Why Germans invest in Serbia and Romania, but not in Greece.
“'In Romania and Serbia a new German investment is made every week,' said the head of the German-Greek Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Michalis Maillis, deploring the unwelcoming conditions for investments in Greece."
"Unlike Greece, Romania and Serbia are seen as investor-friendly countries. While Greece is 60th in the Doing Business 2017 chart, which ranks countries according to the ease of doing business there, Romania stands in 36th spot and Serbia in 47th."
"Serbia introduced serious incentives for the increase in employment in July 2014, and both Serbia and Romania operate special economic zones with incentives for investing in them."
To make a long story short: just type "zones" into the search box on the right hand side and you will find much of what I have written about Special Economic Zones.
“'In Romania and Serbia a new German investment is made every week,' said the head of the German-Greek Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Michalis Maillis, deploring the unwelcoming conditions for investments in Greece."
"Unlike Greece, Romania and Serbia are seen as investor-friendly countries. While Greece is 60th in the Doing Business 2017 chart, which ranks countries according to the ease of doing business there, Romania stands in 36th spot and Serbia in 47th."
"Serbia introduced serious incentives for the increase in employment in July 2014, and both Serbia and Romania operate special economic zones with incentives for investing in them."
To make a long story short: just type "zones" into the search box on the right hand side and you will find much of what I have written about Special Economic Zones.
Greece is already a german colony and it needs no more german "investments". It needs investements by all others except germans.
ReplyDeleteRomania and Serbia are low wage markets and as such attract unwelcomed investments. As far as I know none of the investments in Romania and Serbia belong in the category of the new informational age technology or in high tech. They only attract labor intencive, low technology activities and they can have them because Greece does not want or need such type of investments.
Cool. Now I know what Greece doesn't want. But I still have no idea as to what you think Greece should want. Perhaps iPhone production? Or the Space X of Elon Musk? Or Google's European Headquarters?
DeleteYes, bring any and all US companies in. Keep german companies out by all means.
DeleteTo Anonymous December 14, 2016 at 3:30 PM,
DeletePlease stand up straight and pull your head out of your .....
Any investment regardless of its origination should be welcomed. And any investment whether labour intensive or high tech should be welcome. Why? Have you not noticed that Greece has nearly 30% unemployment rate of which minimum 15% work on the black market at wages below Romania and Serbia and without insurance or pension benefits?
Even the normal wages are now or will soon to be below those two countries mentioned. So what is wrong, even it is not liked, to have labour intensive jobs. Do you actually believe high tech companies move to poor countries like Greece just like that? At your request? No they do not and the only select environments that are tested and confirmed through the lower sectors of production of the economy. Meanwhile also take examples of the high tech investments made in Greece. Greek gold mining company for example, is super high tech but they are still in deliberations to get their 10 year plans on the way. If you are apple looking at this example, will you even think twice to invest in Greece? NO!
USA companies, sorry but there are none who would even dare to invest. They are already in Asia. High tech in Korea, Singapore and Japan, low tech in china Philippines and Indonesia.
Even writing to you right now i am realizing it is a complete waste of my time because you obviously have no clue of what a functioning economy needs, nor how it is built.
I retract my initial statement and please put your head back where it was as you are complete waste of time.
V
@ Mr. Kastner,
DeleteYou must excuse my enthusiastic, leftist, compatriot of mine, but he is still under the influence of the propaganda of the greek left parties, that pretend, that Greece isn't brought to the level of the rest of Balkans, due to the logistic trick of having, still higher nominal salaries. They still don't understand, that one can reduce your effective available income in many ways and that even the nominal 500 EUR, which is a typical salary these days for 60% of new contracts, is in reality much less, if we detract the excessively high indirect taxes or that a package of pasta at the greek Lidl costs much more than in Bulgaria. So in the mind of the greek left, in Greece, high value jobs will come, because of the "highly qualified personnel".
