page 4 page 7 page 9 ourworld · usa today did not participate in its preparation and is not...

■ The 2004 Athens OlympicGames mark a milestone in thetransformation of modern Greece.The country has seized the op-portunity to upgrade its transportinfrastructure, complete an im-pressive string of new sports in-stallations, and raise itsinternational profile.

Minister of State and Govern-ment Spokesman TheodorusRoussopoulos says that hostingthe Games has made Greece amore experienced, more self-con-fident country. “We have provedthat medium-sized countries canorganize successful and safeworld-scale international events.”

The Games are expected to have

a long-lasting and fruitful impacton the economy. “Preparing for theGames has fueled significant eco-nomic growth, which can be usedas an impetus for the post-Olympicsera,” adds Mr. Roussopoulos.

He lists the services sector, in-cluding tourism, infrastructureand construction, events orga-nizing, shipping, and telecom-munication as the sectors that willhave gained most.

As Sydney, Atlanta, andBarcelona have demonstrated,host-ing the Olympic Games can bringtangible, long-term rewards. ForGreece, the legacy of the Gamesbegins with the economic benefits

This supplement to USA TODAY was produced by United World LTD.: 4410 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington - DC 20016 - Tel: 1-202.347.9022 - Fax: 1-202.347.9025 - www.unitedworld-usa.com

Energy Page 7 Tourism Page 9

A more competitiveenvironment asGreece develops its role as a transitcorridor for oil and gas

Adding diversity tosun, sea, and fun ina bid to increasevisitor numbers to18 million withinfour years

Good times forbanks as domesticmarket expandsand regionalopportunitiesbeckon

Finance Page 4

Our World Insert is produced by United World. USA TODAY did not participate in its preparation and is not responsible for its content

The successful staging of Athens 2004 isfollowed with a drive to stimulate newdynamism in the economy as 2005 isdesignated the Year of Competitiveness

■ GREECE has had a remark-able year. The widely praised stag-ing of the 2004 Olympic Gamesin the land of their birth has giv-en a huge boost to national pride.Delivered on time, safely, and instyle, the Olympics showcasedboth the heritage andthe modern face ofGreece to the world. Itwas also the secondtime in a matter ofweeks that the countryfound itself in the in-ternational spotlightthanks to a major sporting event.In July, the national team won theEuropean Soccer Cup.

The year has seen completionof a series of major infrastruc-ture projects, launched in the run-up to the Games, speeding themovement of goods and people,and improving interconnectivi-ty with other markets. Togetherwith the boost that the Olympicsshould bring in foreign invest-ment and tourism, these im-provements will benefit theeconomy for years to come.

In the meantime, 2004 has seenthe Greek economy remain buoy-ant, with a 3.7% increase in grossdomestic product that is wellabove the average for EuropeanUnion member states.

Fresh impetus is being broughtto economic and social develop-ment following the landslide elec-tion in March of a pro-business andfree-market government, headedby Prime Minister Costas Kara-manlis. With the Games success-fully concluded, Mr. Karamanlis’sNew Democracy administrationis free to focus on its program fortaking the country forward.

For the coming year, the gov-

ernment has set itself the task ofsubstantially improving the com-petitiveness of the Greek econo-my. It has declared 2005 a “Yearof Competitiveness” to encour-age what the Prime Minister terms“a quality revolution” in the pro-

duction of goods andservices.

The public sector isstill a dominant force inthe Greek economy, butthe government is fo-cusing on the privatesector as the engine for

growth. Its objective is to add newdynamism to the economy. “Weaim to make Greece more com-petitive, attract new investments,create more jobs, and develop re-gional Greece,” says Mr. Kara-manlis.

Moves to expand and upgradethe national road and railroad net-

● OFFICIAL COUNTRYNAME: Hellenic Republic● CAPITAL: Athens● AREA: 50,942 sq miles● POPULATION:10,647,529 (end July, 2004)● LANGUAGES: Greek ● RELIGIONS: GreekOrthodox 98%, Muslim1.3%, other 0.7%● ADMINISTRATIVEDIVISIONS:51 prefectures (nomoi,singular - nomos) and 1 autonomous region*;Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos),Achaia, Aitolia kaiAkarmania, Argolis, Arkadia,Arta, Attiki, Chalkidiki,Chanion, Chios,Dodekanisos, Drama, Evros,Evrytania, Evvoia, Florina,Fokidos, Fthiotis, Grevena,Ileia, Imathia, Ioannina,Irakleion, Karditsa, Kastoria,Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra,Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani,Kyklades, Lakonia, Larisa,Lasithi, Lefkas, Lesvos,Magnisia, Messinia, Pella,Pieria, Preveza, Rethynnis,Rodopi, Samos, Serrai,Thesprotia, Thessaloniki,Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi,Zakynth● NATIONAL HOLIDAY:Independence Day, 25 March(1821) ● CONSTITUTION:11 June 1975; amendedMarch 1986 and April 2001 ● GDP: purchasing powerparity - $213.6 billion (2003 est.) ● GDP - real growth rate:4.7% (2003 est.) ● GDP - per capita:purchasing power parity -$20,000 (2003 est.) ● GDP - composition bysector:- agriculture: 6.7% - industry: 22% - services: 71.2% (2003 est.) ● INVESTMENT (grossfixed):25.5% of GDP (2003) ● NATURALRESOURCES:lignite, petroleum, iron ore,bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel,magnesite, marble, salt,hydropower potential

Source: CIA- The World Factbook

works, and to start new infra-structure projects in the regions areon the way. Social developmentis also on the government’s agen-da. Public spending is being re-oriented in favor of education,training, culture, and health as partof a bid to create what is describedas a “more human” state.

The services indus-tries make up the fastestgrowing sector of theeconomy, accountingfor 70% of GDP.Tourism is the largest,but a major contribu-tion is also made by theshipping industry;Greece has the biggestmerchant marine fleetin the world.

As in other Euro-pean economies,tourism, financial ser-vices, logistics, secu-rity, software, andother services are ex-pected to continue toexpand more rapidlythan the primary andsecondary sectors.

Greece is by far therichest country in the

A stabledemocracy with

access to aregional market

of 55 millionpeople

THE COUNTRYIN FIGURESGGrreeeeccee

Business and investmentprospects strong afterOlympic Games triumph

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis hasdeclared 2005 a “Year of Competitiveness”

Legacy of the Games will belong-term economic benefits

Balkans, with the highest per capi-ta income. A member of the Eu-ropean Union since 1981, it is theonly member of the Eurozone inthe region.

It has had a stable democracyfor more than 30 years, and pos-sesses the infrastructure to serveas a regional hub and a gateway

to a regional market of 55 millionpeople and beyond. Greece enjoysgood relations with its neighbors—including Turkey,whose EU mem-bership bid it supports—and istaking advantage of its geopoliti-cal position to further promoteeconomic relations with them.

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 2

Benefits in foreign investment and tourism are expected to flow in the wake of the Athens Olympics

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2004

OurWorld

GREECE-Usatoday-01-03 9/12/04 17:30 Página 1

Wednesday, December 29, 2004 2Distributed by USA TODAY Our World


■ An estimated four million peo-ple make up the large Greek com-munity living in the United States,reflecting the close relationshipthat has long existed between thetwo nations.

U.S. Ambassador to GreeceThomas Miller describes the re-lationship as multi-faceted, withdeep economic, political and mil-itary ties, a common heritage andshared values. “We have verysimilar world views and we workvery closely together, includingin the war on terrorism,” he says.

President Bush expressed hisappreciation of the partnershipbetween the two nations whenPrime Minister Costas Kara-manlis came to call in May.Washington sees Greece—aNATO member since 1952—asan important ally in the pursuitof democracy, prosperity, andpeace in southeastern Europeand the Greater Middle East.Most recently, U.S. and Greekauthorities worked together onproviding security for the AthensOlympics.

American companies have se-cured a number of contracts insectors such as defense and con-struction,and are expected to showincreasing interest in developingsectors of the Greek economy.

Ambassador Miller believes

that the Greek government’s ef-forts to create a more welcomingbusiness environment are on theright track. “I have also seen a lotof joint partnerships betweenGreek and American investors inthe Balkans,” he adds.

Cooperation with U.S. com-panies not only in Greece, but al-so in the broader region is a primefocus of the American-HellenicChamber of Commerce.

Stephanos Costopoulos, Pres-ident of the Chamber of Com-merce, says Greece is in a strongposition to assist the surround-ing countries in the Balkans toextend their business with U.S.companies. “Greek companieshave been working in the regionfor many years and we knowthe markets.”

THOMAS MILLERU.S. Ambassador

to Greece

EDUCATION National dialog launched to find best approach

Schools face thechallenge of meetingmarket needs

■ Ensuring that education equipsyoung people to be good citizensis as important in Greece todayas it was in the time of the ancientGreeks. But modern Greek soci-ety and an economy that needs tobe competitive in European andinternational markets have set newchallenges for educators.

The government has launcheda national dialog on how to makelong-term improvements in theeducation system to ensure thatit meets contemporary needs.

“The education system mustrespond to the new challenges ofour time,” says Marietta Yian-nakou, Minister of National Ed-ucation and Religious Affairs.“On the one hand there is the needfor education, and on the othertraining must meet the demandsof development, competitiveness,and respond to the labor market.”

Meeting both needs requires anew approach, and the Ministerdoes not underestimate the chal-lenge that it presents. “Universi-ties and teachers are not used toseeing education in this way,” shesays. “They have to see it fromboth perspectives and fulfill thecriteria in classical education andtraining together. It is a consid-erable challenge and it is of hugeimportance.”

Prime Minister Costas Kara-manlis has called for the politi-cal parties and the educationalcommunity to rally to find thebest possible solution. And thegovernment is backing its promiseswith cash. In its budget for 2005,the largest increases in state ex-penditures are provided for edu-cation and employment.

The quality of Greek educationhas already improved consider-ably in recent years. Importantsteps have been taken to upgradethe education system’s contribu-tion toward the creation of a moretechnically trained labor force.New curricula have been estab-lished focusing not only on theneeds of the Greek market, but al-so on those of the European andinternational markets.

A number of priorities are nowbeing addressed. The first is to en-hance intercultural education toreflect Greece’s multicultural so-ciety by helping those who are ex-cluded from the education system,such as the children of immigrantsor other socially excluded groups.

The second priority is to pro-vide older people with opportuni-ties to further their education. Other

priorities include encouraging aspirit of business enterprise, andpromoting equal opportunities be-tween men and women.

Dimitrios Skiadas,Special Secretary forEuropean Union andCommunity Frame-work Issues, advisesthe Minister and sug-gests where educa-tional funds should beallocated. He also represents theMinistry to EU educational in-stitutions on matters of Europeaneducational policy.

“In Greece today, we sufferfrom structural unemployment,”Mr. Skiadas says. “We need to

improve our vocation-al programs. We havea situation where jobsexist, but we do nothave enough skilledpeople to performthem. This is a prob-lem we are working tosolve.”

