Following the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, After announcing a plan to impose a tax on corporate excess profits (in English, “windfall tax”), shares of the country’s main companies and the local currency, the Hungarian florin, recorded a sharp drop.
Shares in Hungarian oil refiner Mol Nyrt fell nearly 15% this Thursday, falling 2.93% to 33.48 guilders. In turn, the country’s largest bank, Nyrt Bank, lost more than 13%.
In the foreign exchange market, the Hungarian currency depreciated 0.8% against the euro after losing 3.1% against the common currency, the biggest drop in two months. Currently, each euro is worth 391.85 guilders. This Thursday, the country’s central bank held a meeting, deciding to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 6.45%.
These movements in the markets come after Viktor Orban addressed the country via video message this Wednesday, announcing that “extra profits” would be taxed in the banking, insurance, energy, telecoms, retail and aviation sectors over the next two years. .
The collected money will help reduce the prices of utilities and reform the country’s armed forces. With this new recipe, Budapest will be able to bypass the ban on European funding imposed by Brussels.
Fidesz, Orbán’s party, won the April 3 election with 54% of the vote, giving him a two-thirds majority in parliament for the fourth consecutive time, legitimizing his leadership for another four years.
