Budapest Business Journal 3020

VOL. 30. NUMBER 20

NOVEMBER 7 – NOVEMBER 17, 2022

HUF 1,850 | EUR 5 | USD 6 | GBP 4

HUNGARY’S PRACTICAL BUSINESS BI-WEEKLY SINCE 1992 | WWW.BBJ.HU

SPECIAL REPORT INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Telecoms Consolidating Telcos Battle Challenges as Data Thirst Grows The Hungarian telecommunications market is shaped by a handful of drivers mainly fuelled by technological advancement, changing customer behavior, and global economic challenges. The BBJ investigates the most prominent factors shaping the industry.  15

A1 Telekom, Invitech Connect Capitals Hungary’s Invitech, now owned by 4iG, and the A1 Telekom Austria Group say they have created a faster, safer, and higher capacity fiber optic connection with built-in redundancy between Vienna and Budapest.  16

Developing Industry 4.0 Apps for SMEs

SOCIALITE

The HungarianJapanese Pop Star Miki Berenyi David Holzer is a sucker for books by rock and rollers and has loves reading about people with a Hungarian background. “Fingers Crossed,” a memoir

by Miki Berenyi, lead singer of Lush, ticks both boxes. 21

NEWS

Is the Inflation Rate Nearing a Turning Point?

The MNB left the base interest rate unchanged at its latest rate-setting meeting, noting that inflation is getting closer to a turning point.

Analysts say it cotinues to pursue a strict monetary policy.  3

SPECIAL REPORT

László Vidra, MD at Delta Group, explains why it has delivered free-to-study Industry 4.0 apps for five manufacturing companies under a governmental tech development program. 18 BUSINESS

Hungary Aims to Maintain Growth Despite the Crisis The government’s priority is to maintain economic growth in Hungary despite the effects of war and sanctions, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga told the Business Meets Government conference organized by AmCham and HIPA in Budapest on October 24.  8

2|1

News

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

IMPRESSUM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Robin Marshall EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS: Balázs Barabás, Zsófia

Czifra, Kester Eddy, Bence Gaál, David Holzer, Christian Keszthelyi, Renáta Kónya, Gary J. Morrell, Nicholas Pongratz, Gergely Sebestyén, Robert Smyth.

LISTS: BBJ Research (research@bbj.hu)

THE EDITOR SAYS

30 YEARS OF BUSINESS NEWS THAT WORKS Much to my surprise, our youngest child and only son turned 10 towards the end of October. I have long thought that once you get beyond your first child (we have three), they collectively act as time thieves, stealthily creeping up on you in years without your noticing. Our eldest is in university, and the middle child will become a teenager next year, for crying out loud.

Imagine, then, how the founders of this publication must feel. On November 9, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first issue of the Budapest Business Journal hitting the streets. Thirty years is the sort of period that can sound, in almost equal measure, like it is something special or nothing much at all. Let me assure you that, from the point of view of those on the inside, it’s a lot! To give you some context, the BBJ is the oldest English-language publication in continuous publication (not counting our annual holiday in August) in the country.

The Journal was not the first English-language newspaper.

That accolade went to the now-defunct Budapest Week, which first appeared in March 1991, according to its Wikipedia page. It ceased printing around the year 2000 and kept going online for a while, though there no longer appears to be a functioning website. The world of second-language publications tends to be somewhat incestuous, though. Much like the circus community, we all know at least some of the main characters around, and I am delighted to report that a couple of the founders have launched a project with the Donald and Vera Blinken Open Society Archives to digitize the first four years of the Week.

Nor was that the only competitor. For 10 years, I worked for another, The Budapest Sun, established in the same year as the BBJ, and the last issue of which was printed in January

NEWS AND PRESS RELEASES:

Should be submitted in English to news@bbj.hu LAYOUT: Zsolt Pataki PUBLISHER: Business Publishing Services Kft. CEO: Tamás Botka ADVERTISING: AMS Services Kft. CEO: Balázs Román SALES: sales@bbj.hu

CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTIONS: circulation@bbj.hu

Address: Madách Trade Center 1075 Budapest, Madách Imre út 13-14, Building B, 7th floor. Telephone +36 (1) 398-0344, Fax +36 (1) 398-0345, www.bbj.hu

What We Stand For: The Budapest Business Journal aspires to be the most trusted newspaper in Hungary. We believe that managers should work on behalf of their shareholders. We believe that among the most important contributions a government can make to society is improving the business and investment climate so that its citizens may realize their full potential.

The Budapest Business Journal, HU ISSN 1216-7304, is published bi-weekly on Friday, registration No. 0109069462. It is distributed by HungaroPress.

Reproduction or use without permission of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. ©2017 BUSINESS MEDIA SERVICES LLC with all rights reserved.

BBJ-PARTNERS

VISIT US ONLINE: WWW.BBJ.HU

2009, a few months after I left. Other titles came and went.

Budapest Times appeared in 2003 as a weekly. According to its website, it has been monthly since 2017, though I can’t tell you the last time I saw a copy. Another publication called Seven appeared just once before it vanished under the weight of expectation and hope meeting reality.

A newspaper does not stay in print through luck alone, and certainly not for 30 years. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it is bloody hard work. It requires determination, hard work, investment of time and money, and a clear idea of who your market is and how you aim to serve it. Our mission statement, to the left of this editorial, if you are reading the print version, makes the bold claim that we aspire to be the most trusted newspaper in Hungary. It is the latest iteration of the promise made back in 1992 that we would be a source of “Business news that works.”

The current Hungarian owners and management have been in place for the best part of a decade. Several members of today’s staff started their careers at the BBJ, went off to other pastures, and returned. I have been the editor since 2016 and involved in one way or another since 2010: we have our fingerprints on the Journal’s continued development. But I’ll leave the final words to a man whose name is widely associated with the first decade of the BBJ, publisher Stephen O’Connor. It will surprise none who know him to hear he is “rolling the dice on another startup” in the United States. A few days ago, he sent the following message: “Thanks to the team for keeping our baby alive and kicking and even in print!”

Robin Marshall Editor-in-chief

Why Support the BBJ?

• Value Creation. We have a nearly 30-year history of supporting the development of diversity and sustainability in Hungary’s economy. The fact that we have been a trusted business voice for so long, indeed we were the first English-language publication when we launched back on November 9, 1992, itself has value.

• Crisis Management. We have all lived through a once-in-a-century pandemic. But we also face an existential threat through climate change and operate in a period where disruptive technologies offer threats and opportunities.

Now, more than ever, factual business reporting is vital to good decision-making.

Photo by MTI / Tamás Kovács

• Community Building. Whether it is the Budapest Business Journal itself, the Expat CEO award, the Expat CEO gala, the Top Expat CEOs in Hungary publication, or the new Expat CEO Boardroom meeting, we are serious about doing our part to bind this community together.

Photo by Fortepan / Budapest City Archives / György Klösz

• Independence. The BBJ’s journalism is dedicated to reporting fact, not politics, and isn’t reliant on advertising from the government of the day, whoever that might be.

THEN & NOW In the color photograph from state news agency MTI, light reflections cast an orange veil onto the statue of Claudio Monteverdi, the Italian baroque music composer, atop the Hungarian State Opera House on Andrássy utca with St. Stephen’s Basilica as the backdrop. The black-and-white image from the Fortepan public archive shows the same opera house taken around 1898.

For more information visit budapestbusinessjournal.com

1

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

News

• macroscope

Is Hungary’s Inflation Rate Nearing a Turning Point?

As expected, the central bank left the base interest rate unchanged at its latest rate-setting meeting, noting that inflation is getting closer to a turning point.

Analysts agree that the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) is pursuing a strict monetary policy, even with an unchanged base rate.

Household Savings in Hungary, 2005-2022 (Q2) Net financial assets of households in Hungary, HUF billion

ZSÓFIA CZIFRA

Fresh data suggests inflation might be getting closer to a turning point, according to MNB bank deputy governor Barnabás Virág. Hungary’s central bank is ready to use all the tools at its disposal to restore price stability, Virág said in a recent interview on vg.hu, the news portal of leading business publication Világgazdaság [Global Economy].

“The central bank will use all tools to reach price stability and preserve financial stability at all costs,” Virág was quoted as saying in the interview.

A turnaround in the basic inflation processes is already being outlined, but in October, variable food prices may still increase inflation, Virág had said in an online background discussion on

October

25,

right after the latest rate-setting meeting of the Monetary Council of MNB. At that meeting, the 13% base rate was left unchanged, as was the interest rate corridor, and Virág also mentioned that the balance of the current account is improving faster than expected.

The deputy governor said that domestic demand has slowed and global raw material prices have fallen, which predicts a slowdown in inflation. September may have been the lowest point in the current account balance data, improving the balance faster than expected. Energy prices on the world market have fallen, and the cost of natural gas has halved; the net energy bill of the Hungarian economy could therefore be around EUR 1 billion, he explained.

Source:

Prolonged High Interest

When asked about the reduction of the base interest rate, he said a time when that might come is not visible at present; a prolonged high-interest rate environment is needed to reverse inflation. In the approximately one and a half years horizon of monetary policy, inflation “must be on a decreasing path,” he noted.

Analysts do not expect further tightening in policy. According to them, the Monetary Council’s decision was in line with expectations in that it did not change either the

13% base

interest rate or the interest rate corridor.

Gábor Regős, head of the Makronóm Institute, said that although the monetary policy of the upcoming period will be strict, it is not expected to tighten further, and it will only be modified in accordance with the reduction of liquidity. To suppress inflation, which is well above target, and to prevent the further weakening of the forint, the central bank is pursuing a strict monetary policy, even with an unchanged base interest rate.

According to Regős, the MNB seems to be optimistic about inflation, and in its analysis, it already expects the consumer price index to soften next year. He believes that falling but still

high energy and raw material prices and decreasing demand can lead to a slowdown in inflation.

Strengthening Forint?

The central bank also found that the current account balance is now improving due to lower energy prices, he recalled. This can help the forint to strengthen and thus also curb inflation, Regős noted. If market processes do not develop in accordance with the central bank’s expectations, additional steps may be necessary to achieve the inflation target, the expert warned.

According to Zoltán Varga, senior analyst at Equilor Zrt., the Monetary Council acted as expected when it did not change the interest rate conditions.

The basic interest rate will remain, while the extraordinary measures are temporary. He explained that the rate of price increase might remain high in the coming months, and the base effect can only curb inflation to a minimal extent. According to Equilor’s expectations, annual average inflation may be between 13.5

and

14%.

Gergely Suppan, the head analyst of Magyar Bankholding, also emphasized that the strict monetary conditions will be long-lasting, which ensures the anchoring of inflation expectations and

the achievement of the inflation target in a sustainable manner. He noted that the tightening of conditions has continued with the narrowing of liquidity.

The analyst expects that in the first third of 2023, the overnight deposit instrument’s interest rate may drop to the level of the base interest rate and then might be phased out. Due to the increasingly strong base effects, inflation may turn from the beginning of next year, he said, to which the recent sharp drop in energy prices may even pose a downside risk.

Suppan expects the base rate to be reduced from the middle of next year, and possibly by an even greater extent in the last quarter of 2023 as the rate of inflation decreases, so that the base rate may drop to 9% by the end of 2023.

Numbers to Watch in the Coming Weeks The Central Statistical Office (KSH) will release data on the September retail trade and also on Hungary’s industrial output on November 8. A day later, the October consumer price index will be out. The flash estimate of third-quarter GDP data will be published on November 15.

4|1

News

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Ukraine

Hungary Wins gas Price cap Exemption Crisis Roundup The European Commission’s latest proposal to fight high energy prices and ensure security of supply announced on October 18 will not affect Hungary’s long-term gas delivery contracts with Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on his Facebook page on October 21. The PM said he had secured this exemption during a summit in Brussels taking place that week.

NICHOLAS PONGRATZ

Describing the “gas price cap” as the “greatest threat” to Hungary, Orbán had warned that the proposal by the EC would have compromised the delivery of gas to Hungary “within days.” Instead, “We agreed that if there is a gas price cap in Europe, it will not affect those long-term contracts without which Hungary’s gas supply would be made impossible from one day to the next,” he said. “We have successfully averted this danger.”

The EC’s October 18 proposal contained three main points. It first proposed aggregating EU demand for gas through joint purchasing to establish better negotiating leverage and ensure supply across the EU. Second, it sought to create a new pricing benchmark for liquified natural gas (LNG) by early next year but hoped

to create a “price correction mechanism” in the short term, what Hungary has referred to as a “gas price cap.” Finally, the proposal outlined the creation of solidarity rules between EU member states, obligating them to ensure supply to others in the case of an emergency.

At a meeting of EU energy ministers in Luxembourg on October 25, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that Hungary would only support a joint European Union gas procurement platform if it could participate voluntarily. He described a proposal requiring member states to notify Brussels of gas procurements over 472 million cubic meters as “nonsense” and “unacceptable.”

Regarding the solidarity mechanism, he said that giving gas bought with Hungarian taxpayers’ money, stored in facilities in Hungary, to other member states was “unthinkable.”

In this photo published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (KKM), Minister Péter Szijjártó speaks at the opening debate of the UN Security Council in New York on October 28, 2022. He told the meeting there must be talks on peace in Ukraine.

“If there are no negotiations, then there will be no peace; if there are negotiations, then there is hope for peace,” he stated. Photo by MTI / KKM

Pipeline Security

Earlier on October 19, Szijjártó related how Hungary’s gas supply through the TurkStream pipeline, through which it receives most of its gas from Russia, had been secured “for the long term.”

This was due to Dutch authorities reissuing an export permit for a company in the Netherlands that performs maintenance work on the pipeline.

Szijjártó added that Hungary’s gas reserves currently cover just over half its annual consumption, well above the average rate of 27.5% for the EU as a whole.

Yet, Hungary intends to significantly reduce its gas consumption over the next 30 years, from 11.5 billion cubic meters annually to roughly 3-4 bcm, Minister of Technology and Industry László Palkovics.

Speaking in Brussels on October 24, he said the country’s dependence on gas procured abroad could be significantly reduced by 2050 with the help of domestically produced sustainable energy. According to the minister, most of the district heating systems, 70% of which currently operate with gas, could transition completely to geothermal power by that time.