EU funds have been allocatedfor a program running until 2006,with further funding planned fora second program to run from2007 to 2013. “We are allocatingmoney to projects, but at the sametime we are looking for invest-ment. We want to see a return,and not simply absorb the funds,”Mr. Skiadas explains.

Some future allocations involveimportant political decisions. “Forinstance, for the first time in ouroperation program we have iden-tified the political choice of fi-nancing private educationalinstitutions—albeit indirectly. Thisis something that was not evenconsidered under the previous gov-ernment. They had put their focussolely on state education.”

Greece has more than 20 uni-versities and technological institu-tions. The last four years have seenthe creation of five new universitiesand more than 80 new university de-partments. One of the new institu-tions is the Aegean University,whichis spread around the islands as partof the attempt to provide educa-tional facilities across Greece.

In education, as in many otherimportant areas in Greece today,attempts are being made to sustainthe Olympic spirit. “We are es-tablishing a class called ‘OlympicEducation’ in primary and sec-ondary schools in order to implantOlympic ideas to young kids,”says Mr. Skiadas.

■ In 2005, the ‘Flame of Hope’willbe lit in a ceremony in Athens andcarried to Nagano, Japan for theopening ceremonies of the 2005Special Olympics World WinterGames.

Earlier this year, a torch runthrough Rhodes launched a week-long Special Olympics EducationThrough Sports Festival, in whichathletes with mental handicaps fromaround 50 countries took part.

The Special Olympics was offi-cially recognized by the Interna-tional Olympic Committee in 1988.Worldwide,almost one million ath-letes—children and adults— and500,000 volunteers participate inSpecial Olympics events.

Today, Greece is one of morethan 170 countries with a SpecialOlympics program. Around 6,500athletes, trained by 800 volunteerteachers, participate in SpecialOlympics events in Greece, whichare held on alternate years.

The international SpecialOlympics organization is dedicat-

ed to empowering individuals withintellectual disabilities to becomephysically fit, productive, and re-spected members of society throughsports training and competition.

Athletes are offered year-roundtraining and competition in 26Olympic-type summer and wintersports. The Special Olympics WorldGames are held once every four

years. In 2003,the Special OlympicsWorld Summer Games was held inDublin, Ireland.

Founded in 1968 by EuniceKennedy Shriver,President John F.Kennedy’s sister. The organizationbegan in the United States and thenexpanded all over the world.

“What counts is participation,andthis way they can participate in theeveryday activities of our society,”explains Joanna Despotopoulou,Na-tional Director of Special OlympicsHellas and President of the festival’sOrganizing Committee.

“With our program families par-ticipate in the efforts of their chil-dren, and they are happy and proudof what their children can achieve,”she says.

Mrs. Despotopoulos reinforcesthe importance of social awarenessin her role as General Secretary forSocial Solidarity at the Ministry ofHealth and Social Solidarity, favor-ing collaboration between the pub-lic and private sector in thepromotion of equal opportunies.

Provision for higher education is expanding—five new universitiesand 80 university departments have been created in the last four years

DIMITRIOS SKIADASSpecial Secretary for EU and Community Support

Framework Issues

JOANNA DESPOTOPOULOUNational Director of theSpecial Olympics Hellas

MARIETTA YIANNAKOUMinister of National Education

and Religious Affairs

Governmentpromises being

backed withincreased

stateexpenditure in

the budget

Steps are beingtaken toward thecreation of a moretechnically trainedlabor force

Athens to light special Olympics flameSPORTS

Premier Karamanlis with President Bush at the White House

Legacy of the Games

THEODORUSROUSSOPOULOS

Minister of State andGovernment Spokesman

ANNA BENAKIPresident of the Greek

Parliament

Business and investment prospects

Greece is a major provider offoreign investment in the region.More than 5,000 Greek com-panies have invested in poten-tially fast-growing Balkaneconomies like Bulgaria andRomania, both of which are setto join the EU in 2007.

A clear indication of the inter-national prestige that Greece en-joys came in October when it waselected for a two-year term as amember of the UN Security Coun-cil,beginning on January 1,2005.

The new government is eagerto build on the longstanding re-lationship with the United Statesand Mr. Karamanlis has alreadymade his first official visit toWashington.

Anna Benaki, President of theGreek Parliament, says, “The ar-eas of our cooperation extend toa broad spectrum of common in-terest,yet there are possibilities fortheir further development, main-ly in the field of economic andcommercial relations, for exam-ple in research and technology.”

Partnership withUnited States is based onshared values

Continues from page 1

of having invested in upgradesto the transportation infrastruc-ture, telecommunications sys-tem, and the environment.

George Alogoskoufis, Min-ister of Economy and Finance,says the Games have not onlyleft valuable infrastructures,they have upgraded Greece’sbrand name in the internation-al markets.

He stresses the importanceof exploiting the Olympicvenues. “The Olympic instal-

lations, by now famous theworld over, encompass a high-ly-valued brand name that weplan to develop in order to in-crease their contribution totourism, sports, civilization andsociety.”

Christos Folias, Deputy Min-ister of Economy and Finance,says the challenge now is to cap-italize on the success of theGames. “If you ask me how muchwe have spent on the Games, Isay we have spent nothing, butwe have invested a lot.”



Distributed by USA TODAY3 Wednesday, December 29, 2004 Our World

Our World Insert is produced by United World. USA Today did not participate in its preparation and is not responsible for its content

PUBLIC GAS CORPORATION OF GREECE S.A.

207, Messogion Ave. - 115 25 Athens – Tel: 0030 210 679 3500 – http://www.depa.gr

To preserve our heritage for the generations to follow

Incentives on offer forinvestment in privatehealthcaresector

ECONOMY Government says goals are ambitious but realistic and predicts 3.9% rise in GDP for 2005

Vibrant economy is set to continue to be the envy of most of Europe■ THE consistently high rate ofeconomic growth achieved byGreece in recent years is the en-vy of most other member statesof the European Union. Accord-ing to George Alogoskoufis, Min-ister of Economy and Finance,it is a trend that is set to contin-ue for the foreseeable future.

Mr. Alogoskoufis is predictingthat the economy will expand by3.9% in 2005. He invokes theOlympic spirit, describing thegovernment’s economic goals asambitious but realistic.

“Undertaking to organize theOlympic Games was in itself anambitious goal, and we have beensuccessful,” he says. “I am con-fident that we shall all succeed inmeeting the new challenges thatlie ahead and in laying the foun-dations for long-lasting, stable,and sustainable growth.”

The government is committedto tax and administrative reform,liberalization of the economy,deregulation and privatization. Itsstrategy is aimed at strengthen-ing the potential for growth, em-ployment, and social cohesion,and at promoting real convergencebetween Greece and the more de-veloped economies of the EU.

“We have launched efforts toimprove our competitiveness byreducing administrative barriers,cutting corporate taxes, and im-proving tax administration,” saysMr. Alogoskoufis. “We are trans-forming the Greek economy in-to a dynamic, outward lookingone, an economy that will in-creasingly rely on internationallycompetitive sectors topush it forward and togenerate jobs, incomeand wealth.”

At the same time,efforts are beingstepped up to closethe digital divide withother European na-tions by converting Greece intoa “new economy” through theadvance of electronic commerce,production-linked research, andtraining in new technologies. Newimpetus has been given to theEU-funded Operational Programfor the Information Society(OPIS), which has launched a se-ries of new projects and initiativesthis year.

A new development law willsupport small- and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs) to boost em-ployment around the country.

Measures have been announcedoffering increased financial back-ing to SMEs, raising capital sub-sidies and tax incentives,promoting exports, technologyand innovation, and the produc-tion of new goods and services of

high added value. Sup-port is also being pro-vided to farmers and tothe shipping industry.

At the same time, theadministration hasmade clear its commit-ment to bringing publicfinances back on track,

promising greater transparencythan its socialist predecessor. It hasalready carried out a far-reach-ing audit of fiscal accounts, whichhas resulted in an upward revisionof the general government debtand deficit for the period 2000-2004.

Exacerbated by expenditure onthe Olympic Games, Greece’sgross public debt for 2004 is putat 112% of GDP. The final bill forthe Games is estimated at up to10 billion euros ($12.2 billion)—around twice the original budget.

■ BOASTING one of Eu-rope’s finest public health sys-tems, Greece comparesfavorably with other EU na-tions in terms of expenditureon health, which exceeds 9%of GDP. An ambitious gov-ernment program is currentlyunder way to establish newhospitals and modernize ex-isting facilities, with a budgetof more than 1 billion euros($1.3 billion).

A high proportion ofGreece’s total health spend-ing—around 40%—is ac-counted for by a growingprivate healthcare sector of-fering premium services to pa-tients in modern buildings withstate-of-the-art technology.

With affordable privatehealthcare services of world-class standard, Greece is al-so becoming an increasinglypopular destination for healthand therapeutic tourism. TheGreek climate is highly fa-vorable to the promotion ofhealth and recovery, and thegovernment is providing in-centives for investment.

A prime example of a high-ly successful private health en-terprise is the IASO Group,which offers full services cov-ering all medical specialties.The IASO Clinic is one of theworld’s largest and mostmodern hospitals, an obstetri-cal, nursing, and therapeuticfacility with eight state-of-the-art nursing units, 19 special-ized departments, experiencednursing staff, and 1,200 physi-cians. The nursing staff com-prises 56% of the totalemployees.

IASO’s turnover posted asignificant increase duringthe first half of 2004. Rev-enues registered a10% in-crease on the same period in2003, amounting to 36.4 mil-lion euros ($48.2 million),while pretax profits increasedby 1% reaching 10.08 mil-lion euros ($13.3 million).

Public financeswill be broughtback on track

with costcutting and

greaterefficiency

Emphasis placed on creating internationally competitive sectors to generate jobs, income, and wealth

Greece’s fiscal deficit is set torise to 5.3% of GDP—above theceiling of 3% set by the Euro-zone’s Growth and Stability Pact.

Mr. Alogoskoufis has pledgedto bring the deficit down to 2.8%of GDP by the end of 2005. Thiswill be achieved through mod-

erate wage growth for the pub-lic sector, the reduction of oper-ating expenditure for ministries,and measures to contain costsand borrowing by public orga-nizations and enterprises.

A tax amnesty has also beenannounced, and significant sav-

ings will be achieved throughcuts in the military budget.

“We are committed to correct-ing the current situation as rapid-ly as possible,” says Mr.Alogoskoufis. “Fiscal consolida-tion in the near future remains akey concern of the government.”

Demand for private healthcareservices is growing

Economic activity is centered on the capital, Athens, and Greece’s second city, Thessalonika


■ The impact that the success ofthe Athens Olympics is likely tohave on attracting foreign invest-ment into Greece is neatlysummed up by Christos Folias,Deputy Minister of Economy andFinance. “Before the OlympicGames the image of Greece wasbasically a big question mark,”he says. “After the Games thisimage can be signifiedby a huge positive ex-clamation mark.”

Greece has manyadvantages as a desti-nation for foreign di-rect investment. It is asafe, politically stabledemocracy, closely allied to theUnited States, and has a moderninfrastructure, and a mature fi-nancial and banking sector.

