Lamda says new obstacles emerge over Hellenikon resort

NOVEMBER 10, 2017 / 12:02 PM / UPDATED 22 MINUTES AGO
Reuters Staff
2 MIN READ


ATHENS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Greek property developer Lamda said on Friday new obstacles had appeared in its plans to develop the disused Hellenikon airport site, one of the largest projects on the country’s privatisation agenda.

Lamda said Greece’s culture ministry had declared a new archaeological area over parts of the airport compound and imposed other restrictions, a move it said was an ‘unexpected change in the contractual agreed terms’.

The IMF Has Approved a $1.8 Billion Conditional Loan For Greece

Reuters
10:31 PM ET
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday approved in principle a $1.8 billion standby loan arrangement for Greece, making a conditional commitment to help underpin the country's long-running bailout program for the first time in two years.

But the IMF's approval-in-principle means the fund will not make any money available until after it receives "specific and credible assurances" from Greece's European lenders to ensure the country's debt sustainability.
The approval is also conditional on Greece keeping its economic reforms on track. The current bailout, Greece's third since 2010, is now shouldered exclusively by European institutions.

Greece expects minimum $456 mln offers in gas grid sale - newspaper

 Mon Jul 10, 2017 | 7:28am EDT

Reuters

Greece expects potential investors will offer at least 400 million euros ($456 million) for a majority stake in its gas grid operator DESFA, Energy Minister George Stathakis said in an interview with Naftemporiki newspaper.

Greece, under pressure by EU lenders to conclude the sale as it has earmarked about 180 million euros of the proceeds in this year's budget, relaunched the tender in June after a 400 million euro deal with Azerbaijan state oil company SOCAR fell through over gas tariffs among other issues.

Greece Aims to Complete Former Athens Airport Deal by December

By REUTERSJULY 6, 2017, 6:42 A.M. E.D.T.


The New York Times

THENS — Greece aims to complete a deal on the former Athens airport of Hellenikon by December, the country's privatisations agency Chairwoman Lila Tsitsogiannopoulou said on Thursday.

A consortium of Abu Dhabi and Chinese investors backed by conglomerate Fosun, led by Greece's Lamda, signed a deal in 2014 to develop the Hellenikon coastal area, one of Europe's biggest real estate development projects.

Greece Says Needs to Step Up Privatisations

By REUTERSJUNE 28, 2017, 5:30 A.M. E.D.T.

The New York Times

ATHENS — Greece needs to step up its privatisation programme, deputy finance minister George Chouliarakis said on Wednesday.

Privatisations have been a main pillar of the country's international bailouts since 2010 but have reaped only 3.4 billion euros in revenues due to political resistance and red tape.

In Greece, China Finds an Ally Against Human Rights Criticism

By NICK CUMMING-BRUCE and SOMINI SENGUPTAJUNE 19, 2017


GENEVA — China has long won diplomatic allies in the world’s poor countries by helping them build expensive roads and ports. Now, it appears to have similarly won over a needy country in Europe.

At a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council this month in Geneva, the European Union sought to draw renewed attention to human rights abuses in China — only to be blocked by one of its member countries, Greece. A spokesman for the Greek Foreign Ministry in Athens called it “unproductive criticism.”

Greece blocks EU statement on China human rights at U.N.

Sun Jun 18, 2017 | 5:43pm EDT

Reuters

By Robin Emmott and Angeliki Koutantou | BRUSSELS/ATHENS
Greece has blocked a European Union statement at the United Nations criticizing China's human rights record, a decision EU diplomats said undermined efforts to confront Beijing's crackdown on activists and dissidents.

The EU, which seeks to promote free speech and end capital punishment around the world, was due to make its statement last week at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, but failed to win the necessary agreement from all 28 EU states.

Greece to Get Some Cash-And Some Idea of Future Debt Relief

By REUTERSJUNE 15, 2017, 8:54 A.M. E.D.T.
 The New York Times

LUXEMBOURG — Greece's international lenders prepared on Thursday to unblock as much as 8.5 billion euros (7.44 billion pounds) in loans that Athens desperately needs next month to pay its bills, and to give some idea of what debt relief they may offer over the long-term.

The chairman of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters the size of the payment to Athens would be discussed during the meeting, since lenders agreed that Greece had pushed through all the requested reforms.

ECB Said to Be Unlikely to Include Greece in QE in Coming Months

by Alessandro Speciale
13 Ιουνίου 2017, 2:00 π.μ. EEST

Bloomberg

The European Central Bank is unlikely to include Greek bonds in its asset-purchase program for the foreseeable future, a person familiar with the matter said, as European creditors aren’t prepared to offer substantially easier repayment terms on bailout loans to improve the nation’s debt outlook.

Greece to Launch New Tender for Gas Grid Sale in June-Energy Minister

By REUTERSJUNE 6, 2017, 10:21 A.M. E.D.T.
The New York Times

ATHENS — Greece will launch a new tender competition for the privatisation of its natural gas grid operator DEFSA in June, Energy Minister George Stathakis said on Tuesday.

Stathakis announced the tender in an interview with Greek news website liberal.gr without disclosing details.

Deutsche Invest highest bidder for Greece's Thessaloniki Port

 Mon Apr 24, 2017 | 8:49pm IST


Reuters

German private equity firm Deutsche Invest Equity Partners was the highest bidder for a majority stake in Greece's Thessalonki Port with 231.9 million euros, the country's privatisation agency HRADF said on Monday.

