The British Business Centre, established with the cooperation of the British Embassy, the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (BCCH) was officially aunched this Friday in downtown Budapest.

The British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (BCCH), established in 1991, elected a new Chairman, Vazul Tóth at its Annual General Meeting in May last year. A recent issue of Diplomacy & Trade carried an interview with him.

The Chairmanship of the EU-Chambers of Commerce in Hungary has been taken over by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hungary whose President, János Takács became the Chairman of the EU-Chambers of Commerce in Hungary.

The recent country focus section on the United Kingdom in Diplomacy & Trade featured the 'UK Trade & Investment' as an organization that adapts to changing circumstances in Hungary and internationally, using the ‘Britain Open for Business’ strategy.

The National Debt Management Agency says that on January 31, the central government debt amounted to HUF 22,842 billion (appr. EUR 75 billion), that is an increase of HUF 843.9 billion (3.8%) compared to the year-end debt of 2013.

“Hungary is ready to further strengthen the business relations with South Korea,” the Hungarian Minister of National Economy, Mihály Varga pointed out at the opening of the Korean Economic Cooperation forum in Budapest.

The Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) established its Budapest office back in 1987, before the change of the social and economic system in this country. Its current director talked to Diplomacy & Trade in a recent interview.

Hungary’s general government consolidated gross debt at nominal value (or called the Maastricht debt) was 80.2% of GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2013, according to financial accounts data relesead by the National Bank of Hungary. (NBH).

The global trade agreement signed at a ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Bali, Indonesia, represents a positive development for Hungary and Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs János Martonyi said.

With effect from December 1, Dr. János Berényi has been appointed as the President of the Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency (HITA). The new leader has extensive experience in the management of companies both in the public and the private sector.

The Russia Division of MKIK (the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) was established in July 2003. Now, it has over a hundred Hungarian members interested in Russian relations - especially SMEs and some larger companies.

In the recent Russian country focus of Diplomacy & Trade, Leonid Shurigin, the Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Hungary looks back at an important bilateral event, the the meeting of the Russian-Hungarian Intergovernmental Commission.

Júlia Király, a former Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) will continue her career at KBC Group as member of the Board of Directors, the Belgian bank has announced. In the Board, she is going to replace Professor Dirk Heremans.

The Hungarian Banking Association considers free cash withdrawals just passed by lawmakers unfair and also detrimental on a social level. The new law requires banks to offer ATM withdrawals for free, yet pay tax on the transactions.

New Hungarian foreign trade figures published by the Central Statistics Office (KSH) show a promising pickup. Data show an increase both in exports and imports for September and the trade surplus has not been this large since early 2011.