ND leader sets task for business

Industrialists on Tuesday asked opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis for bold interventions in the economic sector, and the New Democracy leader responded at the general meeting of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), committing himself to leading the country to growth boosted by investments.

The center-right politician called on businesses to rise to the challenge and show foreign investors that they trust their own country by repatriating corporate funds of 10 billion euros currently sitting in banks abroad.

“The restructuring of the country concerns all of us. That is why we have to tackle it as a bridge we all have to cross together. I therefore expect enterprises to respond to this call for creative patriotism,” Mitsotakis said at the SEV meeting.

“First of all I expect corporate deposits to return to Greece. Today medium-sized and large enterprises have much more than 10 billion euros in banks abroad. That cash ought to return to Greece and support the credit system, bolster its liquidity and feed new investments. Greek businessmen are also asked to show foreign investors that they trust our country,” Mitsotakis said in his speech.

“I further expect flawless adherence to the rules of corporate governance so as to put an end to the isolated but particularly negative examples that unfortunately overshadow the general picture of Greek entrepreneurship [that is transmitted] to foreign markets. Now that the systemic danger is receding from the side of the state, the responsibility of the private sector is growing, and I expect firms to be utterly consistent with their tax and social security obligations,” he added.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was invited to the SEV general meeting on Tuesday too, but did not attend.

SEV also cited the example of 11 special cases of business initiatives in the context of “Greece of the Worthy and Values.” They were Agroknow, Petros Petropoulos, Polyeco, the Zeus cooperative at Pieria, Epexyl, Workable, Athens Partnership, Junior Achievement Greece, Dr Anargyros Mariolis who is the recipient of the WONCA Europe Award of Excellence in Health Care for 2019, Mathesis, and Kivotos tou Kosmou (World’s Ark).