economy

May 1, 2026

Only the Budapest-Belgrade railway project loan is comparable: A change of government was needed to learn the cost of repaying the Chinese loan, writes a Hungarian portal

After a long legal battle and a period of secrecy, a change of government was needed for the Center for Debt Management (Államadósság Kezelő Központ – AKK) to disclose the interest rate terms under which Viktor Orbán's government took out a one billion euro loan from China in the spring of 2024, according to a text by the portal 444.

Only the Budapest-Belgrade railway project loan is comparable: A change of government was needed to learn the cost of repaying the Chinese loan, writes a Hungarian portal

TL;DR

  • Hungary obtained a 1 billion euro loan from China in spring 2024 under the government of Viktor Orbán.
  • The loan has a variable interest rate tied to the six-month EURIBOR plus a 1.5% margin, totaling 3.916% annually for the current period.
  • The funds were provided by China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China, and the Hungarian branch of Bank of China.
  • The loan is intended for infrastructural and energy projects and has a three-year repayment term, due by April 19, 2027.
  • Additional fees of 0.4% for contract signing and 0.4% for organization were charged, totaling 8 million euros on the 1 billion euro loan.
  • The outgoing government initially classified the loan terms as banking secrecy, but a change of power led to their disclosure after a legal process.
  • This loan increased Hungary's foreign debt by over 10% and raised its total debt to China to over 1000 billion forints.
  • The AKK refused to release the full contract, citing potential harm to future business activities, public finances, and international relations.

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