It is particularly important for Hungary to gradually move up in terms of industrial value added, a recent report shows.Continue reading
International automotive companies no longer regard Hungary as just an assembly plant; the sector is characterized by highly innovative and high-tech operations, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Székesfehérvár (central Hungary) on Tuesday.
At the announcement of a new investment by Howmet-Köfém Kft., the mminister noted that the company owned by the U.S. is expanding the capacity of its wheel manufacturing plant to the tune of HUF 17 billion (EUR 45 million).
The project will be supported by the state with HUF 5 billion (EUR 13 million), helping to create 80 new jobs.
Péter Szijjártó added that the world economy has been turned upside down twice in recent years and, as always, major changes divide the players into winners and losers. “In both crises, we Hungarians have stuck to the economic strategy that we launched in 2010, and to base our economic policy not on aid but on job creation and investment,” he underlined. He also pointed out that
the economy is set to hit new highs this year, with investment doubling and exports growing by six to eight percent.
Minister Szijjártó stressed that these results could not have been achieved without U.S. companies. He emphasized that these companies are now the second largest investor community in Hungary, and
the value of bilateral trade exceeded USD 8 billion last year, a record high, and we can expect further record highs this year, with an 11 percent increase.
“If we look at the overall system of relations and cooperation between Hungary and the United States, it is no exaggeration to say that the best functioning part of it is economic, trade, and investment cooperation,” the politician said.
The minister stressed that
the Hungarian automotive industry has increased its production value three and a half times since 2010, and last year it had already exceeded the HUF 10,000 billion (EUR 26 billion) mark, and had done so by a substantial amount, reaching HUF 12,000 billion (EUR 32 billion).
“With an 18 percent increase in the year to November, this shows that the automotive industry is delivering another peak performance,” he highlighted. Szijjártó explained that the sector, employing around 170,000 people, has an export share of 90 percent. “Today, we are no longer seen by large international companies as a mere assembly plant (…) but as a sector that is highly innovative and high-tech,” he concluded.
Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter