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bne April 2019 Companies & Markets I 13
Hungary's automotive sector outpaces industrial growth despite week-long strike
at Audi
Levente Szilagyi in Budapest
Hungary's industrial output rose by an annual 4.4% in January, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) confirmed preliminary data on March 13 in a second reading.
Adjusted for the number of work days in the month, output grew by 5%. Industrial output was up 0.6% m/m.
Vehicle manufacturing output grew by an annual 4.8% in January, beating the overall increase in industrial output despite a week-long strike at German carmaker Audi's plant in Gyor. The German premium carmaker was forced to put production on hold at its headquarters in Ingolstadt as deliveries of engines from Gyor stopped. The Hungarian plant is one of the largest engine producers in the world, rolling out 2mn units a year.
Last year the three leading car makers Audi, Mercedes, Suzuki turned out a total of some 500,000 cars or some 2.8% of
the 19mn cars manufactured in the EU. Hungary's annual car production could rise to 800,000 by 2023 when BMW's new production plant comes into operation.
In related news, Japanese car maker Suzuki announced that it has turned out the 500,000th Vitara compact SUV model at
Automotive sector output rose 4.8% in January despite strike at Audi.
the Esztergom factory. The Vitara was launched in 1988, and Magyar Suzuki started producing the fourth-generation model in 2015, which received a facelift in 2018. Suzuki remains the leading brand on the market with a 15.6% market share.
With more than 90% of production going for exports, Hungary's vehicle sector remains vulnerable to fluctuations in demand and is exposed to the escalation of international trade disputes, analysts warned.
Other segments of the industry grew by above average. The manufacture of electrical equipment grew at the highest rate among the subsections, by 27% year-on-year.
The output of the food, drink and tobacco products segment, which makes up 10% of manufacturing, increased by 4.7%. The output of the computer, electronics and optical equipment seg- ment, which makes up 12% of manufacturing, rose by 3.2%.
Industrial growth is expected to accelerate from 3.6% in 2018 to around 4-5% this year as new capacities will be added in the vehicle industry. Downside risks stem from the slowdown of Hun- gary's main export markets, the Eurozone and trade disputes.
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Avast to enter London bourse in bid to raise up to $1bn Jaroslav Hroch in Prague
Avast, which owns the popular consumer antivirus company AVG, will apply to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange in the hope of raising $200mn (CZK4.1bn) in primary proceeds from an IPO, the Czech-founded company announced on April 12.
See page 2
St Petersburg's start-up scene flourishes on high talent and low costs
Contents
Avast to enter London bourse
in bid to raise up to $1bn 1 Avast to enter London bourse in bid to raise up to $1bn 2 St Petersburg's start-up scene
flourishes on high talent and low costs 3 Romania entrepreneur aims to put home-grown UAV defence technology industry on the map 6
FinTech
Russia's mobile major MTS increases stake in Ozon to 16.7% 9
Blockchain
Romanian startups at the heart
of blockchain energy trading rally 10
Central Europe
Russian-Lithuanian startup Gosu.ai
raises $1.9mn from Russian and
French investors 13
Eurasia
Iran hit by cyber attack that left US
flag on screens 14 Iranian government set to block hugely popular Telegram messaging app 15 Iran's black market phone disconnection drive pushes up legal mobile imports 15
Eastern Europe
Internet catches up with TV on Russian
ad market 17 Sales of connected appliances jump
in Russia 17 Russia's HeadHunter Group seeks
to raise $250mn with NASDAQ IPO 18 Russia ranks second in the world
for digital piracy 18 Russian messaging service Telegram raised another $850mn with ICO 19
Southeast Europe
Russia's HeadHunter Group seeks
to raise $250mn with NASDAQ IPO 20
The Regions This Month 21
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