Anonymous at 3:30:
DeleteYou must not have a finacial/economic background if you believe that a long term lease by the Greek state to Fraport is an investment. It is not an investment but an exchange based on the concept of net present value. Simply put, for the those not in the know of how these things work, you take the projected net revenue of 14 Greek airports over the period of the lease and you discound the future cash flows back to the present using an imputed interest rate which equals the weighted average of interest that a company like Fraport employs ( in other words each company has a different weighted average based on its cost of debt). Are you with me so far?
I am sure you are so let's continue. The NPV of Fraport's future cash flows derived from the management of 14 Greek airports is then calculated to be roughly in the 1.2 BEUR range. You then say to Fraport or any other company like Fraport that you are willing to sign a long term lease with them in exchange for an upfront payment closer to the NPV of such estimated cash flow.
Now here is the important part so please pay attention. This is NOT a foreign investment for Greece. It is simply an exchange of value which if Greece calculated right then it might be close to zero because for a sophisticated holder of the asset it makes no difference whether the money is upfront or over time provided that the asset holder knows how to calculate such value.
Most likely in the Fraport case the german magement company has acted in a preditory way and Greece in a less sophisticated finacially way and as a result Greece ended with the short end of the bargain. I repeat THIS IS NOT AN INVESTMENT. This an exercise in value exchange where on party knows the correct asset value and the other party agrees to pay it provided all other things being equal.
So I will repeat: Greece needs no further german pseudo-investment which are basically a theft against the true value of state assets. Greece needs sophisticated and competent managers to unlock the highest and best value of its assets.
V:
DeleteUnfortunatelly a simple engineering degree such as the one you have puts you out of contention in these matters automatically. You need a financial degree and managerial experience to understand these matters and please refer to my comments below under the label "this is not an investment" to understand how things work in the financial world. And forgive my mistake because I adressed those comments to Anonymous at 3:30 which is myself when in fact they were addressed to you Anonymous at 10:09.
As to the comments of another Anonymous at 12:44 rest assured that I am not a leftist by any strech of the imagination. I am a conservative and the closest identifier for the Greek reality show would be the Independent Greeks if they were of any real merit which they are not. So I am a conservative who will never vote for ND because ND is a bunch of clowns and german traitors.
@Anonymous at 3.41
Delete"Greece needs no further german pseudo-investment which are basically a theft against the true value of state assets. Greece needs sophisticated and competent managers to unlock the highest and best value of its assets."
It seems to me Greece needs you!
Kleingut:
DeleteGreece needs a lot of things but when retired people are asked to do the work of those still active it sounds to me more like a distress call.
Dear Anonymous 3:53 PM,
DeleteYes, I am an engineer and yes i have less background knowledge of the financial sector. But i do have an MBA as well from an esteemed University but chose the path of technical development. The MBA or "financial" degree is only to have a general understanding of seeking opportunity. I care very little about the accounting or finance and i leave this up to others to calculate the financial SWOTS. Which always prove profitable.
Fraport: Purchases 14 Greek publicly owned airports for x years. What this equate to.
a. With a clause to invest multiple billions into the infrastructure and management of these airports. This will require constructions which gives jobs.
b. Fraport needs to maintain the newly transferred useless public worker into efficient private sector workers. Meanwhile there are already seeking another few thousand new employees as well. More jobs and converting useless workers into efficient workers.
c. The newly privately run fraport airports will be done in such an efficient manner where airline companies will kindly smile on and seek an opportunity with this private company. It is an opportunity because they will have standard (with few employee strikes) lines to destinations all people of the world seek to go. Greek Islands and sites. Hence the flight traffic will increase. With flight traffic increased through demand the pricing or travel packages to Greece will be lowered Hence...
d. Which will greatly contribute to our power which is tourism. With a growth in tourism, there will be a demand for more rooms. More need to refurbish outdated or closed hotels and construction of new hotels. More construction, more jobs...
e. A greatly increased touristic business will lead to job growth. In some cases not the part time touristic business but all year which is greatly needed.
f. Having so many people, tourists, coming to Greece learning of everything about Greece they will certainly learn about our agriculture. The tourism will be a cost free indirect advertisement of our quality produce and agricultural products.
g. Growth in demand for Greek agricultural products. More job growth.
h. Finally, the cherry on top of this all is that the Greek government and taxpayer will be relieved of some thousand public employees running key sector of our economy like crap. Less weight on the Greek taxpayer and government subsidies turned into private company which contributes to the economical system itself.