A member of the EU and theEurozone, Greece is neighbor toseveral rapidly developing coun-tries, including future EU mem-bers Bulgaria and Romania, andwould make an ideal base forcompanies seeking to operate inthe wider region.

Says Mr. Folias, “If a businessis based in Greece it is connected

through the country’s relations withthe EU, the Balkans and the Mid-dle East. So through Greece youcan cover Turkey, the Middle East,North Africa, the Balkans,and theBlack Sea as far as the Urals.”

A multitude of sectors in theGreek economy have shown re-markable recovery or growth thisyear. These include metallurgy,

food and beverages,transport equipment,medical and precisionequipment, tobaccoand chemicals, andprinting and publish-ing. And there are highhopes that the Greek

tourism industry will benefit fromthe worldwide exposure the coun-try received during the Games.

“Further business opportuni-ties will also arise in Greece dueto the 3rd EU Structural SupportFramework,” notes Mr. Folias.

The new government knowsthat to capitalize on the successof the Athens Olympics, Greecemust become a more business-friendly environment. “We wantto simplify procedures, to elim-inate red tape and bring more

transparency and more clarity,”says Mr. Folias. Lower corporatetax rates are on the way. Taxrates will be gradually reducedfrom 35% to 25% over the nextthree years.

A new incentives law will par-ticularly encourage capital inten-sive investment and investmentin new technologies, and gener-ous incentives will be provided forsmall- and medium-sized enter-prises. Incentives will also beprovided to encourage investmentin the Greek regions, and the Hel-lenic Center for Investment(ELKE) is being upgraded in or-der to assist investors.

■ MORE than 1.6 billion euros($2.1 billion)—1% of GDP—isto be raised in 2005 through a newprivatization program. The PostalSavings Bank will be floated onthe Athens Stock Exchange and anew attempt will be made to selloff Greece’s national carrier,Olympic Airlines in coordinationwith the European Commission.The government also plans to in-crease the participation of theprivate sector in main infra-structure projects.

The public sector of the econ-

omy accounts for half Greece’sGDP. In addition to improvingstate revenues, curbing the bud-get deficit, and financing taxcuts, the privatization of state en-terprises is in line with its broaderpolicy of making Greece morecompetitive and reducing bu-reaucratic inefficiencies.

Minister of Economy and Fi-nance George Alogoskoufis says,“The role of the State in the econ-omy must gradually be reducedand the presence of the privatesector across a wider area has

to be felt more strongly.”The European Union's exec-

utive commission has urgedAthens to introduce cost-cuttingmeasures following the recentrevision of the previous govern-ment’s budget figures.

Prime Minister Costas Kara-manlis says the new administra-tion is seeking to contain publicsector spending, rationalize a pub-lic investments program,and makemore efficient use of the state's re-al estate assets, including theOlympic facilities, in cooperationwith the private sector. “The newgeneration of privatizations willaccelerate growth and improvestate revenues,” he says.

Care will be taken to ensurethat the program is carried as ef-ficiently and profitably as possi-ble. “We are selecting timing,procedures, and methods to max-imize benefits and avoid any un-wanted side-effects,” says Mr.Karamanlis.

“We are highlighting the valueof each company before its pri-vatization and adopting a varietyof methods, such as strategic al-liances, flotations, assignmentcontracts, and full privatization.”

■ BANKING has undergone atransformation over the past decadeto become one of the most dynamicsectors of the Greek economy. Theprivate sector is playing a largerrole, while publicly-controlledbanks have been restructuring andmodernizing. Systems and man-agement styles have been upgraded,and the focus is more firmly on thecustomer. The quality of services,including the range of products onoffer, is now equal to that found inall major financial centers.

Borrowing, both by businessesand households, has been stimu-lated by the low interest rate en-vironment following Greece’sentry into the European MonetaryUnion (EMU) in 2001. Lending tobusinesses—mostly SMEs—amounts to 40% of GDP, a levelthat is fast approaching that in oth-er developed nations.

The domestic market is ex-panding rapidly. The banks havebeen benefiting from the strengthof the Greek economy and enjoy-ing a marked rise in profitability.However, they have not been con-fining their activities to Greece.They have been strengthening theirpresence in southeastern Europe,following Greek companies as theyexpand into neighbor-ing countries.

The sector has seena series of mergersand acquisitions sincethe late 1990s, and anumber of new bankshave opened in recentyears, primarily focusing on re-tail banking. However, the in-dustry is dominated by the fivelargest banks, which betweenthem control approximately 80%of business.

Takis Arapoglou, Chairman &CEO of the National Bank ofGreece (NBG), believes thatGreece is a growing market froma banking point of view. “It wasonly three years ago that the re-tail-consumer market was liberal-ized. We expect the market tocontinue to grow for the next threeto five years,” he says.

The oldest and largest Greekbank, the NBG, is focusing on con-sumer banking, SMEs, and assetmanagement. “These are the threeareas that provide the highest re-turn,” says Mr. Arapoglou. He doesnot envisage further consolidationin the sector in the near future.“Any consolidation that will oc-cur over the next few years will re-flect Greek banks’ continuedexpansion of activity in south-eastern Europe.”

The links between Greece and itsregional neighbors are historical,po-litical, religious,and economic,andhave existed for many centuries.“This provides us with a compar-

ative advantage in attracting localcustomers as well as foreign cor-porations who want to invest insoutheastern Europe and seek an ad-visor who would be helpful in open-ing doors,” says Mr. Arapoglou.

The NBG’s objective is to bethe biggest bank in the region. Italready has a presence in Cyprus,Romania, Bulgaria, the FormerYugoslav Republic of Macedo-nia (FYROM), Serbia, and Alba-nia, as well as in New York,London, and South Africa. TheNBG Group is the only Greek fi-nancial group to have floated itsstock on the NYSE.

Alpha Bank, Greece’s secondlargest bank, has similar regionalambitions.“We definitely see our-selves as a regional player, main-ly helping Greek companies in theirventures outside Greece, but alsodoing business with local enter-prises and the local governments,”says Artemis C. Theodoridis, Ex-ecutive General Manager.“We arelooking at investment opportuni-ties in all of the countries in the area,for example increasing our pres-ence in Bulgaria.”

In February, Alpha Bank an-nounced its participation in an in-ternational partnership that will

enable Vodafone to ex-tend its network cover-age across Albaniathrough an 85 millioneuros ($113 million)long-term loan.

The bank gave its im-age an enormous boost,

both at home and internationally,by becoming the official bank ofthe Athens Olympics, investingaround 74 million euros ($98 mil-lion).

“We have set ourselves the veryhigh target to be the number onebank in Greece, and we aim toachieve this without compromis-ing the quality and the reputationthat we have had in this market formany years,”says Mr. Theodoridis.

Already a leader in retail,whole-sale, treasury products, and inter-national investments,Alpha Bankhas a growth plan for every partof its business. “The main focusfor the next few years is to bestrong in corporate banking, ship-ping, and medium-sized compa-ny lending,” Mr. Theodoridisexplains. “We are also planning forfurther growth in retail banking.”

As the head of the fastest grow-ing financial group in the country,Piraeus Bank has a presence in Al-bania,Bulgaria,Romania,and Ser-bia. Michael H. Colakides, theBank’s Vice Chairman, says,“Youhave to take into account that thecultures in these countries are sim-ilar to that of Greece, so we find itmuch easier to operate in this areathan our European competitors do.”

While the bank’s regional ob-jective is to become the local bankfor Greek businesses operating out-side the country, it has also in-vested heavily in systems,branchesand people at home.

“We view ourselves primarily asthe bank for Greek enterprises—small,medium,and large—and theGreek consumer,” says Mr. Co-lakides. “We rely heavily on thebranch network and prefer a de-centralized approach.”

One of the sector’s most dynamicplayers, EFG Eurobank employs4,500 people in Bulgaria, Roma-nia,and Serbia. Nicholas Nanopou-los, the Bank's Chief ExecutiveOfficer, says, “We are expandingrapidly in those countries and weanticipate that in three years time,

■ GOVERNMENT action to re-move barriers,cut bureaucracy andmake Greece a better place to dobusiness has the full support ofthe Federation of Greek Indus-tries, the leading independentemployers’ organization.

Ulysses P. Kyriacopoulos, theFederation’s Chairman, believesthe country is on the right trackand that the economy will con-tinue to grow significantly, firm-ly supported by planned publicand private investments andstrong private consumption.

Mr. Kyriacopoulos says theOlympics have demonstratedto the world what Greece is ca-pable of accomplishing and thatthe positive effects on the na-tion’s image will persist long af-ter the event.

“There is the Greece of todayand there is the Greece of thepast. With the success of the-

Olympic Games we have shownthe world that we have a future,”he says.

“Greece possesses peoplewho are well educated, speaklanguages, have skills, talent,and professionalism, and know

their neighboring countries andtheir cultures very well.”

Mr. Kyriacopoulos points outthat Greece possesses the basicinfrastructure to serve as a re-gional hub and a gateway to themarkets of other countries in theregion. Areas that he highlightsas having strong potential in-clude the food and beverage sec-tor, the oil refining sector,plastics, packaging, transporta-

tion, electronic equipment, andsoftware development.

“There are big opportunitiesin services,especially when youlook regionally,”he says. “With-out including Turkey, we are

talking about a region of 40 to 50million people, and 120 to 130million people if you look furthereast. Promising sectors include en-ergy and tourism, in which manynew projects such as spas and mari-nas, are being developed.”



Tax cuts and incentives on theway to encourage investment

Privatisation target for 2005 is $2.1 billion

Industry says Greece is on the right track

Tourism is one of the sectors of the economy expected to benefit from the Athens Olympics

CHRISTOS FOLIASDeputy Minister of Economy

and Finance

ARTEMIS C. THEODORIDISExecutive General Manager

of Alpha Bank

MICHAEL H. COLAKIDESVice Chairman

of Piraeus Bank

TAKIS ARAPOGLOUChairman and CEO

of the National Bank of Greece

ULYSSES P.KYRIACOPOULOS

Chairman of the Federation of Greek Industries

An ideal basefor foreigncompanieslooking to

operate in thewider region

New banks haveopened but

the largest fivestill control

80% ofbusiness

The government sees the private sector as the engine of growth

The National Bank of Greece is spearheading spectacular growth in the Greek banking sector

FINANCE Merger and modernization have strengthened sector

Banks follow Greekfirms and expand intoneighboring countriesDomestic market growing rapidly as lending to businesses fastapproaches the level found in other developed nations


■ PRIOR to being floated on theAthens Stock Exchange—pos-sibly as early as the middle of nextyear—the deposit-rich GreekPostal Savings Bank (GPSB) hasbeen undergoing a process ofmodernization aimed at upgrad-ing the institution while pre-serving its historical pedigree.

“We have a solid reputation inGreece, and we need an updatein terms of our image,” saysPanos Tsoupides, thebank’s President,who was drafted infrom the private sec-tor to make thebank’s transforma-tion a reality. “Wehave a good financialperformance and can deliver in-teresting products and services.”