That will surely please the majority of Hungarians. According to an annual European Investment Bank (EIB) survey, roughly 77% of Hungarians believe the war in Ukraine and its subsequent consequences on oil and gas prices should accelerate the transition to sustainable energy sources. The figure averages 65% across the EU. Some 71% of Hungarians believe that highly polluting goods and services such as air travel and SUVs should be taxed more heavily, and 65% said energy prices should be tied to consumption, with those consuming the most being charged more.

PRESENTED CONTENT

2023 tax Changes: Fall Package Submitted Though it modifies several tax provisions, the fall package does not bring fundamental changes. If adopted, the simplified tax administration for small entrepreneurs, stricter transfer tax rules for related party real estate transactions, and a reporting obligation for large companies regarding corporate income tax information are expected to be introduced next year.

The reintroduction of the advertising tax, however, would be postponed.

MÓNIKA JÓZSA

These are some of the most significant changes in the draft bill submitted to Parliament on October 18.

Corporate income taxation By amending the Accounting Act, Hungary would implement the provisions of an EU directive obliging certain businesses to prepare and disclose

a report containing corporate tax information. This should be published and deposited simultaneously with the annual (consolidated) statement and displayed on the company’s website. An auditor would be required to declare the fulfillment of the disclosure obligation.

Corporate income tax law amendments would clarify the provisions concerning the termination of corporate tax groups, define new utilization rules for accrued but not used tax losses incurred in 2014 or before, and provide additional benefits for trusts and asset management foundations. Tax allowance rules related to installing electric charging stations would also change.

For smaller enterprises, each municipality’s local business tax base would be determined as a fixed amount, differentiated into bands, depending on income. Concerning transfer pricing (TP) adjustments, a new rule would make it possible for the party that did not account for the consideration of a related party transaction as an item belonging to the local business tax base and thus did not have to increase its tax base with it when making TP adjustments (e.g., as a service purchased), to still issue a TP declaration necessary to reduce its partner’s tax base.

PIT

From 2023, flat rate taxation of entrepreneurs could be chosen regardless of the amount of revenue

earned in the tax year preceding the year in question. In addition, if the right to flat-rate taxation ceases, the period after which the regime can be chosen again would be reduced from four years to 12 months. Flat rate taxpayers’ obligations to report monthly social security contributions would be replaced by a duty to report quarterly.

VAT

New real estate would not only be created by it first being put into use but also when the function and purpose of the property changes. This means that the sale of real estate would be subject to VAT when its function and purpose changes, if two years have not yet passed since the issuance of the official certificate confirming this.

Application of the preferential 5% VAT rate for the sale of new residential property will be extended until December 31, 2024 (if certain conditions are met, until December 31, 2028).

Construction and installation services would be subject to reverse taxation not only if a construction permit or a simple notification of the construction authority is required for the work but also if the project is subject to other official permits or notifications.

As a further step in whitening the economy and also taking into consideration aspects of environmental awareness, the proposal would prepare

the introduction of e-receipts by extending the obligation to report receipt data to cases where the receipt is issued (even electronically) by using a technical solution approved by the relevant authority other than a cash register.

Ad tax, Transfer Tax

The bill would extend the deadline for applying the 0% advertising tax rate until December 31, 2023.

Practically no advertising tax will have to be paid until this date.

Stricter requirements would be imposed for the tax-free real estate transfer between affiliated companies. Such transfers would only be tax-free if at least 50% of the net sales revenue of the previous tax year of the acquirer came from the leasing or operation of its own or leased real estate or from the sale of its real estate. The acquirer should declare this before the transfer tax payment order becomes final. Non-fulfillment of the conditions should be reported to the tax authority; in such cases, 150% of unpaid transfer tax would be levied.

If the acquirer does not comply with the reporting obligation, the tax authority will impose double the unpaid tax.

1

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

News | 5

Positive Budapest Office Figures Recorded Total supply in the Budapest office market has reached 4.7 million sqm as of the third quarter of the year, according to the Budapest Research Forum.

The overall vacancy rate for Budapest has increased and now stands at 11%.

However, this goes from a low of 4.6% in North Buda to a high of 36% in the periphery, according to the analysis.

GARY J. MORRELL

From the total stock, 3.4 million sqm consists of speculative class “A” and “B” offices, with the remaining 723,000 sqm constituting owner-occupied space, says the BRF, which consists of CBRE, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, Eston International, JLL, and Robertson Hungary.

Four projects were delivered in Q3, representing 82,000 sqm of space. TriGranit has completed the 21,000 sqm first phase of Millennium Gardens in District XI. The complex is more than 90%, let according to the developer.

Futureal has delivered the 38,000 sqm first and second phases of Budapest

Budapest One by Futureal, the first and second phases of which have been delivered.

One, also in District XI. A further 3,700 sqm has been handed over at Major Udvar in District XII, while Bosch has completed the 17,000 sqm phase two of its owner-occupied offices in Non-Central Pest.

“In the third quarter, the volume of new supply increased significantly compared to the previous quarter; we registered the highest volume since the second quarter of 2020,” the BRF says of the figures.

In Prague, a similar-sized city and office market to Budapest, the total modern office stock reached 3.8 million sqm at the end of Q3 2022 with an

8%

vacancy rate,

according to the Prague Research Forum (CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, and Knight Frank, supported by associated member Savills).

Although no new projects were delivered in the quarter, around 190,000 sqm of office space was under

construction in the Czech capital at the end of the third quarter, with completion scheduled between this year and 2024.

In the most significant speculative transaction in the third quarter, Atenor has concluded a 16,000 sqm prelease with E.On for the first phase of BakerStreet, due to be completed in the first quarter

of

2024.

Budapest Office Demand Up Total Budapest office demand reached 101,000 sqm in the third quarter, representing a 24% year-on-year increase. Lease renewals represented 33% of the total leasing activity, new leases in existing stock 23%, and preleases in new developments 22%.

Year-to-date take-up levels for Budapest have reached 290,000 sqm, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Further, 52% of the current fourth-quarter pipeline is pre-let.

“This indicates a healthy recovery compared to recent effects of the pandemic,” comments Orsolya Hegedűs, head of advisory and research at Cushman & Wakefield Hungary.

According to Máté Galambos, director of leasing at the developer, the transaction took a year to negotiate.

Cushman & Wakefield has traced a 108,000 sqm pipeline due to be delivered by the year-end; if that is achieved, new supply for the year could reach 300,000 sqm. In the final quarter, Skanska will deliver the first speculative 26,000 sqm phase of its 67,000 sqm H2O complex in the Váci Corridor. BudaPart Downtown will hand over 8,000 sqm of speculative office in addition to hotel space, and F99 is due to deliver a further 14,000 sqm of speculative space. MOL is expected to complete its MOL Campus development at BudaPart, giving Budapest its first proper office skyscraper.

ADVERTISEMENT

YOUR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE EXPERT Franchisee: T-SOLUZIONI ZRT. H-1054 Budapest, Szabadság tér 7.

+36-30-591-7998

EACH AGENCY INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED.

6|1

News

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Hungarian Employment Concerns Grow as Winter Approaches With less than two months before the end of 2022, the expectations of both employers and employees reach rarely-seen depths.

Will Hungary receive the suspended European funds?

Will a recession hit the economy?

Will the conflict in Ukraine worsen the economic outlook?

So many significant uncertainties with no answers in sight.

BALÁZS BARABÁS

Both business and consumer expectations in Hungary have continued to plummet, for six months in a row, according to figures released at the end of October by the economic research institute GKI. While in previous months, the plunge was driven primarily by the consumer index, in October, it was burdened mainly by the business sector.

Now, even in industry, more companies are counting on worsening rather than improving conditions. This is true for construction, commerce and services. In October, companies were more reluctant to hire personnel, and for the first time in

18

months,

employers are planning to lay off rather than hire.

The exception is industry, where the number of companies planning to expand their labor force grew

Moderate Hiring Expected in the Final Quarter of 2022 With stable outlooks across the regions, employers in the Asia-Pacific (+40%) reported the strongest need to hire, followed by South and Central America (+39%), North America (+32%), and EMEA (+21%).

Source: ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, Q4 2022.

slightly. However, the population is increasingly fearful of unemployment.

Meanwhile, consumers expect more inflation. Overall, the consumer expectation for improvement was at its lowest point in October since the same month in 2012. The population views its financial situation in increasingly negative terms, and the chances to save money are seen weaker every month.

Another piece of GKI research indicated that the solvency of Hungarians had reached an all-time low. Solvency, an indicator calculated from prices, salaries, and consumer debts, reached a decadelow figure in Q3 2022 of 12.6 points, a 64% drop compared to the previous quarter.

Domestic Concerns

More and more families are feeling the impact of high energy prices and inflation and have started to save what money they can. This indicates the possibility of lower domestic consumption and increases the potential for a recession next year. By way of comparison, during the most severe COVID lockdown, the solvency index dropped no lower than 18.9 points.

Other studies confirm these findings are seeping through to the employment market. A survey conducted in September by staffing company Trenkwalder revealed that almost half (49%) of employees working

Government Subsidies for Employment Hungarian companies have submitted applications for subsidies to support the placement of 10,410 jobseekers.

More than 8,300 jobseekers have already been subsidized within the program launched in mid-August by the Ministry of Technology and Industry. The grants target Hungarians under 25, careerstarters between the ages of

HR Matters

A monthly look at health issues in Hungary and the region

25 and 30, people over 50, those without secondary school education, people who have been looking for work for more than six months, people who have left fostered (public) work schemes in the past three months, people living with disabilities, parents raising small children, caregivers and residents of designated small settlements.

in the private sector are unhappy with their salaries, and more than half (52%) are planning to quit their current jobs in search of better-paid opportunities.

As for those willing to stay, 28% would be satisfied with a 20% raise (the figure in September was 20.1%), while

34% say

they require a raise between 20-30%.

The dissatisfaction with the current level of wages exists even if 44% of those complaining had already benefitted this year from a salary raise.

Almost two-thirds of the 500 employees questioned by Trenkwalder said that they expect a worsening of their financial security in the coming months.

Unsurprisingly, 67% of the employees consider the stability of their jobs more important than salary raises proportionate with the inflation. Also, a majority of 61% said that temporarily they would accept part of their salary raise in some other form of payment, such as more home office hours, qualification courses, or travel allowances.

Layoff Trend

Indeed, it seems this unease is backed by a significant shift sweeping through the labor market in Hungary. According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released in September,

Companies that hire people in a single target group are eligible for subsidies covering up to half of the cost of wages and payroll contributions. The subsidy threshold for new hires in two or more of the target groups is 75%. The subsidies are capped at a monthly HUF 150,000 per fulltimer for six months. Employers in Budapest and surrounding Pest County are not eligible.

more than a quarter of Hungarian companies are eyeing layoffs in Q4.

For the first time since the pandemic, more companies in Hungary are planning layoffs than hirings, most of them in Budapest. Only 20% of the surveyed companies are considering expanding their staff. It seems that employees must expect more challenging times ahead.

But there is some good news, too: there are significant differences between sectors. Manufacturing will still need additional labor, while banking, credit institutions, insurance, and real estate will remain unchanged.

However, the IT, technology, telecoms, and media sectors will probably cut significant labor force. The same is true for the hospitality, restaurant, and catering sectors: More than one-third,

some

39%,

of hotels and restaurants are planning layoffs, the survey says.

Geographically, most layoffs can be expected in Budapest. Still, things also vary depending on the size of the company: Large firms are expected to massively reduce personnel, while microcompanies, with less than 10 employees, might actually expand their staff.

As for how much employees earn, the Central Statistical Office recently released the figures for August. Back then, the average salary of full-time employees was HUF 497,200 gross per month (HUF 342,900 net). This represents a 17% increase compared to the same period last year.

However, both August 2022 and the same month in 2021 were lower than the figures for July 2022, but not significantly: the gross salary was HUF 500,000, and the net was HUF 344,700.

The sectors where wages were above average were IT and communication, energy, technology, mining, public administration and manufacturing.

Below the average ranked education, commerce, transport and logistics.

1

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

WHO’S NEWS

Do you know someone on the move? Send information to news@bbj.hu

MOL COO Appointed INA Chairman Péter Ratatics, the COO of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL’s domestic business, has been appointed chairman of Croatian energy company INA, which MOL manages, according to novekedes.hu.

Ratatics replaces Sándor Fasimon, who resigned earlier in September amid revelations of fraudulent gas trade deals under his watch.

Fasimon tendered his resignation “despite no involvement in any of the wrongful practices that surfaced around INA,” the Croatian subsidiary said earlier. MOL’s other two delegates to INA’s board also resigned.

Late in August, Croatian authorities took five people into custody, including the head of INA’s gas trade business, Damir Skugor, suspected of defrauding INA of more than HRK 1 billion through gas deals on international markets.

Croatia’s government called for the dismissal of INA’s entire board over the case of fraud.

Communications Head at Property Market Balázs Both took over as head of communications at one of Hungary’s largest property development companies, Property Market, earlier this year. The specialist is responsible for the entire marketing communications of Property Market and its real estate development projects, and the branding and sales support communications of individual developments.

In addition to his managerial experience gained in the public transport service sector at BKK and later at MÁV-Start, Both also has experience as an advertising agency account director: he has

in my most recent role as the CEO of HIPA. My goal remains unchanged: to help companies execute their growth strategies, to find an ideal location for planned investment projects, as well as to contribute to the creation of new jobs and opportunities with high added value for the future.”

Balázs Both been involved in online and offline marketing communication campaigns for national and international brands, from the pharmaceutical industry to the construction, automotive, aviation, tourism and retail sectors.

“Property Market’s dynamically expanding development portfolio also entails a restructuring of its management. The appointment of Balázs is a response to the increased challenges; thanks to our new team member, we can coordinate the communication and branding of our projects more easily,” said Mihály Schrancz, managing director of Property Market.

Róbert Ésik Joins EY as Partner

Péter Ratatics

He graduated as an economist at the Corvinus University of Budapest and earned a master’s degree at the Université Panthéon Assas in Paris.

“Róbert Ésik is one of the key Hungarian figures in the area of strengthening external economic relations and driving investments.

I am pleased that EY’s clients will be supported by his expansive professional experience from now on,” said Botond Rencz, country managing partner of EY Hungary.

