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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Development Ministry: Political Uncertainty Halts Investments

Investors intending to place their money in Greece are waiting for the political uncertainty to clear, said Deputy Development Minister Notis Mitarakis. However, he added, some applications for entry into the fast-track system continue to come in. “There is a freeze in the markets, as can also be observed on the stock market. Of course [investors] have not stopped contacting us, but in recent weeks we have not seen any definitive decisions made by investors. They are taking a wait-and-see stance,” Mitarakis said in a press conference in Athens on Monday. However, applications for investment plans in the rapid licensing system continues. Several tourism businesses have applied for permission in a week, all having to do with the hotel sector in various parts of Greece, says Kathimerini. The investments are supported by Greek and foreign funds. According to the Kathimerini report, Enterprise Greece managing director Stefanos Isaias said that they had received 2,322 requests from 2012 until October 2014. He also said there is a significant increase in applications for business licenses. Enterprise Greece is also involved in exports and has set a number of target markets seen as fertile ground for Greek products as a priority for 2015: Germany, the U.K., Italy, France, the U.S., Canada, Australia, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, India, Nigeria and South Africa. In total, the net flow from foreign investments has increased by 43 percent since 2012, which had seen a respective 64 percent rise from the year before. In the first 10 months of 2014, the net inflow from FDI came to 1.3 billion euros, according to Bank of Greece figures.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com