China tops investments in Hungary as Asia leads 2024 FDI

China, South Korea, and Japan contributed nearly 80 percent of Hungary's newly secured foreign direct investment last year.

BUDAPEST, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China accounted for the largest share of foreign investments in Hungary in 2024, with seven Chinese projects contributing nearly half of the year's total investment value, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.

South Korean and Japanese companies also announced major projects, cementing Asia's role in driving Hungary's economic growth. China, South Korea, and Japan dominated Hungary's foreign direct investment (FDI) landscape, collectively responsible for nearly 80 percent of the total 4,000 billion forints (9.97 billion U.S. dollars) in new investments secured last year, said Szijjarto in a Facebook post.

"If we had given in to external pressure … and failed to implement the Eastern Opening strategy or the economic neutrality strategy, if we had allowed ourselves to be cut off from Eastern investments, thousands of jobs and billions of euros worth of investments would have gone to other countries," Szijjarto said, highlighting the government's focus on attracting high-value projects from Asia.

Germany and the United States followed as key contributors, securing the fourth and fifth largest shares of investments, respectively. Szijjarto said that investors from "all directions of the compass" have brought advanced technologies and created jobs.

According to Szijjarto, the Hungarian government signed agreements with 77 companies in 2024, making it the second most successful year in the country's history for investment promotion.

Automotive and electronics industries remained dominant, but the food sector rose to third place. Additionally, Hungary secured 19 high-value agreements in business services, IT, and research and development, marking progress in diversifying its economic portfolio.

"This achievement underscores Hungary's transformation and the effectiveness of its investment promotion strategy," Szijjarto said. (1 Hungarian forint = 0.0025 U.S. dollar)