“Róbert’s prior experiences make him the most appropriate person to provide effective support to companies making their investment decisions, also relating to crosscountry projects. His arrival will further strengthen EY Hungary’s role and significance in the global economy,” he added.

News | 7

Ali Can Demirok

Matild Palace Names Executive Assistant Manager

Róbert Ésik

Róbert Ésik, the former CEO of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Speaking of his appointment, Agency, joined EY Hungary on Ésik said, “At EY, I will have the September 1. Ésik’s task is to support opportunity to utilize the broad companies in finding the ideal experience I have managed to gain investment location for planned during my time in industry and investments in Europe, the Middle East, ADVERTISEMENT India, and Africa as a partner in EY’s global location services and incentives line of business, responsible for the EMEIA region.

He had led HIPA from 2014 until earlier this year. During this period, he and his team managed about 1,900 investment projects worth EUR 31.3 billion, resulting in more than 120,000 new workplaces.

During this time, HIPA received various international recognition, and significant developments were carried out in the automotive, electronics, food industry, life sciences, business services, and information and communication technology (ICT) sectors.

Before his time at HIPA, he spent more than 15 years in various management positions at large global ICT companies, including Alcatel, Siemens, Nokia, and Amazon Web Services.

Matild Palace has appointed Ali Can Demirok to the role of executive assistant manager in charge of sales and marketing.

Born and educated in Vienna, Demirok served as director of sales and marketing at Park Hyatt Istanbul and director of sales at The RitzCarlton in Vienna and Oman before his appointment in Budapest.

He has extensive knowledge of the tourism and hotel industry and experience in sales and marketing, strategic sales planning, smart market expansion strategy, leadership, and yield management.

2

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Business

Countering war Effects

The government’s priority is to maintain economic growth in Hungary despite the adverse effects of the war and sanctions, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga told the eighth Business Meets Government conference jointly organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary and the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency in Budapest on October 24.

GERGELY HERPAI

In his keynote speech at the conference, subtitled “Steering Through the Crisis,” the finance minister highlighted the government’s measures, including the introduction of a price cap on some staple foodstuffs and fuel, the preservation of the value of pensions, the freezing of interest rates until the end of the year, and the introduction of a HUF 350 billion support program for smalland medium-sized enterprises.

After the Hungarian economy grew by 7.3% in the first half of the year, gross domestic product is expected to expand by

4.5% overall

this year; a slowdown is thought likely in 2023, but positive trends can be expected from the second half of next year, Varga said.

He recalled that the deficit target for 2022 had been lowered from 5.9% to 4.9%

Photos by Lázár Todoroff, Hajnalka Hurta

Gov't tells AmCham Summit Aim is to Maintain Growth Despite the Crisis

In a statement issued to mark the conference, the Ministry of Finance said that the rise in employment from 3.7 million to 4.7 million people over the past decade, record low unemployment, and sound investment were all excellent reasons to counter the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

It pointed out that the government is providing the resources for tax simplification, a factory bail-out program, and targeted support for energy-intensive small firms in a way that preserves fiscal balance. Thanks to these measures, Hungary’s financing is secure despite the deteriorating external environment, with Hungarian papers selling at auctions multiple times oversubscribed, the ministry said.

“Even though we are physically close to the war in Ukraine, in the medium term, the economic outlook is better than in many other EU countries further away.”

The other keynote speaker was Susan Danger, CEO of AmCham EU and chair of the umbrella AmChams in Europe organization. She took as her subject “Why we Need the Transatlantic From left: Márton Dunai (FT), Sapthagiri Chapalapalli (TCS), Relationship in Times of Crisis.”

Liam Benham (IBM), and Susan Danger (AmCham EU). A panel discussion on the European business outlook for this year followed featuring Danger alongside Sapthagiri last year, government investments that the “constructive dialogue,” it has Chapalapalli, head of Tata Consultancy could be postponed were rescheduled, developed an “ambitious recovery plan,” Services Europe, and Liam Benham, vice budgetary authorities were ordered to be which covers demography, the green president of government and regulatory more frugal, and consolidation measures transition, sustainability, infrastructure affairs in Europe for IBM, and moderated and digitalization. The finance minister were announced in the spring to help

by Márton Dunai, the Southeast Europe stressed that some of the plans would balance the budget. He said it was a correspondent at the Financial Times. “huge achievement” that the deficit had be implemented by mid-November hardly increased since May and that as agreed, opening up the possibility for recovery and cohesion funds to be the public finances were in surplus in September. The cabinet hoped to achieve accessed by the country this year.

Varga said that Hungary had emerged the same in October, he added. from crises in recent years stronger in ‘Constructive Dialogue’ economic terms, and he was confident He said that the government was in that this would be the case again. the “final phase” of negotiations with “Even though we are physically close the European Union. As a result of to the war in Ukraine, in the medium term, the economic outlook is better than in many other EU countries further away,” he said, pointing out that the Hungarian economy could achieve one of the highest growth rates in the region this year.

Varga also stressed that the United States is one of the country’s most important commercial partners, with bilateral trade Minister of Finance worth Mihály Varga.

USD 7.1 billion

last year, of which Hungarian exports accounted for USD 4.2 bln. He noted that more than 1,700 U.S. companies are present in the country, 92 of which have entered into strategic partnerships with the government. In the first year of the epidemic, 2020, these companies AmCham President Zoltán Szabó created 2,496 new jobs here and another makes his opening remarks. 1,000 in the following year, he said.

Four 90-minute breakout sessions followed featuring government officials and corporate representatives dealing with: the Business Environment; Healthcare: The Short and Long-term; Labor and Employment; and the balancing act between Energy Security and ESG.

CULTUS IS THE SHOP WHERE CLASSIC ELEGANCE AND CONTEMPORARY LINES GO HAND IN HAND. Luxury shoes and elegant interiors at 3 Párizsi Street.

Great selection and discounts in our shop, with a 10% discount on our full-price shoes.

Website: www.cultus.hu Email: info@cultuscipo.hu Phone: +36 30 989 5557

10 | 2

Business

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Hungary Hoping Battery Business Will Supercharge Green Economy The second Hungarian Battery Day, organized at the Hotel Marriott Budapest by the Hungarian Battery Association and White Paper Consulting, reviewed the opportunities and challenges for the fastdeveloping Hungarian battery industry on October 20. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, who opened the event, was the honorary patron.

GERGELY HERPAI

Hungary’s recent successes in battery production and discussions on the progress and means to make the industry a success took center stage. In terms of battery production capacity, Hungary ranks third in the world and fifth when it comes to exporting the technology.

“Today, Hungary has become a European battery champion,” said European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič. He highlighted that “impressive progress is being made in the battery ecosystem,” particularly in attracting foreign direct investment in this area.

The Hungarian government sees massive potential in the battery industry as the flagship of the transition of the automotive sector.

Its strategic objective is to keep up with new industry trends by becoming an essential player in the battery production value chain, Szijjártó told the audience.

Batteries are in the spotlight, not least because they support the green transition. Developing energy storage solutions can significantly contribute to the sustainable reinvigoration of the transport and energy industry, bringing the world closer to climate objectives.

Kicking off the conference, Péter Kaderják, managing director of the Hungarian Battery Association, said that the battery industry is “not only about markets, it is also about people,” highlighting that “people, not institutions, make great stories.”

However, he also underlined that closer attention needs to be paid to finding short-term energy storage products.

Global Goals

During a separate keynote speech, Tjerk Raske, European head of marketing for technology manufacturer Dräger, highlighted the importance of growing the battery industry by underlining its compatibility and contribution to achieving the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

Representatives from the automotive industry discussed the intertwined link between electromobility and energy storage and the importance of looking at the whole battery value chain.

Martin Schuster, vice president for battery cells and cell modules at BMW, pointed out the crucial role of raw materials, which make up

to

80%

Roundtable discussion on “The Role of of a battery’s car. Balázs Szilágyi, Energy Storage on our Path to Net-zero.” senior government relations manager at Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer), reckoned it is battery industry, noting that “batteries Kaderják added that Hungary is at essential to look at R&D from a broader have a competitive advantage.” the forefront of the green transition, sense, considering areas such as During a discussion on Hungarian including within the automotive industry. innovation of production. success stories, Zsolt Dobó, a research According to Kaderják, Hungary’s Markus Tatzer, CEO of Porsche and development expert from Metal battery industry is a fast-growing Holding Moon Power GmbH, said that Shredder Hungary, said that the sector, almost doubling investments the robust development of e-mobility current crisis could be more of an in recent years, recording also relies on shaping innovative EV economic opportunity for the industry charging solutions through advanced rather than a threat. One of his firm’s critical objectives is recycling lithium- R&D for the most demanding EV drivers in FDI. Consequently, 14,000 jobs and breakthrough technology EVs. ion batteries and closer engagement have already been created, and future in R&D activities. investments could see this figure rise From a European perspective, Thore to 25,000.

Sekkenes, director of the European “Today, Hungary has Battery Alliance (EBA) Program, was Long-term Angle optimistic about the industry’s future, become a European battery Looking at Hungary’s developments especially when compared to what it was champion […] impressive in from a long-term angle, foreign minister Szijjártó said that “the goal of progress is being made the government is to make Hungary in the battery ecosystem.” when it all started. By 2030, the EBA the meeting point of the Western and expects to have one terabyte of capacity Eastern economies.” He highlighted that installed. flagship German automotive producers Narrowing the discussion to such as BMW and Mercedes continue to Looking at the regulatory landscape, electrification, Cillian O’Donoghue, expand their operations, including EV Ákos Nagy, senior counsel from regional policy director from Eurelectric (a sector production, in Hungary. law firm Kinstellar, outlined the association that represents the interests main aspects of the European battery of the electricity industry at a European regulation coming into force in 2026 level), pointed out that every member and how the industry can be ready state sees electrification as the key for it. He said the rules would mainly to decarbonization. Considering this, influence manufacturing and distribution O’Donoghue said, “we need to invest processes and how businesses report heavily in networks.” It is estimated a on their carbon footprint.

EUR 4 bln in investments are required in In the last panel discussion, regional European grids, he explained. experts from Hungary, Poland and Csaba Kiss, deputy CEO, chief Slovakia discussed the importance of generation officer, and chief nuclear cross-border cooperation to seize the officer at MVM Hungarian Electricity, opportunity of the e-mobility transition pointed out that by 2050, battery and presented the common challenges capacity will need to be five times higher that CEE is facing. These include a lack than it is today. of awareness among the wider public, Minister of Foreign Affairs and During a discussion on energy businesses and decision-makers. However, Trade Péter Szijjártó, patron of storage, Péter Horváth, CEO of the the mindset is already changing. the Second Hungarian Battery Dunamenti Power Plant, noted that In his keynote speech, Robert Gaylen, Day, addresses the conference. the key developments must be driven CTO of CATL, chairman of the U.S.by the market design. “Once you set based SAE International (formerly the targets, you need to redesign the market Society of Automotive Engineers) battery Regarding state support, Secretary to meet them,” he reckoned. Róbert standards steering committee, and also of State Responsible for Energy Policy Szabó, director of smart PV solutions an SAE international fellow, highlighted Attila Steiner recalled the government’s at Huawei, believed that the energy how people are no longer afraid of EVs. recent EUR 16 bln investment package storage sector is “on the right path,” Nonetheless, education and training are and highlighted the importance of the noting suitable investments in the grid. required at all levels, he added.

EUR 7 billion

2017

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

PRESENTED CONTENT

2

Business | 11

Drug Development: Filling the gap Between Experiments and Costly Trials At the Szegedbased Hungarian Center of Excellence for Molecular Medicine (HCEMM), a group headed by Finnish researcher Karri Lämsä is leading the way when it comes to providing human brain tissue samples for drug development.

DAVID HOLZER

HCEMM is an EU-supported Molecular Medicine Research Institute focusing on healthy aging, which collaborates closely with academic and industrial partners on a national and international level.

A Finn who led a research group at a University Pharmacological Department in Oxford for eight years before moving to Szeged (175 km southeast of Budapest), Lämsä has now lived and worked in the city for more than seven years.

Lämsä and his team offer a biomedical experimental service with fresh human brain tissue removed during brain surgery to startups and smaller-scale biomedical companies engaged in the costly business of testing drugs. They can now trial on human tissue samples in parallel with testing on what is called common experimental animal tissue, usually sourced from rodents.

Being able to test on human brain tissue enables researchers to find out earlier how the drugs they are developing work on humans.

The tissue is cultured from so-called resected brain tissue obtained from units carrying out neurosurgery.

Resected brain tissue is removed during

tangled up in red tape and have often been defeated by bureaucracy.

But the differences between animal and human brains and the ways in which they work are becoming too large to ignore. Pressure to test on human brain tissue has been growing, Lämsä estimates, for at least the past 10 years.

Hungary had a head start, Lämsä suggests, because the country is particularly strong in the area of neuroanatomy, the anatomy of the nervous system.

“Neuroanatomy hinted at the substantial differences between rodent and human brain cells years ago, but now it’s becoming a real issue when it comes to drug testing.”

As a result, Hungarian research in this specific field is in the top category globally. While it can’t compete with prominent institutes in, for example, the United States or China, Hungary is able to focus on specific challenges offered by small teams associated with Finnish researcher Karri Lämsä, a group leader at HCEMM in Szeged. academic institutions and carry out high-quality research.

A particularly promising area for Lämsä and his research team surgery because it is sick, malformed, Lämsä and his team is connected to explore molecular, functional, and damaged, or cut away by the surgeon biological drugs and interventions in pharmaceutical features of human to access the area of the brain on which addition to classic pharmaceutical drugs. nerve cells, searching for properties they need to work.

The removed matter is typically sent to unique to humans. Or at least not occurring in the animals commonly a tissue bank or discarded as biological “Neuroanatomy used for experimentation. waste. As Lämsä explains, “We’ve seen Many of these properties are related the value of cultured human brain tissue [a Hungarian specialty] to brain development and plasticity, and to benefit drug research and ultimately the team believes some could be relevant hinted at the substantial patient health.” to human brain degeneration processes differences between Saving Time and Money and the effects of medication. rodent and human brain Up until fairly recently, researchers The service offered by Lämsä’s group were content to only use common at HCEMM enables companies to qualify cells decades ago, but experimental animal tissue, particularly the critical effects and results of their now it’s becoming a real from rodents, to test their drugs. This tests on rodents using actual human is, of course, generally far easier than tissue before they start the costly clinical issue when it comes accessing human brain tissue samples. trials phase with human patients. to drug testing.”

