The Chinese management firm COSCO has continued to make the once-dormant port of Piraeus into one of the European Union’s best, expecting in 2023 a third consecutive year of performance and profits.
The Shanghai-based company in 2008 won a 35-year lease to run the port that had been run down under Greek operation and has resurrected it despite some local opposition to further renovation and plans.
In 2017 the company obtained a 67 percent majority stake and has lured major cruise ships to what is Europe’s largest passenger port and a prime jumping-off spot for tourists under the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA.)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/greeces-port-piraeus-refresh-performance-120000778.html
“PPA’s fantastic financial performance not only impacts the firm’s profitability but the whole Greece economy,” Board Secretary Savvas Sanozidis said in an interview with China’s Yicai Media Group.
In 2023, PPA’s pre-tax revenue rose to an all-time high of almost 75 million euros ($79.20 million) and dividends rose to the highest ever, jumping some 65 percent to nearly 26 million euros ($27.45 million) he said.
That is 1300 percent higher than the performance before the company took over 15 years earlier and the company said in 2022 it contributed more than 70 million euros ($73.92 million) in taxes and to the social security fund.
Almost 1.6 percent of Greece’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 203.14 billion euros ($214.9 billion) came from the port operator, according to research findings, it was said.
Many large electronics manufacturers such as Huawei Technologies, Sony Group Corporation, and HP use the port to track goods due to its links to European railways, Sanozidis said, although there’s no direct connection.
He said the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line, which combines sea and land transportation, can make the journey to European cities up to 10 days shorter compared to the maritime route passing through the Strait of Gibraltar.
As of 2022, COSCO created about 4,000 local jobs and indirectly helped establish over 10,000 new positions, according to Capt. Jin Beiyuan, Deputy Chief Executive of PPA.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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