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.