A clear message of confidence in the prospects of the Greek economy and businesses is the placement of capital of the order of 3.3 billion euros in banks by international investors, in the context of the disinvestment of the HFSF in the last year and a half, stressed Theodoris Tzouros, Senior General Manager, Head of Corporate & Investment Banking of Piraeus Bank, speaking at the 3rd Shipping Economic Conference and in a discussion on “The major challenges of business”.

Referring to the challenges that exist to ensure the development course of the economy, Mr. Tzouros noted that, while the economic climate has improved and there are financing possibilities, the most important problems remain the bureaucracy and the complex and time-consuming framework that governs the new investments, especially where many and different actors are involved.

“When an entrepreneur makes a new investment, he wants to know the schedule and the cost, something that is not clear in Greece, as has been proven in large investment projects,” he said.

It is indicative that direct foreign investments in the country fell from 7.5 billion euros in 2022 to 4.6 billion euros in 2023, a level that is not justified for Greece, since countries outside the eurozone, such as Turkey , for example, has 10 billion euros in direct foreign investments and Serbia, which is smaller than Greece, has 4 billion euros, pointed out Mr. Tzouros and added that this year in the first half of the 2.1 billion euros, a percentage 54% concerns investments in real estate for Golden Visa and Airbnb and the rest, purchases of shares in existing businesses.

The Head of Corporate & Investment Banking of Piraeus underlined the important role played by the banking system in implementing the investments required for the digital and green transition of businesses and the contribution of the Recovery Fund’s resources in this direction.

“I have to say, that the majority of projects related to the digital and green transition mainly concern medium to large companies, while in smaller size companies we see less and less investment and therefore less financing. It is something that should concern us in order not to create a two-speed economy”, stressed Mr. Tzouros.

Piraeus currently has a business loan portfolio of €22.5 billion, an increase of almost €5 billion from the end of 2021, and has allocated over €1.7 billion in low-interest loans through the Recovery Fund. In the Bank’s 3-year business plan, there is a commitment to increase financing in the Greek economy by 5-6% per year, while special emphasis is also placed on the agricultural economy, with a recent project expanding greenhouse cultivation with the aim of increasing the productivity of the primary sector.