The course of the Greek economy so far and the next steps were the topic of discussion of the panel Engines for Growth: Is the Production Model of Greece Changing? at the 9th Delphi Economic Forum which takes place in Delphi April 10-13 and is under the auspices of A.E. of the President of the Republic, Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou. The dialogue was moderated by General Director of IOVE Nikos Vettas.

The President of SEV, Dimitris Papalexopoulossaid that Greece has come out of a very big crisis, even worse than that of the USA, and it is up to us to stay there since we have escaped the pathologies of the past and reforms have been made.

He emphasized that tourism and shipbuilding are doing well, industry has endured and investments are being made. These developments show that the country is moving in the right direction.

Regarding the next steps, he commented that there is capital and projects for the next three years, but the issue is whether the leap will be made. He described the current situation as the meteoric step of the stork, and emphasized that the next steps need courage, but there is fatigue and complacency.

Regarding how investors look at our country, he said that it has a good name, there is an investment pipeline and available capital from foreign and Greek investors. However, he pointed out the need for more large companies, but there are serious obstacles, such as the strict tax system, limited subsidies, and the fact that the majority of businesses are family-owned.

In closing, he added that there is a serious issue of skills and lack of personnel in quantity and quality.

The CEO of Alpha Bank, Vassilis Psaltis, he mentioned that Greece’s problem was its over-indebtedness since 2005, as a result of which a false image was created and the collapse occurred.

For the next steps, he commented that courage is lacking and cuts are needed in entrepreneurship. The points that need improvement are the complex tax system, the attitude of justice towards the protection of private property, the low level of corporate governance in the private sector and the lack of innovation culture

Regarding acquisitions, he said that these are mature companies that are being exploited by someone who has a dominant position, but they need capital expenditure.

Regarding Greece’s jump, he emphasized that the recovery of the investment grade creates the right moment together with the political calm, the huge D as a country and the Recovery Fund.

Regarding the productive model, he emphasized that it is not an end in itself and we must go to the logic of the tools.

For what is needed he mentioned the following:

  • A new innovative business culture.
  • The banking system cannot support things going forward as they looked back.
  • Policy must be supportive and more incentives are needed to support the transition.

As for the advantages in terms of human potential, he pointed out that there are talented Greeks inside and outside the country, the universities give value to students and in general the level remains good.

The partner and co-founder of BigPi Ventures, Markos Veremis he talked about his experience in the technology industry and mentioned that in the early 2000s our country had a transactional economy fueled by cheap borrowing that we later paid dearly for.

As far as technology is concerned, Greek companies sell mainly to the USA. Their capitalization amounts to 10 billion. And they make up 1.5% but big steps need to be taken to reach the European average, which is 8%).

Regarding the progress so far, he said that very good steps have been taken, but capital and talent are now needed, while regarding investments, he said that there is a serious problem of underinvestment, as the funds go to “ready-made” investments such as land.

According to Mr. Veremis, the main channel for finding investors for technology companies is abroad, but even there there is reluctance and if they do, they prefer non-tradables. To convince them the only solution is successful case studies and there is currently a venture capital acting as a small cushion of 300 million Euros.