Hungary 7th in IBMʼs Global Location Trends report

MTI – Econews

Hungary has achieved 7th place in IBM’s Global Location Trends report based on the number of jobs created in a country by foreign direct investment (FDI) relative to the size of the country’s population, Tamás Menczer, deputy state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said at a press briefing Tuesday.

Based on data recorded in 2017, Serbia came in first, followed by Lithuania, then Bosnia and Herzegovina. When not adjusted for the size of population, the United States placed first, China second, and Mexico third, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.

In the category of high value-added jobs created by FDI, Hungary placed 16th, it added.

Menczer said Hungary is attractive to investors as its personal income tax and corporate tax rates are among the lowest in Europe and the social contribution tax rate is also getting lower.

Róbert Ésik, head of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), said that in 2017 IBM registered 121 investments in Hungary by foreigners, which created 17,500 jobs. Around 5,500 jobs were created in Budapest, putting it in sixth place among European capitals.

Ésik noted that HIPA helped attract 46 investments to Hungary in the first half of 2018, valued at more than EUR 2 billion in total and creating 7,000 jobs.