SEV warns next year will be a difficult one
For the country to return to the growth rate of 4 percent it enjoyed in the period from 2000 to 2007, it must increase productivity through private investments and the reduction of overtaxation, so that domestic savings grow faster, the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) noted in its weekly bulletin on Friday.
The industrialists’ association warned that 2019 will be a difficult year, as the international economy is dominated by mild slowdown conditions that could deteriorate at any point. Furthermore, on the local political level, the various elections scheduled are increasing uncertainty.
The bulletin added that while the fiscal fundamentals are evolving in a satisfactory fashion, growth remains trapped at low rates, with the risk of a fresh tumble evident. It also stressed that the re-emergence of macroeconomic imbalances after a period of stabilization should not be ignored. SEV argued that this may be related to possible pre-election handouts that would derail the fiscal course, upcoming court decisions, and the likely loss of competitiveness through the application of non-financial criteria to the mechanism for salary adjustments in the economy.
