The foreign minister has revealed that investments in Hungary hit a record high last year.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, confirmed that the government secured 101 large-scale investment deals with foreign and Hungarian companies in 2019.
According to MTI, this amounted to three more than the previous record high reached in 2018. Their value totaled HUF 1,705 billion (EUR 5.2bn), equal to 4 percent of GDP last year.
Minister Szijjártó said the government had provided non-refundable grants totaling HUF 156 billion to help implement the investments. He added that new jobs created by the investments pay 50 percent higher salaries than those created in 2017, which reflects the changing Hungarian economy.
The minister said that companies employing new technologies were now making investments in Hungary, and the economy was now becoming more geared towards research and development. Also, last year was pivotal in that there were more investments coming from South Korea than from Germany.
Minister Szijjártó revealed that 48 percent of investment value in Hungary was carried out by two Korean companies last year, while South Korean, Japanese and Chinese investors provide a third of new jobs.
The minister also noted that the automotive industry is entering a new phase globally. Hungary, he added, is a stronghold in this area, with eight new investments in the country in the production of batteries and their parts. Several companies are also developing electric motor production in Hungary.
Minister Szijjártó confirmed that 14 business service centers were established in Hungary in 2019, providing highly-paid jobs for highly skilled young people who speak several languages.
Investments are also balanced across Hungary’s various regions. Minister Szijjártó noted that Hungarian-owned companies made ten big investments in 2019 worth a total of HUF 126 billion.