FDI may have a chance to grow
Amounting to no more than 1 percent of the country?s gross domestic product, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Greece in the period from 2004 to 2010 lagged its European Union peers considerably, an event held in Athens heard on Tuesday.
The EU average stands at 3.7 percent, other Southern European countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy) have a 2 percent average, while neighboring states such as Turkey and Romania enjoy a mean rate of 8.1 percent, the event organized by the Boston Consulting Group and the Hellenic-Dutch Association for Commerce and Industry revealed.
The end result is disappointing and explains to a great extent the problems that the Greek economy is facing, but it does show that Greece has a huge potential to attract more foreign investors.
?This may actually be the best moment for the improvement of the investment climate in Greece,? Dutch Ambassador in Athens Kees van Rij stated. The decline in private consumption and the drastic shrinking in domestic investment mean the state is desperate to hold on to the 37 billion euros? worth of FDI.
