The latest Business Climate Survey of IEER is based on the answers of 2817 CEO respondents. According to the results, the Business Climate Index was at 58 points in April 2019. It’s the highest value since records began in 1998.

Businesses still seem to think that business climate remains favourable, so the upward trend, which began in October 2017, is continuing. This is mainly down to the fact that future business situation expectations have become more optimistic in the last half.

The Uncertainty Index dropped back by one point since October, now standing at 36. This shows that Hungarian businesses now assess their situation more homogenously compared to the previous research.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China is an approach adopted by the Chinese government, launched in 2013, to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks. It is also known as One Belt One Road (OBOR) and Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st century Maritime Silk Road. This project aims to revive the old trading routes connecting China with Europe and Africa and extend these routes via networks of upgraded or new railways, ports, pipelines, power grids and highways which will promote regional integration and will stimulate trade and economic growth. This belt and Road include 71 countries from south-east Asia to Eastern Europe and Africa which account for the half of the world’s population and quarter of global GDP.

Contents:

• Fringe benefits in use by Hungarian businesses

• Automatable jobs at Hungarian enterprises

• International trends

The working paper of IEER is based on a survey of 6781 company managers. The analysis examines the extent at which businesses active in Hungary may be affected by automation and also their attitute towards the implementation of new technologies. The proportion of employees on technically automatable jobs was also surveyed.

Contents:

• Results of the January 2019 IEER Quarterly Business Climate Survey
• Innovation and automation at Hungarian companies
• International trends

This analysis is based on data taken from the October 2018 Business Climate Survey conducted by the Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce's Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (HCCI IEER), involving 2830 CEO respondents. The survey respondents were enquired about the presence of fringe benefits. The sample of responding companies can be considered representative regarding economic sector, region, and the number of employees.

According to our findings, 80% of surveyed companies offered their employees at least one type of fringe benefit in 2018, out of which, the two most popular were season tickets for local public transport and Erzsébet vouchers. The use of fringe benefits correlated with company size, foreign ownership rate, economic sector, and the economic situation of the companies involved. The use of fringe benefits was the most common at large companies employing 250+ people, businesses of predominantly foreign ownership, industrial companies, and those in a fair business situation.

Contents:

• Late payment and circular debt in Hungarian business life
• Macroeconomic trends in Hungary
• International trends

The Quarterly Business Climate Survey of IEER is based on the survey of 400 CEO respondents about their business situation and expectations. The Quarterly Business Climate Index and the Quarterly Uncertainty Index were calculated from the full sample of 300 small and medium-sized enterprises (20-249 employees) and 100 large companies (250+ employees). For small and medium-sized enterprises, an SME Outlook Business Climate Index and an SME Outlook Uncertainty Index were calculated.

This analysis by IEER concerns the experience of Hungarian businesses with late payment and circular debt. The results are based on IEER's July 2018 Quarterly Business Climate Survey, which involved 400 domestic respondents. Based on the answers, 55% of businesses had at least one partner that paid late in the first half of 2018, and 8% of respondents made late payments themselves to their suppliers in the examined period. The issue of late payment most often hits medium-sized companies (with 100-249 employees) and the construction industry. The results show that businesses now have fewer late-paying partners on average than in the previous few years, and a smaller proportion of their income arrives late. However, the number of companies that failed to pay in time to their suppliers at least once due to the late payment of their customers slightly rose since January 2018.

Contents:

• Results of the October 2018 IEER Quarterly Business Climate Survey
• Forecasts concerning the economic situation of the EU and Hungary
• International trends