Up to 2002, when it was al-tered to a public listed compa-ny, the bank operated as anindependent public entity, ad-ministratively and financiallydecentralized, under the super-vision of the Ministry of Trans-port and Telecommunications.

Since its establishment 104years ago, the GPSB has givenparticular attention to servingGreece’s low-income and geo-

graphically remote population.“This is the purpose of GPSB,and this is what it will continueto be,” says Mr. Tsoupides.

“The bank has a long estab-lished reputation. It boasts manyvalues that are inherent in itsbrand name; care, friendliness,and the human touch. And thecompany strives to maintainthese values in a contemporaryway. We want to rejuvenate its

character and updateit in terms of productsand services.”

According to Mr.Tsoupides, the firstgoal is to gain value.“The IPO offer willgive us the opportu-

nity to gain both cash and com-mercial value,” he says.

An important objective is forthe bank to become more com-mercially focused and rebuildits market share. Currently at8.5%, this translates into 9 bil-lion euros ($12 billion) in de-posits and 2.5 million accounts,with an average size of 3,000 eu-ros per customer. The GPSBboasts 135 branches and 900postal outlets. “We have all thecredentials to move ahead.” says

Mr. Tsoupides.He believes a major asset of

the bank is its staff, and regardsthe average age of the bank’semployees, at 49, as an advan-tage to be exploited.

“I have gone to many of ourbranches and I’ve seen how ouremployees work. A 50-year-oldcashier lady knows her cus-tomers extremely well,” com-ments Mr. Tsoupides. “If wemanage to provide these peoplewith relevant products and ser-vices, train them accordingly,and provide them with incen-tives, then I am sure this is go-ing to fire up the institution. Mypriority is to bond people to-gether and to agree with them onmutual goals.”

■ GAMING is a popular activ-ity in Greece, where the legalsegment of the market stands atan estimated 6.5 billion euros($8.5 billion)–and the illegal partis reckoned to be worth at leastanother 3 billion euros.

Dominating the legal marketis the Greek Organization ofFootball Prognostics (OPAP),organizer of the Greek lotteryand one of the biggest publiclytraded gaming companies in Eu-rope. The company, which is51%t owned by the state, has a20-year exclusive license to op-erate existing games in Greece.

One of the most profitablecompanies in the country, OPAPregularly exceeds expectationson its returns thanks to the pop-ularity of its sports betting gamesand its new game, Kino. In No-vember, the firm reported a32.3% year-on-year rise in netprofit to 279.3 million euros($365.3 million).

Anestis A. Filippidis, OPAP’sChairman, makes it clear thathis primary focus is on the bot-tom line. “My main consider-ation is to yield more profits toour shareholders,” he says.

Keeping up to date with thelatest technology is vital to thesuccess of OPAP, which is aboutto make a substantial invest-ment upgrading its IT system.There are also plans for thecompany to establish its own re-search and development sec-tion to provide data from whichit can assess the potential fornew games.

“Is there a market for more

games? Yes, there is,” says Mr.Filippidis. “New technologymoves very fast and you alwaysneed to catch up. We have tocome up with new ideas, newgames, which will gradually

decrease the proportion of il-legal gaming.” He believes thatthe best way to tackle illegalgaming is by offering some-thing better.

This year, OPAP has beenrolling out its latest lottery game,Kino, across Greece, after a suc-cessful test run in Cyprus. Thegame is proving a big success—particularly in the Athens met-ropolitan area where 50% of theGreek population lives—and hasalready made an important con-tribution to the boost in profits.

OPAP is planning to expandits operations to neighboringcountries in the Balkans area. “Ifwe do not do it someone elsewill,” says Mr. Filippidis. “Busi-ness today is international. It isnot enough to be the best do-mestically, you also have to bethe best internationally.”

Distributed by USA TODAY5 Wednesday, December 29, 2004


It’s all about numbers

OPAP S.A. 62 Kifissou ave. ● 121 32 Athens ● Greece

e-mail: [email protected] ● www.opap.gr

Hellenic Lottery Organisation S.A.

Founded in 1958 ● 9 lottery & fixed odds games in operation ● 5,330 agencies

in Greece and Cyprus ● over 1,000,000 daily on line transactions

● over 3,000,000 customers served annually ● 2nd highest divident yield in

europe for 2002 ● over 70% of the free float shares held by institutional

investors ● 2 share offerings oversuscribed by more than 5 times

● annual revenue growth of 17% since listing on the Athens Stock Exchange

● annual share price rise of 24% since listing on the Athens

Stock Exchange ● largest on line network in Greece

Aiming for a bigger marketshare but still caring

Games of chance are a safe bet in Greece

The state-owned Greek Postal Savings Bank is modernizing and updating its image

Lottery organizer OPAP is one of Greece’s most profitable firms

PANOS TSOUPIDESPresident of the Greek Postal

Savings Bank

ANESTIS A. FILIPPIDISChairman of OPAP

Experiencedstaff who know their

customers arean asset

to be exploited


■ ONE of the most modern un-derground railway systems in Eu-rope, the new Athens Metro is oneof the glories of the rejuvenatedGreek capital. Opened in 2000,the service is fast and reliable, andmany of the stations feature ar-chaeological exhibits uncoveredduring construction.

Extensions and a number of newstations were added this year intime for the Olympic Games, dur-ing which hundreds of thousandsof spectators used the system totravel to and from the sports venues.

The extensions include a 30-minute link between SyntagmaSquare and the international air-port—partly using tracks of thesuburban railway. Another newsection extends beyond KifissosRiver, reducing the travelling timeof passengers from the city’s west-ern suburbs.

Further stations and extensionsof the lines are planned. “The Metrohas become an important part ofthe social and business life ofAthens,” says George Yannis, At-tiko Metro’s President and Chair-man. “But there are still large areasof Athens that are not served. Ourmajor goal is to create a networkof 140 miles by 2012, and we arelooking for financing.”

Currently, the 3-line networkextends over a total length of 32miles with 48 stations. With thenew extensions added this sum-mer, the network is capable of serv-ing up to 650,000 people per day.

The tender for the constructionof the second phase of the Line 2southbound extension,due to becompleted by the end of 2008, iscurrently under way. An extensionof Line 2 further westward is ex-

pected to be fully developed by theend of 2007, and a westbound ex-tension of Line 3 to be commis-sioned by the end of the same year.

According to Mr. Yannis, a va-riety of funding options is beingconsidered. One idea might be tolink up with a con-struction firm to com-bine real estatedevelopment around astation with financingof the project of around15%. “We are exam-ining all possibilities,”he says.

Meanwhile, major investmentis being put into developingGreece’s railway network. Hugeprojects are being carried out byHellenic Railways (OSE), the na-tional railway carrier, to makejourneys faster, safer, more reli-able, and more comfortable, andcreate new opportunities for busi-ness and exports.

Projects to improve and up-grade the existing network arecurrently in progress in all threerailway regions of the country—Macedonia-Thrace, Peloponnese,and Athens—and are on scheduleto be completed by 2008.

“The entire network constitutesan extensive working site,” saysKonstantinos Giannakos, OSE’sPresident and Managing Director.“The fulfillment of our objectiveswill greatly shorten the traveling

time between main cities and willcreate new opportunities.”

Modern rolling stock is beingintroduced to achieve a servicelevel similar to that of the mostadvanced European networks, andstations are being smartened up.

Freight villages arebeing developed as amodern interface be-tween rail, road, sea andair transportation. Mr.Giannakos says coop-eration with the privatesector is considered tobe the best way to de-

velop freight villages. “This is anopportunity for private companiesto invest, in order to develop build-ings, stores etc as well as other ac-

tivities around those already avail-able at the freight village.”

The Greek railway networkpasses through many landscapesof rare beauty, and OSE has alsobeen renovating tourist routes, suchas the Diakofto – Kalavrita andPilio line.

One of the biggest infrastructureprojects planned for the future isa 460-mile Western Railway Cor-ridor, connecting the western portsof Greece to the main body of therailway infrastructure. “Comple-tion of the project,which is plannedfor 2014, will radically change theface of both the railway and oftransport in Greece. It will bringgreat benefits to the economy,”says Mr. Giannakos.



INFRASTRUCTURE Government aims to increase participation of private companies in plans for roads, ports, and airports

Minister announces a new era in public worksPackage of projectsreflects NewDemocracyadministration’spledge to bringdevelopment to theGreek regions

■ CONSTRAINTS on publicspending have led Greece to turnto public-private partnerships fora number of projects in the run upto the Olympics, and the trend canbe expected to continue as devel-opment of the country’s infra-structure continues in the future.

According to Georgios Sou-flias, Minister of Environment,Town Planning, and Public Works,Greece is entering a “new era”for public works. The Ministerhas announced that the method ofbuilding public works projectsthrough concession contracts willbe extended to many more pro-jects in the near future, so thatthey are constructed promptly andwith little financial participationon the part of the public sector.

Three of the largest such pro-jects of recent years—all nowsuccessfully completed and in op-eration—have been the newAthens international airport, theRio-Antirio Bridge, and the At-tiki Odos highway.

The airport, Eleftherios Venize-los, opened in 2001 after five yearsof construction at a total cost ofaround 2.1 billion euros ($2.7 bil-lion). One of the most modern air-ports in the world, boastingstate-of-the-art equipment andtechnology, and capable of han-dling up to 16 million passengersa year, Eleftherios Venizelos isserving both as a national andsoutheastern European hub.

The owner and operator isAthens International Airport,which was responsible for all as-pects of the project, from designto implementation. The Greek stateholds the majority 55% stake in thecompany, and the rest is held by aprivate, internationalbusiness consortiumled by Hochtief, theGerman constructiongroup.

Connecting the air-port to Athens is theAttiki Odos highway.The 38-mile long external ringroad was officially finished in June.Greece’s first self-financed high-way is managed by the Attiki Odos,a consortium of Greek construc-tion companies led by the Aktorgroup, which built the road as abuild-operate-transfer project witha 25-year operating concession.

The final section of the 780 mil-lion euros ($1 billion) Rio-An-tirio Bridge, linking thePeloponnese with the Greek main-land, was officially opened in Au-gust. At more than 1.4 miles, it isthe longest cable bridge in theworld. It was built by the Fran-co-Greek consortium Gefyra,which is responsible for the main-tenance and operation of thebridge until December 2039.

Athanasios Kouloumbis, Sec-retary General of Public Works,says the focus for the future willcontinue to be on public-private-partnerships. “Funds coming fromthe EU are going to be less andless every year, but the econom-ic growth that we have due to thegrowth in infrastructure has tocontinue,” he notes.

“We have to find new ways tocontinue to keep up investment ininfrastructure, particularly for thetourist industry. If you want topromote tourism, you need in-frastructure.”

Mr. Kouloumbis says there isa need for a series of smaller pro-jects to be carried out over thenext 10 to 15 years. He quotes theneed for airports in the north andsouth of Greece and for watersupply facilities in various Greek

towns and cities.“These are projectsthat should happen fre-quently and should nottake years to com-plete.”

