Chinese investments in Hungary are slow to materialise

In an article yesterday (Varga T. Gábor, “Papíron maradt beruházások”, p. 5), the Hungarian opposition daily Népszabadság points out that, despite the Hungarian government’s spectacular gestures towards China, the agreements signed during Wen Jiabao’s 2011 visit have been slow to deliver results. The Hungarian national airline has gone bankrupt despite talks about Chinese investment; a rapid rail line to the airport and a logistics hub for Chinese goods in Europe have not been built; and a major real estate project in Debrecen seems to be faltering. The only project known to have made use of a 1bn euro credit line announced by Wen is Wanhua Chemical’s purchase of Borsodchem. Huawei has been expanding in Hungary, but not at the rate expected. There is also the plan of a $8 million invstmentin a solar panel factory.

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