Hungarian CEOs: The Energy Crisis is the top Threat to Economic Growth

By BBJ Staff

Some 85% of Hungarian business leaders predict the local economy will decline in 2023, while 76% think there will be a global slowdown.

According to PwC’s 12th annual Hungarian CEO Survey, officially launched on February 8, Magyar CEOs rank the energy crisis as the top threat to economic growth, followed by inflation and macroeconomic volatility.

Bosses’ predictions for 2023 include annual inflation at 15% and an exchange rate of 421 forints to the euro. Despite the headwinds, however, Hungarian CEOs are not planning to lay off staff or cut pay; instead, they see cutting operating costs and raising prices as possible solutions.

The PwC Hungary survey was conducted with the participation of 267 local CEOs between October and December 2022 in parallel with the international study. The expectations for a decline in the rate of global (76%) and Hungarian (85%) economic growth in 2023 is the gloomiest yet seen in the survey’s 12-year history.

PwC says the predictions of economic decline are not surprising