We attended a business lunch organised by JVA where Mr. Mihály Varga, Minister for National Economy held a speech and described the current economic trends and the background of certain government decisions.
The attendees made several questions and received direct answers, like
- Hungary plans to join the Euro zone, but it is not urgent at the moment. Although the decision could be made, it would not be beneficial until the efficiency of Hungarian labour does not reach 90% of that of German labour.
- In general, labour efficiency was a returning point in the speech as the key factor for further development and financial reforms.
- There is no target for the HUF/EUR exchange rate, it should be defined by the market. It would be very expensive to influence the rate, as we can see it in Switzerland or in Russia.
- The markets evaluate Hungary better than the big rating agencies. The interest level of bonds is lower than those of Portugal or Poland despite the lower rating.
- He was open for the proposal of cancelling the corporate income tax top-up payments due in every December, but earliest in 2018.
