Local services
PwC, one of the world’s leading financial and business advisory firms, opens an office in Debrecen.
“Debrecen is the city of the future, and we have to be there in the future,” Tamás Lőcsei, CEO of PwC Hungary, said at the announcement.
Tamás Lőcsei said they have more than 1,100 employees in the country, providing audit, tax, legal, business and financial advisory services and solving cyber security problems.
“Debrecen is the city of the future, and we have to be there in the future; Debrecen is the second engine of the country,” he said, adding that the city’s development will significantly expand its regional reach in the future, up to five times as much. As he said, they have been helping businesses in Debrecen, but now they can continue this by running their own office.
“After a long courtship, the match has been made” – László Papp, Mayor of Debcen, began his speech. The mayor said that he met Tamás Lőcsei ten years ago, and from the very first moment, he thought about how to attract one of the world’s most prestigious consultancies to Debrecen because it has great prestige.
“I had to realise that PwC didn’t just need a city with good assets, but that PwC wanted a city with good assets, economically successful, with a strong corporate background and outstanding educational potential. A city whose success can also contribute to the success of the company,” László Papp said, adding that Debrecen has developed into such a city over the past ten years.
Referring back to what Tamás Lőcsei said about Debrecen’s regional role, the mayor said that in addition to the city’s regional influence, Debrecen and the region’s economic performance will also quintuple between 2020 and 2030.
“Debrecen today represents reliability, stability, quality and opportunity for the business world. These are the defining characteristics of Debrecen today, and PwC’s decision confirms this,” the mayor pointed out.
He emphasised that, in addition to the establishment of the EDC Debrecen City and Economic Development Centre and the development of industrial parks, the decision to strengthen the education system in Debrecen was also a good one, as it provides the labour market background for Debrecen’s development.
“We are determined that the winners in the development of the Debrecen economy should be the talented people of Debrecen who want to work. All the talent we keep in Debrecen is a building block for the city’s successful future. We imagine the future with them, we are building on them, and they are the ones who can deal with the challenges of the labour market in the long term, which is why we are doing everything we can to create jobs offering competitive wages, a modern working environment and high added value, just like the ones PwC is creating in Debrecen.” he said.
Norbert Izer, State Secretary for Tax Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, gave a presentation on the direction of the tax system, at the end of which he said that the presence of a renowned consultancy firm like PwC in a rural town is a niche, and it is also a sign that the town has grown up to the level of development that is characteristic of world cities.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