Testing using rodent tissue has Clinical trials tend to be seriously given science invaluable insights expensive and time-consuming. If a into how the human brain works. drug doesn’t perform as expected or But, as Lämsä says, “Human brain Biological drugs are treatment even fails in a clinical trial that happens cells are not identical to rodent brain strategies that aim to repair or heal at a late stage in its development, it cells. There’s a 70-million-year tissue using biological mechanisms. could be a painful pill for a startup or evolutionary distance between rodent For example, taking targeted gene small company to swallow. and human brains. Although these expression regulation in human tissue As Lämsä says, “Our platform can differences are typically quite small for specific cells to correct how they allow them to do a final check with at the molecular level, together they function so they become normal their product before they start the become meaningful because there are and healthy. expensive clinical tests.” thousands of different active molecules Ultimately, by uncovering the hidden in a single brain cell, and the small secrets of human neuron function and Hungary in top differences add up.” drug sensitivity, the work done by Lämsä Research Category He continues, “When we get into and his team has the exciting potential to Lämsä has worked in preclinical extremely fine issues, such as how enable us to understand our brains better. disease models and biomedical science a drug works on a brain, there are clear This knowledge could enable us for more than 20 years. During this differences that affect testing.” to develop more powerfully effective time, he has seen “that drugs and So much so that, in the past, drugs cures against devastating brain therapeutic interventions developed that worked when tested on rodents diseases such as Alzheimer’s or using animals often just do not work have performed sub-optimally or even Parkinson’s that affect millions of people. as expected in the human body.” failed in clinical trials on humans.

He is not the only one to come to this realization. But, while skin Contact www.hcemm.eu tissue and blood are relatively easy to learn more about the work to obtain, researchers all over of Karri Lämsä and his team. the world wanting to use cultured human brain tissue have gotten

12 | 2

Business

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Are we now Seeing Peak Russia and Peak China?

The question contained in the title is perhaps a strange one to ask at a time when these two countries seem so powerful and aggressive, the former attacking Ukraine and the latter threatening to take Taiwan.

Yet just as we saw Peak Japan around 1990, the evidence is mounting that Russia and China are heading down a similar path, for different reasons says corporate finance columnist Les Nemethy.

Russia has punched above its weight politically and militarily, thanks to the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, a leftover from the Soviet era.

But its GDP is merely in the order of magnitude of Spain or Canada.

Russia’s attempt to annex Ukraine has exposed the limits of the former’s conventional military power. Although Russia’s nuclear threat remains, perhaps the major constraint to its use is the difficulty of creating a winning scenario.

At a fundamental level, Russia’s decline is driven by demographics. With alcoholism rife, a horrible medical system (according to Rand Corporation, Russia has the lowest male life expectancy of any developed country at 58 years), and a low birth rate.

The U.S. Bureau of Census estimates that Russia’s rapidly greying population will decline from approximately 140 million today to

around

110 million

by 2050. The above estimate predated the invasion of Ukraine, which triggered the emigration of hundreds of thousands of young males and the death of tens of thousands on the battlefield.

Many of those emigrating are talented entrepreneurs, IT workers, and the like; it is a veritable brain drain. Russia’s demographic implosion will impact its economic strength and the ability to project political and military power. And it is inevitable: it would take 30 years to reverse.

The Corporate Finance Column

Are there darker clouds on the horizon for Russia and China? Photo by FreshStock / Shutterstock.com According to geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan, it is precisely this rapidly weakening situation that tempted Putin to seize Ukraine before Russia experiences further relative decline.

China: Similar but Different

China, meanwhile, sees a similar pattern of demographic demise, but for different reasons. The “one child” policy in place from 1980-2015 limited the majority of families to one child, making population decline inevitable.

An excess of 30 million more males than females further limits new family formation. According to the Hong Kongbased daily South China Morning Post, the population of China is expected to halve from its current level of around 1.4 billion by 2050. This would indubitably impact GDP and superpower ambitions.

Several drivers fueled the 6%+ GDP growth rates over past decades: 1. Massive stimulus from rapid debt growth. According to the Institute of International Finance, Chinese debt now exceeds 335% of GDP. Since 2008, debt has been growing far faster than GDP. 2. An enormous construction boom. It consumed close to a quarter of GDP, something likely never to be seen again, given that China’s property sector is way overbuilt and in crisis.

3. China became the factory of the world. Now, however, globalization is in reverse, or at least seems to be taking a pause, with security of supply very much in vogue.

None of this is sustainable. China’s economic growth in the first half of 2022 was a

mere

2.5%.

The centralization and autocracy of China’s leadership (including its determination to adhere to a zero-COVID policy) negatively

impacts investment, entrepreneurship, capital flows and emigration.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s push for “common prosperity” to reduce the income and wealth gap and his call at the recent party congress for “regulating the mechanism of wealth accumulation” will further dampen entrepreneurship and catalyze capital flight.

For the past 30 years, both China and Russia went through a period of relative openness, which allowed them to mount a significant challenge to the States. Their sudden lurch back to closed systems may sow the seeds of their own demise. They are their own worst enemies.

Changing Mood Music

Financial markets are experiencing a significant change in mood in China: post-party-Congress Chinese stock market indices and yuan exchange rates are plunging. Unless the government changes its tune, the trend will be difficult to reverse.

While China’s economy is already larger than that of the United States measured according to purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, the Center for Economics and Business Research

forecasts

2028

as the date when China will surpass America in absolute terms. In my view, this is far from inevitable.

China may be tempted to seize Taiwan for reasons similar to Russia’s attempted land grab in Ukraine: before its power relative to the United States begins to wane.

I do not mean to belittle the issues facing America (extreme political polarization, high debt levels, etc.), but, ultimately, the United States has a more powerful entrepreneurial and deeper technological base and much better demographics than either Russia or China. America has far more immigration and its baby boomers had more children than those in Russia or China.

The democratic system allows for renewal and fresh ideas every four years instead of being locked into an autocratic leader for decades. Putin and Xi are on the way to transforming their countries into gerontocracies, states run by older people.

Intuitively, it makes sense that societies where information flows freely are more innovative and productive.

Remember the “open society” thesis for the United States winning the Cold War? For the past 30 years, both China and Russia went through a period of relative openness, which allowed them to mount a significant challenge to the States.

Their sudden lurch back to closed systems may sow the seeds of their own demise.

They are their own worst enemies.

Les Nemethy is CEO of EuroPhoenix Financial Advisers Ltd. (www.europhoenix.com), a Central European corporate finance firm. He is a former World Banker, author of Business Exit Planning (www. businessexitplanningbook.com), and a previous president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary.

2

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Representing Int’l Medical Equipment on the Hungarian Market The Budapest Business Journal talks with Gergely Finfera, CFO, co-founder, and co-owner of Fibre Medical Orvostechnikai Kft., about how a small company set up just five years ago has become a significant factor in the Hungarian healthcare market as the representative of products made by several renowned international medical apparatus makers.

BENCE GAÁL

BBJ: How did Fibre Medical come about, and the company’s journey begin?

Gergely Finfera: We came up with the core idea back in 2017. Until then, the two founding owners of the company worked in sales in the healthcare sector of a multinational company. We were looking to represent radiological equipment on the

German-owned Schott Hungary laid the cornerstone of a HUF 28 billion prefillable glass syringe plant on October 27 in Lukácsháza (220 km southwest of Budapest), according to Magyar Hírlap. The government is supporting the investment, which will create 120 jobs, with a HUF 3.3 bln grant, State Secretary Tamás Menczer said at the ceremony. The plant is expected to start operating in the fall of 2024. Balázs Vizi, Schott’s regional director for mass production, said close to 600 people work at the company’s existing 26,000 sqm factory in Lukácsháza. He added that the base makes pharmaceutical packaging, mainly glass ampoules, noting that many of the glass files used for the Pfizer coronavirus jab were produced in Lukácsháza. Schott Hungary had net sales revenue of HUF 25.5 bln in its business year that ended September 30, 2021, according to public records.

Posta Suspending Operations at 366 Sites State-owned national postal services company Magyar Posta will temporarily close 366 post offices in 210 settlements

S TA R T U P SPOTLIGH T

BBJ: What do you consider the most critical milestone in the company’s history?

GF: The most important milestone, in my opinion, was acquiring the first distribution.

This was Ziehm Imaging GmbH, which is internationally the largest manufacturer of C-arm X-ray equipment. The company had been represented in Hungary for more than 15 years, but not with the right results.

Negotiations with them took nearly half a year before we were granted non-exclusive distribution rights. We are now exclusive partners for both sales and service.

The seven-person team of Fibre Medical.

Hungarian market, which was already very well known on the international market but hadn’t received the necessary “attention” on the domestic market up to that point.

BBJ: Who were the founders, and how many people does Fibre Medical now employ?

GF: The company was founded by Dénes Brezovszki and me, and our current headcount stands at seven people.

Today, we have several subcontractors to take care of the day-to-day tasks: administration, public procurement, customs clearance, transport, and so on.

Company Schott Lays Cornerstone of HUF 28 bln Plant

Business | 13

News

after November 11 to reduce energy consumption and lay off 300 workers through streamlining its management and service areas, the company said on October 28, according to portfolio.hu. Magyar Posta said the 740 workers affected by the temporary shutdowns would be transferred to other post offices, adding capacity. It explained that in the settlements where there is no other operating post office, customers would be served by mobile post offices. Magyar Posta noted that more than 2,200 post offices will still operate across the country after the temporary closures. It said there are 3.46 post offices per 10,000 people in Hungary compared to 2.91 in Europe. In addition, the postal service said it is implementing several major restructuring projects in logistics, delivery, letter and parcel reception, and processing to improve the efficiency of operations.

Tamási-Hús Opens HUF 14 bln Expansion Meat company Tamási-Hús inaugurated a HUF 14 billion expansion at its base in Tamási (135 km southwest of Budapest) on October 21, according to napi.hu [Daily]. The new plant and warehouse will create 225 jobs, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at the ceremony. Tamási-Hús

BBJ: What kinds of medical apparatuses make up the company portfolio?

GF: It mainly consists of equipment used in radiological imaging, including C-arm surgical X-ray equipment from Ziehm Imaging GmbH Germany, ultrasound and lowfield MRI equipment from eSaote SPA, as well as radiochemical equipment from Comecer SPA (both Italy).

From the Far East, we also represent X-ray and angiography equipment

by Shimadzu (Japan) and CT, MRI, X-ray, and angiography equipment

by Wandong Medical (China).

said it had plowed a little more than HUF 14 bln into three investments undertaken since 2018, boosting its sliced bacon capacity by 120% and its fried bacon capacity by 100%.

Total government support for the investments came close to HUF 3.6 bln. Tamási-Hús, a unit of Austria’s Gierlinger group, had net sales revenue of HUF 23.9 bln last year, including HUF 13.9 bln from exports.

Thyssenkrupp Inaugurates HUF 1.8 bln Szeged Office Thyssenkrupp Automotive Technology Hungary inaugurated a HUF 1.8 billion engineering office in Szeged (170 km southeast of Budapest) on October 26 that will develop electro-mechanical steering systems, according to autopro.hu. HR director Dóra Tagai said the office would join Thyssenkrupp Automotive Technology Hungary’s electric and electronics development centers in the capital and Veszprém (115 km southwest of Budapest), where 1,200 engineers work. She added that the company wants to add “several hundred” engineers to its staff in the coming three years. István Joó, who heads the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, said the government supported the investment with a HUF 460 million grant. Thyssenkrupp is expanding its R&D activities in Hungary, hiring 65 new engineers at several locations, he added. Thyssenkrupp Automotive Technology employs around 2,700 people in Hungary. According to public records, it had a net sales revenue of HUF 225 bln in its business year that ended Sep. 30, 2021.

BBJ: Are there concrete plans regarding future expansion?

GF: Our new office is currently being built, and this is our primary development plan for 2023. This year, we have implemented an SAP (CRM-ERP) system already. As all the manufacturers represented have regional (national) representations, it is not possible to present our portfolio in other countries. No new distributions are foreseen for the time being. We also have equipment we use for demonstration purposes, and naturally, these are replaced regularly to stay up-to-date with the latest developments. We have digital mobile X-ray equipment, a high-capacity C-arm flat panel machine and several ultrasound machines for demonstration purposes.

Unilever Completes HUF 10 bln Expansion Unilever Hungary has finished a HUF 10 billion expansion at its ice cream plant in Veszprém (115 km southwest of Budapest), doubling its capacity to turn out Magnum brand products, communications director Kálmán Molnár told state news agency MTI on October 21. Unilever Hungary added a 3,400 sqm plant with a production line at the base, Molnár said.

He added that annual capacity rose by 15 million liters from 80 million liters as a result and is set to reach 110 million liters by 2026. The new production line will turn out 720 Magnum ice cream bars a minute, and annual production will approach 600 million units. Unilever’s Magnum products generate one-third of the company’s European ice cream revenue.

Including its office in Budapest, Unilever Hungary’s headcount is more than 1,400.

Wizz Air Hires 2,500 New Flight Attendants In the first nine months of 2022, Wizz Air hired 2,500 new flight attendants, according to hrportal.hu. The company aims to have 20,000 colleagues working the skies by 2030.

Wizz Air expects both experienced flight attendants and newcomers to apply. The airline provides free professional training for the selected candidates, which can last between four and six weeks, depending on experience. The recruits receive training support for the entire duration of the training.

14 | 2

Business

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Tetra Pak’s Budaörs Plant Celebrates 30th Anniversary Food packaging manufacturer Tetra Pak has celebrated the 30th anniversary of its plant in Budaörs (about 7 km east of the center of the capital) with a celebration at the factory that included the inauguration of a new printing machine.

From left, plant director Peter Kortsmit, Mayor Tamás Wittinghoff, Ambassador Dag Hartelius and Tetra Pak VP Dmitry Smolin cut the ribbon inaugurating the new printing machine.

BENCE GAÁL

The company also invited special guests, including the Swedish Ambassador to Hungary, Dag Hartelius, and the Mayor of Budaörs, Tamás Wittinghoff.

