They put it halfway to convergence with the most developed economies. Hellas investors and financial analysts, thanks to their presentations during the second day of work in Delphi Economic Forum. Having outlined the next steps after stabilization and recovery, they agreed on a trio: stable government – investment level – investment along with reforms.

The message sent from the conference stage by the president and CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings was typical. Prem Watsa: “Greece needs political stability and supportive business policies like now. If he continues like this, he will be fine. Those countries that have these two elements, political stability and pro-business policies, are doing exceptionally well.”

He noted that now the money is coming into the country through attachments which reduce unemployment. He also noted that Greece has one of the best debt profiles in Europe, with low interest rates and long maturities. Consequently, he believes that the country will return to investment grade “after the elections, in the next few months.” The main shareholder of the Eurobank spoke about the excellent state of capital adequacy of Greek banks. He even calculated that they would not be affected by the uncertainty due to financial incidents in the US and Switzerland, stressing that the Greek economy and its banking system have a low base, “which is why Greece is currently the best stock market in the world.” world”.

When asked if it was time for him to sell the bank’s shares, Mr Watsa was adamant that Fairfax still had a long way to go in regards to investing in Eurobank; he paid tribute to his leadership, describing his team as excellent. On this occasion, he explained that Fairfax is aimed at long-term investments and will continue to invest in Greece.

What message did financial analysts and investors send from the Delphi Forum?

The eminent economist also highlighted the stability parameter to continue the reform process. Nouriel Roubini, who spoke about a significant shift in Greek economic policy over the past three years. “However, the work is not over yet,” he said characteristically, focusing on three main areas for modernizing the Greek system: modernizing the public administration, reforming the judiciary, and attracting innovation more effectively – he stressed that in today’s knowledge economy and technological ingenuity, Greece needs more business innovation such as start-ups.

Mr. Roubini also focused on geopolitical challenges that can jointly shape the country’s development prospects, to the point that they turn into real threats. In particular, he referred to the “economic mess” in which Turkey finds itself, pointing out the danger that after the elections the neighboring country will bring its internal problems into bilateral relations with Greece. Referring to the international environment, he described a scenario of stagflation, i.e. low growth and high inflation, which is also due, in his opinion, to structural factors – population aging, climate change, difficulties in switching to clean energy, globalization, which will eventually ultimately increases the cost of production. He highlighted the risks associated with large volumes of global debt.

The former head of the International Banking Union spoke of significant progress in the Greek economy, which impresses investors around the world. Charles Dallara, which was distinguished by high growth rates, good financial discipline and effective management of the funds of the Recovery Fund. However, he stressed that many of the country’s structural problems have not yet been resolved.

The fact that Greece is one level below the investment level was mentioned by the economic adviser to the prime minister, Alex Patelis, emphasizing: “When you don’t have it, you are called junk. For many investors, this is important because the law prohibits them from investing in countries that do not have it.” When asked why the rating agencies still do not give such a desired increase, because they say that the economy meets the standards, he pointedly replied: “Obviously, because we have elections.”