Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency

Twenty years ago, capital predominantly streamed from West to East, but this trend has now reversed, and as for Hungary, it is crucial to maintain openness to investments from all directions – underlined the Government Commissioner for Investment Promotion and Implementation of Large FDI Projects in the February 14 episode of Felfedező a gazdaságról.

Alongside this shift in capital flows, the European Union has encountered severe competitiveness issues, leading to a drastic decline in incoming foreign direct investment.

Regardless of these challenges,

the Eastern Central European region, with Hungary included, continues to be an attractive investment destination, serving as a kind of island

– Mr. István Joó stated.

Last year, Hungary secured once again over EUR10 billion in investment agreements, with new projects arriving from 19 countries across three continents, which "clearly illustrates economic neutrality" – underlined HIPA's CEO.

Traditionally, there has been a notable influx of foreign investment into the automotive and electronics sectors, which has drawn criticism about excessive reliance on these industries. However, the investment landscape is much broader. "Investments have arrived from 18 different industries, including food processing, chemicals, information and communication technologies, pharmaceuticals, and medical device manufacturing."

The current landscape of sectors is exceptionally diverse, and in the future, we will remain committed to developing a broad investment portfolio

– Mr. István Joó explained.

On the role of Eastern capital, Mr. István Joó stressed that one of HIPA’s key goals is to encourage Chinese and South Korean companies to expand their activities in Hungary beyond manufacturing to include research and development, in close cooperation with the country’s universities.

Strengthening the Hungarian supplier base is also a priority.

Over the past year, as well as the year before and this current year, HIPA has concentrated on integrating Hungarian-owned firms into the supply chains of major investors that are already operating in the country

– underlined HIPA's CEO.