Hartelius remarked that the company’s plant in Budaörs is an excellent example of cooperation between Sweden and Hungary. He praised the welcoming Hungarian business environment, adding that “green business is good business.” He also noted that the company is a great illustration of how a firm can serve people via innovation.

Tetra Pak was founded in Sweden with the aim of creating affordable, modern, and safe packaging for food. While the firm initially created packaging for dairy products only, its portfolio now also caters to fruit and vegetable juices, mineral water, soups, sauces, pet food, and more.

The company was one of the first major Western firms to establish a plant in Hungary, with the foundation stone laid in 1989. Shortly afterward, in 1992, production started in the 18,350 sqm factory, which now exports approximately

2.5 pieces billion

of packaging product a year to 54 countries around the world.

“The Tetra Pak factory in Budaörs is of great importance worldwide, as it is the home of our innovative Tetra Recart product, the biggest breakthrough in food packaging since the patenting of cans,” Dmitry Smolin, Tetra Pak vice president for EMEA, told the audience.

“We have invested many years to develop our factory in Hungary, demonstrating our commitment to innovation, people and the country.

The new printing press will enable

a more efficient, sustainable operation, delivering ongoing value to our customers and the environment,” he added.

Exclusive Provision

The site currently employs more than 500 people, and its importance in the company’s supply chain is demonstrated by the fact that Tetra Recart packaging solutions are supplied exclusively by the Budaörs plant worldwide.

Laura Latisonoka, Tetra Recart Solutions vice president, followed Smolin on the stage with a short presentation about the benefits of Tetra Recart. Its packaging is recyclable, made mainly from renewable raw materials, and the wood fibers used in its production come from FSC-certified forests and other controlled sources.

The cane-based plastic closures and specific cardboard layers available on some products also contribute to climate protection.

She also highlighted that the carton packaging is capable of surviving harsh environments while also retaining a long shelf-life, meaning that it could act as a new way of storing food as an alternative to regular cans.

“Tetra Pak was the first large multinational company after the change of regime to choose our city as its Hungarian or regional headquarters,” noted Mayor Tamás Wittinghoff, a politician with the now defunct Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ)

until

2010,

since when he has run as a member of the Budaörs Fejlődéséért Egyesület (For the Development of Budaörs Association).

“It has been a model for us to see how they have grown from a family business into a dominant company with innovative solutions. We quickly understood that a municipality could develop by applying innovative solutions and gradually building up its economic base,” the mayor said.

“It is the tax revenues that provide the opportunity to make the municipality more and more liveable for its citizens and local businesses. We believe that environmental protection, energy efficiency, and the recycling of materials are very important to Tetra Pak. These aspects are also important in the field of urban development in Budaörs.”

Providing Opportunities

“It is the tax revenues that provide the opportunity to make the municipality more and more liveable for its citizens and local businesses. We believe that environmental protection, energy efficiency, and the recycling of materials are very important to Tetra Pak. These aspects are also important

in the field of urban development in Budaörs,” Wittinghoff noted.

Peter Kortsmit, the director of Tetra Pak’s Budaörs plant, noted, “We know that we owe our success to our employees. Tetra Pak started as a family business, and that spirit is still very important to us today. Part of our values at all times is to create a safe environment with modern technology and a stable workplace for our employees,” he said.

“We are proud of our colleagues working at the Budaörs plant, and I am delighted that we can celebrate this special anniversary together,” Kortsmit added.

Marking its 30th anniversary with a fresh project, Tetra Pak inaugurated its new printing press, which will provide a

20% increase

in printing capacity, helping to boost efficiency. The machine was started after a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Kortsmit, Wittinghoff, Hartelius, and Smolin.

According to the company, customer satisfaction will increase thanks to automated quality control equipment.

The new machine will also reduce energy consumption, as well as production and process waste, while the automatic ink handling system will ensure more ergonomic working conditions. The new machine will also improve the printing quality.

Tetra Pak says it is currently looking to create the world’s most sustainable beverage carton and promises that the Budaörs plant will play an essential role in achieving this goal as well.

3

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Special Report Telecoms

Consolidating Telcos Battle Challenges as Data Thirst Grows The consolidating Hungarian telecommunications market is shaped by a handful of drivers mainly fuelled by technological advancement, changing customer behavior, and global economic challenges.

The Budapest Business Journal investigates the most prominent factors shaping an industry with four leading players: Magyar Telekom, Yettel, Vodafone, and Digi.

CHRISTIAN KESZTHELYI

Mobile data usage has seen constant growth in recent years, and this increase is likely to continue. This demand has been supported by the gradual rollout of fifth-generation coverage and services, which has paved the way for unlimited mobile internet offerings.

“This [demand] is one of the key reasons we have invested heavily into the

5G

spectrum

and modernized our network to be fifth-generation capable,” Zoltán Dávid, chief strategy officer at Yettel Hungary, tells the BBJ. “Additionally, we launched Prime tariffs this year that offer unlimited mobile data to our business-toconsumer and business-to-business clients. Similarly, our Otthonnet and IrodaNet Pro packages offer unlimited

What are the most significant novelties for customers, though?

“On the residential side, we have launched unlimited 5G mobile data with our Prime tariffs, 5G for the home via Otthonnet Pro, telco payment via YettelPay, new services such as e-transport tickets in our Yettel Wallet, as well as enhancing our insurance product lines, now covering not only mobile phones but also smartwatches and other accessories,” Yettel’ chief strategy officer says.

Business customers of Yettel have also seen unlimited mobile data and office 5G internet connections via Prime and IrodaNet Pro.

Efficiency is All

“Efficiency is becoming highly important for our B2B customers in the current economic situation, which we are supporting with our mobile private networks (MPN) and NB-IoT [narrow band internet of things] services,” Dávid adds.

In the first quarter of the year, Yettel delivered the fastest median download speed at 50.62 Mbps, according to Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index. Magyar Telekom came second with 45.07 Mbps, followed by Vodafone’s 24.83 Mbps and Digi’s 6.75 Mbps.

In terms of median latency, Vodafone Zoltán Dávid, chief strategy officer at Yettel Hungary. and Yettel had the lowest latency at 20 ms each, closely followed by Magyar Telekom’s 21 ms. Ookla’s consistency their needs to optimize our business, home and office internet connectivity, score placed Magyar Telekom at the top including communications, products, respectively, via our 5G network.” of the list with services, and customer handling Like virtually every other sector, the processes,” Yettel’s Dávid says. telecommunications market has been consistency Trends have shown an increasing heavily affected by climbing inflation (showing at least a 5 Mbps minimum tendency to bundle mobile and and energy costs, which makes the download speed and 1 Mbps minimum fixed services as customers require service offering of telcos more costly upload speed). Yettel came second while increasing unpredictability in their affordable packages with reliable with 88.2%, followed by Vodafone’s network connectivity, with high business plans. Such an environment 87.7% and Digi’s 63.8%. speeds and low latency. pushes enterprises to reassess their Based on median country speeds “With our unique asset and operations and establish how they could measured by Ookla in September position, we believe we can offer run more efficiently and cost-effectively.

2022, Hungary ranked 44th out of an excellent customer experience “Here we are focusing on running 139 countries, falling back one position on the go and at home with the our networks, via our infrastructure compared to the preceding month, with partner, as energy-efficiently as possible help of 5G. In addition to offering 43.34 Mbps download and 13.66 upload exceptional download rates, and finding creative ways to reduce speeds and 23 ms latency. the installation of our home internet our energy usage in other parts of our Regarding fixed broadband speeds, is significantly easier than that of fixed business,” Dávid says.

Hungary ranked 22nd, three places up players. This is a new opportunity The market has undergone quite some month-on-month, out of 181 countries for us to move into the fixed segment change in the past year. In early 2022, globally, with 111.26 Mbps download and that we haven’t done in the last Telenor rebranded as Yettel. At the end of 28.74 Mbps upload speeds and 9 ms latency. the summer, international telco Vodafone “Hungary is traditionally among the agreed to sell its local Vodafone Hungary years,” forerunners in mobile networks (coverage, operation to listed information technology Dávid explains. new technology deployment, and data firm 4iG and state-owned Corvinus.

A market survey by the National speeds) not only in the Visegrád Four Under the agreement, 4iG will acquire Media and Infocommunications countries and the European Union but a 51% stake, while the state will own the worldwide,” Dávid concludes. remaining 49% when the deal closes at the Authority (NMHH) published in midAugust showed that the four biggest end of this year, as per expectations. local mobile telco service providers Editor’s note: We contacted all Customer Focus had all raised the prices of their basic the players on the Hungarian telco “We also see consolidation in our market. packages during the first half of the market for contributions to this However, our focus is our customers; year but also increased the service article but had received no comment we strive to continuously understand offerings for those packages. from the others by our deadline.

90.6%

20-plus

16 | 3

Special Report

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

A1 Telekom Austria Group, Invitech Expand Vienna-Budapest Infohighway Hungary’s Invitech, now owned by 4iG, and the international business division of the A1 Telekom Austria Group say they have created a faster, safer, and higher capacity fiber optic connection with built-in redundancy between Vienna and Budapest.

Albert Kis

BBJ STAFF

The two firms say the new backbone network on this route provides “the shortest and safest connection between Western and Eastern Central Europe,” enabling a higher level of service for Invitech’s wholesale customers and potentially expanding the customer base.

The successful development was a joint network upgrade project by two of the region’s leading carrier service and ICT providers. Two “fully diverse routes”

News Telco

Audi Using 5G for Vehicle Testing in Győr

were implemented to guarantee the safest connectivity between the capitals.

With the joint fiber optic connection, A1 Telekom Austria Group has expanded its already extensive network across Europe.

With points of presence or PoPs (an artificial demarcation point or network interface point between communicating entities) in

47

countries,

A1 Group is one of the largest providers.

The companies say the new link includes interconnections of Ethernet,

in Brief

The 5G network has accelerated vehicle testing at Audi Hungaria Zrt.’s Győr plant, with the data collected being retrievable on the fly, making fast and reliable data transmission technology an immediate option for the mandatory testing of completed vehicles, the Ministry of Technology and Industry said, according to autopro.hu. According to the report, the pilot project at the Audi plant, 120 km west of Budapest, proved that 5G could fully serve the needs of the stringent automotive protocols. To ensure safe driving and protect the lives, health, and property of motorists and their passengers, manufacturers are testing vehicles rolling off the assembly line with state-of-theart technology. Checks previously carried out over wired and Wi-Fi networks can now be carried out using the fastest data transmission systems. The technology and industry ministry supported the 5G pilot, along with the Digital Development Center of István Széchenyi University in Győr, Magyar Telekom, and T-Systems Hungary. The ministry explained that

due to the technological progress made in the last decade, almost all operating parameters of vehicles are controlled by electronics. During the pilot project, data generated during the operation of the tested autos were transmitted via a 5G network to the central computers processing the information. The electronic systems of the finished cars can thus be checked as efficiently as possible during the final production phase before delivery. Engineers can follow the tests in real time to understand the vehicles’ operating parameters, making detecting potential faults in the production process easier and faster.

MATE Teams With Agribusiness for Cattle Monitoring System

Agribusiness Béke Agrár and the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE) are working together on a project to develop a sensor to monitor cattle health, the partners said, according to state news agency MTI. The project team will test the sensor on around 1,000 cattle at Béke

VPN, Wavelength, and IPT services, allowing a speedier service and also maximizing data traffic. ”Our award-winning services and products are based on our pan-European A1 Telekom Austria Group backbone, the infrastructure of our subsidiaries in seven countries in CEE, and various established partnerships with other telecommunications providers,” comments Judit Albers, director of international business at A1.

“A continuous expansion of our backbone is an absolute necessity. Only

top infrastructure leads to more services and results in the satisfaction and loyalty of our customers,” Albers adds.

Long-standing Partnership

The project represents the extension of a long-standing partnership between the international business team of A1 Group and Invitech, a dominant integrated telco and IT provider player in the Hungarian market.

This new route ensures the shortest and most secure connection on this segment between Western Europe and CEE. “We are proud that through this new, high capacity, duct-based fiber network, Invitech can further improve the quality of services provided to our customers and that we are able to offer a unique solution for future transit needs in the region,” says Albert Kis, chief operating officer for infrastructure and carrier services at Invitech.

“I strongly believe that our longterm presence as a trusted own network service provider on the Hungarian market, and the cooperation with A1 Telekom Austria Group, make us the primary option for regional needs and guarantees the highest customer experience,” Kis adds.

Invitech has more

than

11,000 km

of what it calls a “highly secured network,” mainly along the principal railway lines of Hungary, with 11 crossborder connections to neighboring countries. The firm guarantees seamless fiber transit routing options across Hungary and offers more than 3,500 sqm of data center capacity, part of it with TIER-III certification.

BT in Debrecen to Move into Forest Offices

British Telecommunications announced on October 27 that it had signed an agreement to relocate its operations in Debrecen to a state-

Agrár’s farms. The project, which will run until the spring of 2025, has been awarded around HUF 600 million in European Union and state funding.

4iG Buys out INNObyte

Listed IT company 4iG said on October 18 that it had closed agreements to purchase shares in software developer INNObyte, raising its stake in the company from 70% to 100%, according to an announcement on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange. 4iG

of-the-art office in Forest Offices in the Great Forest city park. Around 500 BT staff based in Hungary’s second-biggest city will move to the new location in 2023. The new office space will reflect BT’s “smart working” principles with a focus on collaboration and teamwork, the company says. The office will be equipped with the latest collaboration technology to support hybrid working among teams in the office in Debrecen, with other colleagues in Budapest, and across BT’s global network of operations.

had first announced it had entered into agreements to raise its stake in software developer INNObyte from 70% to 100% via the BSE website of the Budapest Stock Exchange on October 14.4iG acquired its controlling stake in INNObyte in 2020. The firm develops software for the telecommunications, automotive, healthcare, farm and banking industries. According to public records, it had a net sales revenue of 3.3 billion last year. The headcount at the business averaged 69 during the year.

3

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Special Report | 17

Sharity Impact Nominated Best National Digital Solution New EU Legal Framework for Platform Economy Sharity Impact has been nominated as the best national digital solution for Hungary in the business and commerce category of the international World Summit Awards, an annual celebration of digital innovation that impacts society.

dr. Dóra Petrányi

dr. Katalin Horváth

Partner, Global Co-Head of Technology, Media and Communications

Senior Counsel, Technology, Media and Communications (TMC)

CMS

CMS

The European Commission has recently published the final text of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA).

