HIPA Hopes for Best Year Yet in 2023, Beating Record-breaking 2022

István Joó, CEO of the award-winning Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency sat down with the Budapest Business Journal to discuss the details of another record-breaking year in 2022, the critical industries and countries for FDI, the strength of Hungarian investments, and the prospects for 2023, which he believes could see the bar raised yet again.

By BBJ Staff

BBJ: In most years, HIPA either breaks its record for investments in terms of value or is very close to it. What was the story in 2022?

István Joó: It was a successful year for HIPA because we reached new records in 2022. The investment volume amounted to EUR 6.5 billion, a new all-time high in the history of Hungarian investment promotion. And with those investments, the companies committed themselves to creating 15,000 new jobs on top of retaining 42,000. As a reminder, in 2021, the investment value was EUR 5.3 bln. So we are talking about a year-on-year increase of some 23%. We were able to close 92 deals in 2022.

BBJ: Are those 92 projects both investment and reinvestment?

IJ: It was both, and HIPA contributed mainly with non-refundable cash. We have a wide range of services we can offer to companies; identifying the necessary land, potential sites for the investment, and handling all kinds of company issues: HR-related, taxation, cooperation with universities and higher education. We have a bunch of services that we can offer to companies.

BBJ: Which countries were the leading foreign investors?

IJ: First of all, I’d like to mention the success of the “Opening to the East” strategy of the government, which was launched back in 2012. In 2022, 48% of our investments came

Our largest investor, based on volume, was South Korea. Germany was the second, and Hungary third. And this was followed by Switzerland, France and Japan. I’d also like to mention China here because it is a vital partner for Hungary. Last year, we announced the most significant greenfield investment in Hungary’s economic history, CATL’s more than EUR 7.3 bln investment in Debrecen. But, since physical works are just about to start in the first or second quarter, this number will be reflected in the 2023 data.