Hungary has borrowed EUR 1 billion from Chinese banks for infrastructure purposes, the Hungarian economic portal Portfolio reported.
Citing data from the State Debt Management Centre, the portal reported that the loan, taken on 19 April from the China Development Bank, the China Exim Bank and the Bank of China, should be repaid within three years.
The interest rate and repayment plan of the loan are not known, TVP World reported.
The portal adds that excluding the bonds, this is the highest amount of outstanding debt of the Hungarian government.
The report says the Hungarian government urgently needs money due to the poor state of the budget, the financing of the Budapest airport takeover in early June, the €200 million fine from the EU Court of Justice and the still frozen large part of EU funds.
The Hungarian Government has already proposed seeking funding from China instead of EU funds.
During Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to Hungary in early May, the two countries signed almost 20 bilateral agreements, the most important of which concerned infrastructure projects.
Among the joint projects were the construction of a high-speed railway linking Budapest airport with the city centre, as well as a railway line that will allow freight transport to bypass the Hungarian capital.
In mid-July, Hungarian Economic Development Minister Marton Nagy announced plans to build infrastructure linking Budapest city centre to the airport. Nagy said then that no decision had yet been made on whether the investment would be financed by China.
Hungary, which is currently the only EU country participating in China's One Belt, One Road initiative, has the best relations with Beijing of all EU countries.
China is also investing billions of euros in the electric car sector in Hungary. | BGNES
