Once again, Debrecen ranked high in the European survey of fDi Intelligence, the international capital and investment unit of the financial and international daily, the world’s leading international economic and financial daily. Based on the decision of the judges, Debrecen was included in the TOP 10 list of the category “fDi strategy of small towns” – the EDC Debrecen Urban and Economic Development Center announced.
Debrecen is the first Central and Eastern European city to be among the best in three consecutive periods. As a central player in the Central and Eastern European region, Debrecen has been at the forefront of the world for years, ahead of its regional competitors: Kassa and Oradea, as well as all Hungarian cities.
Since its founding in 2015, EDC Debrecen has successfully participated in a number of foreign investments and reinvestments and is currently negotiating with potential investors. In the last 6 years, almost € 3 billion worth of foreign investment has arrived in Debrecen, creating approximately 8,000 new jobs. All of this has greatly contributed to the city being in the spotlight of an international professional jury for years.
One of the most successful years of Debrecen’s economic development was 2021, when a total of 884 million euros of working capital arrived in the city, which attracts the creation of 1,461 new jobs. Last year’s biggest investment was the decision by EcoPro GHU, a cathode manufacturer in South Korea, to build its 44-hectare factory in the South Industrial Park, creating 631 jobs worth € 728 million. BMW has launched a new process among its suppliers to announce that its factory in Debrecen will produce purely electric cars. Based on its role in the value chain, the EcoPro GHU is a potential supplier of a Tier 2 BMW, similar to SemCorp, a Chinese manufacturer of separator foils, which is already under construction in Debrecen.
The second largest investment decision in 2021 was the announcement by Vitesco Technologies to expand its existing capacity and reinvest € 110 million in the city, creating another 450 jobs.
Among other things, the following new investments and expansions were announced in 2021:
- The French Gravic Group is developing at € 9.7 million, creating 70 jobs, making the Debrecen plant the largest plant within the group.
- Swiss tube manufacturer Neopac is upgrading € 18.6 million at its existing plant to create 25 jobs in the city.
- German-based Cosmo Consult in the IT industry has set up a new regional headquarters in the Agora office building for € 2.1 million.
- The Hungarian-owned IL-PE Kft. Carries out technology development and capacity expansion worth 4.4 million euros, thus creating 17 jobs.
- Nexon, the market-leading payroll and human resources software developer and service provider, opened a new office in our city in September 2021, and Market, one of Hungary’s leading engineering offices, has also established a local office.
The proximity of the BMW plant under construction, the immediately accessible 1,400-hectare industrial park area with high-capacity utility networks, the developed infrastructure, the skilled workforce, the business-focused education system, the satisfaction of the companies already present, and finally the stable political and economic conditions they both support the fact that Debrecen has been an unbrokenly popular and competitive investment destination for years.
Further strengthening the title of “investment champion” in the Central and Eastern European region, the city has developed the “Debrecen 2030” strategy, which is a € 1.8 billion development program. It includes projects such as the development of Debrecen International Airport, the development of transport infrastructure, the further expansion of the existing infrastructure and utility capacity of the Southern Industrial Park, the development of the infrastructure of the North-West Economic Zone, including a high-capacity rail logistics center and container terminal.
The city of Debrecen has 125,500 m2 of office space to meet the needs of many international companies, from the IT industry to financial services to high value-added engineering companies, and two highly prestigious international Big4 companies, EY and Deloitte, have chosen Debrecen. The business services sector currently employs a total of 5,150 people in the city.
A € 108 million government decree to transform the city’s education system to meet the needs of the labor market will help increase the number of students from the current 75,000 to 100,000 by 2030, mainly in engineering and economics, both in vocational and university education. The 32,400-strong student base of the University of Debrecen is ready to meet the high professional and language requirements of companies. It is possible for companies to establish long-term strategic cooperation with the University of Debrecen and the
Hungarian Vocational Training Center of Debrecen. The Debrecen International School, which will open its doors in September 2019, offers a full educational program in English. In addition, the foundations of the Deutsche Schule system have been laid, which is expected to become operational in the autumn of 2022.
In recent years, the city has won several prestigious international awards:
In 2017, the World Bank also found that Debrecen offers the most favorable business environment out of 22 Central and Eastern European cities: the city also achieved the best ranking in 2 out of 5 categories. After 2017, in 2021, the city won the title of “Emerging City of the Year” at the CEE Business Services Awards.
One of the city’s biggest accolades is that in 2021, it was included in the TOP 10 list of the world’s best investment promotion destinations in its global survey of fDI Intelligence, making it listed alongside world cities like New York, Hong Kong, or Berlin. In addition, Debrecen was the fourth-best investment promotion destination in its category, ranking among the top 5 small and medium-sized cities globally.
Overall, the number of suppliers in Debrecen is constantly evolving, and the impact of the measures taken to stimulate the city’s economy is becoming more and more noticeable. By attracting large companies to Debrecen, not only will the job opportunities of the population expand, but the position of local SMEs will also improve, as they will be able to find a partner locally with which they can become more competitive internationally.
EDC Debrecen Urban and Economic Development Center
