After 2020, Chinese companies will continue to bring the most investment to Hungary this year.Continue reading
The prospects for the Hungarian economy are good, and after overcoming two crises we will have a strong growth next year, said Finance Minister Mihály Varga at a panel discussion at the Gombaszög Summer Camp in Slovakia, on Saturday.
The Hungarian Finance Minister was in conversation with his Slovak counterpart Michal Horváth, the acting finance minister of the Slovak government, at the forum, called “Tight years ahead?” (“Szűk esztendők jönnek?”). The two politicians discussed the economic uncertainty in the aftermath of the epidemic and the energy crisis, and their countries’ prospects in this context.
Commenting on the outlook for the future, Mihály Varga emphasized that while it is good news that the Hungarian economy is in good shape, the bad news is that the prospects for the European Union are not very encouraging.
He pointed out that while the EU is facing a continuous loss of economic space,
the outlook for the Hungarian economy is good, since Hungary is experiencing economic growth based on many sectors.
He explained that in 2021, after the pandemic, growth was 7.1 percent, last year it was 4.6 percent, which was above the EU average, and although this year will not be easy, “it is good if we get out of the recession”, but next year we can expect a 4 percent economic growth again.
The Hungarian Finance Minister pointed out that the labor market is “very tight”, with a low unemployment rate of around 4 percent. “Those who are willing and able to work can work, there is no problem to find a job in the economy,” Mihály Varga stressed.
He added that Hungary is building a work-based economy, therefore the government does not believe in basic income and social assistance either. He said that it was promising that
Hungary had a high investment rate, at 28% of GDP, the highest in the EU, and that the outlook for the coming period was good.
Mihály Varga also underlined that the high level of foreign investment is excellent news.
He said that in the last three years, most of the capital has come not from Western Europe and the United States, but from China and South Korea. He noted that although there is a political dispute with Brussels over this phenomenon, not to accept a €6.5 billion investment that creates 8,000 jobs “would be stupid.”
While listing the factors that boost the economy, the Finance Minister said the country’s export performance is very good, while in terms of population Hungary ranks 94th in the world, and 34th in terms of export performance. He pointed out that
although energy prices skyrocketed last year, there is now compensation, as inflation and interest rates have started to fall.
He added that next year’s budget has already been adopted by Parliament and it will reduce both the budget deficit and the level of public debt.
Michal Horváth said that Slovakia is a very poor and slow absorber of EU funds, which is why these funds are mostly used in the second half of the budget period, and this is expected to be the case again, leading to an improvement in economic data this year.
The Gombaszög Summer Camp is the oldest summer event for young Hungarians in Slovakia, and takes place in the Gombaszög Valley near the village of Slavec (Szalóc) in Slovakia.
Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/Varga Mihály