Chinese loan
The Hungarian government has nothing to hide about the Chinese loan of 1 billion euros. “We have taken the initiative to raise banking secrecy with Chinese financial institutions,” Finance Minister Mihály Varga explained in an interview with “Magyar Nemzet”.
The state took out the loan in April from the China Development Bank, Eximbank of China and the Hungarian branch of the Bank of China and drew it down in one sum. The loan is intended to finance expenditure in the areas of high technology, infrastructure construction, transport infrastructure and energy. The interest rate and repayment schedule were not disclosed, but it was known that the entire loan would be repaid by April 2027 at variable interest rates.
Opposition politicians accuse the government of issuing the loan in secret and want the contract to be made public. It is an international practice for the contracting parties to disclose only limited information about the details of the loan agreement, Varga explained. The minister named Switzerland, Poland and Romania as examples.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in May about the Chinese loan that “we got the best offer from China and we will not get better.”
2024-08-28 09:31:11
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