Zoltán Cséfalvay underlined that the agreement focuses on two key aspects, namely on strengthening vocational training and increasing the number of Hungarian suppliers, as these are in the very best interest of both the Government and Tesco.

The Minister of State said that it was the tenth strategic partnership agreement the Government concluded with a multinational corporation which is committed to long-term planning in Hungary and thus to underpin Hungarian economic development. These corporations contribute to a great extent to GDP and export growth, rely on Hungarian suppliers, are active on the field of vocational training and have a keen interest in research, development and innovation.

Speaking about the presence of Tesco in Hungary, Zoltán Cséfalvay emphasized that in the past couple of years Tesco implemented almost 30 percent of total Hungarian retail investment projects, in addition to currently being the largest employer in Hungary, providing constant training for its employees and steadily increasing its number of suppliers. Currently 1300 of its altogether 1500 suppliers are Hungarian enterprises.

With regard to the agreement just concluded the Minister of State stressed that as Hungary has a small and open economy, it has been crucial for the country and enterprises alike to integrate into the global value chain as strongly as possible via products of high added value. Tesco has always aspired to assist domestic SMEs with supplier seminars, and with their new initiative, the suppliers’ academy, they aim not only to address local SMEs producing high-quality goods but suppliers from all over the country as well.

According to the Minister of State at the Ministry for National Economy, the agreement has been a signal that the Government “had done its homework”: by now fiscal consolidation has been completed, the budget deficit is permanently below 3 percent, general government debt has been on a downward path and employment has been increasing. As a consequence, the country can have economic growth which is fuelled by performance instead of debt; this has been the objective of the taxation reform as well, he added.

In his keynote speech Gerard Gray reminded the audience that Tesco appeared on the Hungarian market in 1994 and it has continued to invest ever since by opening stores, establishing partnerships with SMEs and creating jobs.

He also emphasized that Tesco currently is the largest private sector employer of Hungary, one of the largest taxpayers and it serves almost 3.6 million customers per week. These figures also aptly reflect that Tesco has been serving Hungarian national interests.

The agreement signed on Tuesday signals that the Government acknowledges Tesco as a partner of Hungary and a key link in the Hungarian economic chain, Gerard Gray added. In his opinion this document is also an indicator of future plans: the company endeavours to support the Government in boosting growth and improving consumer confidence in the face of crisis.

As the CEO said, Tesco aims to contribute positively to foreign trade balance and help people by means of corporate responsibility. He also expressed his belief that this agreement would yield concrete results and create new jobs at stores and suppliers as well.

According to market researchers, Tesco has been the largest chain by turnover among food, beverages and tobacco product retailers. Based on the estimate by Nielsen, Tesco’s sales volume totalled 705.2bn HUF last year. In 2011 Tesco had 212 stores in Hungary.

At its session last Wednesday the Government decided on concluding strategic agreements with several more large investors active in Hungary: altogether 40 similar bilateral agreements are expected to be signed.

Source: kormany.hu