Investments 32 billion euros by 2025 will attract five key sectors of the economy that are the main pillars of the country’s development, mobilizing financing of 24 billion euros from banks. These are the sectors that, according to the managing director of Eurobank Phocaean Caribbean they will create an investment spring, which, according to the bank’s forecasts, will prevail in the country in the coming years, against the backdrop of a slowdown or even recession trend that will be characteristic of the European economy. In 2023, investment, which the bank predicts will increase by 15%, will continue to be the main driver developmentappreciated by Mr. Caravias, noting as separate elements a qualitative shift in research and innovation projects, as well as a reversal of the deindustrialization trend of the country, which dominated in previous years.

5 main pillars

The main pillars that will “pull the growth car”, as described by the management of the Eurobank, are:

1) Infrastructure, real estate and urban regeneration, which will require funding of 5.5 billion euros and will contribute, among other things, to the renewal of the tourism product.

2) Energy, Green Transition and Decarbonization, which will require €7 billion in funding, aimed not only at Greece’s energy independence, but also at the possibility of its emergence as an exporting regional power.

3) Telecommunications and digital modernization, which will absorb 3 billion euros of funding and make our country a center of innovation, and will also contribute to the renewal of the tourism product.

In 2023, they will be strengthened by 15%, according to the bank’s forecasts.

4) Tourism through the modernization of hotel complexes and the creation of wellness structures, which will absorb funding of 4.5 billion euros.

5) Industry and modernization of the production network, which will require funding of 4 billion euros.

Building on plans for Eurobank, which management says aims to become a “growth bank,” Deputy CEO Konstantinos Vassiliou noted that net credit expansion, that is, new loans after maturity, in its large, small, and medium-sized enterprise segment, the bank, which deals with enterprises with a turnover of more than 5 million euros is approaching 5 billion euros in the period 2020-2022, with 50% of this amount occurring in 2020. Over the next three years, an additional net credit expansion of €3.5 billion is envisaged, an amount that raises the growth rate of credit expansion to 86% for the period 2020-2025. or 15% on an annualized basis.

The aim of the investments being launched is a holistic approach, i.e. the unification of a common development plan, since, as Mr. Vassiliou stated, there is no point in financing RES if we are not building networks and interconnections, or financing airports if we are not building a road network at the same time to facilitate visitor access. The investment, according to Eurobank Deputy Managing Director Andreas Athanasopoulos, will have a multiplier effect on the economy, boosting small business growth, which is also a key element of the bank’s financial targeting, with loans totaling 2.5 billion euros.

The EBRD has estimated that the potential impact of interest rate hikes will begin to be felt around the end of 2023, but it is noted that they will not affect the country’s investment prospects, as the Recovery Fund offers loans at a fixed and competitive interest rate. an interest rate for the life of the investment, offsetting any impact, which the bank estimates will be lower than in other European countries. According to Mr. Vassiliou, credit spreads have decreased over the previous 3 years by 1% and are expected to decrease by 0.3%-0.5% in the next 3 years.

Listing the sectors and major projects in which the EBRD plays a leading role or participates in financing together with other banks, Mr. Vassiliou mentioned, among other things, a financing plan of 1.1 billion euros for Athens Airport and 960 million euros for regional airports, road networks (1,312 kilometers have already been implemented and another 2,561 kilometers will be co-financed over the next four years), and new investments include projects such as Hellenic Open Fiber’s €350 million expansion of the fiber optic network, ultra-fast broadband access projects through PPP, new projects 6 GW RES in the next three years, including a 327 MW RES project by TERNA Energy and the construction of a photovoltaic park in the Thessaly region by ELZET in the amount of 200 million euros, Technoform industrial investment in the battery sector of 76 million euros, etc. .