(MTI) – The National Development Ministry will complete an audit of state-owned companies under its supervision during the summer, and suspend any contracting which is not necessary for daily operations, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Online newspaper Index.hu reported earlier in the day that Miklos Sesztak, the development minister, had sent out a memo to companies stopping all contracting.

The ministry’s statement said the ban on new contracts is expected to stay in effect in July and August. Contracts not involved in regular, daily operations can still be signed, but only upon approval by the minister and the state secretary in charge, the statement added.

The suspension will prevent public companies from taking obligations which could prove to be difficult or expensive to control, the statement added.