This spring
Fiege Kft will complete its integration into the German Fiege Group, bringing
to a close the over one-year transition period from Rewico to Fiege. We spoke
to Árpád Vásárhelyi, CEO of Fiege Kft, about the current trends in logistics.

The
five-year-old AsiaCenter, and in particular the efforts of its Austrian owner,
Strabag, are responsible in no small part for flourishing trade relations
between Hungary and the Far East. ÁsiaCenter Managing Director Rudolf Riedl
speaks about the origins and perspectives of the roughly 120,000 square metre
Far Eastern trade complex in Budapest.

Volksbank’s numerous links to corporate clients have
not only given the 15-year-old bank impressive growth figures, but have also
put its CEO László Balázs in a position to talk authoritatively on the state of
the economy and the most urgent economic policy tasks facing the government.

Getting the (foreign) word outHungaropress Kft., with its Relay and Inmedio newsstands, is responsible for foreign titles in newspaper and magazine distribution company Lapker Zrt. It is seeing a shift in the market to English from German.

Bucking hard timesThis year DIY outlet Praktiker Magyarország Kft. celebrates its tenth anniversary in Hungary. The company continues to be led by its original CEO Karl-Heinz Keth.   

HOCHTIEF Development Hungary, the local subsidiary of the German construction services provider HOCHTIEF, laid the corner stone of its first project in Hungary  last October: the huge Capital Squareoffice complex with a gross floor area of some 38,500 square metres. We spoke to Sven Göller, CEO of HOCHTIEF Development Hungary, about this and follow-up projects.

Whilst the state wholesale monopolist Magyar Villamos Művek (Hungarian Electricity Works – MVM) can keep a low profile regarding the January price increases, Hungary’s private electricity traders have to present the higher prices to the outside world. The Budapest Times spoke with ELMĹ° CEO Emmerich Endresz about the difficulties of further liberalising the electricity market.

Industrialist calls for a government of expertsThe German Business Club (DWC) welcomed one of Hungary’s most prominent business personalities Gábor Széles as its guest speaker at its September event. During his talk, the industrialist made no bones about his uncompromising rejection of the Hungarian government and Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány. He painted a grim picture of Hungary’s current economic and political situation.

Siemens’
mission: clean & strong “It is a fact, however, that Siemens signed
consultancy contracts with firms, which were in the name of homeless people. We
did not know the homeless people. Our contact person was a certain Mr Schrödl,
who has been on the run since his cover was blown. He was our direct contract partner.
Only he appeared as the representative of his companies…We only learnt that
the companies were inactive when the investigation began against Mr Schrödl and
a little later against the homeless people. It’s an extremely unpleasant story
for us.” László Szentkuti, CEO 

Growth tied to ability to integrate new workersThomas
Beyer, the CEO of Robert Bosch Kft., who has been in charge of the
German engineering giant’s Hungarian activities for six months, last
week spoke to The Budapest Times about the opportunities Hungary offers
and the difficulties of doing business here as a result of the
government’s austerity package.