FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Peter Magyar attacks Gellért Jászai and warns that the contract that Orban signed before leaving will not be implemented. Immediately the shares of the parent company of One Albania have started to decline...
The economic empire built during the Viktor Orban years is entering a zone of turbulence.
At the center of the storm is 4iG, the Hungarian company that over the last decade has become one of the most powerful groups in telecommunications, defense, and digital infrastructure, thanks to strong ties to Orban's government.
But the coming to power of Peter Magyar seems to have changed everything.
In his first strong outing against the economic system set up by his predecessor, Magyar directly attacked the gigantic 1.311 trillion forint contract that the Hungarian Ministry of Defense had signed with 4iG just a few weeks before the elections.
It is a staggering agreement, worth around $4.3 billion, that envisaged projects for the digital modernization of the Hungarian army, defense systems and satellite technology until 2035.
The contract was made public by the Hungarian media only after the change of power and immediately caused political conflict.
Peter Magyar stated that his government will not recognize the prepayment of nearly 30 billion forints ($4.3 million) that 4iG had requested based on the contract.
" We don't have to pay anything. The oligarchs should act as if this contract doesn't exist ," was the new prime minister's blunt message.
He added that Tisza's government will fully review the framework contract, which, according to him, was signed by the Defense Minister of Viktor Orban's outgoing government "just a month before the elections, without any public consultation and in a classified manner."
Magyar emphasized that the contract package also included the purchase of spy satellites and similar equipment, but according to him: " There is certainly no need for this and in this form. There is a need for functional healthcare, functional education, real child protection and an economy that is set in motion, not for spy satellites and even less for contracts that support the oligarchs with hundreds and thousands of billions ."
Shares fall
In just a few hours, 4iG shares fell from around 1,990 forints to 1,670 forints , losing nearly 16% of their value on the Budapest Stock Exchange.
For investors, the signal was clear: the new Hungarian government is waging war on the economic model built during the Orban era and on the companies that are considered part of it.
The blow to 4iG is seen as particularly critical, as the company had positioned itself as one of the largest beneficiaries of state funds and strategic projects in Hungary.
Investigations published by Bloomberg and Hungarian media have raised suspicions that 4iG benefited from extraordinary expansion in recent years through political relations with the Orban government. This company also now controls “One Albania”, the main mobile operator in Albania.
And here the story moves directly to Tirana.
According to the financial balance sheets for 2024, "One Albania" turns out to have over 96 million euros in loans and financing from the Hungarian parent group 4iG, which indicates significant financial dependence on the company that is now at the center of the political crisis in Budapest.
This means that any financial shock or investigation into 4iG could also have effects in Albania, in a strategic sector like telecommunications.
Just a few days before the scandal broke, 4iG owner Gellért Jászai held meetings in Tirana with Prime Minister Edi Rama, where the expansion of the group's investments in Albania and the Balkans was discussed.
The focus was on "One Albania", the "Data Center" projects and the strategic submarine cable "2EAGLE", which aims to connect Egypt with Albania and then with Europe.
But as the new Hungarian government announces audits, declassification of secret contracts, and an investigation into ties between politics and oligarchs, the question now being asked is whether 4iG is trying to shift assets and strategic influence to the Balkans to escape the blow in Hungary.
If Peter Magyar's political offensive deepens, the consequences may not only remain in Budapest. They may also be felt in Albania, where 4iG has placed one of its most important regional investments: "One Albania". / Pamphlet
Lini një Përgjigje