Athens: Greece's effort to raise at least €50 billion (Dh241 billion) by selling or renting state assets is stalling as investors await the outcome of talks over a debt exchange plan, according to the executive responsible for generating income from Greek real estate.
"Investors tell us they have two problems with Greece," said Andreas Taprantzis, executive director for real estate at the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund. "First they're worried about Greece and if it's bankrupt or will go back to the drachma. Then they are worried about Europe itself."
Greece and its creditors are negotiating the terms of an accord to reduce the country's borrowings three months after private bondholders agreed to a 50 per cent cut in the face value of more than €200 billion of debt by voluntarily swapping bonds for new securities.
Target
The aim of the so-called private sector involvement, or PSI, is to help reduce Greece's debt burden to 120 per cent of gross domestic product in 2020.
"Investors can deal with defaults and crisis, but they can't deal with uncertainty," Taprantzis said. "In six months, investors will know either way if there is a PSI agreement and if we're dead or alive." Investors from Argentina and Brazil have shown interest in Greek state assets, he said.
So far, Greece has only raised €1.8 billion from the assets, according to a spokeswoman for the fund. The €50-billion target, set for 2017, may not be met until 2020, Taprantzis said.
Greece struggled to raise money from its assets even before the debt talks began. About 40 per cent of government-owned properties face ownership claims from third parties because authorities failed to record them in an official land registry, Taprantzis said.