Minister Souflias re-cently announced a se-

ries of projects—worth 2.6 billioneuros ($3.4 billion)—to be auc-tioned up to February 2005. Thelarge majority of the projects arebenefit regional Greece. “Our pri-ority is the regions,” he said.

They include extending a run-way at the Macedonia airport inThessaloniki, completion of a damin the Aheloos river, works on theEgnatia Road, and extending theAthens Metro.

ATHANASIOS KOULOUMBISSecretary General of

Public Works

GEORGE YANNIS

Chairman of Attiko Metro

KONSTANTINOSGIANNAKOS

President and ManagingDirector of OSE

Opened in August,the Rio-Antirio

Bridge is thelongest cablebridge in the

world, extendingfor 1.4 miles

New ways offunding are

being tried assupport fromthe EU starts

to dry up

Projects toimprove and

upgrade are inprogress in allthree railwayregions of the

country

Investment opportunities signalled as Metro plans newextensions and development of the rail network continues

The Greek capital’s new Metro system has thecapacity to serve 650,000 people per day

Major projects carried out by OSE have maderail journeys safer, faster, and more comfortable




■AN important potential transitroute for energy exports from theemerging Caspian and Caucasusregion, Greece is reshaping itsmarket to make the most of fu-ture opportunities.

The government is currentlyrevising the institutional frame-work to promote a more compet-itive environment for the energysector to operate, as well as open-ing up state companies to privatesector investors.

“Greece is developing an im-portant intermediary role in trans-porting oil and natural gas fromCentral Asia and the Caspian tothe large European market,” saysDimitrios G. Sioufas, Minister ofDevelopment. He highlights thecross-border gas pipeline takingshape between Turkey, Greece,and Italy as evidence of the coun-try’s rising prominence in the re-gional energy market.

While Greece has limited hy-drocarbons reserves of its own—producing around 6,400 barrelsof oil a day in 2003—it has a so-phisticated energy infrastructureincorporating import terminals,refineries, and an extensive dis-tribution and retailing network.Most imported oil comes fromthe Middle East, although Rus-sia is becoming increasinglyprominent as pipelines are con-structed connecting Bulgariawith Greece.

A proposed 178-mile trans-Balkan pipeline linking the Bul-garian Black Sea port of Burgaswith Alexandroupolis on theMediterranean coast would allowRussia to bypass Turkey and pumpoil straight through to Greece.

The industry is dominated byHellenic Petroleum (HP) formedin 1998 from the former state oilcompany, Public Petroleum Cor-poration. HP is active across allparts of the energy chain includ-ing exploration and production,importing, refining, distribution,and marketing. Its Eko subsidiaryis one of the top marketing firmsin the country, while its petro-chemicals division exports a rangeof manufactured products to thelikes of Turkey, Italy, and Spain.

Panos E. Cavoulacos, HP’sChief Executive, is tasked withtransforming the company intoan international competitor. Al-ready a leading player in south-eastern Europe, with a refineryin Macedonia and downstreamassets throughout the Balkans,the company is eager to move upto the next level.

“My challenge is first to up-grade and modernize the way wework,” says Mr. Cavoulacos. “Weneed to make the company morecompetitive in the internationalenvironment.”

He sees parallels in the way oth-

■ IF oil is the king of fuels inGreece’s energy mix, then natur-al gas is the heir to the throne. Atpresent, gas accounts for just 6%of energy consumption in thecountry—some way behind theEuropean average of around 20%.But the next decade or so will seea rapid catching up process tak-ing place with gas usage set hit35% by 2020.

It is all good news for Greece’sprincipal gas operating compa-ny, the Public Gas Corporationof Greece (DEPA), which seesstrong sales growth in the com-ing years. Established in 1988,when gas was first introduced in-to Greece, DEPA is responsiblefor the import, transport, and stor-age of natural gas.

In addition to sales to large in-dustrial consumers and powerplants, it is also seeking to broad-en the market among domesticusers. Athens is eager to diversi-fy energy sources away from oilto enhance security of supply andto reap the environmental bene-fits of burning gas.

In a bid to create a more effi-cient gas market, the governmentis negotiating the saleof a 35% stake in DE-PA to Spanish firmGas Natural. The ideais to introduce foreignknow-how and tech-nical expertise, as wellas new capital, and tobroaden international links, es-pecially with the EU. The gov-ernment still holds 35% equitywhile Hellenic Petroleum holdsthe balance.

Raphael Moissis,DEPA’s Chair-man and Chief Executive Officer,is understandably bullish. “Thereis very high demand and it is go-ing to grow in the future.”

In 2003, DEPA recorded salesof 402 million euros ($535 mil-lion), with a jump of around 12%anticipated for 2004. Three-quar-ters of all sales go to the PublicPower Corporation, the state-

owned electricity pro-ducer.

With the anticipatedrise in demand in thenext decade—con-sumption shot up fromjust 1 billion cubic feetin 1996 to 77 billion cu-

bic feet in 2002— Greece is in-vesting heavily in its natural gasinfrastructure.

Mr. Moissis believes that ener-gy will be the new “mega project”for Greece in the wake of theOlympics. “The amount of moneythat is going to be invested on gas-related projects is not of the samemagnitude but it stretches for a long

DIMITRIOS G. SIOUFASMinister of

Development

PANOS E. CAVOULACOSChief Executive of Hellenic Petroleum

Gas usage inGreece is

expected torise from 6%

to 35% by2020

Support from strategic investor will help DEPA meet rising demand for gas

Hellenic Petroleum is planning to upgrade and modernize

ENERGY Greece is developing its role in transit of oil and gas from Central Asia and the Caspian

At the crossroads of theroute to European marketsAlready a leading player in southeasternEurope, Hellenic Petroleum aims tobecome an international competitor

er European states transformedtheir public energy holdings—Elfin France and ENI/Agip in Italy—into global heavyweights. “Wemay not become a $10 billioncompany, but we are going to bea much more profitable company,”he says.

HP has been progressively pri-vatized in recent years with thegovernment lowering its stake tojust 35%. Around a third is nowheld by the local Latsis Group,with the rest in the hands of some16,000 shareholders, includinglarge financial institutions.

One of the main challenges fac-ing Mr. Cavoulacos and his teamis the rationalization of HP’s ex-tensive overseas portfolio. Theplan is to improve the company’sposition in key markets and pos-sibly withdraw from others. “I

will probably be more interestedin having a medium-sized pres-ence in two or three markets wherewe are strong, well organized,and profitable rather than havinga dispersed position.”

Although exploration and pro-duction has been a fairly low keyactivity in recent years, there areplans to move up a gear. As well

as prospects abroad, there is un-tapped potential at home. In Sep-tember 2004, Regal Petroleumannounced that the GreaterKallirachi field in the NorthAegean Sea held up to one billionbarrels of light crude oil. Explo-ration has been held up in the pastdue to border differences betweenGreece and Turkey.

HE

LLE

NIC

PE

TR

OLE

UM

period in time and it covers thewhole of Greece. This will requirea lot of investment,” he says.

The support of an experiencedstrategic investor like Gas Natur-al will make a big difference, hebelieves, in helping the companyto rise to the challenge. “In gen-eral, it will be a very good thingfor DEPA.”

Greece currently receives thebulk of its gas by pipeline fromRussia with the rest coming fromAlgeria in the form of liquefiednatural gas. It has signed an am-bitious 250 million euros dealwith Turkey to build a natural gas

pipeline that could comprise apivotal part of a network con-necting the Caspian Sea regionsgas fields with western Europe.DEPA and the Turkish companyBotas will take the lead role inconstruction.

Mr. Moissis agrees that Greeceis ready to become an energy hubfor the southeastern corner of Eu-rope. “We would like Greece tobecome the hub of a wheel withaxes that point to Russia and Bul-garia as the source of supply inthe northeast, Egypt and Algeriain the south, and the Caspianthrough Turkey in the east—and

as destinations, the eastern Balka-ns in the northwest, and WesternEurope via Italy in the west. Weare working very hard to make thishappen.”

Mr. Moissis thinks that thecountry must take advantage ofits recent exposure on the inter-national stage to boost goodwillamong external investors.

He concludes, “I believe thatthis is a time when people fromthe outside are re-considering theirperceptions of Greece. Thereforewe should do everything possibleto influence their perceptions inthe right direction.”

Most of the gas Greece receives comes from Russia. A new cross-border pipeline from the Capsian Sea is planned with Turkey


the reformulation of farming poli-cies.

“I would like to stimulate andpromote the use of organic, eco-logical products,” says SawasTsitourdis, former Minister ofAgriculture, Development, andFood (succeeded by EvangelosBasiakos). The area given over toorganic farming is certainly on therise, a process encouraged bothin Athens and in the EU. Greeksthemselves are very demandingwhen it comes to food quality asindicated by their own rapidlyincreasing demand for organicproduce.

The U.S. market offers huge po-tential for Greek exporters in thisniche, according to experts. “Thereare millions of Greek Americans,including many businessmen, whocan assist in promoting the coun-try’s Mediterranean lifestyle prod-ucts,” says Mr. Tsitourdis.

Alternative farming methodshave also become popular in re-sponse to increasing concernsabout the environment and othergovernment reform initiatives.

One of the challenges is to ne-gotiate the increasing interna-tional influence—partly as aresult of ongoing integration withthe EU—that continues to altereating and production habits.Greek consumer needs are con-tinuously evolving. A large pro-portion of families in the bigcities now have microwaves andfreezers that help to create de-

mand for convenience foods. Thiscarries implications for local pro-duction.

The most popular ready-mademeals are pizzas, souvlaki, chick-

en, hamburgers, and pasta, as wellas Greek cooked food. Newtrends in consumer habits willcontinue to influence the agri-cultural sector and the lifestylesof millions of people working onthe land.

Representing corporations of40 regions in Greece, the Hel-lenic Network Leader + aims tocreate partnerships between thepublic and the private sectors tosupport initiatives in the field ofagriculture. The program sup-ports projects involving the con-servation and management ofnatural resources and contributesto promote and enhance the coun-tryside both economically andsocially. The initiative developsrural economic infrastructure andat the same time takes on boardenvironmental issues. GeorgeAmanatidis, President of the ini-tiative, says, “The emphasis isplaced on the quality of produc-tion and the standard of living ofthe rural population, while at thesame time boosting the compet-itiveness of the sector.”

Mr. Amanatidis says it is a “vi-sion for a living countryside” andconstitutes the vehicle for a new,improved agricultural sector thattoday caters to such non-traditionalrural concepts as alternative tourismand business enterprise.

“Our vision for a living country-side is on its way and with our com-mon effort we will make it possible,”concludes Mr. Amanatidis.

■ EXPORTS of chemicals fromGreece have been rising in recentyears and the emerging markets inthe Balkans represent a major op-portunity for the industry to ex-pand.

Making its mark on Greece’s de-veloping chemicals industry is thefamily-run business Neochimiki,which holds a dominant position inthe production of detergent formultinationals, and is graduallyrolling-out businesses across theregion to bolster its market share.

