NEW YORK – Capital Link’s Webinar, organized in cooperation with Citi, on the topic Investment Opportunities in Greece – A New Era, was held with great success on July 20, attracting a large number of attendees from the U.S., Europe, Greece, and Cyprus.

Greece's return to economic growth has generated plenty of investor interest in the country which is further enhanced by government initiatives to foster foreign investments in Greece. Minister of Development & Investments of Greece Adonis Georgiadis in a one-on-one discussion with Jay Collins, Vice Chairman of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory at Citi, spoke about the progress and achievements so far, as well as on the future of Greece as a leading destination for international investment. The discussion highlighted the commencement of the development of the Ellinikon which represents one of the largest urban regeneration projects globally and is expected to reposition Greece and Athens as a major, world-class destination.

The webinar is available for replay on demand at the following link: http://webinars.capitallink.com/2021/investment-opportunities-in-greece-a-new-era/

In his welcoming remarks, Nicolas Bornozis, President of Capital Link Ιnc., stated that “Capital Link has launched a series of webinars which we host on a regular basis aiming to enhance the profile of Greece as a business and investment destination. We are delighted to host this webinar today in cooperation with Citi that has been a strategic partner for years. We are hosting our Invest in Greece Forum every year in New York and Citi has been the Lead Sponsor for many years in a row. We are very happy that we have with us the Greek Minister of Development & Investments, Mr. Adonis Georgiadis, and of course Mr. Jay Collins, Vice Chairman of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory at Citi.”

"I would like to briefly say that economic stability, commitment to reforms, a well-designed economic recovery and growth plan, as well as a clear direction and strategy to attract foreign investments, have underpinned the positive developments in Greece with the current government. Greece’s credibility has been enhanced, and we all see the receptiveness Greece enjoys in the global capital markets. Also, there has been a significant influx of foreign investments into Greece and more is going to come.”

Jay Collins, Vice Chairman of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory at Citi highlighted the commitment of the current government to a vast number of reforms implemented during the last two years. Also, that Greece has unequivocally been praised for the timeliness and quality of its Recovery and Resilience Plan submission to the European Commission. He also pointed out that over the past year we have seen large investments into Greece that are not tourism-linked in line with the government objective to diversify the Greek economy to be less reliant on tourism.

Collins mentioned that the Ellinikon project has been a long time coming and pointed out that the completion of the privatization has been unblocked in no small part due to Minister Georgiadis’ personal involvement and efforts. Ellinikon is expected to have an immense contribution to the Greek economy and its GDP, to attract over 10 billion Euros of investment and create 70,000 new jobs. Citi has acted as the financial adviser to the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) for the privatization of Ellinikon.

“The appetite for investments in Greece is unprecedentedly huge. Investments flows will hit record levels in the coming years,” Georgiadis, Minister of Development & Investments, highlighted in the webinar.

He noted that in 2020, during the crisis, Greece recorded a significant leap by 77% in attracting foreign direct investment and added that according to the Ernst & Young (ΕΥ) competitiveness survey 2021, Greece is, for the first time, among the 10 most attractive investment destinations in Europe.

Furthermore, 75% of investors — the highest level among countries conducting similar surveys– expect a further improvement in country’s attractiveness the next three years, while 62%, as compared to 38% in the last year, see Greece as a potential investment destination.

The breakdown of investments by type of activity is also important, Minister Georgiadis said, as investments in research and development centers and green energy have increased. “The software and Information technology (IT) services industry is now in second place in terms of number of foreign direct investments in Greece, which emerges from the pandemic as the frontrunner in ‘knowledge-based’ economy in South Eastern Europe. This is extremely promising for Greece’s future,” he added.

Georgiadis pointed out the increasing interest for investments in logistics, manufacturing and maritime infrastructure, apart from tourism which remains the leading sector of Greece’s economy, and concluded: “These results originated from Greece’ s new perception in investors and fund managers worldwide as a credible state, due to the Mitsotakis administration’s effective management of the COVID-19 crisis, and also as a business friendly country due to our governments’ reforms in cutting red tape, reducing taxes and simplifying licensing procedures. We are accelerating pace to transform our economy to one of the most business friendly worldwide.”