BUDAPEST, Reuters – Hungary needs to increase its domestic ownership in key sectors, in addition to media and energy. This was a statement by a cabinet minister-designate on Wednesday. It signals more pressure for foreign firms to reduce their presence in Hungary.

Viktor Orban is the Prime Minister of Hungary, who was elected for a fourth term. His decade-long campaign has seen Hungarian ownership rise to more than 50% in media, banking, and energy. Many businessmen are members of his ruling Fidesz party, which helped them acquire large parts.

Marton Nagy was a former deputy governor of the central bank and Orban’s economic development minister. He stated, “A sustainable (economical), convergence (with EU) is a key priority and that requires an autonome and self-sustaining economies.”

Nagy who appears certain to win the approval of lawmakers said that further steps are needed to increase domestic ownership within the building sector where local players are “nearly invisible,” and in food retailing as well as insurance.

Nagy spoke without exacerbating, saying that the banking system represented the initial step. However, we must also deal with insurances.

Nagy noted that while many international banks have been selling their Hungarian business to local counterparts over the past decade, they still control the insurance market.

Recently, Aegon (NYSE 🙂 sold the Hungarian arm of its Dutch insurer to Vienna Insurance Group(VIG) in March as part of a larger divestment announced for 2020.

Initial blockage by the Hungarian government led to the approval of the deal. However, the Hungarian government later accepted the deal and acquired a 45% interest in VIG’s local units.

Nagy said that Orban’s government wanted to maintain price caps for fuel, energy and basic food as long as inflation wasn’t unusually high in order to protect Hungarians against price shocks.