 47 development projects concluded so far this year represent a total investment of 1.3 billion euros, 3 percent more than during the same period last year, and will be creating 8502 new workplaces, the Minister told the press.
According to Mr. Szijjártó, the figures are the result of the successful strategy that places the foreign economy and the enforcement of Hungarian economic interests at the centre of foreign policy.
The Minister highlighted the fact that German investors are still in first place based on the figures for the first half of the year, but noted that medium-sized and large Hungarian enterprises are also increasingly able to make use of investment promotion opportunities. With 9 positive investment decisions on the part of Hungarian companies during the first half of the year, their total share of investments puts them second on the list.
According to information from the HIPA, Hungarian enterprises decided on the investment of a total of 254.23 million euros via the investment promotion system during the first six months of 2017, which equates to the creation of 1464 new jobs.
Mr. Szijjártó also mentioned that the largest number of new investment from outside Europe, four, are being made by companies from the United States.
With regard to the various sectors of the economy, the Minister highlighted the dominance of the automotive industry with 18 investment projects, followed by the service sector with 7 investments and the food industry with 4 projects.
Mr. Szijjártó also pointed out that increasing numbers of investments are also being aimed at the country’s eastern counties.
He explained that foreign investors are primarily interested in whether a suitable workforce is available as required by their plans, and the Hungarian Government is assisting this by supporting cooperation between higher education institutions and centres of industry, expanding the dual vocational training system and promoting workforce mobility.
According to Mr. Szijjártó, Tesla will establish a production base in Europe if there is enough demand for its products, the Government if providing the American company with a continuous flow of information and is expected to meet with Tesla’s Vice President sometime in autumn.
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President of the HIPA Róbert Ésik stressed that the new investments include an increasing ratio of projects that represent high added value, adding that as a result Hungary is moving forward from a “Made in Hungary” direction towards an ‘”Invented in Hungary” direction.
Mr. Ésik told reporters that increasing numbers of Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises are successfully becoming part of the supplier network of large companies thanks to the Agency’s supplier development programme.
34 of the projects agreed upon during the first half of 2017, meaning more than 70 percent, are reinvestments; companies already present in Hungary are expending their existing activities. The Investment Promotion Agency plays an important part in the successful realisation of the Government’s strategic partnership program; the 74 existing strategic partners provide jobs for over 166 thousand people, which is 10 percent more that when the strategic partnership agreements were signed, the HIPA stated.
Negotiations are currently underway with regard to 7 projects that may be receiving funding based on individual government decisions relating to technology-intensive and research and development (R&D) activities, which represent a total investment value of some 170 million euros and will be creating over 300 new, high added value producing workplaces, the Agency said in the information provided to the press.
(MTI)
