Hungary: Budapest Pharmacy Privatization

The privatization of all pharmacies in Hungary's capital Budapest wascompleted this month when the last pharmacy owned by the City Council was transferred to the Semmelweis Medical University. The Council had owned 182 of Budapest's 300 pharmacies. 30 pharmacies have been leased and the rest sold, mainly to pharmacists.

The city's mayor said Budapest now has more privately-owned pharmacies than before World War II, notes MTI Econews. The Council has received a total of 3.9 billion forint ($22 million) from the sale of pharmacies and their stock, compared with earlier asset evaluations of the 182 pharmacies of just 2.4 billion forint.

311 offers were submitted for the pharmacies, with 101 attracting only one bid each. The highest price paid was 138 million forint, and the lowest was 2.1 million forint. 125 of the successful bidders paid in one lump sum, while 54 opted to pay in installments over a maximum of 10 years with a two-year grace period.