BUDAPEST, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of British companies present in Hungary, on the rise since 2004, has been frozen since the 2016 Brexit vote, according to a report published here on Tuesday.

The impact of Brexit in the Hungarian business world is already visible: between 2004 and 2016, the number of UK companies investing in Hungary had steadily increased. However, the increase has been completely frozen since the 2016 Brexit referendum, according to a study conducted by leading Hungarian business information company Opten.

"Currently, there are about 2,300 companies in Hungary whose direct owners include a company or an individual with a British title," Opten added, explaining that this figure has been stagnating since 2016, or even showing a slow but gradual decrease, from 2,309 in 2016 to 2,304 in 2018.

The prospect of Brexit has also affected the employee numbers in UK companies, said Opten.

In June 2016, a total of 73,000 people were employed by UK companies in Hungary. But now it is down to only 69,000 employees, which is in contrast with the fact that the total number of employees in Hungary has somewhat increased in the period under review.