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DatabankApril 30 2015

Budapest tops CEE ranking for attracting financial services FDI

Budapest is the new top financial services investment destination in central and eastern Europe, while Moscow retains its crown as the largest international financial centre for outward investment.
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The ranking of top financial centres in central and eastern Europe (CEE) according to their foreign direct investment (FDI) appeal in the 12 months to February 2015, looks rather different from a year earlier.

Budapest, which did not appear among the previous top five, is the new leader, according to estimates by database fDi Intelligence. Three projects valued at a total of $100.8m reached the Hungarian capital over that period; investments came from US group Broad Street Capital, Bank of China and Cyprus-headquartered XM.com, a provider of financial services for online trading.

Moscow is a close second in the ranking, with $100.2m in FDI projects. Broad Street again features among investors, as does Agricultural Bank of China, Japan-based MS&AD Insurance Group and Panama’s insurance company Barents Re. Moscow’s $100.2m is less than one-third the amount it received a year earlier, when it topped the ranking. Bucharest, currently in third position, also saw a significant drop in financial services FDI: $86m from the previous $290.9m.

Overall, total capital expenditure for the top five hubs is just one-third of the figure a year earlier: $399.6m against $1.15bn.

This movement is only partially mirrored by total outward investments from top centres in the region. In the year to February, CEE’s top five financial hubs generated a total of about $900m in outward FDI, compared with $1.06bn previously recorded.

The undisputed leader is Moscow, with $716.2m and 21 projects. The largest individual investment came from Russian Agricultural Bank to open a new representative office in Beijing estimated to be worth $80.8m.

Despite the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine, and the devastating effects this has had on all economic activities, Kiev still managed to generate some international investment. Forte Insurance, a provider of life insurance products, is spending $47.6m to open a representative office in Astana, Kazakhstan, which will focus on market analysis and provide advisory services.

Budapest tops CEE FDI rank

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Silvia Pavoni is editor in chief of The Banker. Silvia also serves as an advisory board member for the Women of the Future Programme and for the European Risk Management Council, and is part of the London council of non-profit WILL, Women in Leadership in Latin America. In 2019, she was awarded an honorary fellowship by City University of London.
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