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Telecoms, ICT, AI and the Cloud

Making Sense of ‘Architecture Salad’

During decades of digital transformation, corporate IT systems were built layer upon layer; new technologies arrived, old platforms remained, and everything had to be integrated. The result was an often opaque, heterogeneous system environment, says Márk Hetényi, CEOfounder of R34DY. He has a fix. 13

World-class IT Innovation Awards

The 2024 Hungarian Grand Prize for Innovation was awarded in the Upper House of the Hungarian Parliament, recognizing the country’s outstanding innovation achievements. Alongside the top honor, six sectoral awards were presented.  15

Towering to the Top

International Authors Gather for PesText Fest

Taking place between May 7-10, the seventh PesText Festival welcomes a host of internationally renowned authors. Among them are Swedish author Karin Smirnoff, currently writing the seventh installment in the hugely popular “Millennium” series begun by Stieg Larsson, and Croatian Olja Savičević Ivančević.  19

Stable Labor Market, Slowing Wage Rises

A pair of important labor market indicators were released in the past couple of weeks. The Central Statistical Office revealed how February earnings developed, and we were also able to get an idea of the state of the labor market in March.  3

With the Hungarian telecom market still undergoing significant transformation, Vantage Towers cluster managing director Gergő J. Budai discusses the career path that lead him to his regional role running Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Ireland and Portugal. 12

Wallis Group: 35 Years of Market Leadership

Recently honored with the Budapest Stock Exchange’s Best of BSE award for its contributions to capital market development, the Wallis Group continues to expand its influence across various sectors.  8

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Robin Marshall

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS: Luca Albert, Balázs Barabás, Zsófia Czifra, Kester Eddy, Bence Gaál, Gergely Herpai, David Holzer, Gary J. Morrell, Nicholas Pongratz.

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THE EDITOR SAYS

FROM ‘SPAGHETTI PROGRAMMING’ TO ‘ARCHITECTURAL SALAD’

Whether you are making a phone or video call, sending an SMS, using a bank, or even attending a conference, the chances are strong that telecommunications, ITC, AI and the cloud will be a large part of what makes the process function. Or not. For, as Gergő J. Budai, Vantage Towers cluster director for Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Ireland and Portugal, tells us in an exclusive interview, “If, God forbid, something happens, everybody can feel it immediately. After all, it’s critical infrastructure.”

He’s not wrong, but even so, that’s not my favorite quote from our Special Report in this issue. Back in the mid-1980s, I was among the first cohort to sit what was then called computer science at Advanced Level. A coursework element involved writing a program to solve a real-life problem we had encountered. My older brother took one look at my effort and dismissed it as “the worst example of computer programming I have ever seen.”

Similar criticism has been heaped on what banks have felt compelled to do in designing systems where everything is connected to everything else, regardless of age or function, within their legacy networks. It can mean that, like Jenga, when one function falls over, it brings the whole lot down.

“The time of spaghetti architecture is over. Today, we no longer see a network of directly connected systems, but a more complex, fragmented world, and this is what we call architecture salad,” says Márk Hetényi, CEO and founder of R34DY. Using an AI-based platform, he believes his firm has an answer to those problems. It could also benefit other complex systems, such as energy networks. But you’ll have to read the story to find out more.

Another day, another long holiday weekend! There used to be a joke that two days after returning from a break,

you needed another one just to get over the effort of going through the backlog of mail (remember that?) and email. Perhaps that’s why this May Day holiday follows so closely on the coattails of the moveable feast that is Easter.

As a kid growing up in semi-rural England, May Day was a spring festival with pagan roots that celebrated the approach of summer. “Bringing in the May” meant collecting greenery and wildflowers to decorate the house or classroom, and I distinctly remember being taught Maypole dances at school.

It was fun, as was the fact that, once I had reached adulthood and employment, it came with a lie-in on a workday. Imagine my horror when we moved from Budapest to Gödöllő and were confronted at 7 a.m. by a brass band being driven um-pa-pa-ing around the streets in one of those road-going fake trains for tourists. It hasn’t appeared in the past couple of years, so perhaps somebody has sabotaged the train. It wasn’t me. Honest. Although Europe also shares many of these ancient traditions, here in Hungary, like many other members of the Warsaw Pact, May 1 is celebrated as International Workers’ Day, first celebrated in 1898. It grew out of the Second International, which may seem a little, well, socialist to some, and is presumably why our North American readers prefer to call it Labor Day and celebrate it in September.

Whatever you call it, and whatever you celebrate on it, I wish you a relaxing long weekend.

Robin Marshall Editor-in-chief

THEN & NOW

Photo by Tamás Purger /

The black and white photo dating from 1963 and taken from the Fortepan public archives shows a ward of the Central State Hospital on Kútvölgyi út in Budapest. The facility would later become known as the North Buda Szent János Hospital and Outpatient Clinic’s Kútvölgyi Wing. In the modern color image from April 28, 2025, the renovated endoscopy department in the same wing is shown during a press event highlighting the hospital’s complete refurbishment.

MTI

Photo by László Rosta / Fortepan

1News • macroscope

Stable Labor Market, Slowing Wage Increases

A pair of important labor market indicators were released in the past couple of weeks. The Central Statistical Office (KSH) revealed how February earnings developed, and we were also able to get an idea of the state of the labor market in March.

Change in Average Earnings in Hungary (2003-2025 January-February)

Full-time employees; average monthly net earnings; HUF/month

The increase in average earnings slowed to below 10% in February, with real earnings only 3.5% higher than a year earlier. The average net earnings were HUF 455,000, and the median net earnings were HUF 371,000.

The KSH data shows that full-time employees’ average gross earnings were HUF 661,400, 9.3% higher than a year earlier. Regular average gross earnings (without premiums and one-month bonuses) were estimated at HUF 632,500, 9.4% higher than in the same period of the previous year.

The regular average gross earnings amounted to HUF 630,600 in the business sector, HUF 626,400 in the budgetary sector and HUF 666,800 in the non-profit sector, rising by 9.3%, 9.3% and 10.7%, respectively, over a year.

Average net earnings reached HUF 439,800, excluding tax benefits and HUF 455,000, including them, being 9.3% and 9.1%

higher, respectively, than in February 2024. Real earnings were up by 3.5%, along with a 5.6% increase in consumer prices compared to the same period of the previous year.

Median gross earnings were HUF 533,600, 8.5% above the previous year. Median net earnings, including tax benefits, reached HUF 370,700, surpassing the value for the same period of the previous year by 8.8%.

According to an analysis by business portal HVG, there were huge differences between the average salaries of Hungarian counties in February. Budapest leads the way with its gross average of HUF 800,466, followed by Komárom-Esztergom (HUF 670,897), Győr-Moson-Sopron (HUF 668,574) and Fejér (HUF 640,885).

East-West Divide

At the other end of the scale is SzabolcsSzatmár-Bereg county, where the average salary does not even reach HUF 494,000, a difference of more than HUF 300,000, or roughly 62% of what they earn in the capital. Similarly, averages of around HUF 500,000-520,000 forints are found in Békés and Nógrád counties, clearly showing the east-west and center-periphery contrasts.

Growth rates vary across the various regions. While the average growth rate in the country was 9.3 in 2024, SzabolcsSzatmár-Bereg County produced the highest dynamics: 10.5%. High growth was also achieved in Hajdú-Bihar and Pest (9.9%), as well as Baranya and Somogy (9.8%).

In contrast, the slowest growth was experienced in some traditionally higherearning western counties (Vas: 7.8%, GyőrMoson-Sopron: 8%), as well as in Nógrád County (7.8%), which also started from a lower base. It seems, therefore, that wage convergence has begun within the country, albeit slowly, although bridging the existing, significant differences may take a long time.

It is also interesting to see how gross average wages compare in the neighboring countries. With the Hungarian gross average being

in February, Slovenia (HUF 1,003,612) is far ahead, but Poland (HUF 819,597, private sector only), the Czech Republic (HUF 800,971), Croatia (HUF 784,072)

and Romania (HUF 730,790) are also noticeably ahead of us in gross average earnings. Slovakia (HUF 669,210) has the closest level to Hungary, while Serbia (HUF 515,280) and Bulgaria (HUF 513,994) are clearly behind in this nominal comparison.

Another aspect of the labor market, namely the unemployment rate and the average number of employed persons, shows a relatively stable picture. According to the KSH data, in March 2025, the average number of employed persons aged 15–74 was 4.7 million, which is more than 18,000 people higher than the February level but 9,500 people lower than a year earlier.

Market Consensus Missed

In March 2025, the monthly unemployment rate reported by KSH decreased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 4.3%, which fell short of the market consensus of expectations (4.5%).

In March, the number of unemployed people decreased by 8,700 compared to the previous month, while it decreased by 5,200 compared to the data a year earlier. The number of economically active increased by 10,000 people in one month, but it was nearly 15,000 people less than was seen at this time last year. The larger population decrease seen in February was followed by a smaller decrease of 5,500 people in March for the 15-74 age group.

According to MBH Bank analyst Márta Balog-Béki, the data so far indicate a stable labor market. The March employment data returned to the level of the end of last

summer, which was followed by a decline in employment until the end of the year, and then the number of employed people stagnated in the first two months of 2025. The employment rate rose to an unprecedented level of 65.5%, but it is important to note that the gradual decline in the population also plays a role in this. The number of economically active people also increased, and the good news is that this can be linked to the increase in the number of employed people in March.

The number of unemployed people increased at the beginning of the year due to seasonal effects, but in March, it returned to the December level.

In the coming months, uncertainty about tariffs may also negatively affect companies’ investment decisions, which is difficult to quantify at the moment, but this could temporarily reverse the current favorable trends.

“For now, we maintain that the economy may start to recover towards the end of the year. Employment growth may be slow, as companies have not laid off workers en masse despite the weak economic situation, so recruitment is not expected to start very quickly when the recovery begins,” Balog-Béki says.

STOP PRESS: As expected, the National Bank of Hungary decided to leave the base rate unchanged at 6.5% at a policy meeting on April 29. The council also kept the O/N deposit rate at 5.5% and the O/N collateralized loan rate at 7.5%.

ZSÓFIA CZIFRA

HelloParks Starts Development of

88,000 sqm

of Industrial Facilities

HelloParks has commenced construction of two new industrial and logistics facilities in Fót and Páty, which will add more than 88,000 sqm of space to its domestic development pipeline, according to the industrial arm of Futureal.

GARY J. MORRELL

Upon completion, the company will operate a total of 11 buildings across its park network by the end of the year.

“These developments directly respond to robust market demand, with warehouses at both sites operating near full capacity. The new buildings are designed to meet the highest sustainability standards, complying with the ‘Outstanding’ rating criteria under the Breeam New Construction certification and the stringent requirements of the EU taxonomy,” said HelloParks.

Work has begun on the fourth facility (PT5) in the HelloParks Páty Budapest West mega park. The structural works are complete, and concrete flooring will soon be poured. Completion is scheduled for the fourth quarter. Once finished, this 42,000 sqm “BigBox” type warehouse will bring the total completed industrial

Real Estate Matters

A biweekly look at real estate issues in Hungary and the region

space in Páty to 184,000 sqm. Existing facilities in the park currently have an 84%

occupancy rate, according to HelloParks.

Meanwhile, work is also advancing on the FT3 warehouse (pictured) in HelloParks Fót Budapest North, with groundwork underway and structural columns due to be installed shortly.

Fully Let

The 46,000 sqm BigBox facility is scheduled for completion by the end of the year, expanding the Fót mega park to four buildings totaling 164,000 sqm. Existing warehouses at the complex are almost entirely let. The 57-hectare site offers capacity for up to 254,000 sqm of industrial space. With the addition of these two new facilities, HelloParks will operate

11 buildings across its mega parks by the year end, at sites approximately north (Fót), east (Maglód), south (Alsónémedi) and west (Páty) of Budapest, hence the naming convention. All are within 25-30

km

of the center of the Hungarian capital.

HelloParks says it has thus far worked on more than one million sqm of industrial and warehouse space across 200 hectares. The total value of completed and ongoing projects approaches EUR 600 million.

“All HelloParks properties are constructed in alignment with Breeam sustainability standards and EU taxonomy criteria. Only 3% of buildings worldwide achieve Breeam ‘Outstanding’ rating. Five of our buildings have received the ‘Outstanding’ certification, with two more achieving the ‘Excellent’ rating,” says Rudolf Nemes, CEO of HelloParks.

Keeping Pace With Demand

“Our development pace is dictated by market demand. Occupancy rates clearly show the continued strong interest in well-located, modern industrial properties. We aim to respond swiftly and strategically while ensuring that every new building meets the strictest sustainability standards,” he notes.

“It is not enough to simply add capacity; we are committed to creating spaces where our partners can operate long term under optimal, energyefficient conditions,” Nemes adds.

Both warehouses under construction will feature heat pump-based heating and cooling systems and

rooftop solar panels that can reduce office areas’ primary grid energy consumption to zero.

“All HelloParks properties are constructed in alignment with Breeam sustainability standards and EU taxonomy criteria. Only 3% of buildings worldwide achieve Breeam ‘Outstanding’ rating. Five of our buildings have received the ‘Outstanding’ certification, with two more achieving the ‘Excellent’ rating.”

Each facility will be equipped with advanced building management systems that optimize heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and electrical and water infrastructure capable of detecting and preventing leaks. Users can adjust heating, ventilation, and lighting settings, monitor utility usage, and access detailed technical data for their leased units.

