An increase in foreign investor activity, energy sector regulation shifts, as well as the incoming challenges brought by the impending ESG Act and NIS2 cybersecurity directive are all keeping lawyers in Hungary quite busy, according to Partner Gergely Szabo of Ban, S. Szabo, Rausch & Partners.

On 19 October 2023, Ambassador Harry Alex Rusz, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the Council of Europe deposited the instrument of ratification of the Amending Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data.

NH Partners has advised Waberer's International on its acquisition of a 51% stake in Petrolsped.

Kinstellar has announced that  Budapest's Kristof Ferenczi has been appointed as the new Firm Managing Partner, succeeding Patrik Bolf in that position.

In a recent case, the Hungarian Supreme Court had to decide whether a Hungarian undergraduate student studying economics and carrying out international forex transactions can be considered as a “consumer” and thus eligible for starting litigation at his residence, in Hungary against the foreign platform service provider?

Wolf Theiss has advised the Kyoto Group on the agreement to deliver its Heatcube thermal energy storage system to Hungarian food ingredient producer KALL Ingredients.

On 19 July 2023, the Constitutional Court established that certain provisions of the act on public construction investments are unconstitutional, therefore, it could not enter into force as planned on 1 August 2023.

In import-export transactions across Europe, it is common for sellers to protect the assets they have sold by retaining the ownership title until the buyer has paid the full purchase price. Retention of title allows sellers to reclaim the assets if the buyer fails to pay, and even if the buyer goes bankrupt before payment is made. In Hungary, however, such an arrangement can lead to unpleasant surprises for sellers.

Negotiations on next year's wages started at the beginning of October 2023, with stakeholders - employers and trade unions representing workers - and the government as an observer taking part in the wage negotiations, which can last several weeks.

A legislative proposal has been submitted in November 2023 on the system of utilization of national data assets. The primary objective of the proposal is to ensure the applicability of the data governance regulation in Hungary and to make the existing laws on secondary usage of the national data assets coherent in a regulatory environment. The scope of the proposal covers services related to the use of data processed by public authorities, the performance of other related public tasks and data collection and analysis in support of government decision-making.

Under the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), companies must notify the European Commission in advance of certain acquisitions, mergers or large public procurement transactions if the groups of companies involved have received financial contributions from outside the EU. Compiling the notification and gathering the necessary information can be a heavy administrative burden for companies, and failure to do so can result in fines of up to 10% of the group's worldwide turnover.

On 14 November 2023, the Hungarian Government presented a new bill on the entry and residence of third-country nationals in Hungary.

The Hungarian Ministry of Finance published its draft legislation for the implementation of the global minimum tax rules in Hungary for public consultation in October 2023. The package also contained some limited reasoning and impact assessment and stakeholders had one week to comment on the proposal.

In order to boost corporate lending and thus increase economic competitiveness, the legislator recently implemented changes to the Hungarian Companies Act. From 1 January 2024, companies will have to provide additional information about the finances of the company in the registration or modification procedures. In this article, we summarize the new rules and the related deadlines.

AegisLegal and Kalman & Partners have advised Biggeorge REIT Nyrt on the successful listing of its shares on the Budapest Stock Exchange. Duda & Csako reportedly also advised on the listing.

Deloitte Legal has advised Shopper Park Plus on its euro-denominated share issuance on the Budapest Stock Exchange. Huempfner & Associates and Allen & Overy reportedly advised on the matter as well.

Kinstellar, working with Veil Jourde, has advised Jacquet Metals on its acquisition of several distribution companies from the Swiss Steel Group. Niederer Kraft Frey and Roedl & Partner reportedly advised the Swiss Steel Group.

Wolf Theiss has advised the Vienna Insurance Group on the increase of its stake in Hungarian holding company VIG Magyarorszag from 55% to 90%, by acquiring the extra stake from Hungarian state holding company Corvinus. PK & Partners reportedly advised Corvinus.