National Economy Minister Márton Nagy said German and Chinese capital attract each other in Hungary which now has the most complex automotive industry ecosystem after Germany.
“The tendency is that German and Chinese capital want to work together, and this has become Hungary’s turf,” Minister Nagy told Demokrata. “Chinese capital arrives in Hungary because of the German capital. Battery plants don’t come here for the pretty landscape, but because the BMW plant is 200 metres from the CATL factory,” he added, referring to the Chinese battery maker’s base under construction in Debrecen (E Hungary). “That Chinese capital then draws more German capital, and the additional German capital brings more Chinese capital. These are mutually reinforcing processes,” he said. All elements of the vehicle manufacturing process can be found in Hungary, for which investors have a special appreciation, Nagy said. Investors also appreciate that Hungary is interested in “mutually beneficial cooperation”, he added. “We don’t want to be more clever than those companies that create jobs in Hungary and put their money on the line with local investments,” he told Demokrata. Nagy noted that the government aimed to keep the investment rate over 25% of GDP. In addition to energy costs, which the government is working to reduce through regulated prices, tax policy measures play “a significant role” in creating a favourable investment environment for businesses, he added.