Around 52% of respondents gave poor marks to the state of the national economy, while 44% said it was satisfactory. Looking ahead, 44% augured a deterioration and 42% said the situation would remain stable. Just 14% foresaw an improvement.
Assessments of Hungary’s economic policy have worsened since 2022, with respect to predictability, legal certainty, and corruption, said DUIHK head András Sávos.
Addressing government measures such as a cap on markups, he added that the chamber’s position was that long-term interests shouldn’t be sacrificed for short-term goals.
Asked about their own businesses, 28% of respondents delivered positive assessments, 49% neutral assessments and 23% poor ones.
Gauging outlooks, the survey showed 26% expected improvement and 25% saw business getting worse, while 46% expected no change.
Sávos noted that the survey of 236 companies had been conducted after the February 23 German elections, but did not reflect the impact of the announcement of the United States’ tariff measures.
Dirk Wölfer, the chamber’s communications director said businesses did not expect accelerated economic growth or a marked pickup in exports.
Around 30% expect to scale back investment spending, he added.
Companies said demand was their biggest risk, followed by payroll costs, economic policy and legal certainty. Responses indicate the labour shortage has eased.
Around 78% of companies said they would invest in Hungary again.
Wölfer said German companies had ploughed an annual EUR 2 bln-3 bln into upgrades or capacity expansions in Hungary for more than 10 years.
In 2022, German-owned businesses employed over 220,000 people, locally, he added.
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