Number of Firms in Hungary Steadily Decreasing

The number of companies in Hungary has fallen every month so far this year, with almost 10,000 fewer firms operating in June than in December last year, business information provider Opten told MTI on Tuesday.

According to the information, almost 2,400 companies were founded in June, which is not an outstanding number, but not low compared to the average. The number of dissolved companies exceeded 3,000 in June, with a significant change in the proportion of companies that ceased to exist.

In the past, the highest proportion of dissolutions was by compulsory liquidation, but last year's changes to the small business tax (‘kata’) reversed this trend and companies dissolved by liquidation became the majority.

The number of new winding-up proceedings initiated continued to rise, to over 2,500, the highest in the last six years. Not only the June figure was a record, but also the number of winding-up proceedings opened this year, which exceeded 11,000; the half-year figure is 30% higher than last year's full-year figure. 3-5-year-old companies continue to be the most affected.

In June, more than 1,200 liquidations were started, the second highest number this year and the highest in six years on a seasonal basis, Opten said.