These two crucial EU regulations will shape the operation of intermediary service providers, host providers, providers of online platforms, social media networks, online search engines, online marketplaces, cloud services, operation systems, virtual assistants and web browsers.

DSA Brings new Legal Framework Farkas Bársony, co-founder of Sharity Zrt.

BBJ STAFF

The nomination means the business qualifies for evaluation by the WSA 2022 jury alongside more than 350 other international digital innovations, from Canada to Indonesia and Finland to Mozambique.

“Sharity Mobile Application Inc. Co. (Sharity Zrt.) is unique in that the social goal/impact was defined first, then the business model (including the “impact marketing”) was created around it using the latest digital technology.”

Sharity Impact founders Farkas Bársony and Arnold Bujdosó developed an app that provides an innovative online impact marketing channel/platform, which they say is a first in Hungary and the region.

Marketing activities like watching ads or videos are given a direct social and/or environmental impact (hence the term “impact marketing”). The app connects givers with charity organizations and establishes what the founders call a new Sharity Transparency Standard (STS) for them and their activities.

Users registered in the app can “donate money without money” by simply watching a short video, with

the advertiser paying a donation for each view directly to a charity organization or campaign. No commission is deducted from the donations, whether with cash or via watching a video in the app.

“Sharity Mobile Application Inc. Co. (Sharity Zrt.) is unique in that the social goal/impact was defined first, then the business model (including the “impact marketing”) was created around it using the latest digital technology,” says co-founder Bársony.

The WSA 2022 nominees were evaluated based on seven criteria: Content, Functionality, Design, Technology, Innovation, Impact, and Value.

National experts select the WSA nominees from more than 184 UN member states. They nominate up to eight projects for each country, one for each of the WSA categories.

“The WSA nominees for 2022 show the richness, diversity, future, and innovation of digital solutions on a global scale and prove how digital technology can improve society in each corner of the world,” Bársony adds.

The World Summit Awards is a global initiative within the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). WSA is the only ICT event worldwide reaching digitaldriven social impact communities in more than 180 countries.

It highlights digital content that improves society and focuses on local content with a global relevance.

The DSA sets out uniform, harmonized rules for intermediary service providers (ISPs) to: • foster innovation, growth and competitiveness; • better protect consumers and their fundamental rights online; • ensure a safe, predictable and trusted online environment; • offer more choices for users and less exposure to illegal content; • provide access to business users to EU-wide markets through platforms; and • to facilitate the scaling up of smaller platforms, SMEs and startups.

The new rules establish a framework for the conditional exemption from liability of ISPs, rules on specific due diligence on business partners and other obligations tailored to different categories of ISPs and law enforcement rules, and a new regime for cooperation and coordination between the competent authorities.

The DSA does not change the rules on the liability of intermediary service providers for illegal content; it repeats almost word-forword the relevant sections of the E-Commerce Directive. However, the DSA creates new obligations for ISPs at several levels. Common obligations will apply to all forms of such providers, including online and very large online platforms. Hosting providers will have additional responsibilities, and the DSA will impose specific obligations on online platforms compared to other hosting providers.

In addition, online platforms and popular search engines have additional obligations: to manage systemic risks; publish detailed transparency reports; manage illegal content; maintain an internal complaint management system and arbitration procedures; and maintain measures against abuse. Detailed provisions apply to interfaces, transparency of online advertisements and recommendation systems.

elements in today’s digital economy, intermediating most transactions between end users and business users.

The DMA deals with those large online platforms acting as gatekeepers in digital markets that meet its qualitative and quantitative criteria and have a significant effect on the internal market. These include providers of online intermediary services, online search engines, video-sharing platforms, operation systems, web browsers, virtual assistants, cloud services, online advertisement services, social media networks, and online marketplaces.

The DMA aims to ensure that these platforms behave fairly online; that other businesses will have new opportunities to compete and innovate in the online platform environment without having to comply with unfair terms and conditions that limit their development; and that consumers will have more and better services to choose from, more opportunities to switch their provider if they so wish, direct access to services, and fairer prices.

The DMA obliges gatekeepers to introduce measures to ensure business freedom for end users in pricing, access to content, removing software applications, modifying settings, and installing software and app stores. The gatekeepers must also ensure data portability, access to data, equal access to application stores and access to software features. Furthermore, the gatekeepers must follow strict transparency rules on online advertisements, search engines and during profiling.

Meanwhile, the regulation also imposes prohibitions and restrictions on gatekeepers regarding data protection, direct or indirect restriction of business users, mandatory use of the platform’s services, mandatory subscription to other platform services, discrimination in rankings, and the use of unfair general terms and conditions.

Next Steps The DSA will be directly applicable across the EU and will apply in 15 months or from January 1, 2024 (whichever is later) after it enters into force. The DMA will become applicable on May 2, 2023, so the gatekeepers have only six months to prepare to comply with the new obligations.

DMA Establishes new and fair Business Environment The DMA creates a new competition law framework for large online platforms, representing the critical structuring

cms.law

NOTE: ALL ARTICLES MARKED INSIDE VIEW ARE PAID PROMOTIONAL CONTENT FOR WHICH THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL DOES NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

INSIDE VIEW

18 | 3

Special Report

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Delta Technologies Unveils Sample Innovation Solutions for SMEs Delta Technologies has delivered freeto-study Industry 4.0 and digitalization sample applications to five domestic manufacturing companies under a governmentrun technology development program.

GERGELY HERPAI

“Relevant Industry 4.0 solutions tailored to the specifics of domestic SMEs have been scarce so far. The projects we have created aim to change this situation by bringing large-scale industrial solutions to the SME level,” László Vidra, managing director at Delta Group.

In a public event closing out the program, which differs significantly from large Delta Group presented its five projects enterprises in terms of opportunities and specially adapted to the domestic SME environmental conditions. environment. The solutions aim to Delta Group presented the model raise awareness of the development projects developed for IFKA, which opportunities available to small- and reports to the Ministry of Technology medium-sized companies and can be and Innovation, at an event opened for viewed as case studies. a professional audience by Deputy State The solutions are adapted to the realSecretary Károly Balázs Solymár. life environment of five companies The aim of the program, which started operating in different sectors within this year and has a total investment value of the Advanced Enterprise Technology Sample Program of the IFKA (Industrial Development Technology Foundation) is to create working prototype Public Benefit Nonprofit Ltd. So far, solutions adapted to the production few adaptable innovations have been environment, which can be freely developed for the domestic SME sector,

HUF 511 million,

Delta Group’s Five Bespoke Industry 4.0 Solutions Machine Vision for Uniholz Uniholz Ltd. is primarily a supplier of steel products and construction materials. Delta developed an easy-to-use, field-applied artificial intelligence-enabled Industry 4.0 solution in collaboration with the company. The system provides an accurate inventory picture through an inspection and counting algorithm that runs automatically on a phone without needing material handling.

The solution, which does not change the technical and IT environment and does not require a unique camera system, enables more accurate goods receipt and, thus, faster accounting and stock recording.

Optimized Tracking and Delivery Planning for Nagykun-Hús Nagykun-Hús, a pork processing and finished meat products company, needed help with the in-factory

field environment, and developed as part of a development concept,” he explained.

“We are a partner for domestic manufacturing companies with our systems integrator background. Our commitment to the sector is also demonstrated by the fact that the technical concepts of the innovations we have delivered were all developed during the COVID period of the major plant shutdowns, during which Delta staff were working continuously on the projects,” Vidra added.

tracking of semi-finished goods in a food processing environment. The RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) based system enables gates positioned to track goods handling processes to register the passage of the product/goods with a time stamp. The timestamp also facilitates other tasks, such as the central linking of measurements or complete automation of the weighing process.

The items are registered as they pass through the plant, the cold store or are removed from storage.

Sensor-based Crop Quality Protection at Matyó Agrártermelő One of the requirements for a solution based on eliminating human error was the ease of upgrading and integrating additional sensors and subsystems in further silos and bins without complicating or expanding the work of operational staff and

studied by domestic SMEs and are suitable for future knowledge and technology transfer opportunities.

Scaleable Solutions

“Relevant Industry 4.0 solutions tailored to the specifics of domestic SMEs have been scarce so far. The projects we have created aim to change this situation by bringing large-scale industrial solutions to the SME level,” said László Vidra, managing director at Delta Group.

“The examples presented show that it is possible to produce digitalization solutions for SMEs that are scalable and easy to operate, adapted to their specific

technicians. A sensor detection system and a central monitoring system for collecting data were installed for the company, which is involved in grain and feed production, to monitor the crop condition in the grain silos and to predict changes in its state.

Self-propelled Robot Intralogistics for Arbot Mechatronics A 5G robotic platform solution was developed for the company, which is involved in the design, engineering, control and programming of mechatronic and integrated products, as well as the testing of electronic devices, to simplify the movement of incoming and semifinished goods. The custom-designed material handling system was easily adapted to the customer’s existing processes and needs, optimizing safe automatic transport, unloading, and loading points. It also provided operators with efficiency reports on the robot’s operation.

For the custom solutions created by Delta,

the

5G

communications network was provided by telcos Yettel and Nokia. IBM Hungary sourced industrial software and artificial intelligence solutions for sensing and machine vision, and the field sensors came courtesy of Sick Sensor Intelligence, the world’s leading intelligent sensor manufacturer.

A customer benefit will be offered to all companies involved. In addition, Brickz Technologies Hungary Kft., Yettel Hungary Zrt., Nokia Solutions and Networks, IBM Hungary Kft., Control Pro Kft. and GrainMonitor Kft. were awarded

by IFKA for excellence in the SME Industrial Digitalization Model Program.

Industrial Environment Robot Solutions for PGB Engineering For a company involved in measuring and controlling systems and supplying automotive and safety products, a combination of a classic industrial and a collaborative robot solution was developed, resulting in a robot capable of automated work. The robot’s task is to independently unload untidy bulk goods from box to conveyor, as well as to pick up the goods on the conveyor belt or at the endpoint and check their quality. The main advantage of the solution is that it is containerized and can be transported, which ensures easy movement and adaptation to a new work phase in a new location if periodic needs have to be met in any manufacturing company in the country. The robotic solution can be viewed at the company’s Budapest site.

3

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Special Report | 19

Internet Service Providers

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

magyaR telekom nyRt. www.telekom.hu

700,120

5,726,858

–

✓

✓

2

vodaFone magyaRoRSzág távközléSI zRt. www.vodafone.hu

288,714

A

✓

✓

3

yettel magyaRoRSzág zRt. www.yettel.hu

199,669

3,317,007

–

4

dIgI távközléSI éS Szolgáltató kFt. www.digi.hu

60,802

A

5

InvIteCH ICt SeRvICeS kFt. www.invitech.hu

28,748

A

4g

mICRoWave

✓

–

1

mobIle

adSl

no. oF SubSCRIbeRS on July 1, 2022

Cable

total net Revenue In 2021 (HuF mln)

leaSed lIne

ComPany WebSIte

modem

Rank

meanS oF aCCeSS

6

InvItel távközléSI zRt. www.invitel.hu

13,881

A

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

7

netFone teleCom kFt. www.netfone.hu

2,400

A

–

–

–

✓

–

–

–

8

aCe teleCom kFt. www.acetelecom.hu

1,783

A

–

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

9

dRávanet zRt. www.dravanet.hu

A = would not disclose,

NR = not ranked, NA = not appliacable

448

5,245

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

yeaR eStablISHed no. oF Full-tIme emPloyeeS on July 1, 2022

Ranked by total net revenue in 2021

oWneRSHIP (%) HungaRIan non-HungaRIan

toP loCal exeCutIve CFo maRketIng dIReCtoR

addReSS PHone emaIl

1991 6,786

Free float (36.40), Own shares (4.39) Deutsche Telekom Europe B.V. (59.21)

tibor Rékasi Dana Dodonova Melinda Szabó

1097 Budapest, Könyves Kálmán körút 36.

(1) 458-0000 –

– Vodafone Europe B.V. (100)

amanda nelson Cüneyt Avci Balázs Révész

1095 Budapest, Lechner Ödön fasor 6.

(1) 288-4288 sajto@vodafone.com

Antenna Hungária Zrt. (25) PPF Group (75)

Peter gažík József Takács Mohamed ElSayad

2045 Törökbálint, Pannon út 1.

(20) 930-4000 –

Antenna Hungária Zrt. (100) –

István király Sándor Gurbán –

1134 Budapest, Váci út 35.

(1) 707-0707 ugyfelszolgalat@digikabel.hu

Antenna Hungária Zrt. (100) –

Csaba bőthe Dániel Majbu –

2040 Budaörs, Edison utca 4.

(80) 820-082 kapcsolat@invitech.hu

DIGI Távközlési és Szolgáltató Kft. (100) –

lászló blénessy, Csaba gergely, gyöngyvér Papp-gerlei – –

1134 Budapest, Váci út 37.

(1) 801-1500 info@invitel.co.hu

Netfone Invest Kft. (34), István Kun (10) Scanwinavia AB (56)

István kun, Csaba andrasek Zsolt Racskó István Kun

8900 Zalaegerszeg, Nefeljcs utca 2/A (1) 878-1800 info@netfone.hu

Individuals (68), ThreeF Kft. (32) –

attila Farmosi, gábor varga Gábor Varga Péter Németh

1037 Budapest, Zay utca 3.

(1) 999-1000 office@acetelecom.hu

CubeComp Zrt. (62.56), New-Lease Kft. (19.02), other (18.42) –

zsombor attila Papp Rezső Dunay Csaba Csizmadia

7624 Pécs, Budai Nagy Antal utca 1.

(80) 811-118 info@dravanet.hu

1999 A

1993 1,822

2004 A

2016 599

1995 A

2012 A

1997 A

1996 11

This list was compiled from responses to questionnaires received by November 2, 2022, and publicly available data. To the best of the Budapest Business Journal’s knowledge, the information is accurate as of press time.

