Special feature on Greece

"There have been strong, concrete indications that the programme has worked; we succeded an important fiscal performance and all indicators show that the economy is turning around."

"I am going to focus on two sectors: space and nanotechnology. We have a vibrant space industry in Greece with annual exports of more than €150m. However, this is another field that has struggled to really grow due to fragmentation. "

"The first problem that we face here is the small land of the owners (the small farmers) – the small farms - which is not the same as in the United Kingdom, France or Germany where they have a lot of land – in Greece they have little land and so they cannot produce products on a mass scale. So, we have tried to exploit the advantage that we have with some products where we could have a larger production."

"What we have learned so far as far as the recession is concerned and why we are here (in this economic position), is that this is not basically Greece’s problem but is a greater and wider problem for the whole of Europe. A great and productive part has already left Europe..."

"We have recently seen a very strong interest from investors. In the past, a significant amount of interest came from the East, from countries such as China and Russia. Although we were not short of interest from the West, the momentum has certainly been growing and we have seen a number of important investments."

"2017 has been a good one for the banks. After almost ten years of recession and losses, we have, for the first time, seen remarkable organic profitability, and a very impressive reduction of the liquidity dependency."

"When we talk about the major objectives of the bank, clearly the reduction of NPEs and NPLs is number one. The more successful we become in reducing these, the better position we will have in order to release resources from this and deploy them into the real economy. We have therefore been looking for ways to increase the efficiency of our efforts to reduce NPLs and we have asked the government to support us in this drive. "

"In terms of NPEs, they peaked in March 2016, one quarter after the recapitalization. Since then there has been a consistently declining trend, which has accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2017. And in terms of the restructuring programmes, the banks are on track in executing their plans."

"I have seen a constant and noticeable improvement in the way Greece is viewed from abroad. New opportunities attract new investors and this is something very important for the country. What we are seeing now, apart from the individual investors who are buying properties in Athens or the islands, is mostly funds, including distressed and private equity funds, seeking opportunities in Greece. "

"I think there are two speeds. The faster speed involves the reduction of sovereign risk. Greece has gone through very turbulent times over the last few years. Over the last seven or eight years..."

"Nowadays, we have ahead of us a more stable environment after the ordeal we have come through. We are certainly hoping that this stability is the way things will continue to go in the future. This is the prerequisite for the flow of investment that this country needs."

"I have seen a constant and noticeable improvement in the way Greece is viewed from abroad. New opportunities attract new investors and this is something very important for the country. What we are seeing now, apart from the individual investors who are buying properties in Athens or the islands, is mostly funds, including distressed and private equity funds, seeking opportunities in Greece. "

"Young people need to change their perception of insurance. Unfortunately, it ranks very low in attractiveness as a place to work. But in fact, insurance is a very exciting industry; it is fast-paced; it is international and is a synthesis of all these global markets. Young people tend not to look at insurance sector, which they see as boring, but it is quite the opposite. If you look at our office, you see a lot of young people, whereas most insurance companies in Greece, it is the opposite. "

"The Greek’s are professional ship owners. They have been at sea all their lives and it was during the big boom of 2006 that they sold to the world their professionalism in this industry and evolved their shipping to the next level."

"We strongly support the European strategy to combat climate change, and Paris Agreement, COP 21. We are absolutely aligned with the European targets. As a country, Greece is set to accomplish the 2030 European targets for the year 2030 in terms of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) at 5 or 6 years beforehand. "

"We see this also as a big opportunity in Greece and one which our company is committed to. I am referring to the lack of high-speed networks and high-speed infrastructure in our country."

"Led by Aviareps Hellas, which is a holdings company, we have a diversified portfolio of activities. The main focus is the aviation and tourism industry. We have two of the three licensed ground-handling companies in Greece. "

"The role of the Ergose is to not find investors, now. If we do move our business overseas, more, we might start to look for investors. For the time being though, Ergose, is to focus on construction and ensure that the railway network in Greece is managed properly. Everything starts with the Ministry, they decide on investments on railway networks. "

"It is quite well known that the investments and infrastructure projects are very crucial for the development and for the exit from a crisis for a country like Greece that is in such a crisis. Even the largest countries, when they are in a situation like Greece and they want to get out of/exit a situation like this – they focus and invest mainly on infrastructure projects that can very quickly show an improvement economically..."

"Greece still has a very fragmented farming sector and over the last years people have been leaving it. There is most definitely the potential to stimulate movement of young people to farming and needs to be done, especially because it is a pillar for export-oriented industry. ..."

"The founder of Macvel was my father. He passed away three years ago but lived to be 97. The name Macvel stands for Macaroni Company of Northern Greece. What the founder of the company taught us was dedication, hard work and to be optimistic about the future. "

"The presence of the olive tree has played a key role on the island’s economic stability for thousands of years. Since Minoan times (2000 BC) the production of olive oil gave wealth to kings and a mean to survive to the poor people. "

"Since the beginning, values were something very important to me. Throughout the crisis we did not alter our ethics and our values nor did we let the crisis affect our company and the people that work here"

"The most important philosopher for sustainability was Aristotle. Plato was also close to these ideas as a business."

"CEBIS is an organisation that represents ICT professionals and ICT scientists throughout the whole of Europe. It is the federation that is responsible for policy and assisting the EU in policy drafting and decision-making in our sector."

"I am a self-made entrepreneur. I have 150 employees here and another 45 people abroad. Everyone is on the payroll – we do not use any tricks where you can bypass the laws here in Greece."