Established in 2020, HelloParks describes itself as “industrial real estate developers with a creative mindset. We offer comprehensive and customercentric solutions to our partners, from land development to building construction and facility maintenance.”

Photos by Zsolt Tolnay

The PT3 warehouse under construction at HelloParks Páty.

Hungary’s Right Trades Accusations

Over who ‘Supports’

The debate over Ukraine’s accession to the European Union continues to take center stage among Hungary’s politicians, and while governing Fidesz politicians repeatedly rail against it, emphasizing its risks, others are not convinced that they mean it.

“If we approved Ukraine’s accession, war would also enter the European Union, which was created as an alliance for peace,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told Kossuth Rádió in his weekly interview on April 25. “Let’s not do that, let’s say no to Ukraine’s EU entry,” he said. He added that allowing Ukraine a fast-track accession would “destroy the Hungarian economy” and “bankrupt” the country.

Highlighting the importance of the government’s ongoing national consultation on Ukraine’s EU accession, which he said “will determine your next 20 years,” the PM encouraged participants to vote if they wanted a “migrant-free Hungary in the future” at the Szakma Sztár event on April 28.

At the annual festival celebrating the accomplishments of young Hungarians in vocational programs, he warned young workers that “millions of Ukrainian laborers” could flood the country, “taking your jobs and depressing your salaries,” calling on them not to let anybody “make decisions over your head.”

Minister of EU Affairs János Bóka argued that admitting Ukraine to the European Union would pose a threat not just to Hungarian agriculture but the whole of Europe. Compared to the EU’s total of 157 million hectares of farmland, Ukraine’s 41 million hectares would make it the largest

Ukraine

Ukraine Roundup Crisis

beneficiary of EU agricultural subsidies, Bóka underscored.

As an EU member, he said that Ukraine would account for 15% of the bloc’s wheat production, 49% of its corn production, and 20% of its overall grain production. While it exported only one-third of its grain to the EU in 2021, by 2023, it was exporting more than half.

Bóka warned that despite not yet being an EU member, Ukraine’s “inferior quality grain products” are increasingly being “dumped” on the EU market and emphasized that Ukraine would retain the right to cultivate GMO seeds even if it joined the bloc.

The Biggest Supporter?

Yet, Péter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza Party, asserted in a statement issued on April 16 that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government was “the biggest supporter of Ukraine’s European Union accession.” He argued that Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó had actively pushed for Ukraine’s admission to the bloc and that Orbán did not veto the decision at the Brussels summit in December 2023. “Just as with the EU funds,

As an EU member, Ukraine would account for 15% of the bloc’s wheat production, 49% of its corn production, and 20% of its overall grain production, Minister of EU Affairs János Bóka says.

the government is accusing others of what it is doing,” Magyar said.

Szijjártó retorted that while the Hungarian government “has always supported peace,” it has never backed Ukraine’s membership in the EU. He argued that Brussels is pushing to expedite Ukraine’s accession in an effort to prolong the war, which he warned would “destroy Hungary,” so the government could not support it.

“While the right-wing parties accuse each other of being pro-Ukraine, it is only the left, meaning the Democratic Coalition, that is open and honest about this subject.”

“But the Tisza Party does,” he said, adding that Magyar, “the European People’s Party chief Manfred Weber’s man, is struggling to explain himself [...] but in vain.”

Meanwhile, opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) board member Sándor Rónai said it had become evident that politicians from the ruling Fidesz party and supporters of the opposition Tisza Party supported Ukraine’s EU membership. He cited a statement from March 2022,

in which Szijjártó expressed Hungary’s support for an initiative by eight EU member states aimed at promoting Ukraine’s integration into the bloc.

“Szijjártó admitted that they support Ukraine’s EU membership,” Rónai said. He also pointed out that 58% of respondents to Tisza’s “Voice of the Nation” survey favored Ukraine’s accession, “which Péter Magyar, the party’s leader, conceded.”

“While the right-wing parties accuse each other of being pro-Ukraine, it is only the left, meaning the Democratic Coalition, that is open and honest about this subject,” Rónai said. He concluded that DK supports Ukraine joining the EU if it meets the accession criteria and believes Hungarian voters should ultimately be allowed to make the decision in a full national referendum, not a “national consultation.”

NICHOLAS PONGRATZ

Security of Natural Gas Supply Continues to Exercise Hungary Energy Matters

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that Hungary would expand the interconnector capacity between its gas networks with Slovakia by another 900 million cubic meters at a joint press conference with his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico on April 28.

Orbán pointed out that the capacity had already been raised by 900 million cubic meters at the beginning of April from 2.6 billion cubic meters to 3.5 bcm. These capacity expansions occurred after Ukraine halted the transport of Russian gas through its territory at the start of the year when a previous deal allowing the transit had expired.

Orbán said it was “regrettable” that Ukraine no longer allowed natural gas transit across its territory. “It’ll be very difficult for Ukraine to establish closer ties with Europe like this,” Orbán said, “they should show much more understanding towards our countries and should also take our economic interests into consideration.”

While all countries dependent on this flow of Russian gas through Ukraine were dealt a blow, Slovakia had been doubly impacted. Not only did it use the gas domestically, but it also earned transit fees by facilitating gas supply to Austria. Hungary, meanwhile, was able to compensate for its losses by increasing its supply through the TurkStream pipeline, through which it has been able to supplement Slovakia.

On the theme of natural gas, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó underscored the vital role that Bulgaria has played in ensuring the security of Hungary’s supply through the TurkStream pipeline, following a phone conversation with Bulgaria’s Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov on April 22.

“We greatly appreciate the current Bulgarian government’s responsible approach in this matter, and it is reassuring that the minister confirmed today that Bulgaria will remain a reliable transit partner for Hungary in the future,” Szijjártó said.

Expansion Needed

More than 20 mcm of natural gas currently arrives in Hungary via Bulgaria daily through TurkStream, Szijjártó said, amounting to more than 2.3 bcm year-to-date.

A biweekly look at energy issues in Hungary and the region

The foreign minister also emphasized the need to significantly expand natural gas pipeline capacity in southeast Europe to help Central Europe diversify its energy sources.

To facilitate the optimal usage of energy resources, the Independent Energetic Data Center (FEAK) announced the launch of the development of a Public Institution Energy Management Platform (KEP) on April 24. Developed in partnership with the Digital Government Development and Project Management Company, the project is backed by nearly HUF 8 billion in funding from the European Union Regional Development Fund and the Hungarian national budget. It is scheduled to be completed on March 31, 2026.

On the consumer side, the Ministry of Energy Affairs announced on April 23 that nearly 6,000 homeowners have so far applied for HUF 33.2 bln in subsidies to finance energy efficiency upgrades for their homes. Relaunched in January, the ministry noted that HUF 73 bln has been allocated to the program, through which more than 1,300 applicants have received payouts totaling HUF 4.6 billion. Available for homes built before 2007, the subsidies can be used for insulation, window and door replacement, and heating system upgrades. Meanwhile, energy companies have commented on the normalization of the energy market over the past year in their most recent annual reports. Having closed its third most profitable year with consolidated revenue of

EUR 17.9 bln in 2024, the Swissbased MET Group said that the decline from EUR 24.5 bln in 2023 reflected a normalization in energy prices. MET has Hungarian roots, having been founded as a MOL subsidiary in 2007.

For its part, MOL had a more nuanced take on this normalization. ChairmanCEO Zsolt Hernádi told shareholders that dividends had increased to HUF 275 per share from HUF 250 last year because the company did not foresee any major acquisitions requiring cash in 2025. He added that MOL must prepare for what he described as “the new normal,” an era of ongoing uncertainty.

U.S. Court Backs MOL

Elsewhere, Hungary’s oil and gas giant received some welcome news when a U.S. federal court recently ruled in its favor in its longstanding dispute with the Croatian government over the management of Croatian energy company INA.

The court dismissed Croatia’s challenge to a 2022 decision by the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which had ordered Croatia to pay MOL USD 184 million for breaching contractual obligations. With accrued interest, the amount has increased to USD 200 mln. This ruling allows MOL to pursue enforcement of the payment through U.S. courts.

The conflict between MOL and Croatia dates back to when the Hungarian firm became INA’s majority shareholder with a 47.16% stake

and gained management rights over the firm. The state of Croatia alleged that MOL gained control through corrupt means

The Three Seas Initiative is a politically inspired, commercially driven platform for improving connectivity between 13 EU member states between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black seas. The 3SI was born from a shared interest in developing transport, energy and digital infrastructure connections on the EU’s north-south axis. 3SI aims to scale up the region’s excellence EU-wide and globally.

and failed to fulfill specific investment commitments. However, international arbitration bodies have consistently rejected Croatia’s claims and ruled in MOL’s favor. Electric vehicle sales, meanwhile, continue to gain traction in Hungary.

Among the 32,900 new passenger car registrations between January and March, 56% of total sales were hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid models, according to the latest data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Fully electric vehicles represented 7% of the market, with battery EV sales rising 5% to 2,400 during the period. Ministry of Energy Affairs State Secretary Gábor Czepek said on April 16 that businesses had applied for the full HUF 30 billion available under a subsidy scheme supporting electric vehicle purchases, with 6,688 applications submitted for purchasing 7,749 EVs. Yet, Czepek urged businesses to continue applying for the scheme, which runs until Dec. 1, as some existing applications may be rejected.

NICHOLAS PONGRATZ

Photo by Noémi Bruzák / MTI

President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok speaks at the Three Seas Summit at the Hilton Hotel in Warsaw on April 29. He is flanked by, from left, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, Latvian Prime Minister Edgars Rinkevics, Estonian Prime Minister Alar Karis, and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.

Hungary Bids Farewell to Pope Francis With National Day of Mourning

The funeral Mass of Pope Francis was both a farewell and an “uplifting, hopeful event,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told commercial channel TV2 after the ceremony in Rome on Saturday.

Orbán said Francis had been “a personal acquaintance, and an instigator, encourager and promoter of the peace initiative.” He added, “I have lost a friend, and so has Hungary because the Holy Father loved us.” Amid ongoing wars in several regions worldwide, Orbán said that the aspects of Francis’ legacy focused on peace “surround us.” Pope Francis was a “remarkable man,” Hungary’s President Tamás Sulyok told public TV news channel M1 following the late pontiff’s funeral mass. Sulyok said that he had always felt that the pontiff

Easter Tourism in Hungary up 29%, Revenue Nears HUF 19 bln

Tourism accommodation in Hungary hosted 300,000 guests over the Easter holiday, a 29% increase from the previous year, according to a statement issued on April 23 by the Ministry of National Economy, citing data from the National Tourism Data Service Center. Between Maundy Thursday and Easter Monday, the number of foreign visitors rose by 38%, while domestic traveler numbers grew by 20%. Tourists spent more than 700,000 guest nights during the period, and revenues from accommodation surged 28% to nearly HUF 19 billion.

Gov’t may Extend Food Markups cap, add Non-food Items

Minister for National Economy Márton Nagy said there was a “good chance” the government would maintain a cap on markups for a range of food

prioritized personal relationships and emanated “great joy and great freedom. He was a free person, and I think he achieved complete inner peace and freedom through living the truth, which radiated from him,” Sulyok said.

products beyond May 31, the date the measure is set to expire, according to a statement issued on the ministry’s website. Nagy indicated that the cap could also be extended to some nonfood items, such as toiletries and children’s care products. He added that the government is considering including 25 to 30 product categories under the measure. Nagy said the cap could be rolled back “without risk” once food price inflation falls below 5%. Should the government decide to prolong the measure, he noted that the new phase-out date would likely be the end of summer, adding that the cap might also be expanded to include an additional 10 food categories, depending on the May and June inflation data.

AgMin Urges Compliance in Battling Animal Diseases

Minister of Agriculture István Nagy said livestock farmers bear

The Hungarian national flag was hoisted with military honors and lowered to half-mast in front of Parliament on Saturday, the day of Pope Francis’ funeral. The government had declared Saturday a national day of mourning as a sign of sympathy and respect.

an “enormous responsibility” in efforts to halt the spread of footand-mouth disease and urged compliance with restrictions, according to a statement issued on April 25. Speaking at a press conference in Budapest, Nagy said the necessity of full compliance had been evident since FMD appeared in Hungary in March and noted that authorities were considering even tighter restrictions. He added that no new outbreaks had been detected and estimated the cost of recent outbreaks at “tens of billions of forints.” In addition, speaking at a poultry industry conference in Budapest to mark World Poultry Day, Nagy insisted that Hungary would continue to deploy “all available means” to mitigate the risk of avian influenza outbreaks. The minister noted that the virus remains endemic in the wild bird population, posing a year-round threat.

April Frosts hit 2026 Budget Draft has Europe’s Largest tax cut Plan

Hungary’s government has submitted its 2026 budget draft to the Fiscal Council, the Ministry of National Economy said on its website. The ministry said the budget, described as “built on peace,” features Europe’s largest tax reduction package and focuses on supporting families and pensioners while accounting for significant wage increases. In a message posted on social media, Minister of National Economy Márton Nagy said the draft allocates HUF 4.8 trillion to family support, noting that doubled tax allowances would leave HUF 290 billion with families raising children, compared to HUF 80 bln in 2025. Households will receive around HUF 800 bln in subsidies under the regulated utility pricing system and an additional HUF 800 bln in interest payments on retail government securities. Approximately HUF 450 bln has been set aside for bonuses for Hungarians serving in uniform. At the same time, funds have also been allocated for double-digit pay increases for public sector workers in smaller settlements. Maintaining Hungary’s commitment to spending 2% of GDP on defense, HUF 1.9 tln will be directed toward upgrading the Hungarian Defense Forces. Roughly HUF 4.9 tln will be spent on economic development, including HUF 2.2 tln in funding from the European Union. Windfall profit taxes will remain in specific sectors, while tax incentives to encourage hiring and spending on research and development will be expanded.

