BUDAPEST, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The dynamic expansion characterizing the previous year continued in the first quarter of 2018 -- the volume of investments of Hungary in the first quarter (Q1) exceeded the volume of the same period of the previous year by 17.3 percent, official data revealed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted volume of investments rose by 4.1 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the previous quarter, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a statement.
The investments rose by 16.7 percent in 2017.
During Q1 2018, construction investments rose by 26.4 percent, while machinery and equipment saw a growth in investments of 10.4 percent compared to the same period of last year.
The performance of investment decreased by 1.1 percent in the case of enterprises employing at least 50 persons, realizing more than half of investments, whereas investments grew by 65 percent in the case of budgetary organizations accountable for 12 percent of investments, compared to the same period of the previous year.
"State-related investments played a key role in the growth of the whole national economy. As a result of developments financed from EU funds, the investments of mainly publicly financed areas expanded at a rate well above average," KSH announced.
In general, investment activity rose in most sectors of the Hungarian economy. Of the areas carrying the largest weight, the highest growth was recorded in the investment performance of real estate activities (44.9 percent up from 22.5 percent), where dwelling constructions volume continued to expand besides growing investments in construction of facilities to be leased (such as office buildings, commercial real estate and warehouses), according to KSH.
Investments in manufacture of transport equipment -- their total share approximated one quarter of the studied period's investments in manufacturing -- also expanded significantly.
"The first quarter growth in investments strongly exceeds the expectations, and it has to be noted that the growth was not the strongest in the first three months of this year," Minister of State for Public Finances Peter Beno Banai commented on the KSH report on the public television channel M1.
According to him, the government expected an increase of only 13 percent. He also commented on the recent plans of the EU, according to which, European funds to Hungary (and other Eastern European Member States as well) would be cut back by almost a quarter from 2021, as the next -- yet to be accepted EU budget -- would rather favor the ill economies of the Mediterranean region.
The minister rejected the inclusion of new aspects, such as migration, in the allocation of development resources. To approve the seven-year EU budget, the Member States need to give their approval, thus Hungary has a veto right in the decision, he concluded.
