Fund to Deal in Hungarian Stocks: Communist-ruled...

Fund to Deal in Hungarian Stocks: Communist-ruled Hungary has taken another step along the capitalist road by letting its National Bank set up a mutual fund that will include securities issued by the country’s private firms. The announcement was made by the International Finance Corp., or IFC, a unit of the World Bank, which is owned by 133 governments including both Hungary and the United States. An IFC spokeswoman said the fund, called the First Hungarian Fund Ltd., would be the first of its kind among the Communist-ruled countries of Eastern Europe. Financial adviser Bear, Stearns & Co. of New York has placed the shares. The minimum investment is $500,000. The National Bank is expected to protect investors for about five years against the loss of their principal, and against the possibility of the Hungarian forint, the national currency, dropping in value against the U.S. dollar.