In 2003, a clutch of shares wereissued by the firm through an ini-tial public offering (IPO) on theAthens Stock Exchange, but con-trol still rests firmly with Presidentand Managing Director, LavrentisLavrentiadis, son of the company’sfounder, who established the com-pany 30 years ago.

“Feedback from investors hasbeen positive,” he says of the IPO,which forms the basis for an ex-pansion program that will seeNeochimiki double sales in the nextfew years. In 2004, consolidated

turnover is expected to be as muchas 45% higher than the previousyear.

The company has been quick totake advantage of the changes thathave affected the industry sinceseveral large major players decid-ed to halt production lines afterGreece joined the EU.

As well as serving multination-als, it produces detergents on be-

half of the major domestic super-market chains such as Carrefour,Dia, and Vasilopoulos.

“Right now we are the only com-pany producing detergents formultinationals in the Greek mar-kets,” says Dr. Lavrentiadis.

In the last few years, the com-pany has invested big. It now ownsa factory in Atalanti,central Greece,with 19 production lines,plus stor-age depots in Avlida and Thessa-loniki. It is increasingly involved inthe Balkans through its subsidiaryin Romania, which is active in thewholesale of chemical products.

It also has a presence in Bulgar-ia, Serbia, Macedonia, Ukraine,and in Cyprus. Dr. Lavrentiadisthinks the company will be wellplaced as uncompetitive factoriesin Eastern Europe are forced toclose down. “I believe thatNeochimiki will be the leader in thedistribution of chemicals in East-ern Europe,”he says. “We have cal-culated that in five years time, onethird of our sales will be made inthat region. In ten years time, themajority of our sales will be in thatarea.”

The potential is huge. The com-pany forecasts sales of 400 millioneuros ($532 million) in five years

rising to 1.3 billion euros in tenyears. “There is huge potential forexpansion and once you partnerwith the big boys you have a chanceto grow steadily and vigorously,”says Dr. Lavrentiadis.

The company keeps a closewatch on environmental issues. Itsmanufacturing facility in Atalantimaintains the highest standards ofquality and efficiency, somethingwhich has helped the business im-prove its reputation with large andwell-known global names.

Indeed, this is one of the factorsthat will help the company securenew business in higher value ar-eas. Neochimiki profit marginswill significantly improve, for ex-ample, via further penetration in-to the production and wholesale ofprivate label detergents for super-

markets, an area of high impor-tance for the firm.

Dr. Lavrentiadis is also eager totake advantage of the growingawareness of organic detergentproducts. “The potential for growthin this market is very high as theseproducts are regarded as luxuryproducts. They provide a higheradded value,” he says.

The Atalanti factory has alreadybeen certified by Italian authoritiesto provide organic detergents. TheU.S. market holds potential in thisarea too. “What we would like todo in the future is distribute in theU.S. a number of Greek andMediterranean organic health prod-ucts such as olive oil,soaps,or herbs,”concludes Mr. Lavrentiadis.

■ THE agricultural sector formsa critical part of the modern Greekeconomy. Much of the land is de-voted to the production of cropsfor internal consumption and—in-creasingly—export, primarily toother EU countries.

Today, farming contributesroughly 10% of gross domesticproduct and absorbs close to 20%of the Greek labor force. Greeceis basically self-sufficient in termsof food, supported by some im-ports in meat and dairy products,again mainly from the EU.

Just over 20% of the countryis arable land. Agricultural prod-ucts include wheat, corn, barley,sugar beets, olives, tomatos, wine,tobacco, potatos, beef, and dairyproducts. On the export side, fruitand vegetable production ac-counts for around 40% of totalagricultural sales abroad, witholive oil, tobacco, cotton, andhard grain wheat contributing anadditional 40%.

Perhaps the greatest export ofall, however, is the traditionalGreek diet. This combines all thebest of local produce—olive oil,pulses, salads, and cheeses—in-to a healthy and nutritious dietthat has been followed by localpeople for centuries.

While there has been some talkrecently about the way someyoung Greeks have abandonedtheir traditional diet in favor offast-food, hamburgers and piz-zas, the irony is that it is catch-ing on fast in the United States and

elsewhere around the world.The market for Greek cheeses

is already well established in for-eign supermarkets. The most fa-mous is probably feta cheese,which is made from ablend of 70% sheepmilk, and 30% goats’milk.

Although millionsof Greek Americansare no strangers to thebenefits of homegrownfood, the message thatit can make you feel better andeven live longer is starting to fil-ter through to the wider public.

Visitors to Greece are alwaysstruck by the total freshness of thefood on their table, whether veg-etables, fruit, fish, meat, or dairyproducts. Recent research hasshown that a diet rich in fruit,

vegetables, fish, and olive oil, butsparing in meat, may reduce therisks of cancer and heart disease.

The development of organicproduce is one way that the Greek

authorities are pro-moting the benefits ofthe local diet. The NewDemocracy adminis-tration is placing a verystrong emphasis onagricultural reforms, aprocess taking shapewithin the context of

the EU’s agricultural policy. The government hopes to

change the sector by increasingtraditional exports of fruit, veg-etables, and oil, especially withan organic stamp—something thatcommands a premium price. Rev-enues resulting from increasedexports are being funnelled into



CHEMICALS Export growth presents major opportunity

AGRICULTURE Greatest export is the fresh food that makes up the traditional—and health promoting— Greek diet

Industry is poised totake advantage ofemerging markets

Export sales led by high quality food products

Detergent maker Neochimiki has investedbig and sees huge potential for futureexpansion in Eastern Europe

Organic farming isbeing encouragedby the governmentto meet increasingdemand at homeand abroad

Neochimiki plans further penetration into the production of private label detergents for supermarkets

LAVRENTIS LAVRENTIADISPresident and ManagingDirector of Neochimiki

GEORGE AMANATIDISPresident of the Hellenic

Network Leader +

The Hellenic Network Leader + program aims to support and develop the rural economic infrastructure and create a vision for a living countryside

EVANGELOS BASIAKOSNew Minister of

Agriculture, Development, and Food

Visitors toGreece are

alwaysimpressed by

the freshnes ofthe food ontheir table

GREECE USAT pp8.qxd 10/12/04 13:11 Página 2



Piraeus Bank Group is one of the most dynamic Greek financial institutions. Founded in 1916 andprivatized in 1991, Piraeus Bank Group has developed today into a robust and prestigious

financial organisation. Piraeus Bank Group ranks among the largest Greek banking institutions andits activities cover a wide range of financial services including retail and corporate banking, SMEs,capital markets, investment banking, leasing, real estate and shipping.

Piraeus Bank Group is determined to increase its market share in Greece and become a majorplayer in Southern-Eastern Europe, thus becoming a leading financial organization in the region. Itscontinuously expanding branch network counts currently with 288 branches. Its internationalpresence comprises 10 branches in Romania, 13 in Bulgaria, 20 in Albania, one branch in Londonand 10 branches in New York.

We are making news...in development!

Headquarters: 20, Amalias Avenue & 5, Souri Street, GR-105 57 Athens, GreeceTel: +30 210 33 35 000, www.piraeusbank.gr

TOURISM Focus on upgrading service quality and infrastructure

Major drive to boostvisitor numbers andencourage investment

■ GREEK wine is making a namefor itself on the dinner tables of themore discerning host. The coun-try’s wine industry—which offersmuch more than traditional retsina—is going from strength to strengthas Greek producers refine theirwinemaking techniques and im-plement strict quality controlmeasures. Many production fa-cilities are state-of-the-art fol-lowing substantial investment andmodernization.

The results are already start-ing to bear fruit as more and moreconsumers, both at home andabroad, recognize the growingquality and diversity of localwine production. Today, ap-proximately 20% of Greek wineis exported with the rest con-sumed locally.

Nearly all exports currentlygo to the EU, although the tim-ing could be right for the open-ing of the U.S. market. Probablythe top selling local make is Tsan-dalis’s Makedonikos, whichshifts around 3.5 million bottlesevery year.

The country’s 6,000-year tradi-tion—it is believed that wine wasfirst introduced in Greece around4,000 BC—has allowed the localwines to have a distinct identity oftheir own. Most recently, there hasbeen a flight to quality.

During the last 20 years, Greek

■ INTERNATIONAL exposureto four billion television viewersduring the Athens Olympics isexpected to pay long-term divi-dends for the Greek tourism sec-tor. Now a fresh strategy has beenunveiled by the government, andMinister of Tourism DimitrisAvramopoulos is predicting a newera for one of the country’s mostimportant industries.

Mr. Avramopoulos says thepost-Olympic period will be usedto publicize the country’s attrac-tions over a period of ten years.The government is set to investmore than 30 million euros ($40million) on tourism promotion—ten times more than any previ-ous Greek administration.

The appointment of a Minis-ter of Tourism of full cabinetrank, and the choice of MrAvramopoulos, who was May-or of Athens at the time of thecity’s successful Olympics bid,signals the Karamanlis adminis-tration’s commitment to devel-oping the industry.

Tourism already makes a sig-nificant contribution to the Greekeconomy, employing more than800,000 people, about a fifthof the country’s active laborforce, and accounting for ap-proximately 18% of GDP. Mr.Avramopoulos plans to increasethat to 25% in five years and30% in 10 years. His target is to

raise the number of visitors fromthe present 13 million to 18 mil-lion within four years.

He believes the sector is po-tentially the most productive inthe Greek economy but has beenheld back by not being given theattention it deserves. “Greecehas been gifted generously by

nature and by history,” he says.“Tourism is the vehicle for de-velopment in this country. Thatis the challenge.”

Asked to what extent Greececan build on the Olympic effect,Mr. Avramopoulos points toBarcelona, which hosted theGames in 1992, as an exampleof what can be achieved. “Priorto the Games being held there,

Barcelona was receiving about3 million visitors per annum. Af-ter the Games, and after the im-provement of the infrastructureand the services which came withthe Games, Barcelona is now re-ceiving 18 to 20 million visitorsannually.”

He says the sector must be de-veloped in a more professionalway than in the past. “We needto construct better hotels, makeour destinations more challeng-ing, and improve our services.”

Much more of the country willbe promoted for tourism than in thepast. “We have beautiful naturallandscapes, historical sites, gor-geous mountains, and fantastic is-lands, but our existing tourisminfrastructure does not cover morethan 8% of our territory,” says Mr.Avramopoulos. “In that respect,we are still virgin.”

The focus of the new strate-gy will be on development, andupgrading the quality of ser-vices and infrastructure. How-ever, Mr. Avramopoulosemphasizes that any new pro-jects must be linked to envi-ronmental considerations andsustainability.

One of the most importanttools for attracting investmentwill be a tourist real estate com-pany operating under the aus-pices of the Ministry.

The participation of foreignfirms in the development of thesector is being encouraged. “Thereis great potential for investors in-terested in doing business in

Modern methods for an ancient traditionWINE

■ A beautiful and endearing partof the local landscape, olive trees,both wild and cultivated, coverthe Greek hills with their pale anddistinctive grey-green foliage. Vir-tually synonymous with the Greekway of life for centuries, the olivetree has spawned countless prod-ucts that have now been welcomedoverseas with open arms.

