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HATC SAMPLE EDITION:
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27th August, 2026
Nuclear plant to reach full capacity Wednesday night
Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced on Facebook that the Paks nuclear power plant was expected to reach maximum capacity as early as Wednesday night.
The plant’s units had to be shut down one by one this summer due to record-low Danube water levels, which nearly fell below the intake point of the cooling pumps, leaving only Unit 1 running for weeks.
In response, the government built a bottom shelf in the river. Combined with rainfall in the watershed, this raised the water level enough to bring the remaining units back online one at a time. (hvg.hu; 24.hu; nepszava.hu)
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27th August, 2026
Scope: construction industry at risk
Credit-rating agency Scope Ratings sees growing risks for Hungary’s construction and property sectors as the new government reviews previously approved investments and concessions.
Scope currently rates 20 Hungarian firms in the two sectors, evenly split between construction and real estate. Five have a negative outlook and only one a positive one, suggesting that vulnerabilities predated the latest policy changes.
The government is withdrawing priority status from some projects, reviewing pending planning approvals for certain developments linked to the state-backed Otthon Start housing-loan scheme, and examining long-term infrastructure concessions, including at least one motorway contract. Previous public-private transactions, including asset sales considered unfavourable to the state, are also being reviewed.
Scope said the changes increase execution risk and reduce predictability. Companies dependent on a small number of large projects still awaiting permits are particularly exposed, while uncertainty over concessions complicates long-term financing and business planning.
The release of previously frozen EU funds could nevertheless provide an important counterweight, Scope added. (portfolio.hu)
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27th August, 2026
Fixed investment down 9% in Q2
Fixed investment volume fell by 9.1% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, while seasonally adjusted investment declined by 4.3% from the previous quarter, the Central Statistics Office reported on Wednesday.
Seasonally adjusted investment activity was 7.1% lower than one year earlier.
Manufacturing and transport and storage recorded the largest declines, partly offset by increased investment in real estate activities.
Investment by businesses and budgetary institutions fell, while household investment increased.
According to analyst David Nemeth of K&H, the latest data were disappointing. While detailed data for the second quarter has not yet been released, it is important to note that investment data in the first quarter showed a very mixed picture, he added.
A spectacular rebound is not expected this year, but it is likely that there will be enough investment in the second half of the year to return the economy to the level of 2025, but this would also only mean stagnation, he argued. (ksh.hu; 444.hu; portfolio.hu; mfor.hu; economx.hu; telex.hu)
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