Local services
Debrecen again ranked highly in the European survey by fDi Intelligence, the international capital flows and investments unit of the Financial Times, a leading international daily newspaper dealing with economy and finance. Debrecen, as the only rural Hungarian city, was included in the TOP 10 list of the “fDi strategy of small towns” category based on the judges’ decision. Mayor László Papp and EDC executive Zoltán Pécskay held a press conference about this on the 1st of March, 2024.
Mayor László Papp recalled that economic development has been the focus of the city for ten years. He said that the activities that had been carried out in Debrecen over the past ten years and would continue to be carried out in the coming years were basically aimed at providing Debrecen citizens with a better quality of life, making the city richer and stronger, and achieving this in a safe and environmentally sound environment.
– Debrecen is the only city in Central and Eastern Europe to have been able to stay at the top for the last five periods, starting in 2018. The first time we were recognised by the Financial Times’ fDi Processes section in 2018, Debrecen was named City of the Future and the best city in the small city category for capital absorption capacity.
Zoltán Pécskay, Managing Director of EDC Nonprofit Ltd, stressed that for Debrecen, any positive feedback is of great importance in recognition of its economic development work. On the one hand, this award is important for the city, as it is unique for a Hungarian municipality to win this award several times. On the other hand, the fact that the city’s economic performance is recognised by independent experts is also reassuring for the big companies that move here. Zoltán Pécskay stressed that an important aspect of these awards is that last year, too, more than €1 billion of working capital was invested in the city, and the city’s economy is increasingly diversified, which will allow for balanced development in the long term. In addition, the issue of sustainability is also an important aspect for the companies investing in the area, in which the city can also help them with a number of measures, since, among other things, solar parks have been established and a study has also been prepared on the possibility of implementing carbon-neutral industrial parks. He also spoke about the strengthening of the SME sector, which can also benefit a lot from the current economic development in Debrecen.
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Debrecen is the first city in Central and Eastern Europe to rank among the best for five consecutive periods since 2018, and in 2021 it was included in the TOP 10 of the world’s best investment destinations, ahead of its regional rivals, Košice and Oradea, and all Hungarian cities.
Since 2015, Debrecen has attracted nearly €12 billion worth of foreign investment and created around 19,500 new jobs, of which nearly 7,000 have already been filled.
The city of Debrecen has 125,500 m2 of office space to meet all needs, which is home to a wide range of international companies from the IT industry, through financial services, to high value-added engineering companies. In addition, in 2023, another prestigious international Big4 firm, PwC, has chosen Debrecen alongside EY and Deloitte. The business services sector currently employs a total of nearly 5,000 people in the city.
As part of its proactive economic development activities, the city pays particular attention to the implementation of companies in the business environment and to improving the position and competitiveness of local SMEs.
EDC Debrecen organises a quarterly HR Roundtable for large local companies, a supplier forum and several times a year professional, thematic trainings to support SMEs.
Debrecen’s supplier base is constantly evolving, and the impact of the steps taken to stimulate the city’s economy is increasingly being felt.
Attracting large companies to Debrecen not only increases job opportunities for the population, but also improves the position of local SMEs, as they can find a local partner that can help them become more competitive at international level. All this has contributed greatly to the city being in the sights of the international professional jury for years.
Source: debrecen.hu