At the top of the list is olive oil,very much a local speciality andcommanding great respect on su-permarket shelves both in the Unit-ed States and around the world.

Greece’s position and reputationas an exporter is growing, due tothe high quality of its products. To-day, it ranks with Spain and Italyas a world leader in olive oil pro-duction. Greece has emerged as theworld’s biggest exporter of extra vir-gin olive oil. More than 70% of to-tal Greek production is extra virginand half of that is sent to other oliveoil producing countries —includ-ing Spain and Italy.

A 4,000-year-old Greek tradi-tional product, olive oil is rootedin the history and mythology of an-cient Greece. The myth goes that

Ancient Athena, goddess of wis-dom, was challenged by Poseidonto provide the Greeks with themost useful divine gift. He pro-duced warhorses, but Athena wonwith her creation, the olive tree.

Today, extra virgin olive oil es-pecially is flagged by nutritionistsaround the globe for its positive

benefits as part of a balanced diet.The versatile fruit and its oil havebeen found to reduce cholesterolas well as impart their distinctivetaste to Mediterranean cuisine.

Ever since health experts ac-knowledged the benefits of oliveoil, cookery books have incorpo-rated it wherever possible intoGreek and hybrid recipes, to re-place butter, margarine, or less in-teresting cooking oils. The use ofextra virgin olive oil is best suit-ed for salads and as a dip withspices, for its finesse, smooth char-acteristics, and low acidity. It canbe used either raw or in cookingto add flavor, aroma, and taste.

In Greece, as elsewhere in theMediterranean region, good oliveoil is as revered as fine wine. Lo-cal producers have turned the pro-duction of olive oil into somethingof an art form.

In recent years, this has beentranslated into export success asforeign demand for quality localproduce soars. In some markets,Greek oil is typically less expen-sive than products from otherMediterranean producers.

Tastes great and it’s good for youOLIVE OIL

producers have been promotingwines under the Appellation d’O-rigine Controlee (AOC) mark, astrict quality control measureadopted by international wine mak-ers worldwide. The Greek WineFederation and the governmenthave been keen sup-porters in the ongoingquest for quality.

Greece’s wine re-gions are scattered farand wide across themainland and through-out the islands. The di-versity and quality ofthe wine results fromthe varieties of grapes used, the dis-tinctive qualities of the soil, the lo-

cation, and theclimate.

On themainland,

chief wine growing areas includeMacedonia, Epiros, Thessalia,and the Peloponnese. TheAegean islands, Crete and theIonian islands—notably Ke-falonia, of Captain Corelli’sMandolin fame—are also ma-

jor wine areas. Thelandscape is ideal forunique micro climacticconditions favoring thecultivation of localgrape varieties.

The combination ofa mild climate, plentyof sunshine, and lowrainfall makes soils of

moderate fertility and small cropsof excellent quality for produc-ing red, white, and rose wines.

Greek wine has entered a newphase in its history. It is time forthe rest of the world to sit up and

take notice, according tolocal producers.

Sunny climateand fertile soils

create idealconditions forcultivation of

distinctive localvarieties

Greece is the world’s biggestexporter of extra virgin oil

Wine is believed to have been produced in Greece since 4,000 BC

A former Mayor of Athens heads a newgovernment campaign to increase visitornumbers to 18 million within four years

DIMITRISAVRAMOPOULOSMinister of Tourism

Continued on page 10




Major driveto boostvisitornumbersandinvestment

wards this country. Americans aretravelers with high expectationsand we need to accommodate theirneeds,” says Mr. Avramopoulos.

He says he understands that somepeople might think of Greece asbeing a long way from the UnitedStates, but urges them not to be put

off. “Today, with the ad-vances in transportation,

the distance factor ismore psychologicalthan real.”

Greece has beautiful natural landscapes, mountains, islands, and historical sites, and the government’s greatest challenge is to capitalize on this diversity

Part of Greece'sappeal is itsunique heritage,from thephilosophy ofthe ancientGreeks to theart of theGreco-Romanperiod

GN

TO

GN

TO

GN

TO

Diversifying to offer tourists a more personalized experience


■ BLESSED with a perfect cli-mate, a host of beautiful islands,and the most extensive coastlineof all Mediterranean countries,Greece is well established as anideal place for a vacation of sun,sea, and fun. Now it is diversi-fying its appeal in a bid to in-crease visitor numbers.

“We are trying to capitalize onour opportunities,”saysHaris Kokkosis, Gen-eral Secretary of theGreek NationalTourism Organization(GNTO). “The tourismof tomorrow will be dif-ferent to what we havetraditionally known.Modern tourism is more personal-ized and tailor-made to suit the in-dividual,” he says.

“People today fly into Greeceat a low price, and then they hire

a car and follow their ownitinerary. We try to cater tothat by providing opportu-nities for a range of cultur-al and recreational activities

and tastes.”The tourism promotion

campaign will target specif-ic sectors. These will includespas and thalassotherapy (pre-

ventative and curative treatmentbased on the therapeutic virtuesof seawater), cultural and urbantourism, convention and businesstourism, eco-tourism and agro-tourism, and marine tourism, in-cluding activities such as divingand yachting.

“We aim to expand the alterna-tive, quality, sustainable tourism

product to a level thatwill be considered partof our national identi-ty” says Mr. Kokkosis.

The GNTO is alsoseeking to promoteGreece as a rewardinglocation for foreign in-vestment in tourism.

“We are trying to promote Greeceas a good place for investmentdue to the modernization that hastaken place because of the Games.We already have a lot of interestfor complex-type tourist invest-ment such as spas, golf course fa-cilities, etc. This is the type ofintegrated development we arelooking for.”

The completion of major trans-port infrastructure projects thisyear will open up new parts of thecountry to tourism development.The western part of Greece is one

such area, with the opening ear-lier this year of the new Rio-An-tirio Bridge linking thePeloponnese with WesternGreece, and with the Ionian high-way, which will link the north-western port of Igoumenitsa tothe city of Patras. To the north,the Egnatia highway, connect-ing west to east, will make Thes-saloniki and its vicinityaccessible.

“There is going to be growth,there is no doubt about that,”says Mr. Kokkosis. “We want to

expand in the urban tourism mar-ket and I believe that we can. Weknow that our main product isstill the islands, but places likeNafplion are coming up.”

The potential of new marketsis being explored. China, Russia,and the Arab states are all beingtargeted for the future.

Attracting tourists from theUnited States is a key objective,and Mr. Kokkosis is confidentmore will come. “We considerthe U.S. to be a major addition-al market for us along with Eu-rope, which is our naturalregional market. I am sure thatwe are going to surpass previouslevels of American visitors oncethe euro-dollar ratio is lowered.”

A major advantage from thepoint of view of appealing to theU.S. market is that Greece is asafe place to visit—a point rein-forced by the incident free stag-ing of the Athens Olympics.

“Greece is one of the few des-tinations where you go out atnight and you do not have tothink about being robbed,” saysMr. Kokkosis. “We want peoplefrom the United States to cometo Greece and invest in long-term tourist developments.”

Greece,” says Mr. Avramopoulos. Attracting U.S. investors and

tourists is regarded as a priority.One area that Mr. Avramopoulosis particularly interested in look-ing into is encouraging Americanfilmmakers to make use of thecountry's spectacular locations.

A Greek tourism office alreadyoperates in New York and there areplans to open new ones in othermajor U.S. cities such as Los An-geles and Chicago.

The overwhelming majority ofvisitors to Greece are Europeans,led by the British and the Ger-mans. Along with other countries,Greece has seen fewer Americantourists since 9/11 and now itis eager to get them to comeback. “Americans in generalfeel very friendly to-

HARIS KOKKOSISGeneral Secretary of the Greek

National TourismOrganisation

■ THE pre-Olympic faceliftgiven to Athens has left the citylooking better than it has for gen-erations. Improvements that mighthave taken years to complete havebeen speeded up in the race to pre-pare for the Games.

The result has been a transfor-mation, aesthetically, environ-mentally, and culturally. Athenshas become a contemporary cap-ital, and life is easier and far morepleasant than it used to be.

A new transportationnetwork has made it

simpler to getaround, with anew metro andtram, ring road,and suburban

railway. Visitors to

the city pass through the new in-ternational airport, EleftheriosVenizelos, which has won wide-spread praise for its standards ofsafety and service since it wasopened in 2001.

Millions of euros have beenspent on revamping the roadsand sidewalks, on restoring citysquares, and on creating newparks and pedestrian districts.The facades of prominent build-ings have been cleaned up andhotel accommodation has beenupgraded.

The beneficiaries of all this ef-fort are, of course, not just Athe-nians themselves, but visitorsas well. Projects to raise thecity’s tourist appeal include thelighting of ancient monuments,

the opening and renovation ofmuseums, and the creation ofEurope’s largest archeologicalpark, in which visitors can strollfrom one ancient site to anoth-er untroubled by traffic.

For too long Athens has beenregarded as a stopping off pointfor visitors who are on their way

to the islands but cannot cometo Greece without seeing its mostfamous monument, theParthenon. With its brand newlook, Athens—Europe’s oldestcontinuously inhabited city—now has a far greater claim tobeing regarded as a place worthvisiting in its own right.

Spruced up capital is backon the tourist map

ATHENS

Built between 447- 432 BC as a temple to Athene, the Parthenonis one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions

Completion ofinfrastructure

projects isopening up new

parts of thecountry totourists




The Mediterranean Destination

experience all atwww.saniresort.gr

630 77 Kassandra, Halkidik i , GreeceTel: +30-23740-99.500, Fax: +30-23740-99.509

Sunny Rhodes has modern conference facilities to accommodate up to 20,000 guests

Private sector hopes for tourism take-off following success of Athens Olympics

■ ONE of the largest islands inthe Aegean Sea, Rhodes is one ofthe most popular holiday desti-nations in Greece, and is fast es-tablishing itself as acenter for business andcommercial tourism.

An island of greatnatural beauty with afamously sunny climate,Rhodes caters to alltypes of tourist activity.Luxury hotels offer everything fromcasinos to state-of-the-art confer-ence facilities.

George Giannopoulos is theMayor of the City of Rhodes, thelargest city in the Aegean, with apopulation of 70,000, and oncehome to one of the seven wondersof the ancient world, the Colossusof Rhodes. He explains how the

island targets both business andleisure travelers.“In the beginning,what we were selling was sea andsun. Then we added a vivid

nightlife. What wasmissing, however, waspromotion of the othercomponents of touristdevelopment, whichwere already here.”

The city authoritiesnoted the flourishing

market for business congressesand conventions in Europe andthe United States. “We thoughtthat we were eligible for that typeof tourism and we decided thatwe had to help the private sectordevelop the product. Right now wepossess some of the biggest, mostmodern and better designed con-gress halls in the Balkans,and,I dare

say, in Europe.”Today Rhodes

can accommodateup to 20,000 con-gress guests in acombination of ho-tels,which includedeluxe institutionssuch as the GrandeAlbergo della RoseHotel, Casino Ro-dos, and the HotelRodos Palace.

