Hungary will take a lot of foreign currency loans in 2023

The Fiscal Council of Hungary issued its opinion on Hungary’s 2023 budget. They said that provided everything goes as the government planned, the rate of foreign currency loans in the budget will continue to increase.

According to portfolio.hu, in 2023, the rate of foreign currency loans in Hungary’s budget will rise to 28 percent. That means next year’s budget calculates with issuing multiple foreign currency-denominated loans.

Hungary’s Government Debt Management Agency raised Hungary’s permitted foreign currency loan rate threshold concerning the state debt from 25 percent to 30 percent because of the lack of EU monies. By the end of 2022, the actual rate will be around 25 percent. Mihály Varga, Hungary’s finance minister, said they planned to issue additional foreign currency bonds in the first half of 2023. Meanwhile, the government aims to buy back USD bonds.

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Government welcomes Fiscal Council’s approval of draft budget amendments

Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, on Wednesday welcomed the Fiscal Council’s unanimous approval of the government’s draft of amendments to the 2023 budget. Gulyás said the budget earmarks more than 2,600 billion forints (EUR 6.5bn) for keeping household utility bills low. The special legal order gives the government the power to amend the budget, Gulyás told MTI, adding, at the same time, that the draft amendments will be submitted to parliament for approval in the first half of January. Though the special legal order allows for swift action, “this can in no way restrict the authority of parliament,” he added.

Next year will be the second of the continuing war and the “sanctions-fuelled energy crisis”, Gulyás said. The war and the effects of the sanctions imposed by Brussels are a danger to Hungarian families, the Hungarian economy and Hungarian jobs, he added.

Gulyás said the most important task in 2023 would be to protect Hungarian families and jobs and maintain economic growth.

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Hungary’s utility protection fund has to be topped up so that household utility prices can remain capped up to average consumption, he said, adding that the fund was also used to finance support for companies in energy-intensive sectors. “The 2023 budget is therefore the budget of utility protection,” he said.

Next year’s budget will also ensure support for families and guarantee that the value of pensions can be preserved, Gulyás said.

Source: portfolio.hu, MTI