HungaryTrends – The most importans business news from the previous week

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

HUNGARY ISSUES EUR 1BN EUROBOND WITH 1.25 PC COUPON

Hungary issued a 1 billion euro seven-year eurobond with a 1.25 percent coupon. The interest is the lowest of any eurobond Hungary has ever issued, the Government Debt Management Agency (AKK) noted. Oversubscription was close to fourfold.

WING COMPLETES HUF 50BN MTEL HEADQUARTERS

Property developer Wing announced the completion of the 50 billion forint (EUR 154.5m) headquarters of Magyar Telekom and T-Systems. Magyar Telekom has signed a 15-year lease for the building, located at the junction of two of the capital’s busiest thoroughfares. More than 4,000 people will work in the new headquarters which has a gross area of 105,000sqm.

GYERMELYI INAUGURATES HUF 7.2 BN PASTA PLANT

Hungarian pasta maker Gyermelyi inaugurated a 7.2 billion forint pasta plant in Gyermely, central Hungary, doubling annual capacity to 70,000 tonnes. The investment was supported by a 2.4 billion forint government grant awarded to big companies ineligible for European Union funding.

AIRBNB HOMESTAYS IN BUDAPEST UP 35 PC IN 2017

Guest nights at Airbnb properties rose by 35 percent to almost 1.5 million last year, Colliers International said. Fully 69 percent of those guest nights were at homes in downtown Budapest, read more HERE.

HUNGARY JOBLESS RATE REACHES 3.7 PC

Hungary’s rolling average three-month jobless rate reached 3.7 percent in August, edging up from 3.6 percent in the previous month, but falling from 4.2 percent in the same period a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said. The rate covers unemployment among those between the ages of 15 and 74, read more HERE.

WHEAT HARVEST UNCHANGED

Hungary’s wheat harvest amounted to 5,246,000 tonnes in 2018, unchanged from a year earlier, KSH said. The harvest of all other cereal crops declined from a year earlier.

BILL WOULD SLAP HUF 38 FEE ON PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS

Hungary’s government aims to introduce a 38 forint environmental product fee on plastic bags thicker than 50 microns from the start of next year, draft legislation posted on the government’s website showed. The bill would introduce a 20 forint fee on plastic bags between 15 and 50 microns, and a 5 forint fee on plastic bags that are thinner than 15 microns.

MINISTRY CONFIRMS HUF 1,646.2BN DEFICIT AT THE END-AUG

Hungary’s cash flow-based budget, excluding local councils, ran a 1,646.2 billion forint (EUR 5bn) deficit at the end of August, the finance ministry confirmed in a second reading. The deficit reached 121 percent of the 1,360.7 billion forint full-year target. The ministry noted that pre-financing for EU-funded projects reached 1,388.5 billion forints by the end of August, while transfers from Brussels came to just 183 billion forints, read more details HERE.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IMPROVES, BUSINESS CONFIDENCE DECLINES IN SEP – GKI

Economic research institute GKI’s combined gauge of consumer and business confidence declined 1.2 points to 5.5 in September, falling for the second month in a row to a level last seen about a year ago. The business confidence index slipped 2.9 points to 10.4.

Source: MTI