This analysis by Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) focuses on Hungarian companies' perception of their financial situation and how government measures mitigating economic effects of COVID19 affected them. Data used for this analysis were taken from IEER's most recent Business Climate Survey: in April 2021 a total of 2790 Hungarian businesses were asked about their financials and acceptance of government support.

According to the results of the April 2021 survey, the business confidence in Hungary gradually improved following the low level measured in spring 2020. Since October 2020 the half-year Business Climate Index climbed from +14 points to +28 points. At the same time it is worthwhile to note that the current score value has been still the lowest since April 2014 (+27 points) and before April 2020. [1]

^[1] MBET_2021_May_210615.pdf (gvi.hu)

In the current analysis of HCIC’s Institute of Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) the focus is on the financial situation of businesses, specifically with regard to revenue expectations, financial reserves, circular debt, necessity to use external financial sources, and terms of taking out loans. Data were recorded during the business cycle survey conducted between 1 October and 31 October 2020, with the participation of 3142 companies active in Hungary. The survey took place before the introduction of second wave coronavirus-related restrictions, therefore the abatement of the first wave greatly influenced the outcome – optimistic expectations characterised the resulting business climate index.

In the article below by the Institute of Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER), we examine the obstacles hampering the business activity of enterprises in Hungary, the corporate reactions and crisis management tools countering the economic effects of the pandemic and the impact of measures introduced by the state. In the case of obstacles hampering the business activity of enterprises in Hungary, the data originates from last four waves of the half-annual IEER Business Climate Survey; concerning the other chapters data is from the latest wave of the same research: in April 2020, altogether 2891 enterprises were surveyed on the subject. The data collection took place between 1st of April and 30th of April, in the period when lockdown and curfew measures were imposed against the effects of the pandemic.

HCIC’s Institute for Economic and Enterprise Research (IEER) analysed Hungarian companies’ borrowing habits and experiences. The data analysed here originate from the quarterly business climate surveys conducted by IEER focusing on perceived business loan eligibility requirements (16 times since October 2011) and on the types of loans taken out (18 times since October 2011). In this matter a total of 7129 Hungarian companies were surveyed. Below we shall present the results of the most recent quarterly business climate survey (January 2020) put into context by a timeline of the past decade’s credit trends in the second part of our analysis.

The latest wave of the IEER Business Climate Survey is based on the responses of 2,891 enterprises. According to the results the IEER Business Climate Index decreased to -25 points in April 2020 from +40 points in October 2019. The value of the Uncertainty Index has increased by 14 points (April 2020: 60 points).

According to the currently available GDP data, it can be concluded that in the second half of 2019 the gross domestic product of Hungary has increased (4.7%).

This analysis by IEER concerns the experience of Hungarian businesses with late payment and circular debt. The results are based on IEER's July 2019 Quarterly Business Climate Survey, which involved 404 domestic respondents. Based on the answers, 68,6% of businesses had at least one partner that paid late in the first half of 2019, and 34% of respondents made late payments themselves to their suppliers in the examined period. The issue of late payment most often hits large companies (with more than 250 employees) and industrywise construction and providers of other business services are the most affected. All-in-all it can be inferred that the after the favourable period last year, the trends in having more business partner who pay late is starting to creep back to its prior 2018 level. By the same token, proportion of their income arriving late has become threefold, compared to the last period measured. 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 basically remained unchanged since July 2018.

Our brief analysis examines the nine potential measures that can be reactions to the affects of the January 2019 raise of the minimum wage/guaranteed minimum salary for qualified staff. CEOs were asked to fill in the form below.

In this analysis we shall examine the rate at which domestic companies faced problems caused by labour shortage in autumn 2018 and in January 2019, with special highlight on the types of companies that were primarily affected by this issue. The measures companies take to keep existing employees in place and to keep labour shortage in hand will also be presented in detail, including the employment of foreign citizens.

Data of the Quarterly Business Climate Survey from October 2018 and January 2019 recorded by IEER (Institute of Economic and Enterprise Research) were used to make this analysis. On both occasions, 400 CEOs were asked about their companies’ business situation and economic expectations. In the course of the same two waves, labour shortage rates, prevention measures and remedies were also surveyed. The full sample consisted of 300 SMEs (20-249 employees) and 100 large companies (250+ employees) in both cases.

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.

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.