“In the new global economic era, it is only the work of the Hungarian people that can make the country great”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó declared in Vásárosnamény at a ceremony to present a funding certificate within the framework of the Competitiveness-Increasing Funding Program.

Mr. Szijjártó called enterprises that are undertaking to realise investment projects, and that are investing when news from other parts of the world are all about plant closures and redundancies, allies. “Having won the first, healthcare protection phase, Hungary must also win the economy protection phase of protecting against the virus epidemic, while avoiding a decline in production and protecting workplaces”, he added.

According to the Minister, the major interest in the investment promotion tender confirms the vitality of Hungarian enterprises. “On Tuesday, 98 domestic enterprises applied to realise 47 billion forints (EUR 132 million) in investment with relation to the remaining available budget of 18 billion forints (EUR 50.6 million), as a result of which the application interface had to be closed within fifteen minutes due to oversubscription”, he told those present. A total of 806 predominantly Hungarian-owned enterprises have applied to realise a total of 377 billion forints (EUR 1.06 billion) in investment, towards which the budget is contributing 151 billion forints (EUR 424.5 million) in state funding.

At Wednesday’s event, Mr. Szijjártó presented a funding certificate to Frontalit Limited. The wood and furniture industry company is constructing an 800 square metre plant and equipping it with modern machinery with an investment of 547 million forints (EUR 1.54 million), towards which the government is contributing 273 million forints (EUR 770 thousand) in state funding. Praising the company’s investment, the Minister said that despite the difficulties, the Hungarian furniture industry, which employs 14 thousand people, realised a production value of over 100 billion forints (EUR 281 million) during the first two quarters of this year. The sectors markets some 60 percent of its products abroad.

Mr. Szijjártó also welcomed the fact that 37 enterprises from Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County have undertaken to realise some 18 billion forints (EUR 50.5 million) in investment in recent months. “In addition to enabling the various development projects, the 9 billion forints (EUR 25.3 million) in state funding being received by these enterprises is also contributing to the protection of some 6,500 local workplaces”, he emphasised.

Vásárosnamény-based Frontalit Limited realised 2.255 billion forints (EUR 6.34 million) in net turnover in 2018, followed by over 2.5 billion forints (EUR 7 million) in 2019. During this period, the company’s after-tax profits increased from 207 million forints (EUR 582 thousand) to 272 million forints (EUR 765 thousand).

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade / MTI)