Budapest - British Petroleum (BP) plans to set up a service centre in Budapest that could create about 1,000 new jobs, Hungary's Minister for Development and Economy, Gordon Bajnai, said Monday.

Bajnai noted that, although some 30,000 jobs have been lost in Hungary since October, around 12,000 new jobs had been created, the state news wire MTI reported.

Vodafone and IBM have both recently announced new service centres to be opened in Hungary.

The head of BP's refining and marketing unit, Richard Hookway, said the Budapest facility would be more than a simple call centre, offering a wide range of business and financial services. (dpa)