The week in business and finance in Hungary

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

RICHTER Q2 PROFIT FALLS ON FINANCIAL LOSS

Hungarian drugmaker Gedeon Richter’s second-quarter net income fell by an annual 52 percent to 8.4 billion forints (EUR 27.5m) on a big financial loss, an earnings report showed. Richter’s revenue grew by 17 percent to 114.1 billion forints during the period.

HUNGARY ISSUES RMB 1 BN PANDA BOND

Hungary issued a three-year 1 billion renminbi (EUR 130m) “panda” bond, targeted at the domestic Chinese market, making the country the first to tap both China’s onshore and offshore market for yuan bonds. Economy ministry state secretary Ágnes Hornung said the actual interest Hungary pays on the bond would be under the 4.85 percent coupon after the swap to convert the proceeds into euros.

HOME BUILDING PERMITS CLIMB BY 40 PC IN H1

Home building permits issued in Hungary in the first half jumped by 40 percent to 19,823 from the same period a year earlier, the Central Statistical Office said. The number of completed homes increased by 46 percent to 5,004 during the period.

BOSCH SETS UP HUF 1.6 BN SSC AT POWER TOOLS PLANT IN HUNGARY

German engineering giant Bosch wound up a 1.6 billion forint (EUR 5.2m) project to establish a shared services centre at its power tools plant in Miskolc, in northern Hungary. The government is providing Robert Bosch Power Tools with a 358 million forint grant for the investment which the company promised would create 205 workplaces.

MOL SIGNS EUR 110 M SCHULDSCHEIN AGREEMENT

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL said it signed a 110 million euro Schuldscheindarlehen (SSD) Agreement, becoming the first Hungarian company to avail of the form of credit which is an alternative to syndicated loans and corporate bonds.

DIGI ACQUIRES INVITEL RETAIL, SMALL BUSINESS SUBSCRIBERS IN HUNGARY

Hungarian TV, telecommunications and internet service provider Digi Távközlési agreed to buy the retail and small business clients of local peer Invitel for about 43 billion forints (EUR 141m).

VEHICLE FUEL SALES IN HUNGARY CLIMB MORE THAN 3 PC IN H1

Vehicle fuel sales in Hungary rose by over 3 percent in the first half from the same period a year earlier, data released by the Hungarian Petroleum Association (MASZ) showed. Diesel sales rose by an annual 3.7 percent to almost 1.5 billion litres. Petrol sales were up 3 percent at close to 860 million litres.

HÜBNER INVESTS HUF 3.4 BN IN CAPACITY EXPANSION

German-owned Hübner-H Gumi- es Műanyagipari is investing 3.4 billion forints (EUR 11.1m) to expand production capacity at its rubber and plastic parts plant in Nyíregyháza, in eastern Hungary. The government is providing an 844 million forint grant for the investment which will create 125 workplaces. Read more HERE.

MKB, K+H HOME LOAN PRODUCTS CERTIFIED “CONSUMER-FRIENDLY”

Home loan products offered by MKB Bank and K+H Bank were certified “consumer-friendly” by the National Bank of Hungary. The NBH recently rolled out the consumer-friendly home loan certification to counter high interest margins and a low rate of borrower refinancing. Products offered by Erste, FHB Commercial Bank and 50 members of Hungary’s integrated savings cooperatives have also been certified.

Source: MTI