New Jersey Business Delegation Visit to Budapest

Upon the invitation of the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry to the Hungarian capital, a business delegation of high-ranking members of New Jersey State’s politics and business from the United States paid a visit to the headquarters of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) followed by an insightful business forum.

According to a statement by HIPA, the parties agreed that investment opportunities in both countries exist, and business communities on both sides of the Atlantic need to be further encouraged to turn them into success stories.

The significance of American investments in Hungary can’t be emphasized enough, HIPA states. US companies represent the third strongest investor community, by employing 107,000. In 2022 alone, the creation of over 1,000 new high-quality jobs could be linked to them. The thriving of bilateral trade is another indication of close economic ties of which volume was up over 16% last year, whereas Hungarian exports grew by 27%.

The American delegation was received by HIPA CEO István Joó who presented the service portfolio of the Agency and gave a snapshot of the state-of-play of bilateral economic relations.

It was established that in the longer run, the idea is to primarily secure deals that help the Hungarian economy step up the global value chain so that the local talent pool stays in the country and productivity surges. American companies can and do help make this happen to a large extent: in the past nine years they launched the most FDI projects in the BSC and ICT sectors, Senator Gordon M. Johnson highlighted. He added that the State of New Jersey welcomes businesses, including Hungarian ones, with a business-friendly regulatory environment.

“The economic ties between the two countries have always been strong, and we are ready to forge them closer in New Jersey that is also home to many Hungarians,” Senator Johnson said.

The delegation then was invited to participate in a business forum organized by the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As Anthony Russo, president of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) pointed out, joining chambers helps companies prevail as people want to do business with people they can trust.

Boosting investment activity is key since if you make a profit, innovation happens which is set to improve the quality of life, Mr. Russo noted.

HIPA’s role in this process was very much stressed by HIPA’s director of investments Martina Almási. “Our Agency is at the disposal of investors with tailor-made incentive packages and a wide range of consultancy services under a one-stop-shop model. High-value added projects are welcome in particular, and Hungary’s strong talent pool provides an excellent basis for that,” she said.

It was agreed that SMEs in both countries struggle with information shortage of specific investment conditions, so it is crucial to provide it to them. Events like the business forum in question can serve as an inspiration for them too that investing can turn into reality.