Greece: privatizations, US company invests 23 mln euros in Corfu
NCH to develop 490,000 sq meters of beachfront land
(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, FEBRUARY 1 - Delayed and postponed for years, the Greek privatization program appears to be raising money at last, with NCH Inc. agreeing to take and develop 490,000 beachfront square meters near the idyllic village of Kassiopi, on the Ionian island of Corfu, for 99 years at 23 million euros.
Mandated by the troika (EU-ECB-IMF) as a non-negotiable precondition to a bailout, the government's privatization programs aim to raise 19 billion euros by 2015 and 50 billion by 2020. Privatization agency Taiped has recovered just 1.8 billion euros so far, arousing speculation as to its competency.
Following the December sale of an initial stake in state-controlled gaming operator Opap, the government is tackling the public land trust, which makes up 50% of the privatization program. Taipei's sale of the Corfu concession to NCH Capital, with overall NCH investment to reach 75 million euros, is the first such deal made in Greece in 15 years. Based in New York, NCH Capital manages 2.5 billion euros, mostly in real estate, according to Athenian business daily Kerdos. As a way to reduce public debt and balance the state budget, Taiped last year drew up a list of 40 islands and uninhabited islets it aims to rent out to companies or individuals for 30-50 years. In September, the first of these islets, Kaltsonissi and Paxi, went to Cyprus-based Roundview Holding Limited. Turkish entrepreneur Fikret Inan has expressed interest in buying Vouvalos Island, in the Gulf of Arta, while other investors are queuing up to get their hands on Aghios Nikolaos, Alexandros, Kytros, Mavros Oros and Bella Vraka islands, all of them close to the towns of Preveza and Meganisi.
Mandated by the troika (EU-ECB-IMF) as a non-negotiable precondition to a bailout, the government's privatization programs aim to raise 19 billion euros by 2015 and 50 billion by 2020. Privatization agency Taiped has recovered just 1.8 billion euros so far, arousing speculation as to its competency.
Following the December sale of an initial stake in state-controlled gaming operator Opap, the government is tackling the public land trust, which makes up 50% of the privatization program. Taipei's sale of the Corfu concession to NCH Capital, with overall NCH investment to reach 75 million euros, is the first such deal made in Greece in 15 years. Based in New York, NCH Capital manages 2.5 billion euros, mostly in real estate, according to Athenian business daily Kerdos. As a way to reduce public debt and balance the state budget, Taiped last year drew up a list of 40 islands and uninhabited islets it aims to rent out to companies or individuals for 30-50 years. In September, the first of these islets, Kaltsonissi and Paxi, went to Cyprus-based Roundview Holding Limited. Turkish entrepreneur Fikret Inan has expressed interest in buying Vouvalos Island, in the Gulf of Arta, while other investors are queuing up to get their hands on Aghios Nikolaos, Alexandros, Kytros, Mavros Oros and Bella Vraka islands, all of them close to the towns of Preveza and Meganisi.
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