Acacias, Beekeepers Suffer Massive Bee Losses

April frosts have likely caused significant damage to Hungary’s acacia trees, worsening the already difficult situation for beekeepers, Péter Bross, president of the National Hungarian Beekeeping Association, told agroinform.hu. The sector is facing a severe crisis, as nearly half of Hungary’s bee population died over the winter. This season, beekeepers are starting with only 600,000–700,000 colonies, compared to the usual 1.2 million. The sharp decline in bee numbers, also a significant concern globally, including in Europe and the United States, is primarily attributed to the increasing resistance of the varroa mite to commonly used treatments. The losses have disproportionately affected parttime and hobby beekeepers, while professional apiarists have fared somewhat better in safeguarding their colonies.

Photo by Vivien Cher Benkő / Prime Minister’s Communications Department / MTI.

In this picture released by the Prime Minister’s Communications Department, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pays his respects at the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on April 25, 2025. The Roman Catholic Church leader died on Easter Monday, April 21, aged 88.

2 Business Wallis Group Celebrates 35 Years of Market Leadership, Strategic Growth

The Wallis Group, a prominent investment conglomerate in Central and Eastern Europe, is marking its 35th anniversary. Recently honored with the Budapest Stock Exchange’s Best of BSE award for its contributions to capital market development, the group continues to expand its influence across various sectors. In an exclusive interview with the Budapest Business Journal, CEO Gyula Mező reflects on the journey to date and future aspirations.

BBJ: The Budapest Stock Exchange recently honored the Wallis Group’s contributions to capital market development. What specific initiatives led to this achievement?

Gyula Mező: As an investment group, we operate and own significant companies in 17 European countries, with the capital market playing a pivotal role in our journey. This award is particularly meaningful as it coincides with our 35th anniversary. Our portfolio companies have leveraged the Hungarian stock market at critical growth stages, leading to several successful stock market stories over the past three decades. For instance, AutoWallis has evolved into a key regional integrated car and mobility service provider. Since its 2019 stock market debut, prepared through a rare “reverse takeover” transaction in regional stock exchanges, the company has successfully raised capital multiple times

from the Hungarian market. It has twice received the Budapest Stock Exchange’s “Share Capital Increase of the Year” Award and, by 2024, had grown into a regional group with a turnover of EUR 1 billion.

Similarly, our real estate development and investment group, the Wing Group, actively utilizes capital market opportunities, holding significant stakes in the German, Polish, and Hungarian markets. Wing bonds have been listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange since 2016, with a EUR 37 million bond issuance executed last year.

Another success story is Alteo, which we supported as a founder from its inception in 2008 and took public in 2010, aiding its growth through a well-planned bond issuance and capital-raising program. From a public offering price of HUF 588 per share in 2016, the stock price had reached

involves geographical diversification. Few remember that the AutoWallis Group, now representing 27 brands in 16 states, began three decades ago by taking over Saab’s wholesale activities in Hungary and several regional countries. A similar trajectory applies to the Wing Group, which, after two decades of real estate development experience in Hungary, expanded into larger European markets: first by acquiring a majority stake in Echo Investment, one of the largest Polish real estate developers listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Subsequently, under our leadership, Echo acquired a majority stake in another listed Polish company, Archicom. The next milestone was entering Germany by purchasing a majority stake in Bauwert, a Berlinbased regional real estate developer with a unique character within the German market. This internal competence-based, geographically diversified growth strategy has long been integral to the Wallis Group.

BBJ: What are your future growth plans for AutoWallis and the Wing Group?

GyM: AutoWallis’ updated strategy, published last year, aims to achieve HUF 750 bln in revenue, HUF 40 bln in EBITDA profit, and HUF 25 bln in pre-tax profit by 2028 through organic growth and acquisitions. A key objective for AutoWallis is to represent already affiliated brands in as many of its operating countries as possible. The company intends to continue expanding in Central and Eastern Europe while working to broaden its brand portfolio, particularly focusing on emerging manufacturers and brands. For the Wing Group, we are actively monitoring new project and investment opportunities in the regional real estate development market. Our non-listed portfolio companies also have specific growth plans. Praktiker Hungary, part of the group since 2016, has expanded its nationwide coverage to 23 stores by opening two new units this year and one last year, further strengthening its market share.

HUF 3,300 by the end of 2022 when we exited. Today, it trades near HUF 6,000. Our latest stock market story involves acquiring a significant stake in Akko Invest, which is listed on the Prime Market of the Budapest Stock Exchange. Our goal with Akko is further growth, enhancing the company’s asset management, real estate investment, and leasing activities. Over the years, we’ve consistently relied on the stock market’s growth-supporting power, even seeking innovative stock market transaction types.

BBJ: The Wallis Group has become a significant player in multiple sectors across CEE. What strategic considerations guide your decisions to enter new markets?

GyM: In sectors where we’ve developed substantial, experience-based competence post-launch, the next growth step often

BBJ: An international presence has always been crucial for the company. How do you view the prospects of Hungarian companies succeeding in regional and European markets?

GyM: The Wallis Group’s growth exemplifies that international success stories can be built starting from Hungary. I firmly believe that, alongside leveraging capital market opportunities, our growth is attributed to consistently representing our core values. We develop and manage our companies with expertise, integrity, and responsibility. We maintain openness and transparency with both investors and business partners. These values contribute to creating value as a Hungary-based investment group, building competitive companies across Europe. Adhering to our fundamental principles and diligent work has proven rewarding: our specialized flooring manufacturer, Graboplast, generates

GERGELY HERPAI

Gyula Mező, CEO of Wallis.

over 80% of its revenue from exports, selling its products to more than 70 countries across all continents. AutoWallis Group already earns 60% of its revenues outside Hungary, with this proportion increasing annually. Similarly, more than half of the Wing Group’s total assets now originate from abroad. These are examples of Hungarian companies with modern management knowledge, genuine market value creation capabilities, and stability.

BBJ: Over the past 35 years, the Wallis Group has built several successful stock market stories. Which of these is the most memorable for you in recent years?

GyM: Personally, the success story of Alteo is the most significant for me, as I was actively involved in shaping its development for many years as chairman of the board. Wallis was already present when Alteo was founded, and for 15 years, we played a decisive role in structuring the company’s operations. However, I can also mention another recent example from a different industry. One of our latest transactions involved successfully selling Foxpost, a dominant player in the Hungarian parcel locker market, to an international strategic investor. We had been engaged in Foxpost’s journey from its inception, supporting its growth and development.

BBJ: What specific sustainability goals have you set for the coming years?

GyM: We focus on building sustainable, fair, and responsible companies that, in addition to achieving their business objectives, contribute to social and environmental well-being and economic development in Hungary and the region. We aim to integrate this approach into the core operational strategies of all our companies, ensuring that appropriate ESG strategies are continuously developed and implemented. Let me share a few examples. We have installed solar panels in all of Praktiker’s companyowned stores and are completing a similar solar panel investment project this year at Graboplast’s three Hungarian production sites. In real estate development, the Wing Group prioritizes obtaining environmental and energyefficient building certifications for its projects. The AutoWallis Group was the first company listed on the Prime Market of the Budapest Stock Exchange to develop and adopt a Green Financing Framework, issuing green bonds in 2021 with significant oversubscription. Additionally, its car-sharing brand, Wigo, offers a more sustainable, shared mobility service to over 100,000 users.

BBJ: Which industry do you see as having the highest growth potential?

GyM: We consider ourselves “opportunistic” investors in the best sense, meaning we seek industries

“The Wallis Group’s growth exemplifies that international success stories can be built starting from Hungary. I firmly believe that, alongside leveraging capital market opportunities, our growth is attributed to consistently representing our core values.”

where we can build long-term regional and Hungarian success stories. Our approach is to deeply understand and learn these sectors before applying international market value-creation strategies to develop long-term growth stories through promising, high-performing companies. So far, this strategy has yielded significant successes in real estate development, automotive distribution, and retail commerce. We are actively searching for the next long-term growth sector that aligns with our investment philosophy.

BBJ: How do you maintain and develop your leadership and expert teams?

GyM: Over my 17 years with Wallis, we have successfully built a diverse leadership talent pool. This consists of multiple components. On the one hand, we have many experienced leaders who have grown within the group, developing their expertise and leadership skills here. On the other hand, thanks to our strong values and cross-border success, we can attract talented executives from the job market who have gained valuable experience at major international corporations. I firmly believe that this mixture, blending internal and external knowledge within a values-driven and professional corporate culture, is a key factor in our continued success.

BBJ: What long-term goals have you set for the Wallis Group?

GyM: I deeply admire and consider it a great success that, over the past 35 years, under the leadership of founder and majority owner Tibor Veres, Wallis has grown into a highly respected, privatelyowned investment group in Hungary and a recognized player on the European stage. Looking ahead, our goal is to increase our presence and influence in new industries and regions while maintaining our tradition of reinvesting the profits generated by our companies to fuel further growth. In the long term, we are building an international investment group that creates lasting value across generations.

Számlázz.hu Launches Portal to Support Businesses During E-Receipt

and E-Cash

With the e-cash register regulation taking effect from April 1, a new chapter has begun for tens of thousands of businesses across Hungary. Számlázz. hu, which says it serves more than 800,000 businesses, has launched an information portal designed to guide entrepreneurs through the regulatory changes, helping them understand compliance requirements and navigate the transition more easily.

the confusion generated by inconsistent interpretations circulating online. Currently, approximately

Register Transition

The company’s initiative aims to provide clear, structured support for business owners at a time when misinformation about the e-cash register regulation is spreading across social media, while user queries on Számlázz.hu’s own platforms have surged in recent weeks. The regulation concerning e-cash registers marks a significant shift for many businesses and is expected to gradually phase out the use of manual receipts. In response, Számlázz.hu (one of Hungary’s most significant fintech companies) has developed a dedicated information platform that organizes key information into accessible thematic sections. This educational resource is especially timely given

200,000 businesses are required to use online cash registers. These include retail shops, restaurants, accommodation providers, taxi operators, and pharmacies. Over time, these businesses will transition to cloud-based e-cash registers, allowing them to issue e-receipts and transmit transaction data automatically to the new Nyugtatár system of Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV).

Although the final mandatory switchover deadline is July 1, 2028, authorities are encouraging businesses to adopt e-cash registers as early as this summer. One significant advantage is

that the digital registers do not require annual servicing, unlike traditional devices. Furthermore, companies using e-cash registers will be exempt from conventional receipt retention obligations, simplifying administrative burdens.

The rollout of the e-receipt system will formally begin on July 1, when businesses can voluntarily transition to e-cash registers and start issuing electronic receipts immediately.

Comprehensive Assistance

Recognizing the broad impact of the regulation, Számlázz.hu says it has

committed to providing comprehensive assistance to its user base.

“The introduction of e-receipts and e-cash registers affects a vast number of our clients, and we are doing everything possible to support them,” says Balázs Ángyán, CEO of Számlázz.hu.

“We are in contact with hundreds of thousands of businesses, and education is extremely important to us. The new information site answers the most important questions in a straightforward and understandable format, divided into relevant topics. As always, our mission is to save businesses time and money, helping them focus on the truly important aspects of their work,” Ángyán adds.

The information portal goes beyond simple FAQs. It also clarifies which businesses are exempt from the e-cash register obligations. In addition, the portal includes guidance tailored explicitly for accountants, ensuring they can accurately advise their clients during the transition. Számlázz.hu says its development team is actively working to introduce a fully compliant, user-friendly e-cash register solution that will meet all the technical and regulatory requirements stipulated by the new decree. The company says it intends to deliver a system that not only satisfies NAV’s standards but also provides real value and ease of use for small businesses.

Számlázz.hu CEO Balázs Ángyán.

Art as a Life-shaping Force: Inspiration in Leadership at ESSCA

The Budapest Campus of the French ESSCA School of Management International has held an event dedicated to showcasing how the arts can help form and influence business leaders.

The program, entitled “How do the Arts Influence our Private and Professional Lives?” is closely linked to ESSCA’s core values and demonstrates how emphasis is placed on the arts at each campus in the network, offering a motivating, creative atmosphere for students and staff.

Held on April 15, the event sought to demonstrate how practicing a creative activity is not only a form of self-expression but also significantly impacts personal and professional development.

“The practice of various arts deepens the kind of attention, precision, creativity and patience linked with characteristics of an authentic and inspiring leader. These skills make the coordination of colleagues not only more effective, but also more nuanced, innovative and compassionate,” explained Zsuzsa Deli-Gray, director and professor of the ESSCA Budapest Campus.

“When we make music, paint, dance, or do any other artistic activity, we do it in a way that aligns with our personality. At the same time, the way we do the activity also holds a kind of mirror for us, and through it, we get to know ourselves better,” she added.

The thinking skills, concentration, and coordination learned through playing music strengthen mental capacities that also play a key role in management decision-making.

“My daily life feels more balanced thanks to the beneficial influence of art, especially music. This alone can lift me out of the mundane,” opera singer András Farkas told guests.

Musical Negotiation

Deli-Gray revealed that she uses music when she prepares for a difficult negotiation. “Different styles lead to

different results in different situations: when I need a more powerful effect, I turn to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and at other times, rock helps me achieve the desired inner harmony,” she explained.

