FinMin: Finance cooperation most rapidly developing area of Hungary-China cooperation

Hungary aims to become a regional financial centre and a “bridgehead” for Chinese financial institutions that want to enter Europe’s financial market, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said at a meeting with the chief executive of the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF), his ministry said on Wednesday.

Hungary’s cooperation with the MCDF strengthens its bilateral partnerships with countries in Asia and dovetails with the government’s policy of opening to the East, the ministry cited Varga as saying at the meeting.

The local operations of Bank of China, China Construction Bank and China Development Bank offer a good example of Chinese financial institutions finding success in Hungary, he said.

Hungary has become the “number one” target for Chinese investors in Central and Eastern Europe, Varga said, noting that Chinese investments in the country had reached 8 billion dollars last year.

Hungary has diversified its government financing with green panda bond issues and it plans to launch its next Chinese bond issue programme in 2024, he added.

With ties to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the MCDF aims to provide financial resources for the preparation of infrastructure developments.

Source: MTI