Interfax Hungary Business Weekly.(Company overview)
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Hungarian competition authority issues fines totaling HUF 11.4 bln in 80 cases in 2006 BUDAPEST. DECEMBER 28. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE - Hungarian competition authority GVH issued fines totaling HUF 11.4 bln (USD 57 mln) in 80 separate breaches of competition law in 2006, GVH said in a statement Thursday. GVH investigated a total of 180 cases during the year, according to preliminary figures. During the year GVH issued the second largest fine in its history, when it fined a group of companies HUF 6.8 bln for cartel activities in the car insurance market. Within this, a fine for HUF 5.8 bln was issued against insurance company Allianz Hungaria. The year was remarkable for a series of fines issued against companies in the IT industry for cartel activities, the largest of which was a HUF 1.5 bln fine against IBM, SAP and International System House for their part in a higher education tender, said GVH. The authority also issued fines for HUF 146.5 mln for uncompetetive activities in the egg production industry. In all, cartel fines totaled HUF 8.5 bln during the year. In addition, GVH issued a series of fines totaling HUF 1.8 bln against a number of companies for improper manipulation of consumer opinion, a category which includes misleading advertising. Hungarian state railways MAV and fixed-line telco Hungarotel were fined HUF 1 bln and HUF 150 mln, respectively, for abusing their dominant market positions. FINANCIAL & ECONOMIC NEWS STATISTICS FINANCIAL & ECONOMIC NEWS Hungary’s current account deficit narrows to EUR 1.13 bln in Q3, better than expectations BUDAPEST. DECEMBER 29. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE - Hungary’s current account deficit was EUR 1.13 bln in the third quarter of 2006, narrowing by 39% compared to the same quarter last year and also coming in better than the consensus forecast of EUR 1.46 bln, according to figures released Friday by Hungary’s central bank MNB. In the first three quarters of the year, Hungary’s current account deficit was EUR 4.06 bln, narrowing from EUR 4.63 bln in January-September 2005. The bulk of the improvement was recorded in the trade deficit, which more than halved in Q3 to EUR 291 mln, and narrowed by 9% year on year (y/y) to EUR 632 mln in the first three quarters of the year. Hungary also extended its services surplus in the period, thanks in large part to a 34% y/y increase in the tourism surplus in Q3 as well as in the first three quarters. Meanwhile, Hungary’s income deficit was largely flat in Q3 at EUR 1.36 bln, and grew 9% y/y in the first nine months to EUR 4.48 bln, led by growth in income outflows on equity investments. On the financing side, non-debt creating financing in Q3 was EUR 1.20 bln, thanks to EUR 1.80 bln in net direct investment in Hungary, including EUR 1.09 bln in reinvested earnings. For the year to date, however, non-debt creating financing fell far short of the current account deficit, at just EUR 306 mln due to large dividend outflows that took place in Q2. MNB figures also reveal that Hungary’s gross foreign debt totaled EUR 77.5 bln at the end of the third quarter, up from EUR 76.5 bln at the end of Q2 and EUR 68.4 bln at the end of 2005. Gross debt of the state sector grew EUR 0.6 bln during the third quarter to EUR 28.8 bln, while private sector foreign debt rose EUR 0.4 bln over the same period, to EUR 48.7 bln. Hungary’s net foreign debt totaled EUR 36.1 bln at the end of September, up from EUR 35.4 bln at the end of Q2 and EUR 29.7 bln at the end of 2005. Within this, net foreign debt of the government sector was up EUR 0.7 bln to EUR 11.7 bln in Q3, while net foreign debt in the private sector was flat at EUR 24.4 bln. |