HungaryTrends – The most important news in business and finance from the previous week

Budapest (MTI) – See below MTI’s main business and financial news from the previous week:

GOVT, PRIVATE SECTOR AGREE ON MINIMUM WAGE RISE, PAYROLL TAX CUT

Hungary’s government reached an agreement with employers and unions on pairing marked increases in the minimum wage with a combined seven-percentage-point reduction of the 27 percent payroll tax over two years.

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FITCH AFFIRMS HUNGARY RATING AT ‘BBB-‘ WITH STABLE OUTLOOK

Fitch Ratings affirmed Hungary’s Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at ‘BBB-‘ with a Stable Outlook. Hungary’s ratings reflect the country’s membership in the European Union, strong governance indicators, high GDP per capita and reduced external debt, Fitch said.

NBH KEEPS BASE RATE ON HOLD, AS EXPECTED

The National Bank of Hungary’s Monetary Council left the central bank’s base rate on hold at 0.90 percent at a policy meeting. The decision was in line with expectations. Read more HERE.

HUNGARY POSTS 10-MONTH SURPLUS OF HUF 57.3 BN, MINISTRY CONFIRMS

Hungary posted a cashflow budget surplus of 57.3 billion forints (EUR 185.3m) at the end of October, marking the first time the central budget finished October in the black, the Economy Ministry confirmed in a detailed release of data.

SIEMENS TO SPEND HUF 10 BN ON DEVELOPMENTS IN BUDAPEST

Siemens plans to spend 10 billion forints on developments over three years at its Budapest plant, hiring more than 150 engineers to work at the unit, chairman-CEO Dale A. Martin said.

LOWER RISK COSTS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT BANKING SECTOR PROFITABILITY

Hungarian banks’ combined after-tax profit in the first three quarters of 2016 almost tripled year-on-year to 416.2 billion forints from 141.6 billion forints on a big drop in risk costs, data released by the National Bank of Hungary showed.

NBH ACCEPTS HUF 400 BN THREE-MONTH DEPOSITS, BELOW PRE-SET CAP

The National Bank of Hungary accepted 400 billion forint placements in its three-month deposit for banks at a tender, 50 billion forints less than the announced limit. The tender reduced the three-month deposit stock to 937 billion forints from 1.174 trillion forints.

KSH CONFIRMS SEPT RETAIL SALES GROWTH IN 2ND READING

Retail sales in Hungary rose by an annual 5.1 percent in September according to both unadjusted and calendar-adjusted figures, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) confirmed in a second reading of data.

FGS SCHEME EXTENDED UNTIL MARCH 2017

The central bank’s Monetary Council decided to extend the application deadline of SMEs for the third phase of the bank’s Funding for Growth Scheme (FGS) until March 31, 2017, the bank said.

PRIME MINISTER RECEIVES INVITATION TO WASHINGTON

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had a phone call with Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, and received an invitation from him to visit Washington, Orban said in an interview with business daily Világgazdaság.

 

Source: MTI