A Strategic Partnership Agreement was concluded between the Government of Hungary and Bosch Hungary at the inauguration ceremony for the first stage of the international company’s new Hungarian headquarters in Budapest.

The document was signed by Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga on behalf of the Government and President of Bosch Hungary and CEO of Robert Bosch Ltd. Javier González Pareja, as representative of the ten Hungarian subsidiaries of Bosch.

At the ceremony, the Minister for National Economy said that boosting employment and investment as well as improving the competitiveness of the Hungarian economy are key objectives for the Government, and the long-term plans of Bosch are contributing to the renewal of Hungary’s economy in all three fields.

Member of the Robert Bosch GmbH Board of Directors Uwe Raschke emphasised that the company considers its Hungarian presence to be of strategic importance regarding the international conglomerate’s production and development activities.

Mihály Varga stressed that the investment programme of the Group is based on the high professional skills of Hungarian employees and has been sending a positive message about the country.

The Minister for National Economy pointed out that the Government intends to conclude Strategic Partnership Agreements with partners who help improve Hungary’s competitiveness, create new jobs and boost Hungarian exports. Through its active investor-friendly economic policy, the Government is aiming to establish a favourable and predictable economic environment for enterprises that have already established a presence in Hungary or are seeking a new investment destination, Mihály Varga said.

He added that the amount of working capital in Hungary exceeds USD 100bn, and some two-fifths of Hungary’s economic growth, which averaged 2.5 percent per year over the past one-and-a-half decades, was generated by the Hungarian subsidiaries of foreign investors.

The presence of the Bosch Group in Hungary dates back to 1899, and it is currently the second largest foreign employer. The motor vehicle industry has been a leading sector within the Hungarian economy, and Bosch has assumed a key role in that field, the Minister said. Mihály Varga also mentioned that Germany has been Hungary’s number one strategic partner, with 26 percent of Hungarian exports heading to and 25 percent of imports originating from the country. 24 percent of Hungary’s working capital investment comes from Germany.

At the ceremony, Uwe Raschke stressed that the Bosch Group is present in 150 countries and its earnings totalled EUR 52.2bn last year; the conglomerate employs 306 thousand people and spent EUR 4.8bn on research and development last year.

Javier González Pareja said that the largest European R&D facility of the Bosch Group outside Germany is in Hungary. The Hungarian turnover of the Group amounts to 2 percent of Hungary’s annual GDP, and the company has played a key role on the labour market. He also emphasised that the knowledge of Hungarian engineers is competitive all over the world and the company aims to exploit this resource.

The new Budapest headquarters of Bosch Hungary will be completed by 2015 at a cost of HUF 30bn. The foundation stone was laid in October 2011; now that the first building has been inaugurated, 350 professionals from the fields of development, marketing and administration can move into the 11 thousand square metre building complex. The foundation stone for the second phase was laid in April of this year. According to information made available by the company, the Bosch Group has 10 subsidiaries and 8500 employees in Hungary, of whom 1000 professionals work in the field of R&D. The Group’s turnover was more than HUF 594bn in 2012, and the value of investments over the past decade will have exceeded HUF 250bn by the end of 2013.

In 2012, the Bosch Group spent some EUR 4.8bn on research and development, and submitted almost 4800 patent applications worldwide. In recent months the Government has concluded Strategic Partnership Agreements with more than two dozen international corporations with Hungarian subsidiaries.

(MTI)