“At the same time, when we are actively involved in playing music, it requires complete concentration and coordination. I played the piano for years and was aware that the coordinated movement of the two hands, when each plays a different detail, requires extraordinary brain concentration,” she emphasized.

Craft activities teach patience and the conscious process of shaping. The school says all this can be easily mapped onto strategic leadership.

The family-run Zema Hungarian Porcelain and Jewelry House uses craftsmanship and sophisticated creativity to make the company’s unique, premium-category pieces. The company’s work processes, both in design and execution, emphasize subtle human skills, such as empathy, innovation and strategic thinking, that are also fundamental to ESSCA in training successful leaders.

“Zema porcelain jewelry collections reflect international artistic and stylistic influences, whether it is the Art Deco trend

that fits this year’s theme or inspiring masters such as Van Gogh and Csontváry,” emphasized Erzsébet Papp, owner and artistic director. “Zema’s artistic mission is to convey aesthetic value through each piece of jewelry and awaken a deeper sensitivity to beauty and culture.”

ESSCA consciously provides space for creative expression on all its campuses, using it to foster a stimulating, inspiring and supportive environment for its students, faculty and staff. The school says the presence of art not only serves the aesthetic experience but also helps to improve concentration and develop responsiveness to social responsibility.

In Budapest, fine arts workshops serve a community purpose. Students create decorations that help make the hospital rooms of sick children more welcoming. Students showcase their artistic development every semester in a “talent afternoon.”

In addition, practicing and mastering the “ESSCA dance” plays an active role in building community and strengthening the sense of belonging, the school says. As a form of expression that strengthens harmony and body awareness, dance advances the refinement of leadership presence, assertiveness and non-verbal communication.

Developing Precision

The process of drawing and painting develops precision and the recognition of connections. A change of perspective and a systemic view offer new approaches not only in the reception of art but also in everyday decisions.

“I discovered art quite late, 40 years ago. Since then, my life has changed dramatically, as every morning I hope to discover a new painting by the artists of the Nagybánya school,” emphasized Hungary’s former Ambassador to Peru Peter Kraft, a professor at ESSCA and the host of the event at the Kraft Salon.

Consciously choosing a leadership style is as important as finding your own direction in art, the school believes. Without consistency, the system becomes chaotic. Without a clear goal or strategy, management falls apart, to the detriment of the team and the environment. However, involving the arts can assist in expanding the horizons of thinking for more creative, inspiring decisions.

“Associative thinking is of paramount importance to me: when a situation or opportunity arose, I have repeatedly asked my colleagues what color or music came to mind when they thought about it,” notes Deli-Gray.

“I use this myself to classify and evaluate certain cases. Art […] teaches us patience: not to rush the creation or the decision, but to wait for the inner moment when the experience profoundly affects us. At the same time, it is also necessary that, when this moment comes, we can represent and realize it with fire, full energy, and maximum commitment,” she concludes.

Art also helps people learn teamwork, how to see beyond individual roles, and how to collaborate. Business leaders, like conductors, ensure that each participant performs their task in close cooperation for a common goal. They see that each participant is aware of the importance of their role while keeping an eye on the final result and maintaining harmony between plans and implementation, just as artists maintain harmony between artistic vision and the experience provided to the audience, the school says.

ESSCA in Brief

The ESSCA was founded in Angers, France, in 1909. The Financial Times lists it among the best management courses globally. The university has 10 campuses worldwide.

The one in Budapest was founded in 1993 and welcomes 750 students from 30 countries annually. Uniquely among Hungarian universities, it has received accreditation from EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA.

Just over 110 business schools worldwide have received “Triple Crown” recognition from all three bodies.

From left, Zsuzsa Deli-Gray, director of ESSCA’s Budapest Campus and Peter Kraft, former Ambassador to Peru, now a professor at ESSCA.

News Company

OTP Splits Chairman, CEO Roles, Marks Record Year

The board of OTP Bank , Hungary’s largest commercial lender, has decided to split the roles of chairman and CEO, according to a statement issued on April 25. Current chairman-CEO Sándor Csányi told shareholders at the annual meeting on Friday that he would continue as chairman from May 1, while Péter Csányi, who currently heads the bank’s digital division, would assume the role of CEO. Csányi said OTP closed its “most successful year ever” in 2024, achieving “outstanding” profitability while maintaining an extraordinarily stable capital position and retaining its status as market leader in the region. Since its establishment, OTP has acquired 26 banks, including 14 in the past 10 years, and is now the market leader in five countries. He added that OTP’s balance sheet has tripled, and its loan portfolio quadrupled since 2014. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised OTP Bank’s exceptional role, calling the lender a “jewel of the national economy” at the annual meeting, and said OTP’s year-to-year performance deserved a “hats off.”

MOL Shareholders Approve HUF 275 Dividend Amid ‘New Normal’ Outlook

Shareholders of the Hungarian oil and gas company MOL approved a total dividend payout of HUF 275 per share at the company’s annual meeting on April 24, according to a release published on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange. The dividend includes a base payment of HUF 165 per share, based on last year’s earnings, and a special dividend of approximately HUF 110 per share from a total fund of HUF 220.4 billion. MOL reported an after-tax profit of HUF 355.8 bln in 2024. Addressing shareholders, chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernádi said the increased dividend, up from HUF 250 per share last year, was proposed because the company does not foresee any major acquisitions requiring cash in 2025. He added that MOL must prepare for what he described as “the new normal,” an era of ongoing uncertainty, but highlighted the company’s strong track record of growth and innovation, even in unpredictable times.

Masterplast Shifts Focus to Flexibility, Drops Forecasts in Uncertain Outlook

Hungarian building materials manufacturer Masterplast has unveiled a strategy centered on internal adaptability and minimizing exposure in response to an increasingly unpredictable global environment,

according to an investor presentation published on April 24. The company stated that external, uncontrollable factors affecting its performance have increased significantly, prompting management to adopt a strategic and operational model that can adapt quickly. Masterplast announced that it would no longer issue numerical financial forecasts, choosing instead to focus on strengthening flexibility in both production and sales, optimizing inventory and cash flow management, and actively incorporating market feedback into its decision-making process. Management is preparing for various future scenarios (including slow recovery, moderate growth, and rapid expansion) to maintain profitability and financial stability under all conditions.

Riptides Secures USD 3.3 mln in Hungary’s Biggest Pre-seed Round

Hungarian cybersecurity startup Riptides has raised USD 3.3 million in pre-seed funding to launch its platform for secure non-human identity management, according to a press release. The round is one of the largest pre-seed financings in Central and Eastern Europe and the biggest ever in Hungary. The funding was led by Hungary-based PortfoLion Capital Partners and Czech Republic-based Kaya VC , with additional support from the founding team’s fund Cloudbreak, which contributed USD 500,000, and a group of Hungarian and international angel investors. Riptides plans to use

the funds for product development, security research, and early design partnerships. The startup is currently collaborating with enterprises and AI-first firms looking to move beyond traditional so-called secret management systems. Riptides joins a growing cohort of Hungarianfounded security startups gaining global attention, following companies like Seon, which raised USD 94 mln in 2022 to combat identity fraud.

Ghibli Opens 22,000 sqm Logistics Hub in Debrecen

Ghibli Kft. inaugurated a new 22,000 sqm logistics center in Debrecen (225 km east of Budapest by road) yesterday, boosting the company’s total warehouse capacity in Hungary to more than 120,000 sqm, according to a press release. Managing director Zoltán Szabó said Ghibli’s seven facilities now handle more than 550,000 deliveries annually for clients across the automotive, electronics, chemicals, and FMCG sectors. The investment was carried out by Xanga Park Kft. , part of Xanga Ventures , the private equity division of the Xanga group, CEO István Herdon added.

MBH Bank to pay HUF 123 per Share Dividend

Shareholders of MBH Bank, Hungary’s second-largest commercial lender, approved a HUF 123-per-share dividend on 2024 earnings at the annual meeting held on April 23, according to a release published on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange. The dividend will be disbursed in two installments: HUF 6.66 per share in May and HUF 116.34 per share in August, subject to compliance with prudent dividend distribution guidelines

set by the National Bank of Hungary. The total dividend fund amounts to HUF 36.9 billion. In unrelated news, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has imposed a HUF 15 million fine on MBH Bank for failing to send annual banking fee reports to nearly 70,000 clients, according to a statement issued by the MNB. The central bank and financial market watchdog noted that lenders are required to provide all clients with a summary of their banking fees by Jan. 31 each year.

MÁV Remains

Top Employer as BMW Expands

Among companies reporting monthly headcount data, Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) remains Hungary’s largest employer, with nearly 50,000 people across its two entities, according to public records. Among non-state enterprises, B+N Referencia Zrt. , a building cleaning and facility management firm, continues to grow its workforce, adding 316 employees between January and February 2025 to reach a total of 14,217. However, employment in the automotive industry is shrinking. Audi cut 170 jobs in a single month, while major suppliers also reported reductions: Thyssenkrupp Components lost 316 employees, Continental shed 75, and Jabil laid off 100. The exception is BMW in Debrecen (225 km east of Budapest by road), which is ramping up for series production, hiring 191 new staff to reach a total of 2,613 in February. Job losses also hit the battery manufacturing sector. Samsung SDI in Göd (30 km north of Budapest) reduced its headcount by 234, while SK On’s facilities in Iváncsa (60 km south) and Komárom (95 km northwest) cut a combined 99 jobs.

Singaporean pharmaceutical company Hongene Biotech will build a HUF 36 billion plant in Gödöllő (30 km east of Budapest by road), its first base in Europe, according to origo.hu. The investment, which will create 150 jobs, will be supported by a HUF 7.5 bln government grant, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at a press conference in Budapest on April 25. He noted that the company uses world-class technology and plans to export much of the plant’s output. Hungary’s pharmaceutical industry employs nearly 40,000 workers, with an output of HUF 1.33 trillion last year, the minister said. He added that pharmaceuticals are the fourth most important product group in Hungary’s exports, with the sector exporting 85% of its output. Over the past decade, the government has supported 34 major investment projects by pharmaceutical companies, Szijjártó said.

Hongene Biotech to Build HUF 36 bln Plant in Gödöllő

Mu He, managing director of Hongene Biotech Hungary Ltd. , speaks at a press conference announcing the investment of Singapore-based pharmaceutical raw materials company Hongene Biotech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on April 25. Hongene Biotech is building its first European plant in Gödöllő.

Photo by Attila Kovács / MTI.

3 Special Report

Telecoms, ICT, AI

Gergő J. Budai: Creating a Super High Performing Team

The Hungarian telecom market is still undergoing significant transformation, according to a recent report by Big Four consultancy PwC. With the acquisitions of Digi Telecommunications and Vodafone Hungary by 4iG, the mobile telephony market has consolidated, while service providers are looking at separating the infrastructure business units from the core. This will probably lead to four players: Cetin, Vantage Towers, Pro-M, and a Magyar Telekom tower company. The Budapest Business Journal sat down with Vantage Towers cluster managing director Gergő J. Budai to discuss his career path to his regional role for Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Ireland and Portugal.

and talk about ‘What is it that we do, what is the business we’re in?’ the answer is always that it’s really all about connecting people and enabling connections. Whatever technology you want to use, whether it’s a phone call, an SMS or MMS, whether you want to use AI or virtual reality, or if you want to make an online call or a video conference, you need mobile base stations. Because whatever the technology is, you won’t be able to use it without the necessary infrastructure we operate. So, I’m always saying we’re much more than a tower company; we’re actually empowering people to be connected and do business; we’re enabling them to use the technology and get in touch with one another. I think that is crucially important, and that is what we do.

BBJ: From holding a legal director and board member position at pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, you switched to telecoms in 2012. How was this transition?

Gergő J. Budai: I started my career at White & Case LLP as an attorney. From there, I joined Pfizer, where, to date, I became the youngest management board member it has had at 28. At the time, Pfizer was better known for Viagra than vaccines. At White & Case LLP, one of our clients was a London-based investment fund, MidEuropa Partners. They offered me an opportunity at Invitel, a national multiregional telecom operator that was pretty much in dire straits at the time.

We were talking about a 17% decline yearon-year. I accepted the challenge and joined a super crisis management team. I’ll never forget April 1, my first day on the job. We entered the boardroom, and Invitel presented all the data to the new management. And on April 1, we clearly saw that if we didn’t do anything, we would go bankrupt somewhere in July. At first, we thought it was an April Fool’s joke. Then, we realized the situation was extremely serious. So, we rolled up our sleeves and started work. We closed down business lines that were lossmaking and opened new ones that were profitable. We took Invitel and separated it into several companies. One of the steps was to start Invitech, which was later bought by 4iG. We turned these businesses around, but it took five or six years; first, we stabilized them and then put them on a growth track.

BBJ: After that, you joined Vodafone Hungary. Unlike Invitel, it was a wellperforming company when you arrived. What was the challenge here?

GJB: I’m very proud of my time at Vodafone. It was from 2016 to 2020, which, if you look at the 25-year tenure

of Vodafone in Hungary, was one of the most successful periods for the company. We were the first to introduce 5G (a year before our competitors), built the first IoT network in Hungary, secured spectrum for the next 25 years and purchased UPC, making the company fully convergent. Service-wise, technologywise, and quality-wise, we were excelling. Vodafone was the third entrant to the Hungarian market. We became the number two player in that period, overtaking what was then Telenor. My current opportunity arose in 2020 when Vodafone decided to separate off the base stations, the mobile infrastructure, in several markets. And I was tasked, amongst other things, with this work and then to find new management to run this company.

