Following talks with Kim Young-joo, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, on Friday, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said Asian companies see Hungary as an attractive investment site by virtue of its corporate tax being the lowest in Europe, secure energy supply and political stability.
Minister Varga said all South Korean investments help Hungary evade the economic recession emerging on the back of the sanctions-fuelled crisis.
South Korea was the biggest foreign investor in Hungary last year, Varga said. He noted that the Republic of Korea is second only to China among Hungary’s Asian trading partners, with over 260 companies of South Korean involvement employing over 20,000 Hungarian workers. Thanks to Korean enterprises, Hungary has become the world’s third-biggest manufacturer and the fifth-biggest exporter of batteries, he added. Hungary offers competitive conditions for investors in terms of taxation, skilled manpower and infrastructure, Minister Varga said, adding that the government had concluded strategic cooperation agreements with three large Korean companies.