Nicholas Pongratz

MNB

Otthon Centrum issues HUF 2.9 bln bond under BGS

Real estate broker Otthon Centrum yesterday said it issued a HUF 2.9 billion bond under the Bond Funding for Growth...

Deals

Safin signs preliminary agreement on Dunaferr takeover

Safin GmbH, a Kazakh-owned industrial company headquartered in Vienna, has signed a preliminary agreement on taking over the operation of...

Government

Competitiveness Council makes proposals to support recovery

Hungary's National Competitiveness Council, a body of business leaders and experts established to make recommendations to the government, presented a...

MNB

Banking sector liquidity increased in March

Forint liquidity of the Hungarian banking sector increased in March, reflected in a rise in the average stocks of lenders'...

Analysis

Advertising spending down 15.8% in 2020

Advertising spending in Hungary came to HUF 401.9 billion in 2020, down by 15.8% from a year earlier, the Hungarian...

Green Energy

MEKH to lead by example on climate change

The Hungarian Energy and Utilities Regulatory Authority (MEKH) would like to set an example and take the lead in protecting...

Analysis

Loss of scholarship contributes to dropout rate

Many Hungarians who lose their state scholarships because of poor grades at university drop out because of the high cost...

Government

Summer Dreams and Vaccination Take-up

The number of people vaccinated in Hungary at least once has passed the 2.5 million threshold, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán...

Green Energy

HUF 100 bln in gov’t grants for home installation of solar panels

Hungary's government will call a tender in the summer offering more than HUF 100 billion in grants to support the...

Crops

Springtime frost damages peach and apricot crop

Hungarian orchard farmers are facing frost damage to their early blooming peach and apricot crops for the third year in...

Conferences

Italian chamber hosting social media marketing webinar

The Italian Chamber of Commerce for Hungary, in partnership with Windling Consulting, is hosting a webinar demonstrating how to use...

Pharma

Roche adding 250 positions to Budapest SSC

Swiss healthcare company Roche will add 250 positions at its shared service center in Budapest this year, Minister of Foreign...

MNB

Central bank buys HUF 60 bln in QE securities

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) bought HUF 60 billion of securities under its quantitative easing program in the week...

Analysis

K&H survey: SMEs increasingly optimistic

Despite the pandemic, small- and medium-sized enterprises are increasingly optimistic about the next year, K&H said, citing its first-quarter research,...

Tourism

Tourism could see labor shortage upon recovery

According to a recent flash report, survival is the goal for now, but in the future, the hospitality and hotel...

Ukraine Crisis

Hungary Again Digs in Heels on EU Accession Clusters

Hungary withheld approval for Ukraine’s next European Union accession clusters for a fifth time, after Prime Minister Péter Magyar rejected...

Ukraine Crisis

Hungarian-Ukrainian Relations Advance, to a Degree

Hungarian-Ukrainian relations advanced on several fronts in August, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Prime Minister Péter Magyar to Kyiv, Budapest...

Ukraine Crisis

Hungary Again Stalls on Opening Further Ukrainian EU Accession Clusters

Within five days, Hungary twice declined to clear the first procedural step toward opening two further European Union accession clusters...

Ukraine Crisis

Still no Date or Venue for Magyar-Zelenskyy Summit

Hungary’s government ordered an investigation into the Orbán-era seizure of Ukrainian bank assets, lifted a nine-month ban on Ukrainian media...

Ukraine Crisis

Magyar Lifts Veto on European Peace Facility, EU Accession Talks

Prime Minister Péter Magyar lifted Hungary’s two-year veto on European Union arms reimbursements on June 2 and announced a comprehensive...

Ukraine Crisis

Kyiv, Budapest Closer to Minority Rights Agreement

In the concluding weeks of May, Prime Minister Péter Magyar managed to secure EUR 16.4 billion in frozen EU funds...

Ukraine Crisis

Ukraine Makes Reset With Hungary a Foreign Policy Priority

Péter Magyar’s May 9 inauguration as Hungary’s prime minister, formally concluding Viktor Orbán’s 16-year continuous rule, brought an immediate shift...

Ukraine Crisis

Can Tisza Victory Help Budapest and Kyiv Reset Relations?

The European Union has approved a EUR 90 billion loan for Ukraine and unblocked delayed Russia sanctions after Hungary lifted...

