Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai met the ambassadors of nine wealthy nations on Monday, five days after they issued an open letter warning that corruption in the country could scare off foreign investors, according to dpa. "The letter ... did not criticize the government, but rather independent bodies, organizations, (political) parties and local councils which, in their opinion, have taken steps against foreign investors in recent weeks," Bajnai was quoted as saying after the meeting by the state news agency MTI. Bajnai said he had assured the ambassadors that his government would immediately investigate any complaint relating to foreign investments. The embassies of Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and the US last Wednesday warned of recent "non-transparent behaviour affecting investors in such areas as public utilities, broadcasting, and elements of the nation"s transport infrastructure." Bajnai said he had outlined during the meeting what measures his government was taking to increase investor confidence, and said that tackling corruption was among the most important of them. Although the open letter did not identify explicitly any "non-transparent" deals, after the meeting the French Ambassador to Hungary Rene Roudaut named two out of "half a dozen" recent cases, MTI reported. In early October, the local council of the southern town of Pecs seized control of a waterworks operated by the French firm Suez, which held a 48-per-cent stake in the utility company. A recent tender process for the renewal of broadcasting rights saw two national radio stations replaced last week amid allegations of backroom political manoeuvring. One of the stations, Slager Radio, was owned by the US firm Emmis Communications.
