Hungary is tightening rules on foreign property purchases. Restrictions on home purchases by non-residents will come into effect on July 1.
Foreign citizens who are not members of the Schengen/EEA will have to obtain permission from a government commission to purchase real estate, including houses and apartments. Significant restrictions on land and residential property transactions are expected.
The aim of the changes is to protect the domestic housing market from excessive foreign demand, especially in tourist and suburban regions, to reduce price inflation, and to prevent social tension due to rising rents.
The new changes are in line with environmental and social criteria; land transactions have long been restricted, and now similar measures are being extended to residential real estate.
According to data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH):
2023 — foreigners purchased more than 6,300 residential units, which is 1,700 fewer than in 2022, accounting for almost 6% of all transactions and 7.6% of the portfolio price.
2022 — peak — about 8,000 purchases by foreigners.
National and category composition of buyers:
Germany — in first place, with more than 1,470 transactions in 2023, accounting for about 25% of all purchases by foreigners.
Slovakia, Romania, and the United Kingdom — 600–700 purchases each.
China — nearly 600 purchases, mainly in Budapest.
Ukraine — 131 property purchases.
As of early 2025, there are approximately 255,450 foreign citizens living in Hungary.
The limits introduced are aimed at reducing pressure on prices, especially in areas popular with foreigners — Budapest, Lake Balaton, and the border area.
The government seeks to prevent the rise in housing prices due to investments by non-residents, as well as to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing for Hungarians.
The new rules require approval and may slow down the purchase process by 2–3 months.
Prices in vulnerable regions are expected to stabilize and growth rates to slow down. Hungary will significantly tighten requirements for foreigners purchasing real estate.
The National Health Service of Ukraine plans to complete monitoring of medical institutions contracted for surgical and inpatient care packages in July.
According to the Ministry of Health, special attention will be paid to the availability of antibiotics and the validity of their prescription.
The monitoring began in April 2024 and is based on a preliminary analysis of medical records from the electronic health care system (ESOZ), financial reports of institutions, the number of patients treated, the volume of services provided, and expenditures on the purchase of medicines.
“Based on the results of the analysis, the NSZU found extremely low spending on medicines and medical products per patient in a number of institutions, which raises reasonable doubts about compliance with the terms of contracts and failure to provide patients with the necessary treatment at public expense,” the Ministry of Health said.
The ministry reminds that 206 medical institutions received requests for explanations and supporting documents. Due to the failure to provide reasonable explanations, in May 2025, the NSZU suspended payments to 36 of them.
During monitoring, the NSZU found, in particular, that two of the six inspected institutions providing stroke care involving endovascular interventions had used medical products that were not recorded in the institution’s records, which may indicate that they were purchased at the patient’s expense.
In addition, in one of the oncology centers, during January-February 2025, there were no necessary consumables for the use of infusion pumps in patients with breast cancer. In total, monitoring in this area is being carried out in seven medical institutions.
The state-owned Oschadbank (Kyiv) has almost doubled the credit limit available to OKKO Group, increasing it from UAH 1.5 billion to UAH 2.85 billion, which is provided for a period of two years.
“Currently, OKKO Group’s loan portfolio at Oschadbank is the largest among all their financial partners. Oschadbank’s liquidity level allows us to continue expanding this portfolio in line with our partner’s ambitious plans,” said Yuriy Katsion, deputy chairman of the board of Oschadbank responsible for corporate business, as quoted by the financial institution’s press service.
The increase in the credit limit will enable the group to manage its operating expenses more efficiently, in particular to maintain the necessary level of fuel reserves, which is important given the market dynamics and plans to expand the OKKO network of gas stations, which currently has 410 facilities, according to the press release.
It is noted that Oschadbank has been cooperating with OKKO Group companies since 2016, but the partnership has significantly strengthened since the start of the full-scale war. In March 2022, during the fuel crisis, the financial institution provided one of the group’s companies with an overdraft of UAH 500 million, thereby enabling it to import additional fuel. Since then, the volume of working capital financing has increased to UAH 1.5 billion.
