“The dimensional transition of the economy must be continued, and accordingly Hungarian investment policy is encouraging development projects rather than production”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday at the year-opening event of the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Deutsch-Ungarische Industrie- und Handelskammer, DUIHK).

The Minister explained that this year the government is deciding on the awarding of investment funding based on level of technology, added value and research & development content.

“Thanks to its restructured investment promotion system, Hungary could remain an attractive investment target amidst increasing global competition”, he added. Mr. Szijjártó highlighted automotive industry investment projects, and particularly the expansion of production capacities relating to electromobility. He also drew the attention of German private sector representatives to the fact that last year Asian companies achieved a 60 percent share in Hungary based on investment value, and most of the investments that are currently under negotiation or in reparation are also expected to come from the East. The Minister said he trusts that German enterprises will be increasing their share this year, and acknowledged that without them Hungary could not have successively broken its previous export and investment records in recent years. “The 5 thousand German enterprises operating in Hungary employ some 300 thousand people, and even without the final figures it is almost certain that last year the level of trade flow between the two countries set yet another record”, he added.

Mr. Szijjártó also welcomed the fact that in 2019 Hungary kept pace with relation to the most innovative sectors of industry, and proved that neither strict fiscal policy nor lower pollutant emissions rule out growth.

Chairman of the DUIHK András Sávos welcomed the fact that since the organisation’s founding in 1993 the volume of German-Hungarian trade flow has increased from 4.4 billion euros to 57 billion euros. He emphasised, however, that the economies of both countries are sensitive to international effects, and accordingly must calculate with the effects of Brexit and various trade wars, and in the long term with the technological transition and digitalisation. “The DUIHK is also contributing to the competitiveness of enterprises that are members of the Chamber, is launching training courses based on their requirements, is creating funding opportunities and is promoting the exchange of experience between those involved”, Mr. Sávos stressed, adding that in 2020 the Chamber regards the trained workforce, environmental awareness and the digital transformation to be the most important challenges. “Nobody is arguing the significance of these, but much fewer people can imagine the challenges that these represent to their enterprises in the upcoming years”, he added.

(MTI)