Investments increased by 17% in the 1st quarter of 2018
In the 1st quarter of 2018 the dynamic expansion characterizing the whole previous year persisted; the volume of investments in the current quarter exceeded the volume of the same period of the previous year by 17%. Investment activity increased in most areas of the national economy.
In the 1st quarter of 2018 compared to the previous quarter:
The seasonally adjusted volume of investments rose by 4.1%.
In the 1st quarter of 2018 compared to the same period of the previous year:
The volume of investment activity rose by 17%, within it construction investments increased by 26%, investments in machinery and equipment grew by 10%.
Investment performance decreased by 1.1% in the case of enterprises employing at least 50 persons and realising more than half of investments, and grew by 65% in the case of budgetary units performing 12% of investments, compared to the same period of the previous year.
Investment activity rose in most sectors of the national economy. Out of areas carrying the largest weight, the highest growth was recorded in the investment performance of real estate activities (45%), where dwelling constructions volume continued to expand besides growing investments in construction of facilities to be leased (e.g. office buildings, commercial real estate, warehouses, etc.).
The volume of investments in the section of transportation and storage grew by 9.4%, mainly due to – besides road reconstructions – the sharp increase in investments of enterprises operating in local and long-distance passenger transport.
In the section of wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles the performance of investments in the 1st quarter grew again (by 8.3%) – following the previous period’s temporary decrease – partially as a result of constructing new stores and modernising existing ones.
Developments in manufacturing, realising three tenths of investments in the national economy – after two years of significant expansion – basically stagnated (-0.2%), in which the high base as well as certain high volume projects coming to an end (e.g. in the field of electronics industry) played a role. Nonetheless, developments grew in about half of the sub-sections, to the highest extent in the area of manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products. Developments of outstanding volume were conducted in the fields of manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, in the manufacture of rubber and plastic products and building materials industry, as well as in manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. Investments in manufacture of transport equipment – their total share approximated one quarter of the studied period’s investments in manufacturing – also expanded significantly.
Investments in the agriculture, forestry and fishing section – mainly as a result of a decreasing agricultural machinery purchase trend in small enterprises – decreased in the current quarter (by -1.8%)
State-related investments played an important role in the growth of the whole national economy. Within this frame in mainly publicly financed areas investments expanded at a rate above average, primarily as a result of developments financed from EU funds. Investments volume exceeded the previous year’s level in the fields of public administration, defence and compulsory social security mostly due to law enforcement, national defence and disaster management related investments by 75%, in education – mainly because of developments in higher education – by 71%, and in human health and social work activities – mostly related to in-patient care – by 74%. (Aggregated quota of these three areas in national economy investments came close to one-tenth). In arts, entertainment and recreation the 68% growth was due to sports and culture related large-scale investments.
The volume of developments increased considerably in certain other sections as well. Among them business organisations of construction due to the existing prosperity increased their equipment acquisitions by 36%. The volume of investment value in the information and communication section increased (21%) due to digital network and cellular phone services related developments. In the section of accommodation and food service activities hotel constructions and renovations played a role again – similarly to the previous periods – in the 15% increase of the volume of investments.
Investment outlay of national economy
| Section | Quarter 1 of 2018 | Quarters 1–4 of 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| at current prices, million forints | volume index, corresponding period of previous year=100.0% | at current prices, million forints | volume index, corresponding period of previous year=100.0% | |
| Total | 1 261 253 | 117.3 | 6 439 583 | 116.7 |
| Of which*: | ||||
| agriculture, forestry and fishing | 66 209 | 98.2 | 306 524 | 111.5 |
| manufacturing | 375 924 | 99.8 | 1 883 450 | 107.3 |
| wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 83 318 | 108.3 | 388 881 | 100.4 |
| transportation and storage | 119 430 | 109.4 | 872 174 | 124.1 |
| real estate activities | 226 231 | 144.9 | 1 056 439 | 122.5 |
| public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 77 721 | 175.4 | 376 423 | 165.2 |
* Based on 2018 1st quarter data the six largest sections’ data.