On 14 May Napi Gazdaság organised a conference called ‘The good owner – State asset management in practice’.

Experts from the Hungarian National Asset Management Zrt. (MNV) and other state companies were the speakers. Péter Székács, deputy state secretary responsible for asset management gave the keynote speech, after which MNV Zrt. CEO Péter Márton spoke about growing state assets. The CEO reckons that the state is a good owner, this is well indicated by the efficient and profitable management of many state-owned companies, e.g. Rába in Győr. In his view the acquisition of the E.ON natural gas reserve increased the safety of gas supply, while other acquisitions made it possible to cut Hungarian citizens’ utility costs. Dr Iván Szabó, president of the Water Industry branch of the Hungarian Water Utility Association spoke about the integration process in public water services. Tibor Nemcsek, managing director of the National Waste Management and Services Kft. talked about the state’s role in waste management. Gábor László Králik, chairman of the board of directors at the Hungarian Natural Gas Trade Zrt. introduced Hungary’s gas supply security. Tibor Szárszó, sector manager of the Hungarian National Trading House Zrt. gave his views on the competitiveness of state-owned companies. By the end of the year the Trade House will help firms find export opportunities on 4 continents. László Bereczki, MNV Zrt.’s director general presented how they have been working for a year on uncovering the synergies created by companies’ external and internal relations and how to exploit these in order to cut operating costs. Marianna Sebők, HR policy and organisational development director of MNV Zrt. gave a presentation about knowledge transfer and interactive communication. Tibor Kuna, managing director of Young&Partners Kft. spoke about the hardships of public service media communication and the advantages of proactive communication, emphasising that a good owner also communicates its activity well, and the conference proved that MNV Zrt. is excelling in this respect, too.