Hungary ranked 8th for number of ongoing investments, says US magazine

Hungary has the eighth most investment projects in the world, according to American corporate magazine Site Selection.

Péter Szijjártó, the foreign and trade minister, citing the magazine that

ranks Hungary No. 1 in the eastern European region in terms of the best place to invest,

told a press conference on Thursday that the country, with its small, open economy, must participate in the “cutthroat international struggle” for investment if it is to maintain its job creation dynamic.

“The country’s inclusion in a top-ten ranking by such a respected professional journal is of extraordinary significance as it can sway investors,” he said.

In Site Selection’s global ranking of investment projects by country, Hungary was in eighth place with 74 projects. China and Germany topped the list, with 777 and 455 projects, respectively. Poland was in fifth place, with 140, and Romania was in tenth, with 70.

In a Site Selection ranking of the top ten countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia based on total amount of investment and investment projects, Hungary was number one. It also topped the regional ranking for investment value per capita.

As the Site Selection said:

“The 10th annual Global Best to Invest Awards are based in part on capital investment into private-sector facilities in each country (total projects and per capita projects) as compiled by Conway Analytics. Qualifying projects are corporate facility investments (from both FDI and domestic expansion) that contribute to the well-being of the areas in which they are made by meeting at least one of the following three criteria:

• Represent a minimum investment of US$1 million
• Create a minimum of 20 new jobs
• Involve at least 20,000 sq. ft. (1,900 sq. m.) of new space.

The following four data sets are also used to compile these proprietary rankings:

• World Bank Doing Business 2017, which gauges a nation’s ease of doing business;
• Overall ranking in the most recent Global Competitiveness Report from the World Economic Forum;
• The Human Development Index from the United Nations Development Programme, which focuses on people and their capabilities as indicators of national development;
• The Global Competitiveness Index Historical Dataset 2005-2015.”

MOST PROJECTS BY COUNTRY – GLOBAL

1. China 777
2. Germany 455
3. India 269
4. United Kingdom 227
5. Poland 140
6. Netherlands 137
7. Mexico 125
8. Hungary 74
9. Australia 93
10. Romania 70

Read the whole Site Selection’s report HERE.

Graphic: Site Selection

Source: MTI/Site Selection