István Joó: there is no serious growth in Hungary without foreign direct investment
2025. 12. 15. -
The role of foreign investors strengthening the economy with capital and modern technology is crucial in Hungary, without them there is no significant growth, and their activities also have a beneficial effect on small and medium-sized domestic enterprises - said Mr. István Joó, Government Commissioner and CEO of the HIPA Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency in a podcast interview with Mr. Egon Rónai on index.hu.
Mr. Istán Joó highlighted that with foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow exceeding EUR 10 billion both in 2024 and 2023, Hungary surpassed the combined results of the other three Visegrád 4 (V4) countries, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.
HIPA is working to attract as many foreign companies to Hungary as possible in the industrial sectors and the business service center (BSC) sector.
Without foreign direct investment, there is no significant economic growth
- emphasized Mr. István Joó.
He added that Hungary is one of the most open economies in the world, therefore “it is crucial that companies offering the most modern technology come to Hungary and manufacture here,” and then, in a next step, they expand their activities in research and development and innovation, tasks with the highest intellectual added value.
Regarding the plans for the next period, the HIPA CEO said that a list of several hundred companies has been put together, including Western and Eastern companies, and the Hungarian trade attachés all over the world have started visiting them.
“Their task is to open the door for us to negotiate,” said Mr. István Joó about the work of the diplomats, adding that the selected companies all “possess some kind of plus for the Hungarian industrial ecosystem.”
These companies operate in medical technology, pharmaceutical production, composite technologies, the chemical industry, the business service center sector or the information and communication technologies field, and HIPA is working together with the Hungarian embassies to convince them to invest in Hungary.
Latest horizons entries
The automotive industry remains one of the most important sectors of the Hungarian economy, in which not only production capacities are expanding, but also a knowledge-based dimensional change has begun, said Mr. István Joó, Government Commissioner and CEO of th...
2026. 03. 23. -
Automotive #AutomotiveHungary has managed to create the most competitive business environment in Europe over the past 16 years, as a result of which foreign direct investment is helping the efforts to boost the economy, but opposition plans are putting all of this at risk, said Mr. I...
2026. 01. 21. -
HIPA #HIPAThe recent U.S.–Hungary summit in Washington may open a new chapter in bilateral economic relations, bringing dozens of American companies into the focus of Hungary’s investment promotion activities, said Mr. István Joó, Government Commissioner and CEO of the HI...
2025. 11. 12. -
HIPA #HIPA