Hungary Trends – The previous week in business and finance

Budapest (MTI) – See below MTI’s main business and financial news from the previous week:

CEZ PARTS WITH 7.4 PC STAKE IN MOL IN EQUITY PLACEMENT

Czech energy group CEZ agreed to sell a 7.4 percent stake in Hungarian oil and gas company MOL for 141.4 billion forints (EUR 460m) in an equity placement. CEZ is using the proceeds from the sale to repurchase bonds exchangeable for MOL shares it issued three years earlier. Settlement of the transactions is expected to occur on or around April 4.

HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, INVESTMENTS DRIVE GROWTH – NBH

The National Bank of Hungary projects big increases in household consumption and investments will lift GDP growth this year, forecasts in the central bank’s quarterly Inflation Report showed. The central bank sees household consumption expenditures climbing by 5.1 percent, lifted by higher wages and expanded employment, and investments jumping by 13.2 percent, supported by projects in both the private and public sectors.

OPEL CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF PRODUCTION IN HUNGARY

German carmaker Opel celebrated the 25th anniversary of the start of production at its plant in Hungary. Opel/Vauxhall chairman Karl-Thomas Neumann said General Motor’s recent agreement to sell its Opel and Vauxhall brands to France’s PSA Group created a new opportunity to make a European champion. Keeping Opel a genuine German brand will serve further growth, he added. Read more HERE.

BILL WOULD RAISE AD TAX RATE TO 9 PC

A bill submitted to lawmakers by Economy Minister Mihaly Varga would raise the advertising tax rate to 9 percent from June 1, though not before lowering it to 0 percent between January 1 and May 31. Companies with annual revenue under 100 million forints would be exempt as would enterprises who do their own advertising. The ad tax rate has stood at 5.3 percent since July 2015.

NBH POLICY MAKERS SET HUF 500BN LIMIT ON THREE-MONTH DEPO FOR END-Q2

The National Bank of Hungary’s Monetary Council set a 500 billion forints limit on the stock of three-month deposits, the central bank’s main sterilisation instrument, at the end of the second quarter at a policy meeting. The Council had earlier set the limit for the three-month depo stock at 750 billion forints for the end of the second quarter. The NBH started placing caps on three-month depo tenders last autumn in an effort to force more liquidity onto the market.