Greek Econ Momentum Expected to Continue in 2024

Greece’s economic momentum is expected to continue in the new year, with GDP growth forecast to hover at 2.5%, modest by most respects but still higher than projections for other European and Eurozone economies.

A post-pandemic recovery was more-or-less highlighted with last week’s designation by the Economist of Greece as its “Country of the Year” for 2023.

The forecast for investments in the east Mediterranean country points to an increase of 15.1% in 2024, compared to an increase of 7.1% between 2022 and 2023. Mergers and acquisitions increased from 4.1 billion euros in 2020 to 10.4 billion euros in 2022, with market analysts saying the country has now shaken off its previous status as a “magnet” for purchases of NPL portfolios and is instead attracting more “real economy” capital. Since 2017, some 50 international transactions have been recorded in the NPL secondary sector, related to bundles of non-performing loans with a nominal value of 90 billion euros.

Some of the most prominent corporate investors in the country over the past few years include Amazon, Google and Microsoft, along with state investment funds.

Reforms
“A return of trading activity in capital markets in the second half of 2023 and the series of upcoming deals in subsequent quarters further strengthen Greece’s investment potential,” according to Dimitris Athanasopoulos, a founding partner of Axia Ventures Group, who spoke recently at a Capital Link investment conference in New York City.

“It’s particularly encouraging that a large part of Greece’s growth is based on capital investment, whereas concerns about the Eurozone economy remain there are fewer reservations about Greece, as it’s in a different part of the economic cycle,” Anastasios Astyfidis, the founder and CEO of Ambrosia Capital, underlined.

“In recent years, Greece has implemented a series of structural reforms with the aim of creating a more flexible and diversified economy, alongside greater competitiveness, all with the aim of sustainable growth,” Alex Fotakidis, a CVC partner and the head of CVC Greece, said.