Altogether an unprecedented number of eight Hungarian cities and regions came in top 10 in the 2020 ranking of fDi magazine, a publication by the Financial Times. Besides Budapest, Debrecen, Miskolc, Székesfehérvár, Tatabánya, Veszprém, alongside Central Hungary and the Northern Great Plain take a prominent place in the list of the European cities and regions of the future.
The results are in line with HIPA’s strategic objective as to strive to provide FDI investors with the same high-standard support and assistance countrywide, building on the cooperation of the respective municipalities.
Topping all previous records, the volume of investments successfully negotiated by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) amounted to EUR 5,350 million in 2019, exceeding the previous year’s amount by 24%. As a result of the 101 projects realized based on the positive decision of investors, 13,493 new workplaces are to be created in Hungary. By analysing the results of the previous year, the most important trends are the surge of investments from Asian countries, the strengthening of the electromobility sector, as well as the increasing number of high value-added projects in the services industry. Furthermore, the competitiveness of the Hungarian investment environment is well illustrated by the fact that the 101 investments can be linked to 21 different countries and take place in 20 different sectors.
Budapest, which regularly performs well in the rankings of the fDi magazine, has again been listed among the top 10 performers in three categories. The ranking of the ‘Major European Cities of the Future 2020/21’ indicates the capital as the 4th major European city in terms of its FDI strategy. At the same time, Budapest is listed 6th for cost-effectiveness and is referred to as the 7th most important Eastern European city of the future.
Debrecen takes the second place, whereas Miskolc comes in fifth based on its FDI strategy in the category ‘Small European Cities of the Future 2020/21’.
The ranking of the ‘Micro European Cities of the Future 2020/21’ now includes three Hungarian settlements among the top 10 performers with regard to their cost-effectiveness. Veszprém is listed second, while Tatabánya takes the third and Székesfehérvár the sixth place.
As far as regions are concerned, among the mid-sized regions, the Northern Great Plain and Central Hungary are mentioned after one another (3rd and 4th place) for their business friendliness in the ranking ‘Mid-Sized European Regions of the Future 2020/21’. In addition, Central Hungary is considered to be the seventh most attractive Eastern European Region of the Future, according to the fDi Magazine.