Ukraine Crisis

Election Result Offers Hungarian Reset With EU and Ukraine

In what could prove a watershed moment for Hungarian-Ukrainian relations, Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party decisively ended the 16-year rule of...

Energy

Oil, Gas Pipeline Threats Highlight Hungary’s Energy Dependency

With an oil pipeline halted since January, a global price shock from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and...

Ukraine Crisis

Fidesz, Tisza Exchange Tit-for-tat Spying Allegations on Foreign Interference

Hungary’s government and opposition traded accusations of serving foreign intelligence services in the final days before the April 12 election,...

Ukraine Crisis

Ukraine Loan Blocked by Orbán, Szijjártó Phone Briefings Raise Eyebrows

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has been accused of covertly briefing Moscow on EU meeting proceedings, prompting...

Ukraine Crisis

Hungary Seizes Ukrainian Cash, Gold from Armored Truck Convoy

Hungary detained seven Ukrainian bank employees transporting USD 40 million, EUR 35 mln, and nine kilograms of gold through Budapest...

Ukraine Crisis

Budapest and Kyiv Trade ‘Blackmail’ Allegations Over Energy Supplies

Hungary intensified its confrontation with Ukraine over halted Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba (ironically, the name translates as “Friendship”)...

Ukraine Crisis

Gov’t Outrage Over Deaths During ‘Forced Conscription’ of Ethnic Hungarians

The death of a second ethnic Hungarian during Ukrainian military conscription processing triggered a series of escalating measures by the...

Hungary Again Digs in Heels on EU Accession Clusters

Hungary withheld approval for Ukraine’s next European Union accession clusters for a fifth time, after Prime Minister Péter Magyar rejected...

Hungarian-Ukrainian Relations Advance, to a Degree

Hungarian-Ukrainian relations advanced on several fronts in August, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Prime Minister Péter Magyar to Kyiv, Budapest...

Hungary Again Stalls on Opening Further Ukrainian EU Accession Clusters

Within five days, Hungary twice declined to clear the first procedural step toward opening two further European Union accession clusters...

Still no Date or Venue for Magyar-Zelenskyy Summit

Hungary’s government ordered an investigation into the Orbán-era seizure of Ukrainian bank assets, lifted a nine-month ban on Ukrainian media...

Magyar Lifts Veto on European Peace Facility, EU Accession Talks

Prime Minister Péter Magyar lifted Hungary’s two-year veto on European Union arms reimbursements on June 2 and announced a comprehensive...

Kyiv, Budapest Closer to Minority Rights Agreement

In the concluding weeks of May, Prime Minister Péter Magyar managed to secure EUR 16.4 billion in frozen EU funds...

Ukraine Makes Reset With Hungary a Foreign Policy Priority

Péter Magyar’s May 9 inauguration as Hungary’s prime minister, formally concluding Viktor Orbán’s 16-year continuous rule, brought an immediate shift...

Can Tisza Victory Help Budapest and Kyiv Reset Relations?

The European Union has approved a EUR 90 billion loan for Ukraine and unblocked delayed Russia sanctions after Hungary lifted...

Election Result Offers Hungarian Reset With EU and Ukraine

In what could prove a watershed moment for Hungarian-Ukrainian relations, Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party decisively ended the 16-year rule of...

Oil, Gas Pipeline Threats Highlight Hungary’s Energy Dependency

With an oil pipeline halted since January, a global price shock from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and...

Fidesz, Tisza Exchange Tit-for-tat Spying Allegations on Foreign Interference

Hungary’s government and opposition traded accusations of serving foreign intelligence services in the final days before the April 12 election,...

Ukraine Loan Blocked by Orbán, Szijjártó Phone Briefings Raise Eyebrows

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has been accused of covertly briefing Moscow on EU meeting proceedings, prompting...

Hungary Seizes Ukrainian Cash, Gold from Armored Truck Convoy

Hungary detained seven Ukrainian bank employees transporting USD 40 million, EUR 35 mln, and nine kilograms of gold through Budapest...

Budapest and Kyiv Trade ‘Blackmail’ Allegations Over Energy Supplies

Hungary intensified its confrontation with Ukraine over halted Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba (ironically, the name translates as “Friendship”)...

Gov’t Outrage Over Deaths During ‘Forced Conscription’ of Ethnic Hungarians

The death of a second ethnic Hungarian during Ukrainian military conscription processing triggered a series of escalating measures by the...