Greece’s stalled drive to privatize state enterprises now includes getting investors for a minority stake in the acclaimed Athens International Airport (AIA) that’s rated one of the world’s best.
Greece holds a 55% stake in the airport and 10 investment schemes submitted expressions of interest for the 30% stake on sale in October, with a shortlist coming in January, the news agency Reuters said.
Germany-based AviAlliance GmbH, owned by Canadian pension investor PSP Investments, holds a 40% stake in the airport and Greece’s Copelouzos the rest.
“The first evaluation shows that the bids are good,” the agency’s chief Aris Xenofos told reporters. “We believe that a big part (of them) will move ahead.”
The agency plans to invite shortlisted investors to submit binding bids by April 2020, said a report published by the country’s European Union creditors last month, who had long criticized successive governments for their slow pace of selling off state agencies.
The sale is critical with Greece trying to recover from a nearly decade-long economic and austerity crisis and with three international bailouts of 326 billion euros ($362.9 billion) that began in 2010 ending on Aug. 20, 2018, without a full return to markets yet.
The country is aiming for privatization receipts of 2.4 billion euros ($2.67 billion) in 2020, a goal which is “feasible, ” Xenofos said after falling far short of targets to gain 50 billion euros ($55.65 billion) the creditors demanded to be hit before backing off.
Greece has raised 1.2 billion euros ($1.34 billion) from state asset sales this year and only 7 billion euros ($7.79 billion) from privatizations since 2010, only 14 percent of the goal as the New Democracy government said it would accelerate sell-offs.
The state is also considering a sale of its 35.5% stake in the country’s biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum via the Athens Stock Exchange, the company is one of the best-performing state entities so far.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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