....
continued...
DeleteAll this from something which you call "german pseudo-investment". To be honest i greatly hope that Fraport makes a ton of profit off this investment and they will. Just to prove how inefficient the government runs its public companies. Likewise contribute to the need to further invest into a good thing which overall is exceptionally for Greece. Athens airport, cosco port, Olympic airways sold (taken and replaced) by Aegean air, OTE, soon to be example Trainose are a few examples of successful exchanges from public to private.
I really do not care for the financials. Nor the fixed position for what you explain above. Overall it is an investment in Greece. An investment in a key sector which will create jobs, value, and jobs and value in peripheral sectors. This is an opportunity for both Fraport and Greece. It is creation.
I am in the business of creation and development. I have 15 years of successes which have turned my specific sector around. This intern has refaced specific sectors and periphery sectors in support of my sector to create jobs, value, growth and profit which is nearly non existent in Greece.
One final note in relation to mentality. High tech will never come from foreigners to Greece until we change our mentality. When i was only in high school I had a shocking experience on what this means. At that time Japan was only a developing nation. The china of today. Japan 20-30 yrs later, turned out to be one the prime countries of high tech industry. Why? Mentality. My uncle a businessman went to Japanese supplier of his for an audit. In the factory all the workers and management wore hats. He asked if that was the company std and logo. His counterpart told him no. they are all on strike. The hats read, "i am on strike!" But they were all working. That is mentality. That is value in yourself and your environment. The biggest investment we can do as Greeks for ourselves is not the money or financials but the mentality. With mentality we do not see ourselves but that of the greater good. With mentality and with help of others we will create the value which our country deserves.
V
Dear V ( I am assuming this stands for Vassilis):
DeleteI am glad that your are an engineer with an MBA. This certainly helps.
As to the shenanigans of Fraport we already have a problem in the airport of Thessaloniki where Fraport is going back on its word, wants to put most of the aiport out of commission because of lack of planning and efficiency and theatens all tourism for 2017 primarily in the Chalkidiki region because airlines don't want to move to inferior docking alternatives such as those proposed by Fraport and therefore thay have started canceling their Thessaloniki bound flights for 2015. This is ruining all the hotel sector in the Chalkidiki peninsula.
If this is what your famed Fraport investment is then I have to say no thanks that's not an investment but the systematic ruin of Greek tourism.
V:
DeleteAnd if you don't believe of how bad Fraport is proving to be already here is the proof (Greece is postponning the transfer until 2018) because of Fraport's mickey mouse plans to "improve the airport" (which is code word for actually ruining the airport).
So that you know, I was recently at a Fraport administered airport in Frankfurt and what I observed is a bunch of people in Fraport uniforms, idly sitting around, talking and laughing between themselves about matters not related to airport efficiency and generally projecting a very wasteful image of what Fraport's contribution towards a well-run airport is supposed to be.
I thought for a moment of approching these idle people and ask then what they thought of Fraport coming to Greece but nothing about their demeanor inspired any confidence in me. Only a deep contempt for these clowns and their useless employer.
http://www.ypodomes.com/index.php/limania-aerodromia/aerodromia/item/37799-makedonia-to-yp-ypodomon-metathetei-episima-tin-paradosi-tou-aerodiadromou-gia-to-2018
Dear Anonymous 4:51PM,
DeleteWho wants to put the airport out of commission? It is not Fraport but the Greek Government finding another excuse to try to stop a deal of privatization. How, by suddenly starting the construction of 2nd runway right now, which would render the airport under construction through the tourist season which is not good for Fraport nor the tourist industry of northern Greece.
