MikeLigalig.com

by pna

Hungarian economy minister said on Monday that his country was taking measures of increasing investments and introducing news taxes to kick-start economic growth.

Gyorgy Matolcsy told the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary that his country eyed the sectors such as vehicle industry, agriculture and tourism as potential growth areas for more investments.

Hungary has introduced a series of new taxes in an effort to cut its budget deficit to below 3 percent of its GDP to avert suspension of European Union development funds.

Hungary is now mired in recession, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) predicting that its economy will contract by 1.5 percent this year.

But the bank also predicted the country might manage a 0.4 percent growth in 2013. The government has projected a 1.2 percent decline in 2012 and a 0.9 percent growth in 2013.

Hungary announced its intention to negotiate a loan of 19.5 billion US dollars with the EU and IMF last November, but so far talks have not gotten off the ground.

Matolcsy said that the Hungrian government had managed since 2010 to consolidate the budget, reduce the national debt and increase jobs, albeit by offering community jobs at less than minimum wage to the unemployed.

Matolcsy said one of the biggest problems facing the Hungarian economy was that the investment rate was much lower than that among its neighbors.

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