Debrecen4U
October 13, 2025
BMW and CATL to have a visible impact on Hungarian economy as early as 2026 according to Portfolio expert
In his recent interview for Médiacentrum Debrecen, Károly Beke also addressed the potential economic effects of the new credit scheme with a fixed interest rate of 3 percent.
As reported previously, a delegation from Debrecen also attended the 15th Portfolio Conference in Budapest, where Médiacentrum Debrecen had the chance to interview economic analyst Károly Beke among others.
“Debrecen, Győr, and Székesfehérvár are among the top 10 cities in Hungary, hence their invitation to Portfolio Conference. They are the most prominent cities right after Budapest based on population, budget size, and economic power,” said Beke as a preliminary note.
In response to Editor-in-Chief Zsuzsa Keserű’s questions, Beke highlighted that the cities invited to the conference have a common feature in that they all have interesting and exciting current developments going on, primarily in the economy, such as the investment projects in Debrecen.
When asked about his opinion on the new fixed-rate credit scheme for Hungarian businesses as part of Médiacentrum’s new Question of the Week, Portfolio’s analyst said that “apparently, both the government and the Hungarian National Bank have recognized that, while household credit opportunities are seeing dynamic growth, corporate crediting is stuck. Corporate loans usually result in investments and expansions for the economy. Indeed, they also have inflationary effects but corporate crediting is now at a stage of development where we do not yet need to worry about negative impacts but can enjoy the positives.”
He added that Hungary’s economy is characterised by an inability of isolation due to the lack of an abundance of resources and the reliance on import for industry, which is something we must adapt to.
BMW and CATL will have visible effects on the economy as early as 2026, marking significant growth.
“This conference was first held 15 years ago in order to offer guidance to corporate leaders and decision makers who are interested in, or feel vulnerable to, the economy. You can’t expect SME owners to make sense of the latest economic figures and draw the appropriate conclusions by themselves – which is exactly why this conference aims to help planning and decision making,” said Beke about the meeting that welcomed cities for the very first time this year.
The event was attended by Mayor László Papp, who gave the following summary to Médiacentrum: Debrecen is in a privileged position where technologies and knowledge of the West meet the industrial efficiency and dynamism of the East. We are the point of connection between resources from the Eastern force field of technological advancement and Western experience.
Zoltán Bán, CEO at Portfolio Group, emphasized that the conference aimed to offer audiences an overview of what is going on in these cities in terms of the day-to-day challenges they face and the ways they overcome them to contribute to the development of Hungary’s economy.
“Debrecen is an especially good example in this regard, having made a leap in development and interest at the same time,” he said.
“Before making their decision, BMW Group have thoroughly explored Debrecen’s circumstances in terms of the economy and human resources among others. That goes to show why it is so important for cities not to stagnate but to keep developing under sustainable long-term strategies,” said András Cser-Palkovics, Mayor of Székesfehérvár, in response to a question from the Editor-in-Chief.
Source and photo credit: dehir.hu
