Orban's remarks are in sharp contrast to those of the economy ministry, which backs such debt sales, while the central bank, led by Orban ally Gyorgy Matolcsy, has repeatedly spoken out against them. The government has gradually shifted the country's debt programme to forint-denominated paper.
Hungary has 2.4 billion euros worth of foreign currency debt expiring in 2017, of which it plans to cover 1 billion euros with international bond issuance, Economy Minister Mihaly Varga said when unveiling issuance plans in December.
The actual amount issued could be more or less than that, Varga said then.
But Orban told a forum organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Trade and Industry on Tuesday: "My perspective, which wants to see Hungarian state debt in Hungarian hands, (is) we should not issue debt to foreigners or debt denominated in foreign currency unless we absolutely must."
"This debate continues with varying success. My chances are not bad at all."
When unveiling 2017 issuance targets, Varga said the share of foreign currency debt within Hungary's total debt pile could fall below 20 percent by 2020 from 25 percent last year.
At the business conference on Tuesday, Governor Matolcsy projected a more aggressive decline trajectory, indicating that the central bank would like to see the rate drop to between 15 to 20 percent as early as next year.
"We have achieved a steep decline of the foreign currency denominated stock within the central state debt," Matolcsy said. "We in the central bank think this could be further reduced, and we also argue that it should be done."
Hungary's credit rating was lifted to investment-grade status by all the main agencies last year due to a fall in external debt and improved economic growth prospects.
Standard & Poor's reaffirmed its 'BBB-' rating last week, saying it reflected strong trade surpluses and modest budget deficits, coupled with still high public debt.
(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
By Gergely Szakacs and Marton Dunai
