Gov’t to sound out next US administration at NY event
The 18th annual Greek Investor Forum takes place on December 12 at the Metropolitan Club of New York, organized by Capital Link in association with the New York Stock Exchange. Guest of honor at the event will be Wilbur Ross, senior financial adviser to the new president and future secretary of commerce.
A sizable section of Greece’s cabinet will be attending the event, including Economy Minister Dimitris Papadimitriou, his alternate Alexandros Haritsis, Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis, Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis and Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura.
Besides Ross, a considerable number of US economic and investment community members will also be present. Among the foreign investment banks expected to participate through the presence of their officials will be Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Citi, UBS, Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Furthermore, representatives of several foreign investment funds, either involved in investments in Greece or interested in participating in the management of nonperforming loans, will be at the Metropolitan Club on December 12, among them Apollo Management International, BlackRock, Fortress Investment Group, York Capital, Oaktree Capital and of course WL Ross & Co.
Interestingly, Capital Link will hold a dinner in honor of Ross on the evening of December 12 at the New York Yacht Club. The organizers will honor 78-year-old Ross – one of the main shareholders of Athens-listed lenders Eurobank and Bank of Cyprus – for “his exceptional contribution to Greece.”
At the same forum last year, Ross had openly asked Athens to rapidly implement the entire bailout agreement, to strengthen investment expenditure, to liberalize the labor market, to introduce measures to bolster exports and tourism, among other things.
Besides Greek entrepreneurs and banks, the forum will also be attended by the European Central Bank coordinator for Greece Francesco Drudi, European Commission mission chief for Greece Declan Costello, the head of strategy of the European Stability Mechanism, Nicola Giammarioli, and representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Fund and the European Investment Bank.
