Hungarian economy minister sees growing opportunities for Hungarian firms in Asia

More and more Hungarian companies will be doing business in Asia, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said on Friday in Bali on the sidelines of an IMF and World Bank annual meeting.

After talks with Danny Alexander, head of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Varga said Hungary will receive direct access to new projects through the bank, enabling Hungarian companies to appear on Asian markets.

The bank, which Hungary joined last year, provides cheap financing for projects in Asia worth a combined 1,000 billion dollars, the minister noted.

Hungarian firms with a background in water management are most likely to assume a visible presence there, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Varga also said

the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group had recognised the achievements of Hungarian economic policy, given the IMF has revised its Hungarian growth forecast upward.

The finance minister also announced that he had invited Alexander to the Budapest Water Summit in October next year with a view to bolstering the bank’s efforts to strengthen its European ties.

Varga had talks with World Bank head Cyril Mueller, as well as Karin Finkelston, vice-president of the International Finance Corporation. The talks focused on the World Bank Group’s assistance to Hungarian companies in their international activities as well as to the Visegrad Group’s efforts to build a common regional strategy, the statement said.