Investments in Greece are ‘more than advertised’
Investments in Greece could actually be more than meets the eye, though obviously the potential is much greater than what has been realized to date, according to former economy and finance minister Petros Doukas.
Speaking at the 2nd IMN Annual Investors’ Conference on Greek and Cypriot nonperforming loans in Athens last Friday, Doukas stressed that “there is quite a big set of investments going on across Greece, from Evros to Crete, that we have not advertised. It is in agribusiness, in plastics, in pharmaceuticals and many other sectors.”
Despite the constant decline in public investments by this government (250 million less this year compared to 2018), the contribution of investments in general is expected to increase the country’s gross domestic product by 1.5 percentage points this year according to the 2019 state budget. Private investments are projected to advance by 11.9 percent year-on-year.
Prospects are about to improve, said Doukas, who is currently chair of financial firm Capital Partners SA: “Polls show a victory for New Democracy in the upcoming election this year, so, with a pro-business government in power, Greece will be a very good place to invest in, including in nonperforming loans.”
