HungaryTrends – The week in business and finance

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

Government to continue same economic policy if mandate renewed, says Economy Minister

Hungary’s Fidesz-KDNP government will continue to follow the same economic policy it has over the past eight years if it wins another mandate in general elections on Sunday, Economy Minister Mihály Varga said in an interview published in daily Magyar Idők. “If we get another mandate for four more years, we will follow the same course of economic policy that we have in the past eight years. Stable, transparent fiscal policy, the expansion of state assets, economic growth and the reduction in state debt are the hallmarks of this course,” Varga said.

Tunsgram Group annual revenue set to reach 1 billion USD in ten years

Joerg Bauer, who agreed in February to buy the lighting business of General Electric (GE) in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, as well as its global automotive lighting business, expects the acquisition to generate annual revenue of 1 billion US dollars in ten years. Speaking at a press conference in Budapest, Bauer said he had just signed a contract with GE on taking over the company’s units in Hungary. The deal was financed with credit from Magyar Eximbank, he said.

Richter announces positive clinical trial results for cariprazine

Hungarian drugmaker Richter and its Irish peer Allergan announced positive topline results in a Phase III clinical trial of cariprazine for treatment of bipolar I depression. Allergan plans to include data from all three trials of cariprazine for the treatment of bipolar I depression in a Supplemental New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration in the second half of 2018.

Zoltek plans HUF 30.8 billion expansion in Hungary

Japan‘s Zoltek plans a 30.8 billion forints (EUR 98.6m) expansion at its carbon fibre plant in Nyergesújfalu, northern Hungary, the foreign minister announced. The state is supporting the investment, which will create 357 jobs, with an 8.1 billion grant, Péter Szijjártó said. Zoltek will add eight production lines at the base, raising annual capacity from 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes, he added.

Fungaria to build HUF 10.5 billion plant

Hungarian-owned Fungaria Bio announced plans to build a 10.5 billion forints (EUR 32.1m) mushroom growing and processing plant in Nagykálló, northeast Hungary. The investment will be supported by a 2.6 billion government grant.

Hungary PMI edges down to 57 in March

Hungary’s seasonally-adjusted Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) slipped to 57 points in March from 57.2 in February, the Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management (Halpim), which compiles the index, said. An index value above 50 shows expansion in the manufacturing sector, while a value under 50 signals contraction.

Hungary state debt, including Eximbank, reaches 73.6 per cent of GDP at end-2017

Hungary’s gross consolidated state debt, calculated according to Maastricht rules and including the liabilities of state-owned Magyar Eximbank, stood at 73.6 percent of GDP at the end of 2017, down from 76 percent at the end of 2016, preliminary data released by the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) showed. Excluding Magyar Eximbank, the debt was 71.7 percent of GDP, down from 73.9 percent a year earlier. The NBH recently started publishing separate state debt ratios, with and without the balance sheet of Magyar Eximbank, in line with a decision by Eurostat.

CTP to spend EUR 60 million on warehouse development near Budapest

Industrial property developer CTP will spend 60 million euros to build warehouses at two sites on the outskirts of the capital, CTP’s country manager Rudolf Nemes told MTI. The warehouses, planned for Biatorbágy and Dunaharaszti near Budapest, are expected to create almost 2,000 jobs.

Source: MTI