Márton Nagy, National Economy Minster, stressed the need to strengthen Hungarian-owned SMEs at an event organized by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) on Monday.
In a presentation, Minister Nagy said the value of cooperation and partnership had appreciated amid the crises faced by the global economy, adding that the MKIK was an important partner of the government that could signal businesses' needs.
A strong business sector is a prerequisite for a strong economy and convergence, which is why every effort must be made to boost the competitiveness of SMEs, he said.
Acknowledging the impact of the war in Ukraine and weak external demand because of the faltering German economy, he said there was a need to be "more resilient and more creative" and called for a new economic policy. That policy requires thinking that is "4-5 steps ahead" and "targeted use of resources" concentrated on Hungarian-owned SMEs, he added.
He said a new state secretariat would be established soon within the National Economy Ministry dedicated to SMEs. He added that domestic demand, the source of much SME revenue, needed to be boosted, too.
The government will establish favorable financing conditions in the framework of a targeted action plan while continuing to ensure interest support through the Szechenyi Card Programme, and launch a new capital scheme, he said.
SMEs also need a targeted program offering investment subsidies based on one-off government decisions, like the scheme for big companies, he added.
The action plan being drafted places stress on SME digitalization, without which staying competitive is "unimaginable", he said. Every business needs its own website and an email, he added.
He said local businesses in commerce needed to start competing with foreign webshops as those were taking away a big chunk of Hungarians' consumption.
Addressing wage policy, he said the minimum wage needed to be raised to 50pc of the average wage gradually. He added that businesses could manage that increase and it wouldn't put SMEs at risk.
He said the government was working on a package of measures targeting families with children, including bigger tax preferences and a new home purchase programme. He added that Hungarians needed to be given the option of saving a certain amount every year, tax-free, to use for home purchases for themselves or their children.
He put next year's GDP growth at 3-5pc and said the contribution of locally-owned SMEs to that expansion needed to increase.