The week in business and finance: online casino licence, high house prices, budget 2018 and many other topics

See below MTI’s main business and financial news from the previous week:

BILL WOULD RAISE 2017 REVENUE, EXPENDITURE TARGETS BY HUF 420 BN

Hungary’s government submitted a bill to parliament late Tuesday that would raise the revenue and expenditure targets in this year’s budget by 420.2 billion forints (EUR 1.3bn). The cash-flow-based deficit would remain unchanged at 1,166.4 billion forints. The amendments will allow additional expenditures for road renovation, preparations for state investments, implementing an action plan for local suppliers of multinationals, rail network developments, charities, creches, the upgrade of a hospital in Budapest and the renovation of the Army’s fleet of Mi-24 helicopters, the government said.

GOVERMENT SUBMITS 2018 BUDGET BILL TO PARLIAMENT

Economy Minister Mihály Varga submitted the 2018 budget bill to parliament. The final vote on the bill is expected on June 15. The bill targets revenue of 18,740.7 billion forints (EUR 60bn) and expenditures of 20,101.4 billion forints, leaving a deficit of 1,360.7 billion forints. The deficit is over the 1,166.4 billion forints gap targeted for 2017. Read more HERE.

MOL Q1 EARNINGS CLIMB 28 PC TO EUR 300.9m

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL’s first-quarter net income rose 28 percent to 93.9 billion forints (EUR 300.9m) from the same period a year earlier, an earnings report showed. Total revenue rose 37 percent to 965.6 billion forints. Cost of raw materials and consumables increased at a much faster rate, climbing 53 percent to 718 billion forints.

PMI FLAT AT 55.9 IN APRIL

Hungary’s seasonally-adjusted Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) stood at 55.9 points in April, unchanged from its level in March, the Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management (Halpim), which compiles the index, said. An index value above 50 shows expansion in the manufacturing sector, while a value under 50 signals contraction.

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT CLIMBS 12.8 PC IN MARCH

Hungary’s industrial output rose by 12.8 percent year on year in March, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said in a first reading of data. Adjusted for the number of working days during the period, output was up 9.4 percent. The increases accelerated from an unadjusted 2.7 percent and an adjusted 7.1 percent in February. Read more HERE.