Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency

Speaking on TrendFM, Mr. István Joó highlighted that global FDI remains stagnant, and a range of challenges from tariffs to European competitiveness problems mean that investment promotion agencies "are not having their best years". Yet Hungary captured a significant share of global investments last year, and the results of 2025 so far and ongoing negotiations point to great performance.

“We see growing investor interest in R&D and business services,” he noted, adding that recent changes to support schemes have allowed more Hungarian companies to participate in HIPA’s programs. While HIPA’s core mission is to attract foreign investment, supporting Hungarian companies and local SMEs is important as well.

There’s no contradiction between supporting large foreign investors and Hungarian firms, both are essential. In fact, multinationals have a positive impact on the local SME sector 

– Mr. István Joó emphasized.

HIPA’s 2024 investment results exceeded the combined performance of the other three Visegrád countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia). Yet in 2025, the focus is not on investment volume, but the quality and diversity of projects, particularly how domestic firms can meet the high standards of incentive programs, and how many industries benefit from FDI.

New tools like HIPA’s supplier development program help local companies to integrate into international value chains. A key feature is a centralized supplier database enabling investors to identify reliable Hungarian partners.

The Government Commissioner for Investment Promotion and Implementation of Large FDI Projects pointed out that becoming a supplier is a complex and challenging process, but HIPA can support this with funding and matchmaking events that bring investors and local companies together.