Greece to draw up boundaries for huge Athens riviera resort

BUSINESS NEWS | Thu Mar 23, 2017 | 11:01am EDT


Reuters

Greece will soon define the boundaries of a site where investors plan to spend 7.9 billion euros ($8.5 billion) to build one of Europe's biggest coastal resorts, the culture ministry said, in a sign the delayed project may eventually go ahead.

A consortium of Abu Dhabi and Chinese investors (0656.HK), led by Greece's Lamda (LMDr.AT), signed a deal in 2014 for the 99-year lease of a sprawling area at the former Athens airport in Hellenikon and the development of a coastal town.

Greece sells state-owned railway operator to Italian firm

By Associated Press January 18 at 6:42 AM

The Washinghton Post

ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s privatization agency has signed a deal to sell the country’s state-owned Trainose railway operator to Italian state’s Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane for 45 million euros ($48 million).

The agency says the sale of its 100 percent stake to the Italian railway company is subject to approval by European Union authorities.

Greece wants to sell smaller stake in gas grid operator - paper

Wed Jan 11, 2017 | 2:47am EST

Jan 11 Greece wants to keep a majority stake in its gas grid operator DESFA and sell only a small holding to investors after a previous plan to sell a 66 percent stake collapsed, a Greek newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Under its privatisation programme, a key part of its international bailout, Greece and its biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum had agreed to sell the DESFA stake to Azerbaijan's SOCAR for 400 million euros ($422 million).

What’s Derailing Greece’s Plan to Sell State Assets? Its Own Government

The ruling Syriza party must privatize chunks of the country’s infrastructure to meet bailout terms. Many of its ministers are standing in the way

The Wall Street Journal

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI
Updated Oct. 3, 2016 12:09 a.m. ET

ATHENS—The day that Christos Spirtzis became responsible for much of Greece’s ambitious privatization program, he vowed to ensure it failed.

Greece’s leftist infrastructure minister has resisted every sale of roads, airports and trains, even though he and his government have promised to raise €50 billion from privatizations as part of the country’s international bailout.

“I hope the deal will not bear fruit,” the combative, chain-smoking former labor unionist said after his government, under pressure from Greece’s creditors, confirmed the sale of 14 regional airports to a German investor. He backed calls for local referendums to scuttle the deal. When he finally had to sign the contract, he did so “with a great deal of pain,” he told Greek radio listeners in a trembling voice.

Greece passes new reforms for fresh batch of bailout aid

Tue Sep 27, 2016 | 3:02pm EDT

Reuters

Greek lawmakers on Tuesday passed reforms sought by the country's creditors to cut pension spending and expedite privatisations in exchange for financial aid under the country's latest international bailout.

Signalling the conclusion of a first review of bailout terms, parliament voted by a majority to reform the country's electricity market and transfer state assets into an umbrella sovereign wealth fund.

The reforms were passed by a majority vote in the 300-seat parliament by members of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' leftist-led government. Passage of the reforms may unlock 2.8 billion euros of loans when deputy euro zone finance ministers meet this week.

Fatigued Investors Want Draghi to Buy Greece Before They Do

 Nikos Chrysoloras

September 28, 2016 — 4:03 AM EEST Updated on September 28, 2016 — 10:05 AM EEST

Bloomberg

Michel Danechi isn’t buying the Greek turnaround story just yet.
As Greek business leaders and government officials presented to investors last week in London a list of reasons why valuations of the country’s assets make them attractive, Danechi’s Duet Asset Management took note. But what he wants to see is for Greece to show it can make good on pledges made to euro-area creditors so it can be included in the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s quantitative easing program.

Greece approves plan to transfer state utilities to new asset fund

State assets, including water and electricity utilities, are to be transferred to a new asset fund created by international creditors. The plans have sparked demonstrations and public sector strikes across the country.

Deutsche Welle
28-9-2016

Greece's parliament passed new reforms on Tuesday night to cut pension expenditure and transfer control of public utilities to a new asset fund.
 The reforms seek to unlock 2.8 billion euros ($3.14 billion) in financial loans as part of the country's latest bailout program.
The reforms were passed by a narrow 152-141 majority vote in Greece's 300-seat parliament, after 152 parliamentary members of the ruling Syriza-Independent Greeks coalition approved the reform bill. Only one member of the coalition voted against the bill, along with all opposition members.
The reforms will see public assets transferred to a new asset fund created by Greece's creditors. Assets include airports and motorways, as well as water and electricity utilities. The holding company groups together these state entities with the country's privatization agency, the bank stability fund and state real estate. It will be led by an official chosen by Greece's creditors, although Greece's Finance Ministry will retain overall control.

Greece, lenders agree supervisors for new privatisation fund

Mon Sep 26, 2016 | 8:28am EDT

Reuters

Greece and its lenders have agreed on a five-member supervisory board for a new privatisation fund following wrangling over its composition, government sources said on Monday, meeting a key condition under the country's 86 billion euro bailout.

Athens had to agree on nominations with its EU/IMF lenders by the end of September to conclude a first progress assessment and qualify for a further 2.8 billion euros in bailout loans.

COSCO sees Greece's Piraeus among world's top 30 ports by 2018

Thu Sep 22, 2016 | 2:10pm EDT

Reuters

By Angeliki Koutantou | ATHENS
China's biggest shipping company, COSCO Shipping, plans to ramp up container volume at Greece's biggest port in Piraeus by 35 percent by 2018, the port's new managing director, Fu Cheng Qiu, told Reuters on Thursday.

COSCO Shipping, which owns the world's fourth-largest container shipping fleet, bought 51 percent of the port's operating company last month for 280.5 million euros ($315.5 million), one of Greece's biggest and most strategic privatizations since a debt crisis began in 2009.