Külpolitika - A Magyar Külügyi Intézet folyóirata - 1996 (2. évfolyam)
1996 / 2. szám - ESEMÉNYNAPTÁR - Resumé
Résumé ethnic claims to be effective, it has to be base on the political conviction that peaceful coexistence of "majorities" and "minorities" has no alternative in Central Europe either. György Csáki - Magdolna Sass - Andrea Szalavetz The Rule of Foreign Capital in Modernisation Hungary has attracted about HUF 14 bn in FDI so far, including the sums invested before 1989, which tend to be omitted from international comparisons, and including investment both in cash and in kind. The biggest source has been the United States, followed by Germany and Austria. German investors have established the most firms in Hungary, followed by the Austrians and the Italians. Initially, the capital went mainly into manufacturing, while the most wholly or partly foreign-owned (hereafter 'foreign') were set up in the services, especially trading. The weight of telecommunications increased between 1992 and 1995. The sale of 66% of Matáv (Hungarian Telecom) raised HUF 1.275 bn, and HUF 500 mn was invested in three cellular mobile phone companies. Large, and still increasing sums are being invested in regional telephone concessions and other telecom services like paging systems. Towards the end of 1995, the weight of the energy sector rose suddenly through a spate of privatization. There are several grounds for rating the Hungarian economy's record as a capital importer its biggest success since the change of system: Hungary alone has attracted about the same amount of FDI as the other CEE countries put together. Hungary's share of about 0.7% in the international FDI flow of USD 200 bn is two to two- and-a-half times the size of its share in world trade (on the export and the import sides). The majority of the FDI entering Hungary is for green-field investment, not payment for privatized assets. Though Hungary is the only CEE country to have privatized almost exclusively by market-compatible methods, and foreign capital accounted for 34.85% of privatization revenues in 199094: the surge of energy privatization in 1995 only changed this temporarily. The share of foreign firms in Hungary's exports of goods and services is exceptionally high: over 60% in 1995. The foreign firms among Hungary's biggest exporters include GE- Tungsram, Alcoa-Köfém,, Sanofi-Chinoin, Elektrolux-Lehel, etc. The sectoral structure of the FDI is extremely favourable. While manufacturing remains preponderant, Hungary is the only CEE country to have attracted a high proportion of foreign capital into the services (notably telecom and road transport). The volume of reinvested profits and supplementary investment is very high. Almost all the big investors of the early 1990s (such as GE-Tungsram, Audi, Ford, GM-Opel, Philips and Thyssen) have steadily expanded their presence since then. There has been a steady rise in employment by foreign firms, which now exceeds 400,000. This has coincided with an overall decline in employment. Foreign firms now account for about 20% of employment in the commercial sphere. 138 Külpolitika
