Foreign Minister lobbying in Helsinki to keep Nokia in Hungary - Népszabadság

Foreign Minister János Martonyi has travelled to Helsinki to lobby Finnish political leaders to keep handset maker Nokia in Hungary and encourage new investments in the country, daily Népszabadság said on Wednesday.

Nokia, which racked up combined losses of EUR 436m in Q2 and Q3, is considering shutting down its plant in Hungary or making further investments there, the paper said. The plant is vying with Mexico for production of a smartphone Nokia developed with Microsoft.

Nokia employs thousands of people at its plant in Komárom (NW Hungary).

Martonyi told the paper that Hungary is offering the most favorable tax incentives and economic environment possible to foreign investors, including Finnish companies who have so far invested EUR 1bn in Hungary.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán plans to visit Helsinki before the end of the year to convince Nokia leaders about the advantages of keeping production in Hungary, the paper said.

Martonyi learnt at talks with Finnish economy Minister Jyri Hakamies that majority state-owned Finnish energy company Fortum had expressed interest in the expansion and life cycle extension project at Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant.