Hungary’s export volume rose 18.4% in January compared to a year earlier, while imports rose 12.1%, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) reported

Hungary’s export volume rose 18.4% in January compared to a year earlier, while imports rose 12.1%, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) reported. Forint-term export prices rose 3.3% yr/yr and import prices were 4.6% higher in January than a year earlier. Machinery exports, which account for 65% of total exports, rose by 24.8% in volume. The upper limit of SME loans under the Szйchenyi Card scheme would be raised from Ft 5 million to Ft 10 million, according to an Economy Ministry proposal. The ministry will also propose that the program’s current 3% interest rate subsidy, which will expire by the end of 2004, be extended until 2007. The government is launching a Ft 105 billion program to support agriculture. The program, co-funded by the EU, will begin on May 1 and will last three years. The state will provide 25% of the sum, while the EU will provide the rest. Mergers and acquisitions increased in value in Hungary by 36% to $2.6 billion in 2003, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey covering the CEE region. The most active investors in Hungarian M&A were Germans and Austrians, followed by U.S., Dutch, French, British, Spanish and Russian investors.