The list is based on companies’ voluntary data submissions. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and thoroughness, omissions and typographical errors may occur. Additions or corrections to the list should be sent on letterhead to the research department, Budapest Business Journal, 1075 Budapest, Madách Imre út 13–14, or faxed to (1) 398-0345. The research department can be contacted at research@bbj.hu

20 | 3

Special Report

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Telecommunications Telecommunications Equipment Equipment Manufacturers Manufacturers Ranked by total net revenue in 2021 Ranked Ranked by by total total net net revenue revenue in in 2021 2021

38,845 38,845 38,845

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

6 6 6

miCRosoFt miCRosoFt magyaRoRszág kFt. miCRosoFt magyaRoRszág kFt. www.microsoft.hu magyaRoRszág kFt. www.microsoft.hu www.microsoft.hu

10,787 10,787 (2020) 10,787 (2020) (2020)

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

7 7 7

neC easteRn euRope kFt. neC easteRn euRope kFt. www.hu.nec.com neC easteRn euRope kFt. www.hu.nec.com www.hu.nec.com

3,464 3,464 (2020) 3,464 (2020) (2020)

8 8 8

CisCo systems CisCo systems kFt. magyaRoRszág CisCo systems kFt. magyaRoRszág www.cisco.hu magyaRoRszág kFt. www.cisco.hu www.cisco.hu

9 9 9

avaya magyaRoRszág kFt. avaya magyaRoRszág kFt. www.avaya.com avaya magyaRoRszág kFt. www.avaya.com www.avaya.com

10 10 10

moHanet moHanet mobilsystems zRt. moHanet mobilsystems www.mohanet.hu zRt. mobilsystems www.mohanet.hu zRt. www.mohanet.hu

NR NR NR

panasoniC maRketing panasoniC maRketing euRope gmbH soutH-east panasoniC maRketing euRope gmbH soutH-east euRope Fióktelep euRope gmbH soutH-east euRope Fióktelep www.panasonic.com/hu euRope Fióktelep www.panasonic.com/hu www.panasonic.com/hu

3,096 3,096 3,096

A A A

– – –

– – –

A A A

A A A

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

A A A

A A A

– – –

– – –

A A A

A A A

– – –

– – –

– – –

A A A

– – –

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

A A A

– – –

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

A A A

A A A

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

A A A

A A A

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

A A A

A A A

– – –

– – –

yeaR establisHed yeaR yeaR establisHed establisHed no. oF Full-time no. no. oF oF Full-time Full-time employees on July 1,2022 2022 employees employees on on July July 1,1, 2022

5 5 5

nokia solutions and nokia solutions netWoRks kFt. and nokia solutions netWoRks kFt. and www.nokia.com netWoRks kFt. www.nokia.com www.nokia.com

51,485 51,485 51,485

A A A

– – –

otHeR otHeR otHeR teleCom teleCom teleCom and and and netWoRk netWoRk netWoRk equipment equipment equipment

4 4 4

HuaWei teCHnologies HuaWei teCHnologies HungaRy kFt. HuaWei teCHnologies HungaRy kFt. www.huawei.hu HungaRy kFt. www.huawei.hu www.huawei.hu

53,235 53,235 53,235

– – –

– – –

2017 2017 663 2017 663 663

– – PC Focus – PC Focus Enterprises Focus PCLtd. Enterprises Ltd. (100) Enterprises (100) Ltd. (100)

péter tálos péter tálos Gabriella péter tálos Gabriella Pistauer Gabriella Pistauer – Pistauer – –

2900 Komárom, 2900Donát Komárom, Bánki utca 1.

2900Donát Komárom, Bánki utca 1.

(34) 886-069 Bánki Donát utca 1.

(34) 886-069 komarom@emea.

(34) 886-069 komarom@emea. foxconn.com komarom@emea. foxconn.com foxconn.com

– – –

1990 1990 1,963 1990 1,963 1,963

– – Telefon– Tel efonaktiebolaget Telefon- LM aktiebolaget LM Ericsson (100) aktiebolaget LM Ericsson (100) Ericsson (100)

gábor Éry, gábor Éry, edina Rózsa, gábor Éry, edina Rózsa, bernadette edina Rózsa, bernadette mária bohács bernadette mária bohács – mária bohács –– –– –

1117 Budapest, 1117 Budapest, Magyar Tudósok 1117 Budapest, Magyar Tudósok körútja 11.

Magyar Tudósok körútja 11.

(1) 437-7100 körútja 11.

(1) 437-7100 meghivo@ (1) 437-7100 meghivo@ ericsson.com meghivo@ ericsson.com ericsson.com

– – –

2005 2005 173 2005 173 173

– – Huawei – Huawei Technologies Huawei Technologies Cooperatief U.A. Technologies Cooperatief (100) U.A. Cooperatief (100) U.A. (100)

Cai lingyu Cai lingyu – Cai lingyu –– –– –

1133 Budapest, 1133útBudapest, Váci 116–118.

1133 Budapest, Váci 116–118.

(1) út 555-2300 Váci út 116–118.

(1) 555-2300 – (1) 555-2300 – –

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

2006 2006 2,285 2006 2,285 2,285

– – Nokia Solutions – Nokia Solutions and Networks Nokia Solutions andOy Networks (100) andOy Networks (100) Oy (100)

béla zagyva béla zagyva Erzsébet Tóth béla zagyva Erzsébet – Tóth Erzsébet – Tóth –

1083 Budapest, 1083 Budapest, Bókay János utca 1083 Budapest, Bókay János utca Bókay36–42.

János utca 36–42.

(20)36–42.

977-7797 (20) 977-7797 – (20) 977-7797 – –

A A A

– – –

1992 1992 176 1992 176 176

– – Corp.

Microsoft – Corp.

Microsoft (100) Microsoft (100)Corp.

(100)

Christopher Christopher mattheisen Christopher mattheisen – mattheisen ––– – –

1031 Budapest, 1031 Budapest, Graphisoft park 3.

1031 Budapest, Graphisoft park 3.

(1) 437-2800 Graphisoft park 3.

(1) 437-2800 – (1) 437-2800 – –

– – –

2002 2002 26 2002 26 26

– – NEC Europe Ltd. – NEC Europe (100) Ltd. NEC Europe (100) Ltd. (100)

lászló magyar, lászló magyar, edit Cserháti lászló magyar, edit Cserháti Hontiné edit Cserháti Hontiné – Hontiné –– –– –

1142 Budapest, 1142 Budapest, Ungvár utca 64–66.

1142 Budapest, Ungvár utca 64–66.

(1) 814-6424 Ungvár utca 64–66.

(1) 814-6424 eszter.nagy@ (1) 814-6424 eszter.nagy@ emea.nec.com eszter.nagy@ emea.nec.com emea.nec.com

1997 1997 81 1997 81 81

– – Cisco Systems – Cisco Systems CISCO Inc. (A),Systems Cisco Inc.Systems (A), CISCO Inc.Systems (A), CISCO Management Systems Management B.V. (A) Management B.V. (A) B.V. (A)

ottó zoltán ottó zoltán dalos ottó zoltán dalos – dalos –– –– –

1123 Budapest, 1123 Budapest, Csörsz utca 45.

1123 Budapest, Csörsz utca 45.

(1) 225-4600 Csörsz utca 45.

(1) 225-4600 – (1) 225-4600 – –

– – Sierra – Sierra Communications Sierra Communications International LLC Communications LLC A), AVAYA Emea (International LLC A), AVAYA Emea (International A ) Ltd. ( (A), AVAYA ) Ltd. (AEmea Ltd. (A)

györgy györgy gombár, györgy gombár, andrás turai gombár, andrás – turai andrás –– turai –– –

1062 Budapest, 1062 VáciBudapest, út 1–3.

1062 Budapest, Váci út 1–3.

(1) 238-8200 Váci út 1–3.

(1) 238-8200 SALES-HUNGARY@ (1) 238-8200 SALES-HUNGARY@ avaya.com SALES-HUNGARY@ avaya.com avaya.com

industRy industRy industRy speCiFiC speCiFiC speCiFiC solution solution solution

3 3 3

– – –

5126 Jászfényszaru, 5126 Jászfényszaru, Samsung tér 1.

5126 Jászfényszaru, Samsung tér 1.

(80) 726-7864 Samsung tér 1.

(80) 726-7864 – (80) 726-7864 – –

✓ ✓ ✓

eRiCsson magyaRoRszág eRiCsson magyaRoRszág kommunikáCiós eRiCsson magyaRoRszág kommunikáCiós RendszeRek kFt. kommunikáCiós RendszeRek kFt. www.ericsson.hu RendszeRek kFt. www.ericsson.hu www.ericsson.hu

– – –

Joseph Rhee Joseph Rhee Sang-Woo Lim, Joseph Rhee Sang-Woo Lim, Witsch Gerda Sang-Woo Lim, Witsch– Gerda Witsch– Gerda –

– – –

2 2 2

493,205 493,205 493,205

(100) (100) – (100) – –

– – –

Cloud netWoRk Cloud netWoRk teCHnology kFt. Cloud netWoRk teCHnology kFt. www.foxconn.hu teCHnology www.foxconn.hukFt. www.foxconn.hu

✓ ✓ ✓

1989 1989 1,402 1989 1,402 1,402

– – –

samsung eleCtRoniCs samsungzRt. eleCtRoniCs magyaR samsungzRt. eleCtRoniCs magyaR www.samsung.com magyaR zRt. www.samsung.com www.samsung.com

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

message message message Handling Handling Handling system system system

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

CtC/CRm CtC/CRm CtC/CRm solution solution solution

– – –

1 1 1

1,202,652 1,202,652 1,202,652

oWneRsHip oWneRsHip (%) oWneRsHip (%) HungaRian (%) HungaRian nonHungaRian nonHungaRian nonHungaRian HungaRian

voip voip voip

Fax Fax Fax maCHines maCHines maCHines

– – –

vsat vsat vsat system system system

ansWeRing ansWeRing ansWeRing maCHines maCHines maCHines

– – –

Call/ContaCt Call/ContaCt Call/ContaCt CenteR CenteR CenteR

isdn isdn isdn pHones pHones pHones

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

business business business pHone pHone pHone systems/pbx systems/pbx systems/pbx

analog analog analog pHones pHones pHones

total net total net Revenue total net Revenue in 2021 Revenue in 2021 (HuF mln) in 2021 (HuF mln) (HuF mln)

tRi-band tRi-band tRi-band mobile mobile mobile pHones pHones pHones

Company Company Website Company Website Website

dual dual dual band band band mobile mobile mobile pHones pHones pHones (900/1800 (900/1800 (900/1800 Hz) Hz) Hz)

Rank Rank Rank

types oF equipment types oF equipment types oF equipment

– – –

A A A

A A A

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

A A A

A A A

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

A A A

A A A

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

A A A

A A A

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

A A A

top loCal top loCal exeCutive top loCal exeCutive CFo exeCutive CFo maRketing CFo maRketing diReCtoR maRketing diReCtoR diReCtoR

addRess addRess pHone addRess pHone email pHone email email

2,516 2,516 2,516

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

– – –

1990 1990 88 1990 88 88

273 273 273

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

– – –

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓

– – –

2009 2009 20 2009 20 20

Zoltán Havasi Zoltán Havasi (100) Zoltán Havasi (100) – (100) – –

zoltán Havasi zoltán NorbertHavasi Szabó zoltán Norbert–Havasi Szabó Norbert– Szabó –

1152 Budapest, 1152 TelekBudapest, utca 7-9.

1152 Budapest, Telek utca 7-9.

(1) 271-1141 Telek utca 7-9.

(1) 271-1141 info@mohanet.com (1) 271-1141 info@mohanet.com info@mohanet.com

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

A A A

– – –

2010 2010 27 2010 27 27

– Junichi––Suzuki Junichi Suzuki (100) Junichi Suzuki (100) (100)

andrea Cetrone andrea –Cetrone andrea –Cetrone ––– –

1117 Budapest, 1117 AlízBudapest, utca 4.

1117 Budapest, Alíz utca 4.

(1) 382-6060 Alíz utca 4.

(1) 382-6060 – (1) 382-6060 – –

4

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Socialite

mixed race. And often, people wouldn’t realize that I spoke Hungarian because I looked a lot more Japanese when I was younger as well. Although I only learned Hungarian because my grandmother Nóra refused to learn English.”

Perfect Accent

Half-Hungarian, Half-Japanese, Thoroughly Entertaining: Miki Berenyi I’m a sucker for books by rock and rollers and have become obsessed with reading about famous people with a Hungarian background.

“Fingers Crossed,” a memoir by Miki Berenyi, writer, guitarist, and lead singer of the band Lush, ticks both boxes.

Miki Berenyi

Lush was popular enough to be invited to tour America as part of the thenalternative Lollapalooza festival in 1992.

When I picked up my copy of “Fingers DAVID HOLZER Crossed,” I knew little about Lush other than that Berenyi had flame-red hair and The band, active between the late 1980s is half-Hungarian. Her father, journalist and 1996, when they dissolved, had a Ivan Paul Berenyi was born in Hungary solid following in the United Kingdom, in 1933 and escaped to the United United States, and Europe. They released Kingdom after the Soviets crushed the three acclaimed albums: “Spooky,” “Split” 1956 Hungarian Revolution. and “Lovelife.” The first reached number Her mother, Yasuko, was an seven in the U.K. album charts and did actress and model best known for her well in the States. Three singles released appearance, pregnant with Berenyi, from “Lovelife” were hits. in the 1967 Bond movie You Only Live Twice.

In the press release for the book, Berenyi is quoted as saying, “The madcap ups and dysfunctional downs of my childhood and adolescence (London, Windsor, Hungary, Japan, Los Angeles) set me up for the chaos of being in a band and the eventual overkill of a changing music industry. […] There are shocking events, but it’s not a misery memoir. Bad stuff happens to everyone and it’s how you get through the crap that I find important and interesting.”

I was also intrigued by the fact that “Fingers Crossed” has received excellent reviews. Music bible Mojo described it as “Compelling, funny, vivid,” and The Times as “Remarkable, revelatory.”

Childhood Memories

Berenyi visited Hungary several times throughout her childhood.

Her apparently monstrous, abusive grandmother Nóra, who helped raise her, kept one grand family

apartment on the Buda side of Budapest and a villa at Balatonboglár on the southern shore of Lake Balaton.

Her writing about the Hungary she visited when it was communist is vivid, funny and insightful.

“My memories of Hungary are bathed in a nostalgic gauze of warm sunlight, but even as a child, I picked up that the political situation cast a noticeable pall of dissatisfaction and paranoia over its citizens,” she writes.

