Hungarian OTP to establish a bank in China

OTP is expanding with a new bank in China.

OTP is to establish a joint venture in the People’s Republic of China with a 15% partnership share. The partners signed the agreements on 2 June 2022, OTP Bank Nyrt. announced on Friday on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE, Hungarian: Budapesti Értéktőzsde, BÉT).

A joint venture

As 444.hu writes, the financial closing of the transaction is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of the year, subject to the receipt of the necessary Chinese regulatory approvals in several stages. The establishment of the joint venture will be subject to the approval of the competent Chinese regulatory authority as well as the Hungarian regulatory authority.

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The preliminary approval was granted by the Hungarian National Bank (Magyar Nemzeti Bank) on 14 April 2022.

OTP Bank shares are traded in the premium category of the BSE. On Friday, the share price rose by HUF 120 (EUR 0.31), or 1.31%, to HUF 9314 (EUR 23.76). In the last year, the minimum share price was HUF 8500 (EUR 21.68) and the maximum was HUF 19 590 (EUR 49.98).

CEO of OTP doubts overhead cuts?

The CEO of OTP, Sándor Csányi, has expressed concerns regarding the cutting of overheads. Tamás Deutsch, the Fidesz MEP, posted his opinion on Csányi’s thoughts on Facebook.

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“Sándor Csányi: overhead cuts are not good.

Overhead cuts: Sándor Csányi is not good.

That’s it.”

China also expanding in Hungary

An innovative Chinese e-car company is to build a battery swap station factory in Hungary. According to the Chinese press, the company NIO is building a factory here. However, the China-based multinational electric car manufacturer will not assemble cars in Hungary, but battery swap stations and charging stations, according to the article.

As 444.hu writes, NIO is a unique e-car company in an important respect: its models are available in two different versions:

with a battery installed in the usual way, rechargeable at home or at a charging station;
with a replaceable battery.

In the latter case, the buyer purchases the car without a battery (at a correspondingly lower price) in exchange for a monthly rental fee for the replaceable battery.