The island has anarchaeological mu-seum and a modern

art museum. The municipality plansto enlarge the golf course from 18to 27 holes, and to build a mari-na able to accomodate up to 500ves-sels, for which it has been seekingan international partner.

The elegant Grande Albergo del-la Rose Hotel dates back to 1927,and while it’s most recent refur-bishment was in 1999, it retains thesplendour of an earlier age.

Enrico N. B. Aidan, Chairmanof the Board and Managing Di-rector of Casino Rodos, says hishotel aims to provide clients withan experience rarely found in anypart of the world today. This in-cludes providing a 24-hour per-sonal butler service for each ofthe hotel’s 33 suites.

“The idea is to attract top in-ternational people and to offerthem an unbelievable experience,”Mr. Aidan explains.“Our roomsupstairs are fabulous, and the at-tention to detail is extreme.”

The Rodos Palace Hotel boastsnearly 800 guest rooms and a

5,000-seat conference center. An-donis Cambourakis, the hotel’sowner, says, “We would verymuch like to see people flying longhaul to come and visit Rhodes,even for three days. We look for-ward to our visitors returning here.Our leitmotiv is: come again.”

Mayor Giannopoulos wants toattract more visitors to Rhodesfrom the United States. He says,“We have to find alternative waysand packages which would be at-tractive to the Americans. If theyhave not been to Rhodes they donot know what they are missing.”

■ CALLS for bold decisions toboost tourism have come fromthe private sector, which is rep-resented by the non-govern-mental, non-profit Associationof Greek Tourist Enterprises(SETE). Stavros Andreadis, theAssociation’s President, is opti-mistic that, with the new gov-ernment’s focus on the industry,Greece will be able to attract anincreasing number of visitors.

“Today, we can see positivesigns,” says Mr. Andreadis. “Wehave a very strong core productbut in the past we have not de-veloped it in the way we should.According to the World TradeOrganization, Greece ranks tenthcountry in terms of income stem-ming from tourism. This suggeststhat we have many opportunitiesfor future development.”

Hopes are high that the indus-try will take off following the fo-cusing of world attention onGreece during the AthensOlympics. “The Games have beena great opportunity for people allover the world to see what Greeceis like,” says Mr. Andreadis.

Established in 1991, SETE’sobjective is to ensure an ongo-ing improvement in the qualityand competitiveness of Greektourism. The association is com-prised of businesses from acrossthe industry, including hotels,travel agencies, shipping com-panies, and airlines.

The association wants to see in-centives to attract investment in-to the sector. Mr. Andreadis alsohighlights the need to developspecialized tourism and for en-vironmentally friendly policiesthat conform to the principles ofsustainable development.

“Over the last 40 years we haveseen vigorous and uncontrollabledevelopment of tourism in Greecethat has caught Greek govern-ments unprepared,” he says. “We

need to develop a long-term strat-egy. We need to decide on howmany people will be coming andwhere they will be spread insidethe country.”

SETE has been analyzing thepotential of the industry in coop-eration with international con-sulting firms. “We have studied thecompetitors and proposed a strate-gic plan for the development ofGreek tourism up to 2010.”

The association would like to

GEORGES GIANNOPOULOSMayor of Rhodes

ENRICO N. B. AIDANChairman and ManagingDirector of Casino Rodos

ANDONIS V. CAMBOURAKISOwner of the Hotel Rodos

Palace

The Rodos Palace Hotel boasts a 5,000-seat conference center

Avis Hellasbenefits froma recognisedbrand nameand leads thecar rentalmarketin Greece

Casino Rodos offers guests a unique, personalized service

Rhodes Island is carving itself a niche in thebusiness tourism market

see an increase in year-round ac-tivity, extending Greece’s appealbeyond the traditional summerperiod. Mr. Andreadis says thatinvestment is needed in golfcourses, spas, conference cen-ters, and marinas, to heighten thecountry’s competitiveness in theinternational tourism market.

“Greece has a great number ofvery good hotels. The infra-structure in the country has im-proved and we can compete with

our European neighbors. Whatwe need to improve is the train-ing of our people; we have to in-vest in the human factor.”

He adds that, since the touristindustry is rooted in small unitsinvestment should focus on de-veloping the necessary humanresources through vo-cational schools andspecialized universitydepartments.

Mr. Andreadis callsfor high qualitytourism and practices,which he preaches asPresident of SANI.The company owns the 1000-acreSani Resort in Chalkidiki, 45 milesfrom Thessaloniki. “Our aim is todevelop our resort to the higheststandards of service,” he says.

The resort boasts four hotels, aconference center, private villas,leisure and sports facilities, anda marina with berths for 220yachts. Plans are being made fora new conference center and agolf course.

Car rental company Avis Hellasis the market leader in Greece,with

45 years of experience and a com-prehensive network of rental loca-tions at all major tourist and businessdestinations on the mainland andthroughout the principal islands.

Alkis Pettas,Chairman and Man-aging Director of Avis Hellas, seesa challenge in competition from a

fragmented market butbelieves that Avis’s rep-utation gives it the edge.“All companies possessbrand new fleets, but wepossess the culture,” hesays. “We set a certainstandard, our safety reg-ulations are more up to

date and all our systems are moreadvanced.

“We benefit from our brandname. The long haul customerswish to be served by a recog-nized firm and feel that they getvalue for their money.”

Mr. Pettas sees potential for thefuture in the car leasing business.“At present, leased cars accountfor no more than around 20% ofthe total business fleet in Greece.This means that there is a largemargin for growth.”

ALKIS PETTASChairman and ManagingDirector of Avis Hellas

STAVROS ANDREADISPresident of Sani

and President of SETE

Industry callsfor a long-term

strategy toboost Greece’scompetitivenessin the marketfor visitors

Accomodationis available forup to 20,000

congressparticipants on the island

The 1,000-acre Sani resort in Chalkidiki includes four hotels, private villas, a conference center. and a marina with berths for 220 yachts


■ THE early Olympic Gameswere regarded as celebrations ofculture as much as sport, and any-one who watched the spectacularopening ceremony at the AthensOlympics will have been im-pressed by the attempt to contin-ue the tradition.

An important part of the lega-cy of the Games is the wealth ofcultural projects that has accom-panied them. The New Democ-racy administration aims to buildon that legacy and has ambitionsfor Greece to regain its ancientrole as a regional hub for cultureand education.

“Greece can play the role of astrong cultural reference point,not only for itself but for theBalkans, southeastern Europe,and the Mediterranean,” saysChristos Zachopoulos, SecretaryGeneral of the Minister of Cul-ture. “It can promote stronger di-alog between east and west.”

The importance being attached

to culture by the newadministration ishighlighted by thePrime Minister’sdecision to under-take the office ofMinister of Culturepersonally. Themove is seen asguaranteeing the im-plementation of anew policy thatgives more promi-nence to the arts.

The governmentis taking a more fo-cused and coordi-nated approach thanany of its predeces-sors, bringing to-gether all culturalheritage and devel-opment projects un-der the umbrella ofa Unified CulturalNetwork. Mr. Za-chopoulos com-pares the realizationof its goals to amarathon. “It is along distance race in which manyactions and policies need to be putin place,” he says.

The ideas and vision of ancientGreece have had a powerful in-fluence on the way the country isperceived abroad ever since thetime of Lord Byron. Today, whenGreece is seeking to boost itsshare of the international tourismmarket, the promotion of Greekculture—ancient and modern—is seen as a valuable componentin the bid to attract more visitors.

The government has promisedto build the long-delayed newAcropolis Museum within two

years, at a cost of 129 million eu-ros ($170 million). Athens stillhopes the museumwill one day house thefifth-century BC El-gin, or Parthenon,Marbles, which it istrying to persuade theBritish Museum to re-turn to Greece, possibly on long-term loan.

At a more everyday level, theongoing Melina Project, a jointinitiative by the Ministries of Cul-ture and Education, is promot-ing cultural activities in schoolsand universities, including theater,

visual arts, modern dance, music,photography, and literature. Theproject encourages the develop-ment of practical links betweenschools, artists, and cultural in-stitutions.

A significant contribution tothe promotion of Greek culture ismade by the Alexander S. Onas-sis Public Benefit Foundation,which was established in 1975 tohonor the memory of the son ofthe shipping magnate AristotleOnassis.

The federation operates per-manent educational, cultural, andpublic benefit programs, andawards scholarships, grants andprizes. It also promotes Hellenicculture both inside and outsideGreece, and implements and sup-ports national and internationalprojects in education, the envi-ronment, health, and humanitar-ian aid.

It funded the creation of theOnassis Library for Hellenic andRoman Art at the Museum ofModern Art in New York, and oneof its most important current pro-jects is building a House of Let-ters and Fine Arts for symphonyconcerts, opera, and theater inAthens.

Stelio Papadimitriou, the Foun-dation’s President, says the vi-sion of Aristotle Onassis has beenfulfilled by his successors, who

share the same values.The values of Greekculture itself, he argues,are universal and thefoundation makes a sig-nificant contribution topropagating them.

“Greek culture is vast,” saysMr. Papadimitriou. You cannothelp people to understand whatlife is all about unless you investin the field of humanities, andmost governments do not do this.We believe Greek culture canhelp all people.”



CULTURE The ideas and vision of ancient Greece still have a powerful influence on the way the country is perceived today

Sharing the national heritage with the worldThe government plans to buildon the legacy of the AthensOlympics and make Greece ahub for education and culture

Alexander Onassis, whose memory is honoredby a public benefit foundation named after him

STELIO PAPADIMITRIOUPresident of the Alexander S.

Onassis Public BenefitFoundation

Pledge to buildthe new

AcropolisMuseum within

two years

■ JUST as the ancient Greeks cre-ated the idea of an internationalsporting competition, so they mustalso be credited with giving birthto theater. Without Aeschylus,Aristophanes, Euripides, andSophocles, there would be noShakespeare, Arthur Miller orTennessee Williams.

The origins of drama lie in re-ligious revels in which Greekswould dress in goatskin and wouldsing and play in choruses to wel-come Dionysus, the god of thevine. These would involve singingand dancing, and the telling ofstories. Later the stories came tobe physically acted out.

Early Greek plays limited thenumber of actors, allowing the

chorus to assume a prominentrole. The great playwrights ofGreek tragedy emerged in the fifthcentury BC. The term “tragedy”comes from Greek words mean-ing “goat song.” The origins ofcomedy are more obscure, but thistoo became an important part ofGreek theatre.

Only a fraction of the plays—33 tragedies and 11 comedies—have survived from this highly cre-ative period during which the foun-dations of Western theatre werelaid.

Today an ideal venue to see them,together with more contemporaryworks, is the National Theatre ofGreece in Athens, which celebrat-ed its centenary three years ago.

From the goat song of ancienttimes to the drama of today

THEATER

TEAM IN GREECEProject Management:

Marcos Melo, Alan Pradera and Juliette Frey

The chorus plays a prominent part in classic Greek drama


page 4 page 7 page 9 ourworld · usa today did not participate in its preparation and is not...

Documents