19 October 2020 – 12:26 PM
The United States is the largest non-EU investor in Hungary and the country’s most important export partner outside of Europe, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said at the Chamber of Commerce of the American Chamber of Commerce on Monday in Budapest.
The politician said that about 1,700 American companies employ about 106,000 Hungarians, and 14 of the 81 strategic partners of the Hungarian government are US-owned.
Bilateral trade is expanding, growing by 2.3% in 2019 to reach $ 5.8 billion. The share of the United States in Hungary’s total foreign trade was 2.4%. Mihaly Varga ranked 12th in exports and 14th among non-EU countries with a share of 2.8 per cent, while Mihaly Varga was explained by a 2.1 per cent share of imports.
He also reported that a week and a half ago, at the US-Hungary Business Council meeting, they had received information about a number of promising projects that US companies are planning to implement in Hungary, and negotiations are underway.
According to data from Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), the investment portfolio from the United States reached 11.6 billion euros in 2018, which is a good performance, but there are opportunities for growth, according to the head of the ministry.
He added: In 2019, most investments ever reached Hungary, and the government approved 101 major investments with large foreign and Hungarian companies, with investments amounting to 1,705 billion Swiss francs. He confirmed that this is a record 4% of GDP last year. The government aided these investments with 156 billion HUF. The Hungarian owned companies made 10 large investments in 2019, with a total value of HUF 126 billion.
The Minister of Finance stressed that the government gives priority to encouraging improvements, and therefore the acceleration and support of investments was discussed at the last meeting of the Operational Court for Economic Protection, which allocated additional budgetary resources for this purpose.
Hungary continues to have an excellent investment rate, with 27.6% in the second quarter of this year, which is great both at the EU and regional levels. This, he said, indicates that economic actors continue to have confidence in the future, boldness and the ability to invest.
After the presentation, Mihaly Varga told reporters: In the meeting, foreign investors reported on the prospects for the Hungarian economy. Consistent economic policy decisions and fiscal steps in recent years have created the opportunity to aid investments with fiscal and fiscal incentives in the current situation. In recent months, more than 300 companies have decided to invest in improving the country’s competitiveness, and these companies are developing despite the crisis. The message is the most important, according to the minister: A good economic environment and low corporate tax levels are the best conditions for foreign investors. These, along with more government decisions, will allow the planned investments to be realized. At the moment, there is no investor withdrawing from investments, this must be preserved – Mihaly Varga concluded
MTI 19 October 2020
