Forthnet teams up with Chinese firms to fund Greek telecoms network
Greek telecoms company Forthnet and Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp have teamed up with two other Chinese firms to finance a fibre optic network in Greece, Forthnet said on Saturday.
Forthnet and ZTE signed a cooperation agreement in 2016 to build a high-speed broadband network in the country.
Under the latest deal, Shanghai Gongbao Business Consulting and KaiXinRong Group will invest up to 500 million euros ($546 million) over seven years with the bulk of the investment carried out in the first three, Forthnet said.
The agreement was signed during Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's visit to Beijing to attend a summit of leaders from 28 countries, part of China's ambitions to generate economic prosperity by building a new Silk Road.
China has been investing heavily in Greece in recent years. Its biggest shipping company, COSCO Shipping, bought a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority last year under its plan to turn Greece into a transhipment hub for rapidly growing trade between Asia and Eastern Europe.
[Reuters]