The 2nd runway construction is a study and permit under investigation here going on 10 years now. And suddenly it was approved and issued to be constructed for the governments motives.
There is no reason why it should not be done but not in the middle of a tourist season. Who is to blame? Fraport or our glorified useless Greek government and public sector bureaucracy.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/214516/article/ekathimerini/business/fraport-threat-to-put-off-works-at-thessaloniki-airport
Two things come to mind with the sudden need to make this 2nd run way.
1. Greek Syriza Government sought to find one last ditch attempt to kill the deal.
2. Greek Syriza Government sought to find to issue a construction project, to their "friends," before the hand change over. Because once Fraport takes over the permit has to be adjusted as Fraport will be the owner of the airport and permits of.
I am curious if a bid was made for the construction of the 2nd run way and what will be the bid when Fraport issues the construction of that project.
I do not know what you saw, but i would certainly prefer any, ANY private company running a business than any Greek public company running for one more day. It will certainly be an upgrade.
V
V:
Deleteare you trying to suggest that eventhough Greece has already sold the 14 airports to Fraport that Greece wants now to build a 2nd runway in an airport already sold? Why would Greece do such thing?
And isn't Fraport'sobligation toimprove and maintain such airports with its own funds?
What you are saying makes zero sense.
V:
DeleteAccording to this article Fraport is to blame for the mess in Macedonia Airport of Thessaloniki and in fact Fraport is causing the Greek state to pay damages to the contractor because of Fraport's delays:
http://www.newmoney.gr/palmos-oikonomias/epixeiriseis/312146-arxizei-to-%C2%ABlifting%C2%BB-sta-14-perifereiaka-aerodromia-apo-tin-fraport
Dear Anonymous,
DeleteWas the bid for the 14 airports accepted? Yes it was. Is there currently a transfer process? Yes there is.
http://www.fraport-greece.com/ell/home
Why would Greece? Or why would our beloved Syriza do such a thing? I explain above.
Who is not making sense. You do not make your business dysfunctional for "running business" during a peak season. You make the upgrade investment off season. Fraport acted well in the specific case. The threats were well done and I agree with them because no Greek government or public works have any clue about how to run a private business. Sorry but our politician's level of incompetence blows over the border line of national treason.
Sorry, you are blinded by your hate for Germans. Learn to separate. I am not a major fan of German Politicians, nor the manner in which Germany, as a Government or country has acted to Greece for the last 100 years and i definitely do not forget. But this does not represent the whole sentiment of Germans. Especially the business end which is seeking to make growth and profit which in the specific case is to Greece's advantage.
Sincerely,
V
DeleteV:
I have dificculty understanding how you reach the wrong conclusions. The article says:
"After several postponements, the German-Greek venture is expected to reach the 14 regional airports in late January. Along with the signing of the agreement will be paid off and the amount of 1.23 billion. euro will be a balm to the meager income of HRADF privatization. Then every time the consortium will pay an annual fee of 22.9 mil. Euro and a share of the EBITDA 28,5%. The Fraport staffing processes Greece is very fast. Already, until last week had met the target for the recruitment of 60% of the 550 people the company intends to hire in Greece. Information indicates that already the directors' positions have been filled at the airports and in the coming weeks will be completed and the selection of people to meet the needs of the business segment.
These interventions, however, at airports, have begun to cause episodic conflicts. Last week government and Fraport played a brantefer for Macedonia Airport, the third airport of the country. The Germans went so far as to threaten to seal the airport for security reasons, forcing the Infrastructure Minister to announce schedule change and postponement of planned work to strengthen the old runway for next October. For this period, finally postponed the upgrading of the inland part of Corridor 10 to 28, after the pressures of Fraport and tourist operators argue that if started early in the year, as planned, would affect the operation of the next tourist season. Christos Spirzis Infrastructure Minister conveyed the new timetable for completion of works for the spring of 2018. However, this decision entails legal disputes with the contractor ETETH company if the ministry did not proceed to satisfying compensation for the inertia of the construction site, the next eight months."
