K&H: perception of government measures in the SME sector is improving

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 02. 10. 10:48

Expectations regarding the government’s business-friendly measures among the managers of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have improved significantly, by 8 points – according to the research data of the K&H SME Confidence Index for the last quarter of 2024.

According to K&H’s information on Monday, although the value is still in the negative range with minus 7 points, a continuously improving trend is emerging, because in the first quarter of 2024 the indicator only reached minus 15 points, but has since increased.

The statement recalled, among other things, that the government announced the Demján Sándor Program to support the SME sector for 2025, in which a budget of 1,410 billion forints will be allocated to stimulate small businesses this year alone. In addition, businesses will also be helped with new preferential loans with a maximum interest rate of 3.5 percent within the framework of the Széchenyi Card program.

The indicator has returned to around the level at the end of 2023; the upward trend may continue in the future and the assessment of the measures may even turn into the positive range – Ildikó Oraveczné Németh, Marketing Manager of the K&H Retail and SME Segment, assessed the results in the announcement.

The quarterly K&H SME Confidence Index, which has been prepared continuously since 2004, is currently compiled by surveying business decision-makers from 400 companies headquartered in Hungary with annual sales of less than 2 billion forints. The most recent measurement, prepared by Impetus Research, took place between November 4 and 29, 2024.