Foreigners increase their stake
Net capital inflows to the Greek stock market from abroad reached 292 million euros last month as foreign investors increased their share in the total capitalization of the local bourse, according to official data supplied by the Athens Exchange. Foreigners now control 48.38 percent, up from 48.13 percent in July 2009. Greek investors, in contrast, were net sellers in August, disposing of shares worth 268.57 million euros. They also saw their share in total capitalization fall to 50.3 percent from 50.7 percent in July. However, foreign investors are responsible for an increasingly smaller number of transactions in the Athens market, in August accounting for just 46.6 percent, down from 50.1 percent in July and 66.4 percent in August 2008. Total market capitalization reached 92 billion euros in August, up by 3.45 percent from the previous month. Of this amount, some 65.3 billion euros concerned blue chips, a rise of 5.4 percent from July.
