Economy 5 March 2012, 2:00pm

Last available seats - 'The Forint, The Crisis and Public Debt' Conference

Portfolio

Eventful months are behind Hungary but an even livelier period could be just ahead. Amidst a European debt crisis the debt-ridden Hungarian state is also faving funding challenges. In a world characterised by credit shortage the competition for funding sources is getting increasingly brutal. In such an environment Hungary may be able to hold its ground if it secures itself a financial safety net by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the short term. In the long term, however, it will also need to give a considerable boost to the credibility of its economic policy.

Until these things happen, though the forint will remain sensitive to fluctuations on global capital markets, just like the yields of Hungarian government securities and the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE).

So, what is awaiting Hungary in 2012? The answer to that question will be sought by the participants of Portfolio.hu’s ‘The Forint, The Crisis and Public Debt’ conference in Budapest.

Economic policymakers, economists based in London and Hungary, as well as academics will hold presentations and take part in panel discussions to shed light on the risks and opportunities that this complicated period holds.

The speakers will include Tamás Fellegi, minister without portfolio in charge of negotiations on an international credit line; Júlia Király, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Hungary (NBH); Jelasity Radován, Chairman-CEO of Erste Bank; David Lubin, Managing Director and Head of Emerging Markets Economics at Citigroup and Pasquale Diana, Executive Director and CEE Economist at Morgan Stanley.

Some pictures: (Click to enlarge )