So, which part of the "Germans of Fraport creating problems" don't you understand?
Before posting propaganda pieces of philogerman content better to do some reseach on who this turtle looking idot called Michalis Maillis is. He is a nobody and certainly an uber biased and nonsense spreading person nothing but ND and Berlin type nonsense.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ethnos.gr/oikonomia/arthro/mixalis_maillis_kathe_mera_kleinoun_100_epixeiriseis-64356560/
It seems to me that, as the president of the German-Greek Chamber of Commerce, he might be the most qualified to speak about possible German investments in Greece. And I didn't post propaganda but an article from the Ekathimerini instead.
DeleteYou have now made me curious as to who Michalis Maillis is. Google told me that he presides over the Maillis Group, a 280 MEUR sales industrial conglomerate with subsidiaries in 18 countries and 7 manufacturing plants. The group employs 1.500. Greece should be proud of having such a prominent player. So to describe Maillis as an idiot who is a nobody seems to be somewhat off target.
I agree...
DeleteV
O.k. Sherlock, since you have a talent for post-event investigation please tell us what the conglamorate Maillis produces. Is it low end industrial stuff or are they competing with Microsoft, Apple and Google?
ReplyDeleteInstead of the Maillis nonsense do you have an explanation of why the Greek primary surplus for the 11-month period ending November 201 is a record BEUR 7.45? How could this happen under a government that Berlin considers unsuitable? Does this mean that Syriza is way better than the New Farce Mitsotakis political party? How could amateurs score such decisive numbers? Divine providence?
ReplyDeleteI think these numbers are indeed remarkable; it was an improvement of 3,1 BEUR over the previous year. Actually, tax collection increased by even more than that, by 3,9 BEUR. How could this happen? Well, maybe Schäuble was right when he said that one day the Greeks would be grateful to him. Still, taxing the economy to death is not a workable proposition in the longer term.
DeleteThe "economy" is actually people that pay the taxes. So your euphemism, means "taxing people to death". Which part is the one you regard that should be grateful? The ones taxed to death, the ones under poverty line or whatever is left?
DeleteI shall leave this here, in order to catch a glimpse, of the mystery as to why Schauble is such a misunderstood, yet fatherly figure in the EU. I don't know how good is the google translation between italian and german, however, at least the comments section should be easy enough to decipher for german speaking readers:
DeleteSchauble: "I wish success to Renzi, if i could vote, i would vote yes".
http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2016/11/29/referendum-schaeuble-spero-che-renzi-abbia-successo-se-potessi-voterei-per-lui/3225172/
Other newspaper:
http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2016-11-29/referendum-gentiloni-berlino-si-accelera-riforme-112251.shtml?uuid=ADLJQt3B&refresh_ce=1
Arcticle: "Dear Schauble, why do you advice us to vote "yes", to things that would horrify, you Germans?"
http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2016/11/30/referendum-caro-schaeuble-perche-consiglia-di-votare-cio-che-a-voi-tedeschi-farebbe-orrore/3228205/
The common denominator, are the recurring comments that say "I wasn't sure what to vote, but now i have confirmation that i must vote "no".
And the worse part is this: Schauble, i am afraid, hasn't seen the worst part of ingratitute yet. And it's not the small and kneeled Greece that he should be worried about.
You will soon feel the pain from the "small kneeled Greece" up the rectum of your fatherly clown figure.
DeleteSorry, I forgot to present the incovenient evidence for Berlin and its followers:
ReplyDeletehttp://news.in.gr/economy/article/?aid=1500120944
That’s greek to me. Any english language source?
DeleteUrs
Urs:
DeleteNo. Do the Google translation yourself you lazy Swiss. And do it now!