GKI competitiveness index rises slightly

Economic think-tank GKI's Business Climate Index (UX), a gauge of sentiment at 1,500 businesses in Hungary, declined 15.6 points to 33.8 in the first quarter of 2008.

 The business-climate index is slightly
higher than the lowest index of 22.8 recorded in the second quarter
of 2006, adding that the index shows tensions in business confidence.

An index value over 50 reflects
optimistic business sentiment, while an index measuring below 50
reflects pessimistic business sentiment.

Only the UX measuring business
infrastructure improved slightly during the period. Other
sub-indices, including government predictability and interest rates
of government bonds, also worsened. Companies blamed the decline in
sentiment on an insecure business environment.

GKI's Competitiveness Index for seven
countries in the eastern and central European region rose 7
percentage points in Romania, 2.1 percentage points in Poland and 1.9
percentage points in the Czech Republic, while slipping 0.9
percentage points in Slovakia during the period.

The Competitiveness Index is composed
of three sub-indices measuring labour productivity, macroeconomic
performance and cost-competitiveness.