United States Foreign Investments Hungary

Levis, the jeans that epitomized capitalistic decadence here in the 1960s, stand for socialist success in the late 1980s. Just a half hour's drive from the Yugoslavian border, about 200 Hungarian factory workers--most of them women--assemble, wash and iron 3,000 pairs of jeans each day as the rock beat of Madonna blasts over the radio in the plant. This is Levi Strauss Budapest Co., a $1-million business venture with Skala-Tex Clothing & Trade, Centrum Dept. Stores Co.

ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Alkaloida Chemical Company Ltd. of Hungary as part of the drug company's plans to expand in Eastern Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed. In June, ICN won an auction sponsored by the Hungarian government to acquire a majority interest and privatize Alkaloida, which has annual sales of about $66 million.

ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Alkaloida Chemical Company Ltd. of Hungary as part of the drug company's plans to expand in Eastern Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed. In June, ICN won an auction sponsored by the Hungarian government to acquire a majority interest and privatize Alkaloida, which has annual sales of about $66 million.

SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., on Monday announced plans to buy 30% of a state-owned drug manufacturer in Hungary for an undisclosed amount. Completion of the transaction awaits approval by the Hungarian government. The company, Alkaloida, makes about 60 products--including medicinal morphine, antacids and treatments for asthma--sold in 80 countries. It is based in Tiszavasvari, Hungary, and employs 2,100 people.

Wine Opportunities: On the European front, the World Trade Center Assn. of Orange County is leading a team of experts from California's wine industry to study business opportunities for U.S. companies to invest in Hungary's wine industry.

By publishing the picture on Page C3, Saturday, Nov. 25, The Times clearly demonstrated its USC bias. Did Mal Florence locate that picture? Out of the literally thousands of pictures available, which clearly show that Wellman's knee came down touching white (out of bounds), you found a photo which "appears" (your word and the correct one) otherwise. It is a stop-action photo. His knee is not yet down. It is also the completely wrong angle.

General Electric Co. announced Wednesday that it will make the largest Western investment to date in the newly opening economies of Eastern Europe, spending $150 million for controlling interest in a major Hungarian light-bulb company. In one stroke, the deal will more than triple the stake of U.S. businesses in Hungary. After the purchase is closed later this year, GE plans to spend a modest amount of money to upgrade technology at Tungsram Co.

Wine Opportunities: On the European front, the World Trade Center Assn. of Orange County is leading a team of experts from California's wine industry to study business opportunities for U.S. companies to invest in Hungary's wine industry.

In what could become the largest American investment in Eastern Europe since the collapse of the hard-line Communist regimes there, General Motors said Thursday that it may soon become the first American auto maker to produce cars in Hungary. The world's largest auto company is in the "advanced stages" of talks with a Hungarian trade group about opening an assembly plant for small cars, as well as an accompanying engine factory.