78 Investment Guide for Southeast Europe 2004 Greece I Economic overview 1 1 General economic indicators 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Indicators GDP USD bln GDP per capita EUR Real GDP growth rate Industrial production growth rate Annual inflation rate Annual unemployment rate General government surplus of GDP General government debt of GDP 1997 121 3 11 547 3 4 1 3 5 5 9 7 4 0 108 5 1998 121 4 11 542 3 1 7 2 4 7 11 2 2 5 105 5 Source 1 2 Foreign trade After becoming a member of the European Community 1981 Greece has adapted its foreign trade policy and since then both import and export regimes are in line with the EU regulations Notes 1999 124 9 11 856 3 4 2 4 2 4 12 0 1 8 104 6 2000 113 3 10 748 4 1 4 6 2 7 11 2 1 0 103 9 2001 116 9 10 689 4 1 4 1 3 7 10 4 1 2 107 0 2002 133 0p 12 8991 p 3 8 n a 3 9p 9 9 1 1p 105 3p Ministry of Economy and Finance National Statistics Service of Greece the 2002 Update of the Hellenic Stability and Growth Program 2002 2006 1 Current prices EUR p Provisional data 1 2 1 Exports and imports Trade volume USD bln 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Exports 10 9 11 3 11 1 12 4 10 5 10 7 11 6 10 2 Imports 25 6 27 1 27 1 27 7 28 4 28 5 30 5 33 1 Source National Statistical Service of Greece Note Euro 1 2 2 Major trade partners 1 2 3 Structure of foreign trade by commodities The EU has been the main import source in 2000 58 5 with the most important partners being Italy 13 2 Germany 13 0 France 74 0 Netherlands 6 0 and UK 5 1 Investment Guide for Southeast Europe 2004 Greece 1 2 4 Structure of foreign trade by regions and DEPA the gas company are being sought and there are plans to sell additional equity stakes in Agricultural Bank of Greece the water company EYDAP and Hellenic Exchanges the holding company of the Athens Stock Exchange group which was re structured in December Also the Post Office Savings Bank is due for ASE listing in 2003 Infrastructure The state floated 25 5 of the Thessaloniki Water Supply and Sewage Company DETH sold a 23 8 stake in the Thessalonica Port Authority OLTH Plans for the sale of a stake in the Piraeus Port Authority OLP have been delayed because of trade union resistance Tourism The government has transferred the assets of the Greek National Tourism Organisation EOT to a soon to be floated management company Hellenic Tourist Properties ETA and raised EUR 800 mln through the sale of ETA privatisation bonds which will be convertible into shares Ambitious plans to attract some EUR 2 7 bln in investment in developments related to EOT s beaches marinas and casinos have been announced 1 2 5 Duty free zones industrial parks etc There are two duty free zones in Greece in Piraeus Heraklion and Thessaloniki They operate under European Union regulations 1 4 Foreign investment Transit goods may be held in the zones free of bond The zones may also be used for re packing sorting and re labeling operations Assembly and manufacture of goods are carried out on a small scale in the Thessaloniki Free Zone Storage time is unlimited as long as warehouse charges are promptly paid every six months 1 4 1 Foreign investment by country The cumulative value of FDI is estimated at USD 15 3 bln as of 31 December 2001 The EU countries are the biggest investor in Greece 1 3 Privatisation 2001 The key privatisations during the year came with the sale of Hellenic Industrial Development Bank ETVA to Piraeus Bank for EUR 512 mln and the sale of Hellenic Shipyards to Germany s Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft Forrestaal Group The government has sold four public sector banks outright Macedonia Thrace Bank to Piraeus Bank from National Bank of Crete to EFG Eurobank Ergasias from bankruptcy administration by the Bank of Greece the Bank of Central Greece to Egnatia Bank from Agricultural Thr October s sale of 57 8 of ETVA to Piraeus yielded revenues of EUR 510 mln Government sales of equity in state corporations have included the privatisation of Ionian Bank through the sale of 51 to Alpha Bank and of Duty Free Shops stock market equity sales in OTE and Hellenic Petroleum and the sale of the minority stake in Commercial Bank of Greece to France s Credit Agricole Strategic investors willing to acquire stakes in Hellenic Petroleum reducing the government s stake to less than 50 Source Bank of Greece 79 80 Investment Guide for Southeast Europe 2004 Greece Main investors from the European Union Luxembourg Netherlands France Germany UK Greek companies are classified into two categories capital companies corporations and personal companies partnerships Types of Companies 24 8 19 5 9 6 8 4 3 4 General partnership Omorythmos Etairia The partners bear unlimited liability for the obligations of the partnership No founding capital is required Limited Partnership Eterorythmos Etairia General partners have unlimited liability while limited partners have limited liability No founding capital is required Limited Liability Company Etairia Periorismenis Efthinis EPE Shareholders 1 or more shareholders Capital requirements Minimum capital GRD 6 000 000 minimum contribution GRD 10 000 At least 50 of the capital must be paid in cash limited liability The company is formed for a fixed period Joint Stock Company Anonymous Etairia A E Shareholders 2 or more shareholders Capital requirements Minimum capital GRD 20 000 000 for companies incorporated simultaneously and GRD 100 000 000 for companies incorporated successively The nominal value of each share must be at least GRD 100 but no more than GRD 30 000 25 of the capital must be paid in before registration limited liability Source Bank of Greece FDI by sector Manufacturing Transportation and communication Financial services Trade Hotels Mining Real estate Construction Other 39 0 19 7 10 6 8 6 3 7 3 3 1 7 1 5 11 9 Source Bank of Greece 1 4 3 Top investors The biggest foreign investors in 2001 were the Dutch company Eureco which partly acquired the Greek insurance company Interamerican and the Italian company Telecom s p a that increased its stake in the mobile telephony company Telestet Hellas 1 4 4 Government institutions in the field of foreign investment ELKE The Hellenic Centre for Investment is a one stopshop institution established in 1996 with main functions to seek promote and support foreign investment in Greece and international alliances with Greek companies ELKE is funded by the Greek Government ELKE promotes Greece as a favourable business location and presents the existing investment opportunities it offers counselling services
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