BBJ: Vodafone was a peoplecentered company; you sold a service to customers. Vantage Towers looks like a pure technology firm: wires, antennas and towers. Is it so, or is it more complex than that?

GJB: I think it’s much more complex, and I think it’s also all about people. When we speak with our colleagues

BBJ: You have a legally oriented mind, yet you run a technology company. I suppose you need a lot of technological advice. How do you select your team to ensure you have strong support for what lies ahead? GJB: I like working with and surrounding myself with colleagues who are perhaps more intelligent and more knowledgeable than myself. First of all, they are inspirational and I can rely on them and have good professional conversations and debates. And I do treasure a good and healthy discussion when we’re talking about professional issues

But we need to get to a good common position. And my team is the most important to me for that reason. In every company, I think I was able to build a super team around me. When I left, that was the thing that I was most sorry about: leaving that team behind. When I came to the next task or challenge, luckily so far, in every single case, I was able to build another great team around me, perhaps even a little better than the previous team. And that, I think, is a huge contributor to my past successes. There’s always been a good team around me, and I was always able to rely on them.

So, it is not just about the steel or the structures; it’s really about the team and the people who are building it, who are operating it, and who are taking care not just of the infrastructure but also of our customers and the people who use that infrastructure. You need a robust team to operate it and take care of it because if, God forbid, something happens, everybody can feel it immediately. After all, it’s critical infrastructure.

BALÁZS BARABÁS

Gergő J. Budai

Making Sense of Programming ‘Architecture Salad’ Through AI

It used to be the realm of imagination to think that automation of highly complex legacy IT system integration would be possible without starting from scratch. A Hungarian fintech company claims to prove those naysayers wrong with a new platform it says changes the game for good.

During decades of digital transformation, corporate IT systems were built layer upon layer; new technologies arrived, old platforms remained, and everything had to be integrated. The result was an often opaque, heterogeneous system environment, described as “architectural salad” by Márk Hetényi, CEO and founder of R34DY.

The term “spaghetti architecture” has long been used to describe systems where everything is connected to everything else. It was more of a cable jungle where every new business requirement creates a new connection. However, according to the head of R34DY, a different type of problem is now prevalent.

“The time of spaghetti architecture is over. Today, we no longer see a network of directly connected systems, but a more complex, fragmented world, and this is what we call architecture salad,” Hetényi says.

The essence of salad is not the visual appearance of chaos but structural diversity: systems, technologies, data models, API calls, and services from different generations coexist in a single IT ecosystem.

“Even a medium-sized bank often runs 150 to 300 different applications in parallel, with different technological backgrounds and different integration principles. This isn’t spaghetti, it’s a mixed salad,” the CEO explains. This diversity is not only an aesthetic or maintenance challenge but also a serious obstacle to development

and innovation. Integrating new systems or replacing old ones is often impossible due to the “salad” structure.

Digesting the Salad

R34DY claims to have found a way to make the salad “digestible,” with a knowledge-based and agentic (agentbased) AI approach. The platform it has developed can transform systemlevel documentation, API descriptions, data models, and business rules into a structured knowledge base that artificial intelligence can interpret and process.

In other words, it is an artificial intelligence-based integration service (Integration-as-a-Service) that efficiently connects existing legacy systems with new digital architectures based on microservices.

“Our platform doesn’t just receive information, but structured, contextual knowledge. We teach it how a bank works, how a customer process is structured, and what data model is behind it. Then the system no longer just executes instructions; it draws its own conclusions,” Hetényi explains.

The other pillar is agentic operation. AI is able to break down complex tasks into smaller, well-defined parts that are executed by various “agents.”

in the market about the true capabilities of artificial intelligence, especially when solving “deep” problems rather than spectacular ones. Nevertheless, successful pilot projects and concrete business results are gradually breaking down this wall of mistrust.

“The market knows that integration is a decades-old problem. Now it also sees that AI is not just talking about it, but actually solving it, even when it comes to the most complex legacy systems,” Hetényi notes.

“The first law of thermodynamics is that energy doesn’t disappear; it changes form. It applies to banks as well: complexity won’t disappear; it just changes form. But now we finally have a tool that understands it, interprets it, and although complexity will remain, AI is taking a large bite of it. It’s no longer a dream but a daily reality.”

R34DY operates mainly in the banking environment, but negotiations are underway with other industries, such as energy, where similarly complex and historically overwhelmed systems need integration.

These specialized, goal-oriented AI components deal with specific tasks such as data model creation, process mapping, or system comparison.

By coordinating these two systems, R34DY has created an AI solution that can map and integrate even legacy systems that have been in operation for decades.

Solving ‘Deep’ Problems

According to the company’s CEO, there is still a degree of skepticism

Award-driven Validation

R34DY’s AI-based integration platform has been recognized with several international technology awards, the FinovateEurope 2025 Best of Show Award being the latest.

“There is a growing awareness in the market that AI is not just a vision for the future but a tool that can give new meaning to even the most serious legacy systems. For us, AI is no magic; it’s just a new type of team player against complexity,” says founder and CEO Márk Hetényi. Due to its small size, his company is flexible, capable of

The company’s vision is for its AI to not only integrate a given system but also to act as a kind of digital assistant that can continuously learn, adapt, and support development, business, and IT teams. It is already capable of comparing data models, applying best practices, and recommending the best integration directions.

“The first law of thermodynamics is that energy doesn’t disappear; it changes form. Now, it applies to banks as well: complexity won’t disappear; it just changes form,” Hetényi says. “But now we finally have a tool that understands it, interprets it, and although complexity will remain, AI is taking a large bite of it. It’s no longer a dream but a daily reality,” he insists.

making quick decisions, and able to maintain the spirit of a “creative community” where everyone is motivated and working toward the same goal. Hetényi is also hopeful about Hungary’s chances in the AI arena. “We are facing an exciting period, but the knowledge revolution and global restructuring also bring challenges,” he notes. “With the right strategy, education, and practical implementation, Hungary could indeed become one of the European centers for AI applications surprisingly quickly.”

Márk Hetényi, CEO and founder of R34DY.

Innovation Fires Journey From 29 sqm Flat to 7,000 sqm HQ

Gergely Vida, CEO of Hungarian audiovisual pioneer Lightware, sits down with the Budapest Business Journal to discuss what sets the company apart, building an R&D team in Szeged, and what’s next.

BBJ: Lightware Zrt., a 100% Hungarianowned company, has been developing and manufacturing products for the professional audio-visual market since 1998. What makes the firm stand out from your competitors?

Gergely Vida: Our commitment to innovation and our unique journey from humble beginnings to global impact. The company started as a small Hungarian business operating from a 29 sqm apartment in downtown Budapest, initially focused on projector and plasma TV repairs. Since then, it has transformed into a global AV leader with more than 350 employees worldwide. Our breakthrough came in 2006 at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the most prestigious exhibition in the professional AV industry. There, Lightware introduced the world’s first 8x8 DVI matrix switcher, a groundbreaking product that replaced analog VGA technology, setting a new standard in digital video signal transmission. We are recognized among the technology sector’s leading companies because we continuously strive to bring innovative solutions to market ahead of others. These innovations reflect our commitment to shaping the future of AV connectivity.

BBJ: What is your international footprint like? Where else in the globe are you represented, and what functions are performed overseas?

GV: In the early 2010s, the company opened its first two offices outside Hungary, in the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2013, this expansion continued in Australia, Italy, and Singapore, followed by offices in the Netherlands, India, and the United Arab Emirates two years later. Lightware now operates 18 offices across four continents, from Michigan to Singapore and from Amsterdam to Medellín, to mention a few. These international offices are more than just sales points; they are strategic hubs that provide local support tailored to regional needs. We offer sales and technical support directly from these locations, ensuring proximity and quick response times for our partners and customers. In addition, our teams provide comprehensive pre- and post-sales support, helping clients throughout the entire customer journey - from initial consultations to ongoing maintenance and service.

Meanwhile, our headquarters in Budapest plays a central role in supporting our international operations. The HQ handles critical functions such as manufacturing, logistics, and various back-office services, including marketing, sales operations, HR, procurement, and more. This centralized support ensures consistency, efficiency, and quality across all Lightware offices worldwide.

BBJ: Tell us more about the R&D project you launched last year in Hungary.

GV: In 2024, we launched a major R&D initiative to develop a new generation of user experience-driven audio-visual, USB, and data transmission interfaces and software solutions. As part of this, we also opened an R&D center in Szeged, where we are actively hiring engineers to expand our development capabilities. This initiative marks a strategic upgrade of our Budapest development team, reflecting our long-term vision to lead innovation in the professional AV industry.

The initiative is planned as a threeyear program, during which we aim to establish a stable and highly skilled R&D team of around 120-130 engineers. The Hungarian National Research, Development, and Innovation Office officially recognizes this effort, and it is supported by the government through a non-refundable cash grant, helping us accelerate innovation and strengthen our position as a global AV technology leader.

BBJ: Why did you choose Szeged? How many staff do you have there and what do they do?

GV: The idea of expanding our R&D activity to a regional city emerged in 2024, driven by Budapest’s increasingly competitive HR landscape. To explore the best options, our site selection team, supported by BDO FDI Advisory, assessed several Hungarian university cities. After evaluating factors such as the strength of the local education system, the regional R&D ecosystem, and available real estate opportunities, Szeged emerged as the ideal location. Today, our new R&D center in Szeged hosts a team of around 10 engineers. Although geographically separate, the Szeged team is fully integrated into our core development operations, working on the same advanced challenges as our Budapest colleagues. As part of our strategic expansion, we aim to grow this to 25 engineers by the end of 2025. In support of

this vision, the government has provided a non-refundable cash grant and a development tax incentive.

BBJ: Lightware moved into its new global HQ at the HOP Technology Office Park in Budapest this month. Tell us more about this.

GV: Opening our new global headquarters at the HOP Technology Office Park marks a significant milestone in the company’s growth and development. The new 7,000 sqm HQ is built with sustainability at its core. It integrates state-of-theart technological infrastructure with eco-friendly solutions to reduce carbon footprint and promote environmental responsibility. The facility is designed for energy efficiency, featuring advanced building management systems and environmentally conscious materials to minimize energy consumption and waste.

It is more than a workspace; it is a setting that encourages social interaction and supports employee wellbeing. The facility includes multiple design kitchens and a spacious open-space café, offering areas for relaxation and informal engagement that foster team cohesion and creativity. The office includes massage chairs, comfortable seating areas, a yoga room, and a PlayStation room. These are thoughtfully designed to offer employees a place to unwind and recharge during their workday. We plan to install a rooftop solar power system to increase our renewable energy sources further, reinforcing the company’s long-term sustainability objectives.

BBJ: How easy do you find it to recruit the researchers and developers you need? Do you link up with universities to help develop the curriculum to meet your needs?

GV: We develop high-end technology solutions, which means we set a high standard for our employees regarding expertise and mindset. There are

two reasons why recruitment can be challenging. First, we operate in a very specialized sector; few professionals have direct experience in this field. Second, because this expertise is so niche, we often need to train new hires internally from the ground up. Finding the right talent is a constant challenge, especially in Budapest, where competition is fierce due to the numerous international R&D centers.

Lightware was founded by members of the University of Technology and Economics, and that academic connection remains a strong part of our identity. Many of our current colleagues still come from that same college, and we maintain a close partnership with the associated university. We actively support students by offering opportunities to write their thesis projects with us, providing mentorship, real-world project experience, and access to our development environment. This collaboration helps shape the next generation of AV professionals and ensures academic training stays aligned with industry needs.

BBJ: What is next? Might you consider expanding to other university cities in Hungary?

GV: What’s next is a continued focus on shaping the future of professional AV through seamless integration and user-focused innovation. One of the most important trends we’re addressing is the evolution of product ecosystems; it’s no longer just about what you develop but how well everything works together to enhance the user experience.

A key development area is adapting USB-C technology for professional environments, especially in modern meeting rooms where speed, reliability, and simplicity are critical. These are fast-paced spaces where laptops and platforms change constantly, and any downtime can disrupt business. The expectation is clear: solutions must be reliable, intuitive, and require minimal user interaction.

Our mission is to deliver “bulletproof” integration where displays, PCs, conferencing platforms, cameras, microphones, and AV switching systems all work together flawlessly. Looking ahead, professionalgrade USB-C extension will play a crucial role in unifying connectivity across devices, delivering high performance and effortless usability in demanding environments.

Expanding to other university cities in Hungary is something we might consider as part of our long-term growth strategy. However, nothing has been confirmed at this stage. We recently opened our new office in Szeged, and our current focus is on strengthening that hub, developing it further and ensuring it integrates seamlessly with our Budapest HQ. Once that foundation is solid, we’ll be in a better position to evaluate future expansion opportunities.

ROBIN MARSHALL

Gergely Vida, CEO of Lightware.

World-class IT Innovation Wins Hungarian Grand Prize

The 2024 Hungarian Grand Prize for Innovation was awarded in a ceremony held at the Upper House Hall of the Hungarian Parliament, recognizing the country’s most outstanding innovation achievements. Alongside the top honor, six sectoral awards were also presented.

A jury of scientists and distinguished business professionals, led by the Minister for Culture and Innovation, selected the winners based on economic performance and societal impact.

The top honor went to Cloud Network Technology Ltd., a Komárom-based member of the Foxconn Group, for developing a globally competitive IT testing system.

