By Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs BUDAPEST, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Hungary plans to sell foreign currency bonds worth 1.482 trillion forints ($4.50 billion) next year, below 2025 sales, with its first
Hungary Targets $4.5 Billion in Foreign Currency Bonds by 2026
By Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs
BUDAPEST, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Hungary plans to sell foreign currency bonds worth 1.482 trillion forints ($4.50 billion) next year, below 2025 sales, with its first bond issue probably in the first half of 2026, the government debt agency AKK said on Wednesday.
Hungary also plans to take up 781 billion forints worth of foreign currency loans from SAFE, the European Union's rearmament fund in 2026.
However, as Brussels blocked Hungary's access to most EU funds because of rule-of-law disputes with nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, these loans might also come under scrutiny according to media reports.
The debt agency said it was counting on the SAFE loans as a base case, but could raise the funds from international or local markets if needed.
BOND IN DOLLARS OR EUROS POSSIBLE IN EARLY 2026
Chief Executive Mihaly Hoffmann told a press conference that Hungary, possibly in early 2026, could issue a bond in dollars or euros.
Hoffmann said the share of foreign currency debt within total debt would be 29.9% at the end of this year, and the AKK would introduce a tolerance range to ensure greater flexibility around its 30% target for foreign currency debt.
"If we reduce the share of FX too much that does not take into account the advantages (of foreign currency issuance), he said.
Last week, Fitch Ratings cut Hungary's credit rating outlook to negative, citing a worse trajectory for public finances in the light of fiscal loosening in the run-up to a 2026 national election, when Orban faces a tough contest to retain power.
Orban, who met President Donald Trump at the White House on November 7, secured a one-year waiver from U.S. sanctions for using Russian energy. Afterwards, Orban said Hungary might be able to access a currency swap line or a flexible credit line, subject to Trump's approval.
In an interview with Politico published on Tuesday Trump denied offering any financial lifeline. In reaction to this interview, Hungary's foreign minister said Budapest and Washington committed to start talks on a new form of financial cooperation.
When asked about these negotiations, Hoffmann declined to comment. Economy Ministry state secretary Kornel Kisgergely told the same briefing that the U.S. talks would be about a swapline.
The debt agency said total net debt issuance would decline to 5.445 trillion forints next year, largely due to a 376 billion forint fall in net forint debt issuance to 2.903 trillion.
($1 = 329.5200 forints)
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs; editing by Barbara Lewis)
