Foreign direct investments in Hungary amounted to an unprecedented 1,676 billion forints (EUR 4.7bn) during the pandemic last year, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said in an interview on Sunday.
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Péter Szijjártó told public broadcaster Kossuth Radio that Hungary’s highly skilled workforce, its political stability, financing environment, logistics and infrastructure were all factors when it came to attracting investments. The minister emphasised the importance of political stability, noting that Hungary’s government has a democratic mandate to govern with a two-thirds majority,
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guaranteeing the lowest personal income tax and the lowest single corporate tax in Europe.
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Szijjarto noted American investment magazine Site Selection has selected Hungary as one of the 10 most popular investment destinations in the world for the third time in a row.
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He insisted that the government’s policy of “opening up to the East” had been vindicated. Like in 2019, investments last year were from eastern rather than western countries.
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In 2020 China overtook South Korea as the biggest source of foreign direct investment from the East.
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Big incentive schemes have aided the purchase of new machinery, production lines, and the introduction of new technologies, he said. Hungarian companies, he added, are now in the position to meet market demand thanks to their ability to accommodate to changes in the global economy. Hungarian businesses are currently competing for 13 billion euros of investments, the minister said.
Asked about recent events in the US, he said Hungary’s foreign policy emphasised mutual respect,
and this involved refraining from commenting on the domestic politics of other countries. “It’s in our interest to maintain good cooperation with the United States,” he added.
Source: MTI
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