HungaryTrends – The week in business and finance

See below MTI’s main business and financial news from the previous week:

COMPARING BUDAPEST RENTAL PRICES TO OTHER METROPOLISES

In Budapest, one can rent an apartment for almost half the price of the same flat in Vienna or in Frankfurt am Main. The data comes from a study conducted by rentcafe.com, an American site designed to help people to find apartments for rent. It was Otthon Centrum, a Hungarian real estate site, that compared findings to Budapest’s rental prices. Read more HERE.

HUNGARY CONSTRUCTION SECTOR OUTPUT JUMPS 36.8 PC IN AUGUST

Output of Hungary’s construction sector rose by an annual 36.8 percent in August albeit from a low base, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said. Output of the building segment was up 46.8 percent and output of the civil engineering segment rose by 24.1 percent. Read more HERE.

GOVERNMENT AIMS TO RAISE TOURISM CONTRIBUTION TO 16 PC OF GDP

The government aims to raise tourism’s share of GDP from 10 percent to 16 percent by 2030, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said, unveiling a national strategy for the sector that runs until 2030. The strategy targets an increase in tourism jobs from 364,000 to 450,000.

BECTON DICKINSON INAUGURATES EUR 19.5m PLANT

US medical technology company Becton Dickinson inaugurated a 6 billion forint (EUR 19.5m) plant in Tatabánya, in northwestern Hungary. The investment created 107 jobs, of which more than half require a graduate or post-graduate degree.

PENNY MARKET INAUGURATES HUF 9BN LOGISTICS BASE

German-owned discount market chain Penny Market inaugurated a 9 billion forint (EUR 29.2m) logistics base in Veszprém, in western Hungary. The 26,500sqm base is Penny Market’s third in Hungary.

HUNGARY GROSS WAGES CLIMB 13.2PC IN AUGUST

The average gross wage in Hungary rose by 13.2 percent annually to 292,400 forints (EUR 949) in August, KSH said. KSH noted that wages have been boosted by a higher minimum wage as well as pay increases in certain areas of the public sector and at state-owned utility companies. Read more HERE.

V4 PMS PROTEST DOUBLE STANDARDS AT JUNCKER DINNER

Prime ministers of the Visegrad Group — Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia — protested the application of double standards to member states in the East and in the West at a working dinner with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels, government office chief János Lázár said.

FLIGHTS TO AMERICA BY LOW-COST AIRLINE WIZZAIR

There is a possibility that direct transatlantic flights will be launched from London-Luton Airport by WizzAir. Read more HERE.

WIZZ AIR APPLIES FOR UK LICENCE TO MAKE BUSINESS “BREXIT-READY”

Hungarian low-fare carrier Wizz Air said its subsidiary Wizz Air UK filed an application for an Air Operator’s Certificate and Operating Licence with the UK Civil Aviation Authority to prepare the company for the UK’s departure from the European Union. “The UK remains the single biggest travel market in Europe and we are currently the UK’s eighth largest operator and this move is also part of our broader strategy to ensure that our UK operations are Brexit-ready,” said CEO József Váradi.

SAUSAGE THEMED ADVENTURE PARK WILL BE BUILT IN BÉKÉSCSABA

The improvement of CsabaPark continues: Hotel Trófea and the 5 km woodland walk path will be reconstructed and a 3.5 km long running track will be built with EU support.

CSABACAST COMPLETES HUF 5.6 BN PRODUCTION BASE

Automotive industry supplier CSABAcast Könnyűfémöntöde inaugurated a 5.6 billion forint (EUR 18.2m) production base in the industrial park of Apc, in northern Hungary, doubling production capacity and creating 130 jobs. Construction of the 17,000sqm base was supported with a 940 million forint government grant.

HUNGARY CONSTRUCTION SECTOR COULD REQUIRE GUEST WORKERS FROM ASIA

Inviting Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian or Pakistani guest workers to ease the labour shortage in Hungary’s construction industry could become a “realistic option” within just 3-5 years, the head of Market, a big Hungarian construction company, said in an interview published in business daily Világgazdaság. Earlier, it was thought guest workers from Ukraine could fill the gap, but they are working in Western Europe now, Sándor Scheer told the paper. He blamed low wages for the shortage of 20,000-30,000 workers, noting that SMEs are paying 90 percent of their labourers minimum wage and are not making capital expenditures.

HUNGARY RAISED 1.7 billion euros IN PROCEEDS FROM “RESIDENCY BOND” SALES

The state of Hungary raised 517 billion forints, or 1.7 billion euros, in a “residency bond” scheme that ran from the summer of 2013 until March of this year, economy ministry state secretary András Tállai said in a written response to an opposition MP. Bonds with a nominal value of 575 billion forints or 1.8 billion euros were sold under the programme. Under the scheme,

foreign nationals who bought securities from a licensed agent backed by the residency bonds could apply in an accelerated procedure for permanent residency in Hungary.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI