Hungarian-Austrian joint railway company GYSEV will completely renew a 110-kilometer (68.3 mile) railway track between Sopron (North Western Hungary) and Szentgotthard (Western Hungary) by 2011. The project involves the complete electrification of the track previously used only by diesel trains, as well as the purchase of four new electric engines. The technological upgrade will allow speeds of up to 120-130 km/h between the two Hungarian cities. The investment will cost HUF 48.6 billion, 85 pct of which (41.3 billion) is paid by the European Union. This is the first railway project which has earned European co-funding in the EU's 2007-2013 fiscal period.
Austrian electronics company BECOM announced plans to expand and further develop its Hungarian unit based in Tatabanya (Northern Hungary) in 2011. Through the EUR 4.6 million investment, the company will build a new 2,000 square meter production hall, upgrade production technology and create 40 new jobs, BECOM CEO Johann Bock said at the headquarters of ITD Hungary on Tuesday.The new facility will mostly produce digital electric meters to be exported to Western Europe through Siemens AG. The demand for these is expected to rise as EU member states are set to use only digital devices to measure power consumption by 2018.
Two Hungarian five-star hotels figure on the latest list of the world's top 100 hotels. The list was compiled by Institutional Investor, a business paper which has surveyed leaders from 170 financial institutions in 35 countries.The Four Seasons Gresham Palace (a luxury hotel located directly in front of Budapest's symbol, the Chain Bridge) ranked 35th, while Kempinsky Hotel Corvinus, another five-star hotel in downtown Budapest placed 98th on the list. The two Budapest hotels were the only ones in the CEE region to make it into the club of the world's most prominent luxury resorts.
As the holder of the rotating EU Presidency and as an emerging nanotechnology powerhouse, Hungary will host one of the most important forums of the nanotech industry, EuroNanoForum, between May 30 and June 1, 2011. This will be the fifth gathering under the label EuroNanoForum, which will join forces with another high-profile platform, Nanotech Europe, to stage a single networking event for scientists, investors and decision-makers. The three-day event is linked to the EU Presidency, funded by the European Commission and the Hungarian National Office for Research and Technology. Click here for further information about EuroNanoForum
A HUF 3.5 billion intermodal logistics and industrial park was inaugurated on December 11 in the Hungarian town of Fenyeslitke, near Hungary's borders with Ukraine and Slovakia.The park has been built within the framework of a HUF 37 billion economic development program in the Zahony area, which Hungary wants to turn into a logistics hub for the entire region.
Procontrol Elektronika, a Hungarian electronics engineering company inaugurated a new high-tech R&D lab in Szeged (South East Hungary) on Friday. The HUF 160 million investment creates jobs for 40 engineers. The new lab will provide domestic and foreign companies with flexible R&D services from basic research to prototype creation. Procontrol Elektronika is a success story not only in terms of R&D but also when it comes to fund raising: the present investment has earned HUF 80 million in EU funding, and the company has another two EU co-funded R&D projects in the pipeline with a combined value of nearly HUF 500 million.
In November 2010, consumer prices increased by 0.3pct compared to the previous month and rose by 4.2pct compared to November 2009. In the first eleven months of 2010, the average increase of prices was 4.9pct compared to the corresponding period of year 2009.The core inflation was 0.2pct m/m and 1.9pct y/y.
Representatives of the tourist boards of the Visegrad Countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland) met in Bratislava at the end of November to discuss next year's marketing plans and suggest new tourist markets to tap into.The Hungarian National Tourist Office's (HNTO) suggestion to target the Gulf Region was warmly welcomed, as all involved believe in the potential of the countries there. Even though no new campaigns will be launched in the Middle East next year, the region will become a V4 market by 2012.The four countries also agreed on strengthening the V4 brand and will be able to add more funds to next year's budget.
Gedeon Richter Plc. has signed an agreement with its marketing partner in China, Rxmidas Pharmaceuticals Holding Ltd. (Rxmidas), to form Gedeon Richter Rxmidas Joint Venture Co. Ltd., in which the two companies each have 50pct share of the equity.In 1998, Richter signed a long-term co-operation agreement with Rxmidas for the distribution, marketing and promotion of Richter's products in China and it is now pleased to extend this relationship into the female health-care area.Gedeon Richter Rxmidas Joint Venture Co. Ltd. will operate in China through a 100pct affiliated local company called GRmidas Pharmaceuticals Ltd. According to the Agreement, Richter will proceed to make an initial investment of RMB 18 million (EUR 2 million), which is expected to fund an initial sales and promotion franchise in China with the primary target of registering and launching Richter's female health-care product range. In the longer term, it is expected that the Joint Venture will focus on the expansion of the franchise through the licensing-in of third-party products.
In October, the trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 408 million, so the balance deteriorated by EUR 33 million compared to the same month of 2009.In October 2010, according to first estimates, exports amounted to EUR 6,519 million, while the value of imports reached EUR 6,111 million. Over the course of January-October 2010, the value of exports was EUR 58,670 million, while that of imports totalled EUR 54,228 million according to preliminary results. In euro terms, exports increased by 21pct and imports grew by 19pct. The trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 4,441 million, which meant an improvement of EUR 1,461 million compared to the surplus of EUR 2,980 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The government will inject HUF 20 billion of capital into the state-owned Hungarian Development Bank (MFB. HUF 12.43 billion of the capital injection will increase MFB's registered capital, and the remainder will go into the bank's general reserves.The capital increase has been designed to ensure MFB's safe operations and to help the bank carry out its tasks, the government resolution said.The HUF 20 billion will be transferred to MFB from the 2010 central budget's general reserves by December 20 at the latest.
Reuters Hungary PM says economy needs lower interest rates"Hungary's economy needs cheap loans to foster growth which means central bank interest rates should be lowered rather than raised, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday." Click here to read MTI MOL officially announces offer for INA shares in free float"Hungarian oil and gas company MOL officially announced late on Tuesday a general offer for shares of Croatian peer INA in free float at a price of HRK 2,800 per share, the same as the price in a public purchase offer made in the autumn of 2008." Click here to read
What kind of tax risks may arise under the amended loss carry-forward rules?Read further information here
Fin de Millénaire Budapest: Metamorphoses of Urban Life"Fin de Millenaire Budapest combines historical narratives and ethnographic accounts with quantitative evidence to create a richly detailed picture of a city subjected to the forces of great local and global change. In the privatizing of public space, the decline of manufacturing, the rapid growth of services, and the opening of opportunities for entrepreneurs, Bodnar captures global urban patterns-with a distinct, central European accent." Click here to read