Political uncertainty is significantly affecting the course of the Greek stock market but things will stabilize after the general elections, Greece’s Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis said on Friday. Addressing a special ceremony held in the Athens Stock Exchange to mark the beginning of 2015, Hardouvelis expressed his optimism that the Greek stock market would rebound in 2015 if a reform policy and fiscal restructuring would continue, while the Greek economy strengthened further. Referring to the country’s prospects in the Eurozone, the Greek Minister stressed that no one can remain in the Eurozone unless they fulfill their obligations and noted that “voices saying that the country will not pay, lead to a loss of credibility.” Hardouvelis underlined that the country was not solely dependent from its partner-creditors but from a liquidity point of view it was significantly dependent from the European Central Bank (ECB) as the domestic banking system was borrowing around 40 billion euros from ECB’s liquidity mechanisms. The Greek Minister said his goal was to grant full independence to the country’s Capital Market Commission and improve an existing tax framework for investments. Addressing the event, Hellenic Bank Association President George Zanias said that Greek banks have begun an effort to boost the Greek economy through financing, which has currently frozen due to political developments, and expressed his wish that an effort to boost liquidity in the market could resume soon. Hellenic Exchanges Group President Iacovos Georganas acknowledged that a snap election process was putting forecasts for economic growth under revision and expressed his hope that the cost from the snap election would be manageable. Greek Capital Market Commission President Konstantinos Botopoulos said the economy’s dynamism was so strong that it would create new opportunities. Finally, Federation of Hellenic Enterprises President Theodore Fessas said that Greece must be transformed into a production country and noted that the country must not lose its European orientation. (source: ana-mpa)
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