Investment key driver of post-pandemic recovery for Greek economy: central bank
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E-mail Xinhua, March 3, 2022
ATHENS, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Investment will be a key driver of growth to enable the Greek economy to achieve swift post-pandemic recovery and sustainable development, central Bank of Greece (BoG) Governor Yannis Stournaras said on Wednesday.
The Greek economy experienced the second biggest recession in the Eurozone in 2020, at -9 percent, but recovered in 2021 by 8.8 percent.
For 2022, a growth rate of around 4.7 percent was envisaged before the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Stournaras said at an online seminar on "Investment in Greece post-COVID-19," organized by BoG and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Channeling recovery funds into sustainable investment projects will boost real gross domestic product (GDP) by 7 percent by 2026, he said, adding that Greece also expects increased foreign direct and indirect investment in the coming years.
Investment declined dramatically during the global financial and debt crisis, and has not recovered significantly since, Stournaras said.
In 2020, investment in Greece stood at close to 12 percent of GDP, whereas the Euro area average was almost 22 percent of GDP.
Investment recovered sharply in 2021, and the EIB played an important role in this. Together with the European Investment Fund, the EIB provided support for private and public investment of 4.85 billion euros (5.39 billion U.S. dollars), up from the previous record of 2.8 billion euros in 2020.
Investment must be a driving force in post-pandemic economic recovery, and the EIB will continue supporting Greece on this path, its Director General Luca Lazzaroli said at the online seminar.
According to recent BoG data, Greece saw an impressive increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows in 2021. These reached 5 billion euros, up from 2.9 billion euros in 2020.
"2021 represents a benchmark, with FDI passing the 5-billion-euro mark, which clearly reflects an improved business climate in Greece," Andreas Yannopoulos, founder of the InvestGR Forum for promoting investment in Greece, told Xinhua.
"It is also encouraging that new sectors, especially renewable energy sources (RES), pharmaceuticals and tech, are drawing increased investment. This points to greater diversification in the Greek economy, which is necessary for sustainable growth over the long term," he said. (1 euro= 1.1 U.S. dollars) Enditem
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