The event on March 26 marked the 33rd edition of the Hungarian Grand Prize for Innovation, which annually honors a Hungarian-registered company that generated significant business value through an outstanding technical or economic innovation.

In 2024, the figures underscored the performance-driven nature of the award: projects submitted for consideration generated a combined additional revenue of more than HUF 900 billion for the participating companies. Moreover, an estimated

20 bln in public good was also achieved through cost savings, environmental benefits, and broader societal value.

Submissions came primarily from the agriculture and IT sectors, and fewer than half were based in Budapest. From a market perspective, domestic and foreign projects were equally represented in volume, though most of the additional revenues were realized through exports.

In his opening remarks, János Pakucs, chairman of the award’s organizing committee, noted: “This year, we received numerous submissions of truly international caliber, each fully deserving of their recognition. Still, for Hungary’s economy to keep advancing, we need even more innovations like these. Our laureates serve as a model for other market players.”

Gábor Szabó, president of the Hungarian Association for Innovation, added: “The award reflects a snapshot

of the innovation landscape in any given year. In 2024, IT clearly took center stage. The winners show that while IT alone may not constitute innovation, it can be a powerful enabler of innovative objectives.”

The 2024 Grand Prize was awarded to Cloud Network Technology Ltd. for its TestHall AR System, a proprietary solution based on augmented reality (AR). The system dramatically accelerates the testing process for server racks by allowing technicians to conduct tests in real-world conditions without physical tools, thereby improving efficiency, speed, and safety.

Significant Edge

The project not only gave the company a significant edge in global competitiveness but also drove a sharp increase in local manufacturing output and revenue.

János Latorcai, deputy speaker of the Hungarian Parliament and State Secretary for Higher Education, Vocational and Adult Education, and Youth Veronika Varga-Bajusz presented the award.

Responding to inquiries about the project’s business impact and future potential, Cloud Network Technology said it will publish official financial figures on May 31. However, it confirmed that the system, developed in-house with engineering support from Hungarian subcontractor Holoindustry Ltd., significantly enhances its local production capacity and competitive standing. While the system will remain an internal strategic advantage within the Foxconn Group, Holoindustry has the capacity and rights to commercialize it internationally if market demand arises.

The 2024 Industrial Innovation Award , supported by the Ministry of National Economy, went to

Office, went to Bay Zoltán Applied Research Nonprofit Ltd. for a microbiological wastewater treatment solution targeting byproducts of battery production. Using specialized bacterial strains, the system decomposes pollutants without generating hazardous byproducts, providing an eco-friendly and costeffective alternative for wastewater management in various industries.

Finally, the 2024 Startup Innovation Award , presented by the Hungarian Association for Innovation, went to FraudShield Security Europe Ltd. for its FraudShield Anti-phishing Prevention software. The system offers real-time protection for financial institutions and corporate clients, detecting and neutralizing phishing threats before they can cause damage.

C3S Electronics Development Ltd. for creating a remote-sensing small satellite platform. Launched in August

2024

under the name Wren 1, the device is Hungary’s largest domestically developed satellite and the first optimized for remote sensing applications, offering valuable data to clients in drought monitoring and related fields.

Ericsson Hungary was awarded the 2024 IT Innovation Award for its work in 5G mobile standardization and protocol development. The company’s patented contributions significantly improve how mobile devices select and transition between network cells, reducing latency and optimizing radio resource use.

The 2024 Agricultural Innovation Award , supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, was awarded to Agron Analytics Ltd. for its AgronMaps Pro software. This precision agriculture platform translates complex geospatial data into user-friendly, decision-support tools for consultants and farmers. The software is already optimizing nutrient delivery and environmental impact on more than 40,000 hectares across Hungary.

The 2024 Environmental Innovation Award , backed by the Ministry of Energy, went to Innomedio Ltd. for its innoTMS transport management system. The platform enables realtime tracking, optimized routing, and streamlined document handling for domestic and international freight operators. By reducing the number of empty trips, the solution contributes meaningfully to sustainability goals.

Eco-friendly

The 2024 Intellectual Property Innovation Award , presented by the Hungarian Intellectual Property

Asked about the broader innovation environment, Csaba Bőthe, managing director of the Hungarian Association for Innovation, emphasized that while recent policy measures such as reorganizing research institutions, increasing R&D personnel, and expanding funding programs have strengthened the innovation ecosystem, more progress is needed.

He stressed the importance of enhancing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, supporting startup incubation, and promoting universityindustry collaboration to translate research into market-ready solutions. Bőthe also underscored the need for Hungarian startups to think globally from the outset, leveraging export markets to achieve sustainable scale and success.

On the prominence of IT in this year’s competition, Bőthe acknowledged a surge in submissions from both the IT and agriculture sectors, including their hybrid applications in agri-informatics. He expects continued strong participation from environmental and energy-related projects and rising interest in biotech, nanotech, space technology, drone systems, AI, and cybersecurity. Encouragingly, Hungarian companies are making advances in all these emerging fields, he said.

The Grand Prize and associated sectoral awards are designed not only to honor technical and economic achievement but also to foster a business culture that prioritizes research, development, and longterm value creation. Launched in 1991 by the Hungarian Association for Innovation, the competition has received more than 1,450 submissions, with 248 projects earning distinction.

“Innovation is not just about technology; it’s about translating ideas into value, for the market and for society,” Bőthe concluded.

GERGELY HERPAI

The 2024 Startup Innovation Award was won by FraudShield Security Europe. From left, State Secretary for Higher Education, Vocational and Adult Education, and Youth Veronika VargaBajusz, Máté Gábor Lénárt, CEO of FraudShield, Csaba Bőthe, managing director of the Hungarian Association for Innovation, and Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament János Latorcai.

AI Drives Fundamental Change in ERP Modernization

A wave of structural transformation is unfolding across the enterprise IT landscape. Artificial intelligence is no longer just an add-on but is increasingly becoming a foundation for business evolution. Strategic alignment and technological readiness will define how organizations benefit from AI’s integration into their core systems.

The advance of artificial intelligence shows no sign of slowing. According to Big Four consultancy Deloitte’s “Tech Trends 2025” report, AI-driven technologies are expected to radically reshape the role of traditional enterprise systems, including core infrastructure and enterprise resource planning platforms. By embedding AI into the operational backbone, companies can boost efficiency, enhance decisionmaking, anticipate challenges more accurately, and uncover new growth opportunities.

AI may be the key to enterprise system renewal, extending well beyond legacy infrastructure modernization. Its strength lies in enabling adaptive, self-learning capabilities that can be integrated into foundational processes, bringing organizations closer to autonomous operations.

Real-time data processing and in-depth analysis allow AI-enhanced systems to support faster, more informed decisions across the enterprise. Simultaneously, intelligent automation becomes possible by leveraging machine learning to continually optimize operations, monitor performance, identify patterns, and forecast business trends. The result is improved agility, reduced error rates, and enhanced productivity across multiple domains, Deloitte says. Structuring enterprise systems around AI can yield measurable business benefits. Automating routine tasks helps redirect human resources toward higher-value strategic activities. Enhanced accuracy reduces operational errors and improves compliance, while improved responsiveness enables businesses to adapt quickly to market changes. Most importantly, AI can proactively detect system failures and threats while identifying new growth opportunities ahead of competitors.

No Longer Just a Tool

“Artificial intelligence is no longer merely a complementary tool but a foundational driver of transformation,” said Aleksandar Ganchev, Central Europe Director at Deloitte Consulting. “Companies that embrace AI-powered solutions as part of their system modernization efforts will not only gain in operational efficiency but also unlock real-time, data-driven decisionmaking capabilities that were once unimaginable, ultimately securing a competitive edge.”

Integrating AI into core enterprise systems is more than a technical exercise; it demands strategic vision and coordinated planning.

Bay Voucher Helps Bridge gap Between Idea and Market Launch

In the current challenging economic environment, R&D-based small- and medium-sized enterprises require significantly more financing resources. The Bay Voucher Program aims to be a significant resource for those needs.

BALÁZS BARABÁS

The program, funded by the government’s National Research, Development, and Innovation Office (NKFIH), supports Hungarian microbusinesses and SMEs in implementing their R&D and innovation. The aim is to develop new products, services, and technological solutions

and bring them to the market. SMEs can apply for vouchers covering the costs of innovation services.

The Bay Voucher Program, which opened for applications on April 15, is an integral part of Hungary’s comprehensive science policy vision, the János Neumann Program. This national strategic R&D&I package, launched in 2022, intends to build a competitive, knowledgebased, green, and digital economy. The total budget of the program is

HUF 1.5 billion.

The maximum available value of services is HUF 100 million per company, with a contribution from each firm of 25%.

Bay Voucher focuses in particular on those sectors in which the Bay Zoltán Research Center has high competence: materials science, agricultural biotechnology, the circular economy, energy and environmental certification.

Organizations may implement AI through various approaches, ranging from vendor-supplied modules and third-party tools to bespoke, in-house models. Each path presents distinct advantages and trade-offs that must be carefully evaluated, the Tech Trends 2025 report cautions.

The full potential of AI cannot be realized without secure data management, system reliability, and trust in automated outputs. Companies must also make targeted investments in infrastructure: cloud platforms, high-performance computing, and advanced analytics are critical enablers of scalable AI deployment.

Equally important is aligning AI initiatives with broader business objectives. Rather than viewing AI as a stand-alone solution, organizations should embed it into long-term strategic planning, ensuring that it informs operational workflows and enterprise-wide priorities.

Deloitte’s analysis suggests that AI has evolved from a generalpurpose technology into a deeply embedded, system-specific solution. AI can forecast consumer behavior, adjust marketing strategies, identify vulnerabilities in supply networks, and recommend corrective actions in real-time.

It can dynamically optimize inventory, refine production scheduling, and personalize customer engagement, all based on continuous data analysis. This ability to support real-time decisions is becoming one of the defining features of intelligent core systems.

financially but also professionally.

The mission of the Bay Zoltán Research Center is to bridge the gap between the idea and the market, especially where help is most needed, in the Hungarian SME sector.

Under the program, companies can apply for development purposes, such as prototype production, device or experimental development, or complex R&D&I services. The results of the developments remain with the companies without any patent obligation. This is particularly important for long-term market success, as the completed solutions serve the interests of the applicant companies in both technological and business terms.

Filling the Infrastructure Gap

The Bay Zoltán Research Center provides not only expert support but also research, laboratory, and equipment, infrastructure that SMEs typically do not have access to, or only at great expense.

The program is also helpful for businesses that are only planning to develop, market, or introduce new technological solutions. The voucher offers them tangible support, not only

“Too many valuable ideas and innovative business concepts remain undeveloped, not because of the lack of talent or market demand, but because of the lack of professional, technological, or financial resources,”

Balázs Schmidt, CEO of the Bay Zoltán Research Center, said at the launch event of the Bay Voucher program.

“The mission of the Bay Zoltán Research Center is precisely to bring to the surface these hidden opportunities and provide a bridge from the concept to the market launch,” he added.

Ádám Vida, R&D director at the Bay Zoltán Research Center, added: “It is our conviction that strengthening the innovation ecosystem requires access to knowledge, modern instruments and advanced infrastructure. Hungarian SMEs typically have little or no access to these on the market.

The program is even more valuable as it contributes to the networks emerging from professional cooperation, one of the main characteristics of the advanced innovation ecosystems.”

Image created by Gergely Herpai using AI.

ERP Companies

Ranked by net revenue from ERP software sales in 2024 (HUF mln)

1 GRIFFSOFT INFORMATIKAI ZRT. www.griffsoft.hu, https:// smartbrickfms.hu/ 4,735 4,735 Forrás integrated management system, SmartBrick, invoice, property and facility management system

2 TECHWAVE HUNGARY ZRT. www.techwave.hu 4,565 4,565 SAP

Magyar Államkincstár, Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium, Közigazgatási és Területfejlesztési Minisztérium, Állami Számvevőszék, Budapest Főváros XV. kerület Polgármesteri Hivatala és Önkormányzata, NAV

2000 171

Other (59.51), Griff Investment Kft. (40.49) –Benedek Szajbély István Bokor Krisztián Walter

Schneider Electric Industries SAS, Lightware Zrt., Bonafarm Zrt., Graboplast Zrt., Lesaffre Magyarország Kft., MAVIR Zrt. 1999 89 –Techwave Consulting Inc. (100)

3 KONTRON HUNGARY KFT. www.kontron.hu 4,165 40,960 SAP, Infor A

4 R&R SOFTWARE ZRT. www.rrsoftware.hu 3,202 5,022 ERP, BSS, CRM, BA (BI-EPM-DWH), SFA, FFA, AI, LLM, e-Gov

5 PROGEN MÉRNÖKI FEJLESZTŐ ÉS SZOLGÁLTATÓ KFT. www.progen.hu 1,945 2,171 sERPa, Nagy Machinátor

6 INFOCONSULTING HUNGARY KFT. www.infoconsulting.com/hu 1,395 1,395 IFS Cloud ERP/EAM/ESM system

7 MULTISOFT KFT. www.multisoft.hu 1,208 1,372 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, MobileNAV

8 E-BEST TANÁCSADÓ KFT. www.ebest.hu 665 665 ORACLE JD Edwards, OCI

9 ISYS-ON INFORMATIKAI

TANÁCSADÓ KFT. www.isys-on.hu 390 1,940 QAD Enterprise Applications, Qlik Sense

NR 4IG ZRT. www.4ig.hu A 75,911 (2023)

(100)

Lexalitics, Inc., 4iG Nyrt., Garantiqa Hitelgarancia Zrt., Prímaenergia Zrt., Invitech ICT Services Kft., Porsche Lízing és Szolgáltató Kft.

