Hungary broke "two great, investment-related records" last year despite negative developments in the global economy, Szijjártó said.Continue reading
A South Korean company will make the largest investment of the year so far in Nyíregyháza, where it will produce separator foil for electric car batteries, with a value of around HUF 290 billion (EUR 726 million), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced in Budapest on Friday.
According to the ministry’s statement upon the announcement of W-Scope’s investment, the minister said that the company will open its first European plant in Hungary, the development will create 1,200 new jobs, and the new factory will produce 1.2 billion square meters of separator film per year.
In his speech, he stressed that the automotive industry has undoubtedly become the backbone of the Hungarian economy, with a production value of HUF 3,600 billion (EUR 9 billion) in 2010 and HUF 9,400 billion (EUR 23 billion) in 2021, and the momentum has not waned, as the figure reached a record HUF 3,500 billion (almost EUR 9 billion) in the first four months of this year.
Whoever wins the electric car investments will win the future, and can lay the foundations for future economic growth,”
he said, stressing that Hungary is one of the favorite investment locations for the big international companies that are setting the pace of the global automotive revolution.
Szijjártó said that Hungary is one of the flagships of the European automotive transition, having become a major power in the production and export of electric batteries.
He said the country has the world’s third-largest electric battery production capacity after China and the United States, and this will increase from 50 gigawatt-hours per year today to 150 gigawatt-hours by 2025. Hungary ranks fifth in the world for exports of electric batteries, he said.
He also pointed out that the trade winds of this industry are blowing from the East, and that one of the main results of the strategy of opening up to the East is that Eastern companies see Hungary as a preferred investment location for their European investments. He said that after 2019 and 2021, most of the investment is likely to come from South Korea this year.
The Minister concluded by pointing out that South Korean companies are now the fourth largest investor community in the country, which proves that each investment attracts new investments.
He added that bilateral trade turnover reached a record high last year, with a 9 percent increase to nearly five billion dollars, and it is clear that Hungary is benefiting greatly from the relationship.
Featured image via Péter Szijjártó’s Facebook page