“From what I observed, Soviet communism for most Hungarians engendered a willful rejection of all its ideals: our local friends refused to speak more than a few words of Russian, despite years of lessons at school and their enforced reading and study of the entirety of ‘Das Kapital’ failed to engender any appreciation of Marxist philosophy and instead provided the tools with which to condemn communist ideology all the more eloquently.”

This has very much been my experience of discussing communism and Marx with my partner and her friends who grew up in those different times. But how Hungarian does Berenyi feel herself?

“I’ve never felt particularly Hungarian in that I think I was so busy trying to fit in culturally in Britain that I didn’t really think to sort of amplify my Hungarianness or even particularly explore it. It was just something that happened to me,” she tells me.

“I would go to Hungary, and I would have a lovely time, but I was clearly an outsider there, as I was in Japan. I was

According to my Hungarian partner, who overheard snatches of my conversation with Berenyi, her pronunciation is very good.

“I tell you what,” Berenyi says, “if I lived in Hungary for a month, I think it would all come back. When I was writing the book, Peter Pallai, a Hungarian journalist who worked for the BBC in London and who was a friend of my Dad’s, helped me fill in some of the detail. When I was talking to him, he said, ‘Your Hungarian accent is still perfect.’ I think Hungarians are often taken a bit aback by that because it’s just so unexpected.”

While she doesn’t feel Hungarian, Berenyi acknowledges that she may well have inherited a Hungarian sensibility.

“There’s the Hungarian love of telling stories. I remember from my childhood that someone would launch into a long story, and everyone would be laughing and chiming in,” she recalls.

“Exposed to Dad’s constant and casual use of swearwords and [my grandmother] Nóra’s elaborate and vindictive cursing, I have acquired an impressive range of filthy expressions myself, in both English and Hungarian.”

“I’ve had a lot of people saying that I write about quite traumatic stuff with a certain detachment and humor. I do think that’s probably my Dad’s voice somewhere. Even when he was talking about shocking things and violence, such as 1956 and his own abuse at the hands of his mother, he would try and turn it into a funny story. In that way, I’m my father’s daughter.”

In “Fingers Crossed,” Berenyi writes, “exposed to Dad’s constant and casual use of swearwords and Nóra’s elaborate and vindictive cursing, I have acquired an impressive range of filthy expressions myself, in both English and Hungarian.”

Having enjoyed a conversation with her, I can attest to her prowess at swearing in English. I have never interviewed someone who swears so much. I loved it. Now I just need to provoke my Hungarian partner into swearing at me in her native language so I can learn more.

Find out more about Miki Berenyi at www.mikiberenyi.com.

22 | 4

Socialite

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

Making Magyar Malbec and Much More While the Petrányi name is relatively well-known in Hungary due to its association with U.S. automobiles (the Ford Petrányi dealership has existed for 30 years), the family has also been seriously involved in wine for a significant amount of time.

ROBERT SMYTH

The Csopak-based Petrányi Pince, established by István and Piroska Petrányi, celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2021. With the celebrations to mark two decades of wine-making postponed due to COVID, the 20+1 anniversary press event gave a chance to catch up with happenings at this beautifully located winery on Szita-hegy, which overlooks Lake Balaton, with its vines running down the hill towards Central Europe’s largest lake.

Olaszrizling is the critical grape here. From the 2021 vintage, Petrányi put out its entry-level Olaszrizling from bought-in grapes and a more concentrated Hegybor.

“The idea was to make a light, easydrinking style in tanks and acacia barrels,” says Petrányi’s winemaker Ambrus Bakó of the former, which has already pretty much sold out.

Bakó used to be the chief winemaker at Villa Sandahl in Badacsony, where he also made his own excitingly edgy wines. He has dropped his side project but is busier than ever as he is also a winemaker at Unger Bormanufaktúra in the Kőszeg Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

“I just want to make wine and not have to sell it,” Bakó explains. He is also working for two new Badascony cellars, which will be launched on the market soon, as well as one in the Pécs wine region.

Csopak’s Permian sandstone and limestone soils, twinned with the moderating effect of the lake, give such complex and layered white wines that they do not necessarily need propping up by oak, as they can stand alone. Accordingly, Petrányi’s Hegybor

2021 was solely vinified in the tank, something held in common with other local winemakers. It costs HUF 4,690 from petranyipince.hu.

Petrányi also releases several reds, including a spontaneously-fermented, refined spice bomb of a Syrah from 2019 (also HUF 4,690 from its webshop), reviewed in this column in the September 22 edition.

Malbec, and winemaker Péter Úrbán finds it ideal for making a mediumbodied offering. This is a winery associated with big, bold, full-bodied wines, and it is interesting to see Malbec making a lighter, fruitier style here. The 2021 costs HUF 1,990 from wineloverswebshop.hu. Vesztergombi is yet another Szekszárd winery to have put out single varietal Malbec.

Planting Malbec

While many winemakers across Hungary make Syrah, Petrányi is one of the few to plant Malbec, another French grape, although it has just five rows of it. In France, the grape is most closely associated with Cahors, in the southwest of the country, from where it originates and goes by the names of Côt and Auxerrois. However, Malbec has made a more prominent name for itself in Argentina, particularly Mendoza.

The grape exudes a deep purple color, violet and black fruit aromas, and inky tannins. Petrányi’s Malbec, Ében 2020, is juicy, fruity and balanced with smooth tannins and is set to be released soon. Malbec was grafted onto existing rootstock in 2019, and this is the virgin vintage. It was spontaneously fermented, unfiltered and unfined, and aged for 13 months in small French oak barrels.

Down in Szekszárd, the Mészáros Pál label has also moved into making Malbec, planting the grape in 2007 after its eponymous owner learned all about the wine on a trip to Argentina.

He had to wait until 2016 before the grape’s name could be used on the label. Mészaros Pál Grandiózus Malbec 2019 (HUF 4,650 from Pannonborbolt. hu) is perfumed and plummy, with a creamy, smooth, round, and fullbodied palate with blueberry and black cherry notes. It’s striking how varietally pure it is, yet nothing sticks out, and it can be more balanced than many Mendoza Malbecs.

Bodri Pincészet is another Szekszárd winery that puts out a single-varietal

Down in Szekszárd, the Mészáros Pál label has also moved into making Malbec, planting the grape in 2007 after its eponymous owner learned all about the wine on a trip to Argentina. He had to wait until 2016 before the grape’s name could be used on the label.

Over in Sopron, the Pfneiszl sisters use Malbec as a component of their Távoli-világ (“Distant World”) blend, which also comprises Shiraz, Carmenère, Zinfandel, and Sangiovese. With its high acidity and lean, tight structure, it tastes very much like a Sopron wine as opposed to something from the New World.

Birgit Pfneiszl describes it as her “CV in a bottle,” referring to the internships she had in various distant places: Australia (Shiraz), Chile (Carmenère), Argentina (Malbec), California (Zinfandel) and Italy (Sangiovese). It costs HUF 4,400 from pfneiszl.hu.

City Tasting

Back in Budapest, the “Vingardium in the City” tasting, held in the Bálna event hall on October 15, provided an excellent opportunity to taste the wine

from a combination of well-known names and upcoming ones or those that have floated under the radar.

Having judged on the rosé panel at the Winelovers 100 legjobb Magyar Bor, it was nice to get another chance to try the highest positioned rosé. This wine came from Pecsinger Szőlőbirtok in the Pannonhalma wine region, whose “Reze” rosé 2021, a round, juicy and elegant blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, was the highest-placed pink wine in 27th place in the 2022 edition of the 100 Best Hungarian wines.

This rosé is a bargain at HUF 1,690 from webshop.pecsinger.hu and has enough weight to be enjoyed in the cooler weather. Pecsinger has a striking space-age, mint-green colored, Dezső Ekler-designed winery, dramatically surrounded by vineyards, near the village of Győrújbarát, and is well worth a visit.

Pecsinger’s decision to sell more bottled wine instead of in plastic containers is well justified with wines like this.

Keeping with the rosé theme at Vingardium, the Juhász Syrah 2021 from Eger captures the grape variety’s spiciness and is also fruity and fresh. It costs HUF 1,990 from pannonborbolt.hu.

Tamás Dúzsi, from Szekszárd, was previously labeled the prince of rosé, and making wines with son Bence, he keeps upping the pink ante. Made for the winery’s 25th anniversary from lateharvest and botrytized grapes picked on the last day of October, its Cabernet Franc rosé 2017 is full-bodied, with a whopping 16% alcohol and ultra-complex notes of orange, tobacco and sweet bread.

A gold medal winner at the International Rosé Championship 2021, the wine will set you back HUF 24,490 from duzsitamas.hu.

A real find from Feind was its traditional method sparkling rosé, which is fruity and juicy with a lively bubble structure. The wines are made close to the eastern shore of Lake Balaton with the French savoir-faire of Maxime Belrepayre.

It costs HUF 4,599 from feind.hu.

4

www.bbj.hu

Budapest Business Journal | November 7 – November 17, 2022

28th Traditional Canadian Lobster Dinner Coming Up The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary will host its annual Lobster Dinner for the 28th time at the ballroom of the Hotel InterContinental Budapest on November 12. The event has become one of Budapest’s most significant business networking events over the years, not least because it features fresh lobster directly imported from Nova Scotia, Canada.

BBJ STAFF

According to the chamber, “This is a fun and equally meaningful networking experience for Hungarian and expat company leaders, executives and business people. [...] The atmosphere at this prestigious international event is set by live music, exciting raffle items and a silent auction. The icing on the cake is undoubtedly the fresh and delicious lobster straight from Canada.”

The province of Nova Scotia is known as the “lobster capital” of Canada, where lobster fishing has been the foundation of the economy for local fishermen since the 1800s. The Canadian Chamber says it is “proud” to support this sustainable fishing model, with more than 300 lobsters caught

by Nova Scotian fishermen shipped by air to The Netherlands. After a couple of days’ rest, they will arrive directly (and fresh) at the InterContinental Budapest’s kitchen.

The Canadian Lobster Dinner event attracts hundreds of Hungarian and expat businesspeople each year. While there are many returning guests, the chamber is happy to welcome new guests as well.

“We are proud to have many guests who have been coming to our lobster dinner for years, even decades, but we also welcome new faces, as we want as many people as possible to get to know who we are and what we do,” says Judit Lovas, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary.

“Our aim is to help business leaders build a truly effective business network that goes even beyond borders and ultimately helps them to thrive,” she adds.

More information about the event and a link to the registration page can be found on the chamber website, ccch.hu.

There is also a (Hungarian-language only) video on its YouTube channel; search on the platform for CanadianHungarian Chamber of Commerce.

Debrecen to Introduce Energy CostSaving Measures

Socialite | 23

auction in Paris in 1913 after the state of Hungary and the city of Budapest turned down offers to purchase the painting.

The Greek artist El Greco, real name Domenikos Theotokopoulos, was a star of the Spanish Rennaisance and lived from October 1, 1541-April 7, 1614. The Museum of Fine Arts has an exceptional collection of Spanish paintings, including what it says is Europe’s largest holding of works by El Greco outside Spain. This is the first large-scale monographic exhibition of the artist’s work in Hungary and will run until February 19 next year.

The city council of Debrecen (about 195 km east of Budapest) has announced several cultural restrictions among measures that aim to save some HUF 2 billion on utility bills, as the city faces a HUF 10 bln increase in energy costs next year, according to debrecen.hu. According to the plans, school swimming pools will close at the end of October for the rest of the school year, while the city’s public swimming pool will operate “in a limited fashion” until December 15, when it, too, Hungary’s Oscars will close. The city’s orchestra and chorus Entry ‘Blockade’ will move into the newly built Csokonai Debuts in Cinemas Fórum, and the Kölcsey Center will not host any cultural programs from January “Blockade” (“Blokád”), the movie Hungary has nominated for Best International 1 until April 15. The Déri Museum and the Modem Gallery will cut their opening Feature Film at the upcoming Academy Awards, debuted on the evening of hours. The thermostats at city markets will be turned down, and fountains turned October 20 in cinemas across the country according to culture website kulturport.hu. off. Decorative outdoor lighting for the The film, directed by Ádám Tősér, holidays will be limited to pedestrian revolves around Prime Minister József areas in the city’s center, and the city’s largest ice rink will not operate. The Fidesz Antall’s handling of the 1990 taxi drivers’ protest when demonstrators Mayor László Papp argued that these against a fuel price hike introduced by measures represent a “first step” in the city’s plans to reduce energy bills to HUF the government blocked bridges in the capital for days while the PM was bed4.2 bln. He said the cost-saving actions would not affect the operation of creches, ridden after a medical procedure. kindergartens, or nursing homes, while all The last time the Hungarian entry won the Best International Feature Film necessary services would be continued. award at the Oscars was in 2015, with the Holocaust drama “Son of Saul.”

Museum of Fine

Arts Displays Newly Acquired El Greco

Budapest’s Museum of Fine Arts has included a newly acquired El Greco painting, “Portrait of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga,” among more than 50 works of the artist’s oeuvre, in an exhibition that opened on October 28. According to hirado.hu, the painting was unveiled to the press on October 18. It was bought by the MOL New Europe Foundation at auction at Christie’s in June for USD 3.6 million. It has been placed on long-term deposit at the museum, its director László Baán said. He noted that “Portrait of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga” was once owned by the Hungarian collector Marcell Nemes but was sold at

Photo Exhibition of ’56 Revolution Opens at National Museum

An outdoor photo exhibition titled “Hope and Drama: Hungary ’56” opened on October 24 in Budapest, in the garden of the Hungarian National Museum, according to profitline.hu. The exhibition commemorates the heroes of the 1956 revolution and the solidarity of the Polish people. The show includes recordings documenting the events of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, made by an unknown eyewitness and which came to the museum from a Polish family through the Committee of National Remembrance.

El Greco: Laocoön, ca. 1610–1614 | Washington, National Gallery of Art, Samuel H. Kress Collection © Washington, Courtesy National Gallery of Art

ADVERTISEMENT

28 October 2022 – 19 February 2023 Main sponsors:

Cooperating partners:

mfab.hu

THE NEW

The picture is for illustration only. BMW 7: consumption: 6,1­6,8 l/100 km; CO2­emission: 160­178 g/km.

7