Hungary takes €1 billion loan from Chinese banks - Politico
Photo: Hungary took a loan from China (Getty Images)
With a record high national debt, Budapest is increasingly turning to Beijing for cash. This spring, Hungary took out a loan of 1 billion euros from various Chinese banks, Politico reports.
Hungary borrowed the largest loan Budapest has ever taken – 1 billion euros – from three Chinese banks this spring.
The loan, provided by the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, and the Hungarian branch of the Bank of China, was fully utilized on April 19 and is to be repaid within three years.
Budapest did not announce the deal itself. The Hungarian business news agency Portfolio first reported this on Thursday, later confirmed by a government agency.
According to Portfolio, the loan agreement allows for financing investments in the infrastructure and energy sectors. Specifically, the agreement supports the debt-to-GDP ratio at 28.9 percent.
At the beginning of the month, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited China, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
During the meeting, he noted that it is important for Hungarians that China promotes peace worldwide.
This trip was one of the stops on Orbán's Peace Initiatives tour. Notably, the Hungarian Prime Minister began his journey in Kyiv, where he planned to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
One of the controversial proposals from the Hungarian Prime Minister to Ukraine was to consider the possibility of a unilateral ceasefire to start negotiations with Russia.
After a less-than-successful visit to Ukraine, Orbán traveled to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Specifically, Orbán asked Putin about peace initiatives, a ceasefire, peace negotiations, and the post-war European security system.