OKKO Group is a Ukrainian holding company that unites businesses in the fields of trade, construction, agriculture, energy, tourism, and services. The group is based on the OKKO filling station network, which also includes catering establishments, fuel quality control laboratories, shops at filling stations, wholesale sales of petroleum products, and related services.
As reported, in the first quarter of 2025, Oschadbank signed almost three times more loan agreements with corporate clients than in the same period of 2024. Last year, the corporate segment’s loan portfolio grew by UAH 9.3 billion compared to 2023. About 34% of the agreements concluded in 2024 were aimed at financing investment projects.
Antonov JSC (Kyiv) announced on June 13 its intention to conclude a contract with ASK INGO (Kyiv) for civil aviation risk insurance services (insurance classes 1, 5, 11), according to the Prozorro electronic procurement system.
INGO’s price offer was €3.991 million, with an expected value of €4.006 million.
As reported, insurance classes 1, 5, and 11 cover aircraft insurance, aviation carrier liability insurance for damage caused to passengers, baggage, cargo, and mail, and commercial civil aircraft operator liability insurance for damage caused to third parties. The company was the only participant in the tender and also the winner of a similar tender a year earlier. INGO Insurance Company has been providing insurance services for 30 years. Since 2017, the Ukrainian business group DCH has been the main shareholder.
The business community, united by the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (the Chamber), is concerned about the potential risks associated with the possible return to the practice of imposing export duties and/or quotas on oilseeds.
The duty-free trade regime with the European Union (EU), which is the main buyer of Ukrainian oilseeds, is a guarantee of Ukraine’s rapid and successful recovery. At the same time, the introduction of customs or other trade restrictions by Ukraine could jeopardize negotiations on the renewal of the free trade area with the EU, in particular due to the risk of mirror restrictions on Ukrainian exports.
In addition, experts from the Chamber’s member companies consider it necessary to recall that the experience of introducing export duties on soybeans and rapeseed in 2017, which were subsequently abolished in 2020, showed that such measures do not lead to a significant increase in oil production. Instead, such restrictions cause financial losses for agricultural producers and lead to a corresponding reduction in oilseed crops.
Therefore, the Chamber calls on the Government and members of parliament not to allow the reintroduction of export duties and/or quotas on oilseeds and not to support such initiatives.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/news/press-release/1080636.html
At the end of May, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) approved the decision to place two new bond issues of Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s leading express delivery company: series G and H with a nominal value of UAH 1 billion each.
According to the regulator’s decisions, the issuer plans to conduct a private placement of bonds.
The SMIDA disclosure system indicates that the nominal value of one bond is UAH 1,000.
It is noted that 35% of investments will be attracted to the development of the terminal network, 15% to IT, 30% to BDF containers and motor transport, and 20% to packaging for parcels.
According to Nova Poshta’s financial report for the first quarter of 2025, its net consolidated revenue increased by 20.7% compared to the first quarter of last year, to UAH 14 billion 333.2 million, while net profit decreased by 21.4%, to UAH 567.7 million.
The main activity of Nova Poshta remains the express delivery of documents, parcels, and palletized large-size cargo. The company is the leader in express delivery in Ukraine. Its ultimate beneficial owners are Volodymyr Poperechnyuk and Vyacheslav Klimov.
According to the rating agency Standard Rating, as of early April this year, Nova Poshta had total accounts payable of UAH 13.51 billion and, in addition to long-term bank loans, used resources raised from the issue of two series of bonds – E and F, each worth UAH 1 billion, which were registered by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission on April 26, 2024.
The nominal yield on Series E bonds is 17% per annum, Series F bonds is 16% per annum, and the interest period is 91 days. The maturity date of Series E bonds is May 31, 2026.
In January 2025, Nova Poshta redeemed Series D bonds issued in April 2023 in the amount of UAH 800 million, and prior to that, in 2020-2024, three more bond issues totaling UAH 1.8 billion.
