Hungary pushes to become financial bridge between East and West
Hungary strives for mutually beneficial ties with countries in Asia, National Bank of Hungary (NBH) governor Mihály Varga said at the central bank’s annual Budapest Renminbi Initiative Conference on Friday.
Varga said the economies of Europe and Asia could “hardly be separated”. He acknowledged the government’s Eastern Opening policy and said the NBH remained committed to fostering international relations.
He highlighted China’s leading role in technological development and said economic decoupling would cause “huge damage”. He also pointed to the outsized share of Chinese FDI in Europe that had gone to Hungary.
Varga noted that the NBH had recently established a new position for deputy governor in charge of international relations to better build connections with the international financial network.
He said cooperation with China’s securities and financial sector regulators had strengthened, while the NBH continued to make every effort to turn Hungary into a financial “meeting point” for East and West.
Varga said that Hungary was the first in Europe to issue bonds on both the offshore and onshore RMB market, while RMB accounts, transfers and lending were available in the country.
Zou Lan, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said Hungary was one of the most important countries in the region for China, but said there were still untapped opportunities in bilateral cooperation.
Yang Chao, the charge d’affaires at the Chinese embassy in Budapest, said financial cooperation benefited a deepening of bilateral ties.
Zhang Hui, the president and vice chairman of Bank of China, praised Hungary’s approach to green financing, trade and investment. He added that Bank of China provided RMB accounts for more than 100 businesses in Hungary.
László Palkovics, the government commissioner for artificial intelligence, said the economic and political environment was favourable for enhancing ties.