Chef Market Zrt., WhiskyNet Kft., Foodnet Zrt., "TE-DI Trade" Kft., Vascular Venture Kft., Weinberg '93 Építő Kft.

BioTechUSA Kft., Wellis Magyarország Zrt., ANY Biztonsági Nyomda Nyrt., VAJDA-PAPÍR Kft., Fémalk Zrt., Inno-Comp Kft.

Péter Fárizs Anikó Kishalmi László Dalányi

Péter Szabó Sándor Kulcsár Tímea Soós

1997 131 R&R Partners Holding Kft. (100) –Csaba Rozenberszki Judit Andráskó Zsolt Rozenberszki

1992 76 Progen Holding Zrt. (100) –Sándor Komáromi Gizella Koncz Krisztina Kegye

2000 27 –InfoConsulting Group (100)

Krisztina Terbe, Bálint Vrábel Cecília Léber –

LAJTAMAG Kft., Nissin Foods Kft., Bayer Construct Zrt., Swiss Poulet Trade AG, HUNTRACO Zrt., ÉMI Nonprofit Kft. 1991 50 Gábor Kelemen, Judit Gyenes Kelemenné (100) –Gábor Kelemen Zsuzsanna Pauló Tamás Varga

Toyo Seat Europe Kft., Gyermelyi Zrt., Lucart Group - Lucart Kft., Derula Kft., ArrivaBus Kft.

Airvent Zrt., Béres Gyógyszergyár Zrt., Goodwill Pharma Nyrt., Magyar Suzuki Zrt., Magyar Vagon Dunakeszi Kft., Univer Product Zrt.

2002 6 (100) –Imre Kereki –Balázs Kárpáti

2002 78 BeXt Kft. (50), QuNst Kft. (50) –Lajos Beck, István Kucsera Zoltán Horváth Lajos Beck

1995 819 4ig Nyrt. (100) –Gábor Radó Tibor Cserven –

1041 Budapest, Görgey Artúr utca 69–71. (1) 450-2200 info@griffsoft.hu

1138 Budapest, Dunavirág utca 2–6. (1) 237-1730 info@techwave.hu

2040 Budaörs, Puskás Tivadar út 14. (1) 371-8000 kontron@kontron.hu

1038 Budapest, Ráby Mátyás utca 7. (1) 436-7850 info@rrsoftware.hu

1118 Budapest, Homonna utca 8/A (1) 481-9000 info@progen.hu

1132 Budapest, Váci út 22–24. (1) 236-3700 infohu@ infoconsulting.com

1115 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 105–113. (20) 330-0220 sales@multisoft.hu

1148 Budapest, Nagy Lajos király útja 24. (30) 768-4190 ebest@ebest.hu

1134 Budapest, Kassák Lajos utca 19–25. (1) 555-7270 info@isys-on.hu

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4 Socialite International Authors Gather for PesText Budapest Literary Festival

Taking place in Budapest between May 7-10, the seventh PesText Festival welcomes a host of internationally renowned authors. Among them are Swedish author Karin Smirnoff, currently writing the seventh installment in the hugely popular “Millennium” series begun by Stieg Larsson, and Croatian Olja Savičević Ivančević.

Announcing the festival, Balázs Keresztes, responsible for the foreign affairs programs of the Petőfi Cultural Agency, said, “For almost a decade, PesText has been one of the country’s most prestigious and beloved literary events [….] PesText is a celebration of world literature.”

This spring edition of the festival, which takes place twice a year, is organized by the Hungarian Literary Authors’ Collecting Society (MISzJE) with the support of the Hungarian Culture Foundation and the Petőfi Cultural Agency. Those with a literary bent can participate in discussions, readings, workshops for translators, and exhibitions. After a launch at the Petőfi Literary Museum, the free program will take place at the Drei Raben (Három Holló, or Three Ravens) café from 8-10 May.

Poet, children’s book writer and translator Árpád Kollár is the founder and director of the PesText International Literary and Cultural Festival. He is currently the director of the MISzJE. The festival was originally envisioned as “an international event that would put world literature

in the spotlight while at the same time promoting Hungarian literature and culture abroad,” Kollár says.

To choose the authors who will appear at PesText, Kollár and his colleagues consult with “a wide range of partners and organizations, publishers, and cultural institutions while also relying on their personal tastes. In addition to well-known, popular authors, we strive to present emerging authors who may not yet enjoy widespread popularity in Hungary, but we believe they deserve it.”

For Kollár, the most exciting thing about the festival is “to invite worldrenowned writers to Budapest and meet them in person. These conversations are a very inspiring intellectual experience for me. I believe that literature connects us, that art and culture can have a positive impact on open-minded people in today’s difficult world.”

Festival Debut

One of the authors who will be appearing at PesText is Croatian writer Olja Savičević Ivančević. It will be her first time at the festival and only her second visit to Budapest.

“Adios Cowboy,” Savičević Ivančević’s debut novel published in 2010, tells the story of Dada, the heroine of the book. She’s a member of Croatia’s “lost generation,” living a humdrum life in Zagreb when she’s called back home to the Mediterranean town where she grew up to help her aging mother. Savičević Ivančević grew up in the small Dalmatian town of Kaštel Lukšić, near Split.

The novel received impressive plaudits from the international literary press. Prestigious U.S. magazine The Atlantic described it as a “wild amalgam of quest story, social satire, and comic schtick (plus a surreal film-shoot scene featuring cowboys), you won’t

catch Savicevic offering tidy diagnoses. You won’t care, thanks to prose that glints like the sea in the distance.”

Since then, Savičević Ivančević has published another novel, “Singer in the Night” (2019), as well as collections of poems and picture books for children. She is currently writing a third novel with the working title “Dark Sky Archipelago.” Her first collection of poems was published in 1988 when she was 14. Since then, she has focused mainly on prose and poetry. So far, her books have been translated into 11 languages, including Hungarian. She has published widely in magazines and won several important national and regional awards for her literary work as well as for children’s and youth theater.

For Savičević Ivančević, the reception of “Adios Cowboy” internationally meant, of course, more readers in Europe and the United States. This enabled other books of hers to be published.

‘Special Things to Say’

“It’s not easy to reach readers worldwide if you’re writing in a language only spoken by a small number of people, but I think I have some very special things to say to the rest of the world,” she says.

“Translated literature can really be the bridge between people and can save our delicate humanity and give us courage and strength at a time when bridges are being burned and walls of indifference are growing,” she adds Savičević Ivančević tells me that “my Budapest is primarily the city I’ve seen in movies and read about in books. I admire Béla Tarr, who I mention in one of my poems, and I enjoy reading the great Hungarian authors, including Magda Szabó, Molnár, Krasznahorkai, Márai, Kertész and Bodor.” She also enjoys seeing the city through the eyes of foreign writers and filmmakers, such as in Chico Buarque’s novel “Budapest” or Wes Anderson’s film “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

Now, she’s looking forward to visiting Budapest in reality for the second time and catching up with old friends and colleagues. “I hope I will visit the city more often,” she says.

Whether you’re published or not, another writer’s working practices are always worth learning from. Savičević Ivančević starts writing every day soon after she gets up at 6:30 a.m. and makes coffee. She writes until 11 a.m. when she walks her dog or takes a nap.

“I try to cook meals at the same time as I write, but it never ends well,” she says. Her mornings are for writing, but “the evening is good for editing and reading.”

I ask Savičević Ivančević if she had any advice for authors in this part of the world who are keen to be published.

“Just write the best you can and let people see that. The rest is out of your hands in any case. Oh, yes, and always read good books.”

All PesText events are free, but some require prior registration. Find out more at pestextfestival.hu.

Croatian Olja Savičević Ivančević is attending the festival for the first time in what is only her second visit to Budapest.

DAVID HOLZER

Rap, Revolution, and Reinvention: Péter Geszti on Music, Media, and the Long Summer of the ’90s

The ’90s were a decade of profound transition in Hungary, culturally and politically.

For Péter Geszti, it was also a time of personal transformation from lyricist to performer, from underground voice to mainstream innovator. In an exclusive interview with the Budapest Business Journal, Geszti reflects on three decades of artistic reinvention.

how to structure it. I can manage an exhibition, a musical, even a national campaign. What matters most is the ability to create something that resonates with people. The genre? That’s almost secondary, as long as I love it and it inspires me.

BBJ: What challenges did you face in the 2000s in Hungary’s music and media industry?

BBJ: You rose to national prominence with the group Rapülők in the early ’90s. How do you recall that period of your life?

Péter Geszti: It was like the long summer of my adolescence. Even though I wrapped it up in my 30s, it lasted just two years. It coincided with the regime change in Hungary, and in a way, Rapülők was part of my transformation. Before that, I had been writing lyrics for Első Emelet since 1983. But when that scene started to fade, I was already hosting radio and TV shows and genuinely fascinated by showbiz.

By the time Rapülők came along, I had finally found my voice as a lyricist. What made it really powerful was that I performed my lyrics for the first time. The character singing was the person who wrote the words. Everything felt very optimistic, free, and playful. It was a game without consequences, full of laughter with my two bandmates, Gábor Szentmihályi and Gabi Berkes, both of whom were also part of Első Emelet.

We were still young enough to catch the zeitgeist. That’s what pop music and fashion are about, capturing the spirit of the times. And when you’re in your 20s, it’s easier to feel that pulse. So yeah, it was like the most beautiful, longest summer of adolescence, even if we were already working professionally and understood how to deliver on deadlines, partly because all three of us had been working in advertising. But the curiosity and the reckless creativity of that time [...] were just baked into everything we did.

BBJ: What inspired the creation of Jazz+Az, and what impact did it have on Hungarian pop music?

PG: I wanted to perform on stage with László Dés. He had just released his singer-songwriter album in the late ’80s, featuring lyrics by Géza Bereményi, and I was obsessed with it. After Rapülők sold out the Budapest Sports Arena four times, I wondered: “What’s next? Where do you go from here?”

Eventually, I realized it’s not about going higher; it’s about climbing down from the tower you built and starting something new. So, when Dés asked me to write lyrics for “The Jungle Book” musical, I knew I was being handed a golden opportunity. He was from a completely different musical universe than mine, and I learned a lot from him. He became something of a mentor to this day.

After “The Jungle Book,” I told him, “Let’s form a band. You’ll be the jazz;

I’ll be the undefinable pop-cultural entity.” That’s how Jazz+Az came to be. It gained popularity when Hungarian mainstream radio was flooded with cheap, electro-based commercial music. We did the opposite: three female singers, one guy (me), complex arrangements, live instruments, almost like musical theater. Everything was performed live, and the band was 14 musicians strong. It was expensive to produce, but we brought a unique blend of jazz, funk, and thoughtful lyrics to the stage. Even Dóri Behumi, one of the singers, later described Jazz+Az as a luxury product. And to this day, several musicians from that core group still play with me. That continuity means a lot.

BBJ: You’ve worked across music, advertising, film, and television. How do you manage to juggle so many creative disciplines?

PG: When, like me, you’re not particularly specialized in one area, you must become proficient in many. Psychologists say there are generally two types of professionals: specialists and multipotentialites. The specialist dives deep into one subject their entire life. The multipotentialite, on the other hand, knows a little bit about many things and excels at connecting those dots. I’d put myself in that second group. I’m what you’d call a creative producer. I write lyrics, I perform, I understand stagecraft, and after 30 years, I’ve learned the marketing side too. I know how to build a show, how to finance it, and

PG: As you age, you inevitably drift away from the trends. I made the mistake of trying to stay trendy. That didn’t work. I realized that what matters isn’t chasing trends but being authentic, true to yourself and your audience. In 2010, I launched Gringo Sztár, and the project was a mishmash of genres: electro, reggae, Balkan disco, you name it. I thought it would work. It didn’t. People didn’t know what to make of it. In hindsight, it was obvious: I had no focus. I wanted to play in every sandbox at once instead of choosing one and building something solid. It took me a few years to realign and find that focus again. Complicating things further was the fact that, due to cultural and political dynamics, I was effectively excluded from Hungarian public media. Not because of quality, because of politics. That made it harder to sustain my presence. But oddly, those restrictions only made me more determined to remain independent and relevant. I had to push harder, but it forced me to grow.

BBJ: Are there any systemic improvements you’d like to see?

PG: First, cut the VAT for musicians. Second, enforce real quotas on radio stations for Hungarian music, and make them meaningful. Third, protect our festival culture. Hungary has one of the most vibrant festival scenes in Europe, but with inflation and rising costs, many are struggling. If this continues, more artists will be forced to rely on state subsidies, and that creates dependency. I’d rather see state funds go to experimental or high-art projects, not mainstream pop. Let the market decide what lives or dies in the mainstream.

BBJ: What are you working on currently?

PG: Due to overwhelming demand, we’re doing two more shows of the “Geszti 60” concert, one at Budapest Park, which is already sold out, and another at the Strand Festival. Then, on Dec. 29, László Dés and I are doing a joint show at the MVM Dome called “The Concert of Our Lives,” marking 30 years of creative partnership. We’re also co-writing a musical, a grand-scale operatic production about Sándor Petőfi. Think slam poetry meets arias. It’s a massive, exciting new chapter.

