German software giant SAP to move southern Europe headquarters to Greece
German software giabt SAP is to move its southern Europe headquarters to Greece, the firm’s co-CEO Jim Hagemann Snabe reportedly told Prime Minister Antonis Samaras during a meeting in Athens on Tuesday.
“We will invest in Greece,” the executive was quoted as saying after the meeting, when he indicated that SAP would set up offices in Athens.
During the meeting, the SAP co-CEO is reported to have expressed an interest in supporting innovative start-ups.
SAP is Germany’s most valuable company. Its shares rose about 50 percent last year, pushing its market value beyond Siemens AG and Volkswagen. Analysts expect net income to grow to 3.7 billion euros this year, more than double the 2010 figure, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The world’s largest enterprise software maker is betting on Web- based programs, applications for mobile devices and its Hana database to beat rival Oracle Corp. (ORCL)
SAP, based in Walldorf, Germany, earmarked a total of 32 million euros for its top executives for 2012. The company has a target to increase sales beyond 20 billion euros by 2015, compared with 16.2 billion euros last year.
