CHINA IS eyeing investments valued at several billion euro in Greek shipping, logistics and airport projects to be discussed during the second visit to Athens in four weeks by a high-ranking Beijing official.
A delegation led by Zhang Dejiang, a Chinese vice-premier, will seal a series of agreements today with local companies, a Greek government official said.
“These concern maritime affairs, telecoms and a project to renovate a landmark tower building in Athens’ port of Piraeus,” the official said.
Deals for joint ventures, charter agreements and shipbuilding deals worth €500 million with Greek shipping companies will also be signed.
Greece is rushing to attract investment from countries with big sovereign wealth funds to help revive economic growth as it tackles an unprecedented fiscal crisis.
China’s state shipping company Cosco already controls a container terminal at Piraeus under a €3.4 billion long-term concession deal. Cosco is expected to make a joint bid later this year with Greece’s state ports company to create a €150million-€200million logistics hub.
Not all attempts to attract Chinese investment have come to fruition. This year, a deal for Chinese banks to buy €20 billion of long-term bonds collapsed when Athens refused to sell a stake in National Bank of Greece, the country’s biggest lender, as part of the agreement. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)