Péter Geszti spoke to the BBJ at an event promoting the Hungarian animation “Csongor és Tünde,” in which he is one of the voice talents.

Unique Relics in 150-year-old Museum

The Jász Múzeum in Jászberény (79 km east of Budapest by road) is the fifth oldest regional museum in Hungary. The institution opened at the end of 1874, with this year’s exhibitions and events planned in the spirit of celebrating its 150th anniversary.

ÉVA BODOR

The museum conducts scientific, public education, and folk traditionpreservation tasks under the leadership of András Zoltán Gulyás, who was appointed director two years ago. Jászberény was the capital of Jászság, a region with a distinct culture and language, whose people, a Hungarian subgroup called the Jász, are believed to have been of eastern Iranian descent.

Today, Jászberény (which has a history long pre-dating the Jász all the way back to the Stone Age) is the county seat for JászNagykun-Szolnok County.

Culture

An expert archaeologist as well as a historian, Gulyás considers himself fortunate to have participated, together with archaeologists from Budapest’s ELTE university, in the 2023 excavation of a globally unique find, the tomb, complete with a wooden chest of medical equipment, of a Roman-era doctor who died in the Jászság region in the first century CE, at a point when it was not fully part of the Roman Empire.

The museum presents world-renowned relics as part of a permanent exhibition related to the culture of the Jász people, as well as its ethnographic and local history collections. It’s displays span from prehistoric times to the modern era. To accelerate archaeological work,

in Brief News

Danube Institute, U.S. Chamber Sign MoU

The Danube Institute and the New York-based American-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore opportunities within their shared networks, according to a press release. The agreement focuses on enhancing economic and cultural dialogue and supporting initiatives strengthening relations between the United States and Hungary. The release added that the partnership represents “a significant step forward” in fostering economic cooperation and collaboration between the two countries.

Violinist Zoltán Mága Launches 100-Stop Charity Concert Tour

Zoltán Mága, a Ferenc Liszt and Prima Primissima Award-winning violinist, has launched one of Hungary’s largest charity concert series, spanning 100 settlements, according to profitline. hu. The national tour aims to support children, people with disabilities, the elderly, large families, residents of educational institutions, hospitals, and impoverished communities, as well as musically gifted youths

who strive to fulfill their dreams. Mága paid special attention to children hospitalized during the Easter holidays, lifting their spirits with gifts, teddy bears, and sweets.

Hungary Eyes Stronger Ties With Turkic States

Minister of Culture and Innovation

Balázs Hankó said on April 28 that talks over the following days offer strong prospects for advancing HungarianTurkic cooperation in culture, higher education, and innovation. Speaking ahead of the first HungarianTurkic Cultural, Higher Education and Innovation Summit in Budapest,

the museum’s specialists, together with an IT development engineer, have created proprietary software that makes fieldwork more efficient.

Lehel’s Horn

The most famous exhibited artifact is the Jászkürt, also known as Lehel’s Horn. A 12th-century southern Italian masterpiece, the instrument symbolizes the unity of the Jász people and is regarded as a national relic. According to one legend, the horn belonged to Lehel, a descendant of Grant

Hankó told a press conference that representatives from the governments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan had been invited to participate. “Our goal is to adopt a declaration of cooperation on Tuesday that will strengthen joint training in higher education, joint innovation research applications, and set out the construction of research parks,” Hankó said. He added that cultural cooperation will focus on music, folk art, the film industry, and national museums and galleries.

Transcarpathia-born Businessman Awarded Hungarian State Honor

Sándor Roth, a U.S. businessman originally from Transcarpathia, has been awarded a Hungarian state honor for his efforts to strengthen Hungarian-Ukrainian ties. The award, the Hungarian Order of Merit, Commander’s Cross with distinction, was presented by Deputy Minister Levente Magyar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Sunday, April 27. In his laudation, Magyar said Roth had long worked to deepen good neighborly relations between the two countries “as a Transcarpathiaborn businessman and patron of the arts” and had contributed significantly to strengthening economic, social, and cultural ties while promoting mutual understanding. Magyar added that Roth has also played an important role in providing humanitarian aid for Transcarpathian

Culture Matters

A regular look at culture issues in Hungary and the region

Prince Árpád (the chieftain who led the Magyar tribes into Hungary), who was one of the leaders of the Hungarian armies that raided through what is now Germany. The horn also has connections with famous figures from Hungarian history, such as Francis II Rákoczi, Emperor Franz Joseph, Empress Sisi, and Lajos Kossuth. One room commemorates the locally born operatic bass singer Mihály Székely (May 8, 1901-March 22, 1963). It evokes the 20th century, displaying the opera star’s furniture, stage costumes, and some of his favorite personal items. This is to be expanded with the recently acquired memorabilia of another locally born performer, the actor János Görbe (Nov. 12, 1912-Sep. 5, 1968), as part of a new project.

In a competition run by the Hungarian Marketing Association, the museum and its manager, Dóra Dudas, were jointly awarded the Diamond Prize 2024 for their marketing work related to its 150th anniversary celebration.

The Jász Múzeum can be found at Táncsics Mihály u. 5, Jászberény, 5100. Its website, available only in Hungarian, can be found at jaszmuzeum.hu/kiadvanyok.

Hungarians since the outbreak of the war and has supported the growing Ukrainian community in Hungary.

Public Media Honors Late Pope Francis With Memorial Broadcasts

Hungary’s public media paid tribute to Pope Francis with commemorative programming throughout the day on April 21, after the Vatican announced that morning that the pope had died on Easter Monday, aged 88, of a stroke and irreversible heart failure. According to a statement from Hungarian public broadcasting media organization MTVA (Médiaszolgáltatás-támogató és Vagyonkezelő Alap), Duna and Duna World aired special programs reflecting on the Pope’s encounters with Hungarians, including a studio discussion and a documentary, followed by the biographical film “Francis, the People’s Pope,” on Duna. Duna World also showed a documentary highlighting the key messages of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress, held in Budapest from September 5-12, 2021. The M5 channel commemorated the pontiff through its history program and a documentary titled “Our Pope,” followed by a film on Saint Peter’s life. M2 Petőfi TV broadcast Liszt’s Requiem at 8 p.m., performed by the renowned Saint Ephraim Male Choir. Kossuth Rádió featured the Pope’s reflections and a memorial program reviewing significant milestones of his life and papacy. The pope’s funeral on April 26 was covered live on M1, Duna, and Kossuth Rádió.

Zoltán Mága

András Zoltán Gulyás

Chamber of Commerce Corner

This regular section of the Budapest Business Journal features news and events from various international business chambers. For further information and to register for specific events, visit the organizing chamber’s website. If you have information for inclusion on this page, send an email in English to Annamária Bálint at annamaria.balint@bbj.hu

Belgian

Business

Club in Hungary (Belgabiz)

Belgabiz teamed up with Art is Business to celebrate the launch of the latest issue of its magazine, spotlighting Belgium’s vibrant art and business life. The event took place on April 24 at the Apollo Gallery with more than 80 guests. The evening opened with welcome speeches from Belgium’s Ambassador to Hungary Jeroen Vergeylen, and BelgaBiz president Jim Bauters. Guests then enjoyed four presentations, including a special performance by MUS-E Hungary, represented by Andor Tímár, president of the association; Ákos Gubinecz, its managing director; and folk singer Majda Mária Guessous. Following their performance, Ágnes Füleky, head of marketing at the Hungarian Development Promotion Office (MFOI), Koenraad Van de Borne, head of representation for Central Europe, and Nóra Horváth Magyary Voljc, communications director at K&H Bank, shared their insights.

Hungarian-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFH)

Join us for a conference and roundtable discussions on corporate energy management, focusing on renewable energies and opportunities offered by energy communities and the energy trade. The keynote speaker will be Deputy State Secretary for Energy Policy Márk Dezső Alföldy-Boruss. Roundtable moderators will be Tamás Zarándy, vice president of the Association of Hungarian Energy Communities and Flexibility Service Providers, and Tamás Hiezl, vice president of the Hungarian Energy Traders Association.

• When: Tuesday, May 27, 9 a.m.-2:30 a.m. • Where: Tribe Budapest Stadium Hotel, Könyves Kálmán körút 34, Budapest 1097. • Fee: Includes breakfast and lunch: members HUF 33,000 + VAT; non-members HUF 49,000 + VAT.

British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (BCCH)

The BCCH is excited to announce that this year’s annual meeting will be hosted by one of its trusted long-term members, Kozmo Luxury Hotel Budapest. The meeting will consist of the election and a reception. After the formal half, the customary networking, including cocktail canapés and drinks, continues on the main terrace. All BCCH members are requested to have a representative on the spot, especially as this is an election year. Participation at the official part of the AGM is for members only. The dress code is smart evening wear/cocktail dress.

• When: Tuesday, May 20, 4-8 p.m. • Where: Kozmo Luxury Hotel, Horváth Mihály tér 17, Budapest 1082 • Fee: The event is free of charge for BCCH Members; non-member attendees of the reception, HUF 25,000 + VAT

Swiss-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (Swisscham)

On April 25, Swiss and Hungarian experts gathered at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) to exchange views on innovative approaches in the field of energy communities. After inspiring presentations by Frédéric James Gentizon and József Hárs from the city of Boly, representatives of Swiss and Hungarian stakeholders discussed the potential of energy communities as innovative solutions for the energy supply of the future. Swisscham thanks the Embassy of Switzerland, BME, and the Hungarian Geothermal Association for the excellent collaboration and a successful event.

American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (AmCham)

As AI-driven innovations increasingly shape how governments and global powers make strategic decisions, businesses must navigate a landscape where technology, politics, and economic interests are more interconnected than ever. To explore these challenges and opportunities, AmCham invites guests to its event, “Digital Impact Day: How to Stay Ahead in the Digital Race.” Through expert insights, real-world case studies, and strategic discussions, business leaders will gain practical guidance on adapting to these shifts, from supplier choices and technology adoption to risk management and future-proofing their operations.

The morning program will feature a keynote speech exploring how the new world disorder is reshaping the digitization megatrend and the other way around. Additionally, a panel discussion will focus on the impact of AI and global trends on the future of business, as well as Hungary’s AI strategy and competitiveness outlook, followed by a case study on drone detection.

After the morning session, participants can join breakout discussions on digital health, the future of work, and cybersecurity and data privacy.

• When: Wednesday, May 28, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

• Where: Telekom Campus, Könyves Kálmán körút 36, Budapest 1097 • Fee: Members HUF 39,990 excluding VAT / person; nonmembers: HUF 49,990 excluding VAT / person.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (CCCH)

The CCCH invites corporate teams and their families to a dynamic team-building and sports day event, combining the excitement of dragon boating with the spirit of a family picnic and the promise of good vibes, great weather, and lasting memories. Participants can look forward to an engaging program with beach games, followed by dragon boat training and a lively competition. The evening will conclude with a relaxed picnic and networking session. Guests will be treated to complimentary Italian ice cream from Gelato and refreshing non-alcoholic cocktails and premium syrups from Spájz. Each participant will also receive a picnic basket featuring a variety of spreads (eggplant dip, mascarpone and sheep’s cheese, fatty-liver spread), a BBQ burger (or vegetarian option), coleslaw, roasted potatoes, a brownie, and lemonade served in a glass bottle. Face painting and activities hosted by animators will ensure that even the youngest guests have an unforgettable experience. • When: Friday, June 13, from 4-9 p.m. • Where: Kopaszi-gát, Budapest 1117  • Further information: www.ccch.hu

German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DUIHK)

The economic conditions for companies are more confusing than they have been for a long time in Hungary, Germany and around the world. This makes the results of the 31st economic climate survey by the DUIHK, which will be presented on May 7 by András Sávos, chamber president, and Dirk Wölfer, head of communications, all the more exciting. The largescale survey examines the current economic situation and companies’ business expectations, as well as the situation in the labor market, the assessment of the quality of the business location, business risks, and global challenges. Parallel surveys were conducted in 15 other Central and Eastern European countries, with more than 1,400 participants, including almost 240 in Hungary. The economic report, therefore, also allows exclusive comparisons with the mood among companies in other countries in the region.

Italian Chamber of Commerce for Hungary (CCIU)

On June 25, the Italian Institute of Culture in Budapest will host the conference “The Mediterranean Diet: The Diet of WellBeing.” Organized by Bruno Corrias and promoted by the CCIU, the event will celebrate the Mediterranean diet’s role, recognized worldwide, in promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. This conference offers a unique opportunity to explore the benefits of this diet, compare Italian and Hungarian natural products, and discuss innovations in the food industry. The event will feature speakers, including the Italian Ambassador to Hungary Manuel Jacoangeli, who will deliver the welcome address. Following him, representatives from both the Italian and Hungarian Ministries of Agriculture will share their insights, followed by the president of the Hungarian Union of Agricultural Chambers and numerous entrepreneurs from the ItalianHungarian sector. The event will also include presentations from university experts, providing further knowledge on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Attendees will be able to engage in expert talks to raise awareness about the importance of natural, wholesome foods in combating lifestyle diseases like obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. The goal is to foster connections between Hungarian buyers and Italian suppliers. Additionally, there will be a tasting session featuring Italian delicacies, offering a chance to savor the authentic flavors of Italy. The event will be enriched with live Italian opera performances by tenor Giuseppe Gambi and soprano Laura Migliaccio. • When: Wednesday, June 25. • Where: Italian Institute of Culture, Brody Sandor utca 8, Budapest 1088. • Fee: Members HUF 10,000 + VAT; non-members HUF 12,000 + VAT.