Main Hungarian business and financial news from the previous week

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

TAKATA GOES AHEAD WITH EXPANSION AT AIRBAG PLANT IN HUNGARY

As we wrote, Japanese automotive industry supplier Takata is continuing with a capacity expansion at its airbag plant in Hungary, as planned, Takata Safety Systems Hungary told MTI after its parent company declared bankruptcy in Japan and the United States because of liabilities related to recalls of defective airbag inflators. In the coming months, Takata will add another 200 jobs at the plant in Miskolc (NE Hungary) which employs 1,400 people at present.

HUNGARY HOSTS OECD’S CONFERENCE OF THE GLOBAL FORUM ON PRODUCTIVITY

The Hungarian government hosted the OECD’s 2017 Conference of the Global Forum on Productivity in Budapest. In the framework of the conference, Economy Minister Mihály Varga and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria signed an agreement to jointly develop a broad strategy for improving the competitiveness and productivity of Hungarian SMEs. The agreement marks the first such country-specific project for the OECD.

WABERER’S OFFER PRICE SET AT HUF 5,100, LOW END OF RANGE

The offer price in an IPO of shares of Hungarian haulier Waberer’s International was set at 5,100 forints (EUR 16.5) per share, at the low end of the 5,100-6,300 forints offer price range. Calculating with the offer price, Waberer’s will raise about net 14 billion forints in the IPO or 45 million euros.

SOFT DRINK MAKER HELL ENERGY INAUGURATES HUF 30BN CAN PLANT

Quality Pack, a unit of soft drink maker Hell Energy, inaugurated a 30 billion forints can plant in Szikszó (NE Hungary). The 42,000-sqm plant can turn out 1.2 billion cans a year. Headcount at the plant will reach 150 within three years.

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BUSINESS LEADERS JOIN PM’S DELEGATION ON VISIT TO ANKARA

Business leaders from 72 Hungarian companies, including ones in the water management, farming and IT sectors, joined Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his ministers on an official visit to Turkey. Orban opened a Turkish-Hungarian business forum and participated at the third meeting of the Hungarian-Turkish High Level Strategic Council during the visit.

EXTREME WEATHER TO CUT WHEAT HARVEST TO AROUND 4M TONNES

Extreme weather conditions are likely to cut Hungary’s wheat harvest to around 4 million tonnes this year from 4.9 million in 2016, farm minister Sándor Fazekas said on public television.

SANATMETAL COMPLETES HUF 500M PRODUCTION UPGRADE

Hungary’s Sanatmetal Ortopediai, which makes trauma implants and joint replacement prostheses, completed a more than 500 million forints production upgrade. A little more than half of the cost of the upgrade was covered by European Union funding.

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US HUNGARY BUSINESS COUNCIL BRINGS SECOND ANNUAL MISSION TO BUDAPEST

The US Hungary Business Council (USHBC) brought its second annual business mission to Budapest. The US is the second-biggest foreign investor in Hungary after Germany, but American companies want to take the top position, said USHBC chairman Eric Stewart. The USHBC was established early last year by American businesses operating in Hungary to facilitate dialogue between US business leaders and the Hungarian government.

MTEL, TELENOR MAKE CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR PRE-PAID SUBSCRIBERS

Telcos Magyar Telekom and Telenor said they will allow pre-paid subscribers who fail to reconcile their data by the deadline on Friday to keep their telephone numbers and balances if they sign new contracts. Hungarian lawmakers tightened rules on pre-paid SIM cards last year amid concerns they could be easily resold to criminals or terrorists. The rules now require telcos to check and confirm the personal data of all pre-paid subscribers by the end of June. The contracts of subscribers who fail to comply will be cancelled.

HUNGARY SOLAR POWER CAPACITY COULD REACH 2,100 MW BY END 2018

As we wrote, commercial solar power capacity in Hungary could rise to 2,100 MW by the end of 2018, exceeding the capacity of the country’s sole nuclear power plant, the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (MEKH) said. MEKH noted that solar power plants operate on average for 1,050-1,200 hours per year in Hungary, generating enough power for 250 households for each half a megawatt of capacity. In 2015, commercial power generation capacity using renewable resources stood at 837 MW, MEKH said.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI