Turks eye Greek deals
Businessmen from Greece and Turkey are expected to hold talks today on possible deals in the fields of energy, banking, telecoms, agriculture and transport. About 150 businessmen have accompanied Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a two-day visit to Athens and are expected to look at joint business opportunities during a Greek-Turkish business forum to be held today in Athens. Expectations of deals have been growing in the local press over the last few days, with reports saying that Turkish businessmen are eyeing Greece despite the country’s grim economic outlook. The biggest cross-border investment between the two nations took place in 2006 when National Bank of Greece (NBG) bought a majority stake in Turkey’s Finansbank for more than 3 billion euros. The move, described by many at the time as being a major risk for the Greek lender, will provide NBG with its strongest-growing segment this year.
