Foreign investors eyeing projects
Foreign investors are expressing particularly strong interest in Greek infrastructure projects, Economy Ministry sources say. The abundant global liquidity, seen as largely responsible for the upheavals in money and capital markets, is driving investors to look for placements with high rates of return and even higher potential capital gains. In this context, large foreign enterprises (which the sources are adamant about not revealing) are targeting some of the most important Greek ports and all airports, expecting that the country’s tourism development will continue and expand, in particular into the now almost dormant winter season. For instance, one of the airports presently drawing strong interest is that of Kalamata, which serves the broader area of the Peloponnese but is not in close proximity to large resorts and installations. Similar interest is being expressed in planned major road projects. The companies wishing to participate in such projects are proposing to undertake the improvement, maintenance and, possibly, extensions of specific parts of the national highway, in exchange for the collection of toll dues at predetermined prices and time spans. It is already known that foreign water management companies are eyeing the acquisition of sizable stakes in the water utility companies of Athens and Thessaloniki. Recently, interest spread to the horse-racing track in Markopoulo and mining company Larko, which has benefited from the steep rise in nickel prices, despite its large debt liabilities. The government is favorably disposed toward these overtures by foreign investors, as the revenues likely to accrue are estimated as significant. The Finance Ministry estimates it could collect about 3-4 billion euros from the further development of ports and airports and this would amount to a hefty contribution toward the relief of the country’s high public debt. This would produce significant savings in interest payments and offer additional benefits to the economy as this money would be spent inside the country. Furthermore, this process would have multiple beneficial effects on the country’s growth, with new investment creating new services and new jobs. To be sure, there are reservations too. To begin with, the effort to privatize some container port services in Piraeus and Thessaloniki late last year was ingloriously suspended due to trade union reactions. Secondly, everyone recognizes that the country has entered a pre-electoral phase, and the government is likely to fear incurring political costs from such ideas at the present time. The government also claims that there is strong interest in the privatization of Olympic Airlines, particularly as it hopes that Brussels will soon approve the return of -586 million that the carrier is claiming from the government.
