Investors putting plans on hold
Investors intending to place their money in Greece are waiting for the political uncertainty to clear, according to Deputy Development Minister Notis Mitarakis, but some applications for entry into the fast-track system are continuing to come in.
“There is a freeze in the markets, as can also be observed on the stock market. Of course [investors] have not stopped contacting us, but in recent weeks we have not seen any definitive decisions made by investors. They are taking a wait-and-see stance,” Mitarakis told a press conference in Athens on Monday.
Nevertheless the flow of applications to Enterprise Greece for the inclusion of investment plans in the rapid licensing system has not ceased: A few days ago Kerameia SA applied for permission to move ahead with a tourism investment at Kerameia on the eastern Aegean island of Chios.
Two more fast-track applications are expected during the week. Kathimerini understands that one of them concerns the implementation of a major tourism investment in Messinia, which includes hotel units and holiday accommodation. The second involves photovoltaic power production. Both investments are supported by Greek and foreign funds.
In total the net flow from foreign direct investment has increased by 43 percent since 2012, which had seen a 64 percent from the year before. In the first 10 months of this year, according to Bank of Greece figures, the net inflow from FDI came to 1.3 billion euros.
Until recently, there had been a marked increase in interest in investing in this country, as reflected in the requests that Enterprise Greece receives and handles. Its managing director, Stefanos Isaias, presented data for the period from 2012 to October 2014 showing it had received 2,322 requests. However, no mention was made regarding the number of requests that resulted in actual investments.
Enterprise Greece is also involved in exports and has set a number of target markets seen as fertile ground for Greek products as a priority for 2015: Germany, the UK, Italy, France, the US, Canada, Australia, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, India, Nigeria and South Africa.
