HungaryTrends – The week in business and finance

See below MTI’s main business and financial news from the previous week:

NEW RAILWAY TUNNEL GETTING BUILT AT BUDAPEST AIRPORT

The tender for building the Budapest-Belgrade railway will be announced by the end of the year. The construction might be ready by 2022, as minister of national development László Mosóczi claimed at the InnoRail conference. He also stated that a 22-kilometer-long railway to the airport is planned, 7 kilometers of which will go underground as a railway tunnel.

‘THEY WILL LEAVE AS WELL’: THE DOWNSIDES OF THE EU’S FREE MOVEMENT POLICY

The Telegraph reports that a Hungarian businessman, Péter Róna, took up a fight against the EU’s free movement policy which is slowly destroying his cheese factory, as his employees keep leaving Hungary.

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN HOTELS HAVE POTENTIAL

Hungary ranks third in the region after Poland and the Czech Republic concerning the money traffic of Central and Eastern European hotels.

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT REBONDS ON AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR UPTICK

Hungary’s industrial output rose by 6.8 percent annually in August, accelerating from a 0.2 percent increase in the previous month, detailed data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) showed. A marked increase of output in the automotive segment, which rallied after scheduled shutdowns in the previous month, supported the rise.

HUNGARY CPI EDGES DOWN TO 2.5 PC IN SEP

Consumer prices in Hungary rose by an annual 2.5 percent in September, slowing from a 2.6 percent increase in the previous month, KSH said. Emerging market analysts in London had expected the inflation rate to pick up to 2.7-2.8 percent. Headline CPI was lifted by higher tobacco and dairy prices.

IMF RAISES GDP GROWTH FORECASTS FOR HUNGARY

The International Monetary Fund raised its projection for Hungary’s GDP growth this year to 3.2 percent in its fresh World Economic Outlook. The projection was raised from 2.9 percent in a forecast published in April. The IMF raised its forecast for GDP growth in 2018 to 3.4 percent from 3.0 percent. Hungary’s government projects GDP growth of 4.1 percent for 2017 and 4.3 percent for 2018. Read more HERE.

KRONES TO BUILD HUF 15 BN PLANT IN HUNGARY

German packaging and bottling machine maker Krones announced plans to build a nearly 15 billion forint (EUR 48.7m) plant in Debrecen (E Hungary).

The investment will create 500 jobs.

INDUSTRIAL PARK OPERATOR INAUGURATES EUR 16.2M LOGISTICS BASE

Hungary’s state-owned National Industrial Park Operator and Developer inaugurated a 5 billion forint (EUR 16.2M) base for Swiss logistics company Kühne + Nagel in an industrial park in Paty, on the outskirts of the capital. Kühne + Nagel will rent the base and run the regional distribution centre for auto parts company Federal-Mogul. The investment will create about 160 jobs. Read more HERE.

RÉVÉSZ GROUP COMPLETES HUF 9 BN LOGISTICS BASE

Road haulage company Révész-Nyírlog inaugurated a HUF 9bn logistics base in Nyíregyháza (NE Hungary). The company was awarded 594 million forints (EUR 1.93m) in grant money and tax preferences for the investment.

The base raises Révész Group’s total storage space by 52,000 sqm to 260,000 sqm.

HODLMAYR HUNGARIA SPENDING EUR 2 M ON LOGISTICS BASE EXPANSION

Hodlmayr Hungaria Logistics said it is spending 2 million euros to expand warehouse space at its base in Győr (NW Hungary) to make room for Fiat Chrysler vehicles bound for Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Hodlmayr Hungaria will add 30,000 sqm to its warehouse space, a 10 percent expansion, enough for about 1,500 vehicles.

MAPEI HUNGARY UNIT STOPS EXPORTS TO FILL DOMESTIC ORDERS

The Hungarian unit of Italian building materials maker Mapei said it has stopped exporting to meet a boom in domestic demand. The unit’s third-quarter sales rose by an annual 27 percent.

PENSIONERS TO GET HUF 12,000 YEAR-END GROWTH PREMIUM

Hungarian pensioners will get a 12,000 forints year-end premium because of the country’s strong pace of economic growth, Economy Minister Mihály Varga said. In the spring, Varga promised pensioners a year-end premium if GDP growth exceeds by 3.5 percent and the deficit target is met. First-half GDP growth reached 3.6 percent, the latest data show.

GOVT EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR COMPLYING WITH AMENDMENTS TO HIGHER ED ACT

The government submitted an amendment to Parliament that would extend the deadline for foreign colleges and universities operating in Hungary to comply with new rules in the amended higher education act by one year to January 1, 2019. The original deadline was sufficient for institutions of higher education “that sought an agreement in earnest rather than unnecessary political debate and conflict”, said Justice Minister László Trócsányi. Talks are still ongoing with other institutions, among them the Central European University, he added. Read more HERE.

Photo: kormany.hu

Source: MTI