Dimitris Grispos, Managing Director of InterGest Greece, is a qualified accountant (ACCA), and as such knows his country and its economic situation. Below he tells us what you need to know about Greece and what exciting developments you should keep an eye on:
History & Culture
Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilisation and offers visitors and residents alike almost unlimited opportunities to explore its roots: Throughout the country there are hundreds of museums, archaeological sites and monuments documenting the rise of art, architecture, craftsmanship, design, ideas and thought.
Economic hub of south-east Europe
Despite the previous economic crisis, Greece is considered an attractive location as it offers a wide range of investment opportunities: As a natural gateway to more than 140 million consumers in south-eastern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, the region has a GDP of almost 1 trillion euros. Demand for consumer goods is strong, and there is also investment in modern infrastructure, technology and innovation networks, telecommunications, broadband infrastructure and relatively cheap property. At the same time, Greece offers competitive wage levels and a highly qualified, multilingual labour force. Greek companies and banks are also firmly anchored in the markets of neighbouring countries, which means that there are further opportunities for expansion from there.
Investors have long recognised that Greece not only offers an excellent climate and living environment, but also stability, security and prosperity as an EU member state.
Foreign direct investment
Greece recorded an impressive 48.2% increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2022 compared to 2021, while the increase compared to 2019 is as high as 76.8%.
According to the latest available data from the Bank of Greece, (net) foreign direct investment inflows into Greece in 2022 totalled over €7.9 billion, up from €5.3 billion in 2021. This represents a new record, the highest net FDI inflows since 2002, and confirms the upward trend of the Greek economy and the successful efforts of recent years to attract foreign investment to Greece.
Greek tourism
The upgrading of the tourism offer is supported by a series of initiatives by the Greek state, the Greek National Tourism Organisation, the relevant business associations and the regional authorities and municipalities and is considered a strategic growth path for the Greek economy.
Important investment opportunities are:
Privatisation of several important state assets such as marinas, regional airports, tourist properties, etc. by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund
Development of first-class tourist resorts and properties
Development of specialised tourism products and facilities that focus on specific themes (gastronomy, culture, wellness, etc.), categories (medical tourism, MICE, etc.), markets (Russia, Israel, Asia, etc.) or segments (seniors, couples, etc.)
Energy
The country's location at the interface between East and West and its participation in tripartite co-operations such as the one between Greece, Cyprus and Israel offer Greece the opportunity to play a key role in the energy markets of the Southern Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean. The abundant renewable energy potential (wind, hydropower, biomass, geothermal, solar and solar thermal) combined with the ongoing major infrastructure projects in which Greece is involved (TAP-IGB-EastMed gas pipelines, EuroAsia Interconnector, hydrocarbon exploration and development) shows that Greece will play a key role in shaping the EU energy mix and will offer significant investment opportunities in all energy sectors.
Important investment opportunities are:
Privatisation of state assets
New infrastructure for natural gas transport (liquefied natural gas terminals, natural gas pipelines, natural gas distribution systems)
International public tenders for hydrocarbons
Projects for renewable energies (wind, solar thermal energy, biomass, small hydroelectric power plants, geothermal energy, etc.)
Global business services
Greece has become an attractive destination for the establishment of intra-group service centres. Easily accessible to most EU countries within +/- 2 hours, Greece offers a modern legal framework for global business services, a highly skilled and multilingual workforce, competitive labour costs/office rents and incentives to promote job creation and professional development.
Leading multinationals are therefore already choosing Greece to centralise their back-office activities in the areas of accounting and finance, research and development, technology and engineering and customer experience.
Political measures and state aid
Greece has introduced consistent policies to encourage investment in order to promote economic growth. These measures include:
Strengthening trust in the institutions,
active management of non-performing loans,
Acceleration of investment in infrastructure projects,
Restructuring of the property market,
a new architecture for the financial sector,
Mobilisation of institutional equity,
Increase in "soft" financing and
the introduction of a stable tax system.
InterGest Greece was founded in 2022 to support foreign companies in planning and realising a business base in Greece. Companies interested in entering the Greek market will find flexible and customised services from Dimitris Grispos and his team to provide them with competent support.
