Leadership1 publisher3 min readPublished
Hiring Hungary's former foreign minister puts BYD's state aid under review
Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's foreign minister for 12 years and now a BYD executive, said the subsidies he arranged for the carmaker were usual for its size. A government inquiry into those deals puts BYD's state agreements under review with him.
The Board Room · Leadership desk
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What happened
- Szijjártó faced a closed-door hearing of the National Security Committee on Monday and told reporters on arrival there had been "serious misunderstandings" over BYD's investment.
- His July announcement that he would resign his parliamentary seat for the BYD post drew accusations of a conflict of interest.
- Prime Minister Péter Magyar told lawmakers in July that Szijjártó had given BYD public money, diplomatic support and state infrastructure, and said an investigation would follow.
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Why it matters
- exposure BYD's agreements with the Hungarian state are the material of an inquiry into its own executive. An adverse finding about him would reopen the terms of the company's investment.
- contradiction Szijjártó calls the Szeged subsidies usual for a project of that size. Magyar's tally adds diplomacy and infrastructure. The size of any benefit to BYD stays unsettled until the inquiry puts a figure on it.
- decision A company hiring the official who negotiated its state aid has to accept that a successor government may reopen those deals. BYD hired within about three months of that government losing power.
The job BYD gave Szijjártó overlaps with the work he did for the company in government. He has described the role as "executive responsible for the group's external relations and the development of new business lines" [8]. Those are the relationships he used on BYD's behalf as minister [5][6]. Arriving on Monday, he did not mention the job [8].
Prime Minister Péter Magyar's inquiry is built on that overlap. Magyar told lawmakers in July that it would "examine all the decisions, negotiations and state commitments" Szijjártó made on the BYD investment [12]. It concerns a former minister's conduct and the commitments he made to BYD [12].
For BYD, the trade-off was settled when it made the hire. It gained an executive with 12 years as foreign minister [2] and a record of bringing Chinese battery investment to Hungary [13]. It also hired him soon after a change of government: the job was announced about three months after Orbán's government lost the April election [16].
The two sides describe the money differently. "I consider it a great success that this factory came to Hungary," Szijjártó said on Monday [9]. He added that "the proposed and awarded government subsidies for the construction of the BYD factory in Szeged have remained well within the framework of the usual subsidies for investments of this magnitude" [10]. Magyar said Szijjártó had helped BYD "with hundreds of billions (of forints) in public money, diplomatic support and state infrastructure" [11]. Magyar's figure counts diplomacy and infrastructure alongside cash. It cannot be set directly against the 20 billion forints of assistance announced in 2025 for BYD's Budapest headquarters and research centre [6].
There is a reasonable case that BYD would face this review without the hire, as a new government audits its predecessor's industrial policy. Orbán's government wanted Hungary to become a global hub for lithium-ion batteries, and decreased demand and other market pressures have so far kept those investments from paying high dividends [14]. Since May, Magyar's government has promised tighter oversight of the battery sector after workplace accidents and contamination above legal limits at several plants [15]. Against that, Szijjártó concluded numerous deals with Chinese companies [13]. The National Security Committee questioned him about his dealings with BYD, his current employer [1][7].
I think one case in one country does not set a rule for employers, and Hungary's government changed hands in May [15]. The reporting does not include a response from BYD. The company made its decision in the summer [3]. We do not know yet whether Magyar's inquiry will reach the subsidies themselves. If it does, the cost of the hire will fall on the terms of BYD's Hungarian investment [12].
What to watch
- Publication of findings from Magyar's investigation, especially any figure for the subsidies behind BYD's Szeged factory.
- Any public statement from BYD on Szijjártó's role or on the state commitments it received in Hungary.
- Whether the government moves to revisit the 20 billion forints of assistance announced in 2025 for BYD's Budapest headquarters and research centre.