Hungary Repurchases Airport Ahead Of Chinese Tourism Invasion
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary’s nationalist government has repurchased the country’s main international airport as it tries to make Budapest a hub for Chinese tourists.
In one of the most complicated deals since the collapse of Communism, the Hungarian state and an associated investor acquired the Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport for 3.1 billion euros ($3.3 billion), officials said.
Hungarian government-owned Corvinus International Investment and France’s Vinci Airports also assumed a net debt of 1.2 euros billion ($1.3 billion), the cabinet confirmed
Márton Nagy, the national economy minister, said. “We’ve got it back: the airport is once again in Hungarian hands,” he added.
The sellers were German operator AviAlliance GmbH, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte, and Canada-based Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec.
Corvinus will hold an 80 percent stake, while Vinci will own the rest.
MASSIVE BUYBACK
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who returned to power in 2010, has long sought to buy back the airport sold to a consortium led by Germany’s AviAlliance almost two decades ago.
“We have recovered a unique good… Our plan is to rapidly increase its value,” the nationalist leader stressed, praising the French partner’s know-how while evoking future “plans to involve the Qataris.”
It also comes while the prime minister seeks to make Budapest and the rest of Hungary a hub for China’s tourists and investments.
The airport deal was signed less than a month after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hungary.
While most European Union countries make efforts to “de-risk” their economies from perceived threats posed by China, Hungary has gone in the other direction.
Budapest Airport, Europe’s 39th busiest, estimates it will attract nearly 17 million passengers this year, up from 14.7 million in 2023.
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