by
Gikas A. Hardouvelis
www.hardouvelis.gr

The 10-year old Greek economic depression is unprecedented. Since 2007, not only did real GDP decline by over 26%, but beginning in early 2015 economic activity has stagnated as well. The original fall in output was the outcome of a partly necessary ultra-restrictive fiscal policy, which brought the primary general government deficit from 10% of GDP down to a zero balance in 2014. Yet the subsequent prolonged stagnation is not just due to bad economics but primarily bad politics. In 2015, the moment the economy had just begun taking off, when FDI was flowing into the country and economic sentiment was rising a new and inexperienced coalition government took office. It was led by left wing and right wing populists who aggressively confronted Greece’s lenders, destroyed credibility, starved the country and its banks of liquidity, brought capital controls and aborted the recovery. The country muddles through ever since in what is Greek crisis Phase II. In 2017, positive growth came back but was the lowest in Europe.

Read more: Economic Policy Uncertainty, Political Uncertainty and the Greek Economic Crisis

ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ
“Capital Link CSR Leadership Awards”

ΤΕΛΕΤΗ ΒΡΑΒΕΥΣΗΣ
ΤΙΜΗΤΙΚΕΣ ΔΙΑΚΡΙΣΕΙΣ ΣΤΟΥΣ κ.κ.
Χρήστο Χαρπαντίδη, Πρόεδρο και Διευθύνοντα Σύμβουλο της ΠΑΠΑΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ
&
Θοδωρή Κυριακού, Πρόεδρο του Ομίλου ΑΝΤΕΝΝΑ

ΠΕΜΠΤΗ, 28 ΙΟΥΝΙΟΥ, 2018 ΣΤΟ HILTON ATHENS HOTEL

Αθήνα, 29 Ιουνίου, 2018

Με μοναδική επιτυχία και συμμετοχή που ξεπέρασε τα 600 άτομα, το “8ο Ετήσιο Συνέδριο της Capital Link "Διεθνοποίηση της Ελληνικής Επιχειρηματικότητας - Μια Νέα Διάσταση ΕΚΕ” & ΕΚΘΕΣΗ Έργου Φορέων, πραγματοποιήθηκε την Πέμπτη 28 Ιουνίου 2018 στο Hilton Athens Hotel, υπό την Αιγίδα του Υπουργείου Οικονομίας & Ανάπτυξης, του Υπουργείου Τουρισμού και του Δήμου Αθηναίων. Το Συνέδριο ολοκλήρωσε τις εργασίες του με την απονομή των Διεθνών «Capital Link CSR Leadership Awards» στους κκ. Χρήστο Χαρπαντίδη, Πρόεδρο & Διευθύνοντα Σύμβουλο της ΠΑΠΑΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ & Θοδωρή Κυριακού, Πρόεδρο του Ομίλου ΑΝΤΕΝΝΑ.

Το «Capital Link CSR Leadership Award» δίνεται ετησίως σε μία Ελληνική ή/και Διεθνή προσωπικότητα/εταιρεία, για την κοινωνική τους προσφορά και για την εξαιρετική συμβολή τους στην προώθηση της Ελλάδος και του Ελληνικού Πολιτισμού παγκοσμίως.

Read more: Capital Link CSR Leadership Awards

The Greek economy grew by 2.3 pct in the first quarter of 2018, after a 2.0 pct growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2017, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) said in a report released on Wednesday.

IOBE said that economic growth in the first three months of the year was based on an improvement in the country’s external balance as exports grew 7.6 pct and imports fell 2.8 pct. Investments dropped 12.1 pct, household consumption eased 0.4 pct and public consumption rose 0.3 pct in the January-March period.

“ The quarterly report coincides with a very important period for the country. The completion of the third memorandum. The damage to the economy and the country is very great. Efforts for drastic reforms to improve economic activity and attract foreign investments, designed to preserve the living standards of the previous decade failed to meet the necessary social support. Thus, our living standards, which approached that of Scandinavian countries before the crisis, currently approach that of the other Balkan countries,” Takis Athanasopoulos, president of IOBE said. He noted, however, that “ all is not lost. In the last few years several reforms have been carried out, many things have changed and it is in our hands for the country to move forward faster. There is time for regrouping and regaining lost living standards”.

IOBE's report estimated that economic growth in Greece will reach 2.0 pct this year, exports will grow by 7.0 pct, investments will rise by 13 pct, although public investments are expected to remain subdued for the second year in a row. Household consumption is projected to rise by 0.7 pct despite a decline in unemployment because of more fiscal measures in 2018. Public consumption is expected to rise by 1.5 pct. The unemployment rate is projected to fall to 19.8 pct this year and the inflation rate to reach 0.5 pct in 2018. IOBE said confidence in the banking system was recovering, although at a slow pace.

source: http://www.amna.gr/en/article/275562/Greek-economy-to-grow-around-20-pct-in-2018--IOBE-report-says

OTE, Greece’s biggest telecoms operator, said it raised 400 million euros from a four-year bond issue.

It completed the note issue on Wednesday via a bookbuilding process and said it was oversubscribed by about five times.

The coupon was set at 2.375 percent, the lowest that OTE has achieved in the last decade, it said in a statement on Thursday.

OTE, which is 45 percent owned and managed by Deutsche Telekom, has net debt of 700 million euros.

The company said it will use the proceeds to refinance part of its future debt maturities and a planned 2-billion-euro investment in new generation networks.

Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley were the lead managers.

source: http://www.ekathimerini.com/230627/article/ekathimerini/business/ote-raises-400-mln-via-four-year-bond-issue