“Investments from the East have played a major role in the dimensional transition of the Hungarian economy, as a result of which it has been able to successfully switch from a simple production orientation to an economy that is operated by technological innovations”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared at the inauguration of Denso Hungary Ltd.’s new logistics centre in Székesfehérvár.

Mr. Szijjártó pointed out that in recent years the major global economic changes have also been dictated from the East, not just the West. “The introduction of Hungary’s ‘Eastern Opening’ policy was also no accident, in view of the fact that the large far eastern enterprises that are developing state-of-the-art technologies and applying them first, are acquiring increasingly large European production capacities”, he pointed out. According to the Minister, Japanese vehicle parts manufacturer Denso is an excellent example of this, which was realised an investment of 18.5 billion forints (EUR 55.5 million) in Székesfehérvár, towards which it received 1.5 billion forints (EUR 4.5 million) in non-returnable funding from the government. Mr. Szijjártó emphasised that in 2010 the Hungarian automotive industry generated a production value of four thousand billion forints (EUR 12 billion), but this value increased to 8547 trillion forties (EUR 25.6 billion) last year, meaning it has doubled over the space of eight years. “The first six months of this year indicated that there is no slowdown in growth, in view of the fact that the sector produced a year-on-year increase of 13 percent compared to 2018, as a result of which the ‘dream figure’ of ten thousand billion forints (EUR 30 billion) is now within reach”, he added.

Mr. Szijjártó told reporters that there are currently 170 thousand people employed within the sector, which is the “backbone of the Hungarian economy”, providing 30 percent of total processing industry output. “Last year, 90.4 percent of automotive industry production went to export, and this has also contributed to enabling Hungary to regularly beat all of its historical economic records in recent years. Last year was the second year in a row in which Hungarian exports exceeded 100 billion euros, making Hungary a member of the ‘elite club of 35’ whose members export over 100 billion euros-a-year”, he indicated. With relation to Denso, Mr. Szijjártó said that the company is the world’s third largest automotive industry supplier and is present in 35 countries, employing over four thousand people in Hungary. The Minister also spoke about the fact that Japan is the second largest Asian investor in Hungary, where 160 Japanese enterprises provide jobs for 35 thousand people.

Mayor of Székesehérvár András Cser-Palkovics (Fidesz) called Denso one of the city’s most important partners, which arrived in the city over twenty years ago. “The Japanese company is proof of the fact that foreign companies aren’t just settling down in Székesfehérvár, but regularly bring with them state-of-the-art technologies”, he added. The Mayor mentioned that in 2010 the city’s business tax revenues were some 9 billion forints (EUR 27 million), while last year this figure exceeded 18 billion (EUR 54 million). “In view of the fact that there have been no tax increases, the doubling of the amount is purely the result of economic growth and the efficient operations of enterprises”, he pointed out.

Commercial and Financial Director of Denso Hungary Ltd. Attila Szincsák highlighted the fact that the automotive industry is experiencing the most important major change of the past one hundred and twenty years, for which the company must also be ready. Accordingly, during the past two years the company has realised a capacity increasing investment project, which could also lead to the acquisition of several other businesses. Mr. Szincsák said the investment project was unique in Denso’s history, in view of the fact that that the majority of the development project was realised by Hungarian engineers and by Hungarian suppliers and contractors, based on Hungarian ideas. The new 17 thousand square metre logistics centre will serve as a warehouse for raw materials and for completed, and semi-complete products. According to publicly available company data, Denso Hungary Ltd. closed the 2018 financial year with a net turnover of 745.6 million euros and 34.2 million euros in after tax profits.

(MTI)