Hungary expects additional South Korean investments
Asian companies see Hungary as an attractive investment site by virtue of its corporate tax being the lowest in Europe, secure energy supply and political stability, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said after talks with Kim Young-joo, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, on Friday.
All South Korean investments help Hungary evade economic recession emerging on the back of the sanctions-fuelled crisis, he said. South Korea was the biggest foreign investor in Hungary last year, Varga said.
The minister noted that the Republic of Korea is second only to China among Hungary’s Asian trading partners, with over 260 companies of South Korean involvement employing over 20,000 Hungarian workers. Thanks to Korean enterprises, Hungary has become the world’s third biggest manufacturer and the fifth biggest exporter of batteries, he added.
Hungary offers competitive conditions for investors in terms of taxation, skilled manpower and infrastructure, Varga said, adding that the government had concluded strategic cooperation agreements with three large Korean companies.
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Source: MTI
“Skilled manpower” – anyone living in Budapest (can I get a shout out from IX?) knows the plants run under Korean leadership, management speaks Korean, the more senior staff tends to be Korean (the plants’ cafetaria menus are very un-Hungarian, although there is a little part set apart for more local diets) and all the plants signage is in 4 languages, including Korean, Romanian and Russian. Nothing against this way of operating – however I’d love to see Hungarians moving up to the higher ranks – good pay, learning, opportunities and retention (please don’t move to Austria, etc.).
The low tax rate touted by our Politicians we all fund through the 27% VAT due on almost everything consumers buy.
Some hard facts: Hungary is ranked FOURTH HIGHEST for taxes on goods and services as a percentage of GDP – after Cuba:
https://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/global-revenue-statistics-database.htm