Here is an important proof of economic policy: based on the latest report of the German Chamber of Commerce, about ninety percent of the surveyed companies with a German background would still invest in Hungary today. This rate is the highest since the surveys began in 1995. It is also good news that, in addition, businesses consider the Hungarian infrastructure provision, the research and development system, as well as the performance of suppliers this year, to be better than the regional average. In the background, there are things like this: Hungarian taxation, public administration, political and social stability, as well as the perception of legal certainty have improved spectacularly, satisfaction with these still significantly exceeds the regional average. Of course, all of this cannot be attributed to just one or two years of successful economic policy.

German-Hungarian economic relations have traditionally been good for decades. Even before the system change, Hungary was open to the GDR and the FRZ, and tradition matters a lot when making a decision. Many of the German corporate groups are present in the Hungarian economy, which means that when we think of German capital, we should not only think of the "big ones". Translated into the language of numbers: around 2,700 German-controlled companies operate in Hungary, employing more than 220,000 people. In every respect, the Germans are our number one economic partners: the "exposure" is significant both on the export and import side, and German companies are also the biggest investors. At the same time, the Hungarian economy is also increasingly important to the Germans. How much?

According to the latest statistics, Hungary is the 13th largest foreign trade partner of the EU's largest economy.

Although at first glance this does not seem "cheesy", it actually is, considering that the volume of Hungarian goods traffic competes with that of Japan or even Sweden.

Indeed, if we look at capital investments directed outside of Germany, one and a half to two percent of them come to Hungary. Staying with the Japanese example: the same volume of German capital flows there as well.

In terms of foreign trade, Hungary's share of German exports and imports is similar, around two percent. Meanwhile, the Hungarian subsidiaries of many German companies play a strategic role within the given group: for them, presence here is much more important than statistics.

The majority of German company managers operating in Hungary would expand their activities at home, and the mood index among them has greatly improved.

How does mud stand in Hungary in a regional comparison? The survey reveals that, compared to fifteen other countries in the Central and Eastern European region, Hungary's position is almost consistently good and outstanding. It is also no coincidence that for German companies, our country is no longer just an assembly plant: research and development activities are taking place in more and more places, and many companies already have innovation teams in our country.

Finally, let's say a few words about the fact that while Hungary has a "bad reputation" in the German press, this is by no means felt in the business world. According to them, the Germans can sufficiently select the information about us, that is, the major political and economic environment are completely separated from each other.

Source: Magyar Nemzet/Csaba Szajlai

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