Its six pillars National Strategy for the Development of the Greek Capital Market were presented at a special event at the Fourth, the project is characterized Ministry of Finance is vital to the national economy and financial stability and is funded by the European Union.

As the Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras, investors have confidence in Greece again, as evidenced by the fact that the Athens Stock Exchange recorded the highest international yield since the beginning of 2023, and Greek bond spreads recorded the biggest decline in the eurozone since July 2022, when the European Central Bank began its interest rate hike cycle . Added to this positive climate for the Greek market is the planning of a comprehensive strategy that “could make Greece a regional financial center in Southeast Europe”, stressed Mr. Staikouras.

As part of the actions already taken by the Greek Government in this direction, and with the technical assistance of the European Commission, the development of an integrated national strategy continues. The European Commission, the Capital Market Commission, the Athens Stock Exchange Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development – EBRD, the Bank of Greece and the Committee for Standardization and Audit of Accounting (ELTE) participated in the development of the strategy.

The six pillars of this project were analyzed by Mr. Michalis ArgirouChairman of the Council of Economic Experts under the Ministry of Finance, namely:

1. Continue to strengthen the regulatory framework for the capital market. This will be done through a series of actions, such as improving the institutional framework of the supervisory authorities, continuous evaluation and, if necessary, improving the procedures for handling complaints/claims, expanding the powers of the Capital Market Commission to play an even more active role, strengthening the effectiveness of regulatory procedures and improving the judicial framework.

2. Expansion of investment opportunities and development of FinTech and ESG ecosystems with the creation of an expert committee on digital finance. This component includes an action plan for the Athens Stock Exchange to reintegrate it into a mature market.

Among other things, the implementation of the law on corporate governance is being sought in large non-listed companies.

3. Fair and transparent taxation system. As already announced by the Ministry of Finance, from January 1, 2024, it is implementing two tax cuts: a) capital accumulation tax – from 0.2% to 0.5% with a fiscal value of 21.6 million euros, and b) financial transaction tax – to 0.1% from 0.2% at a fiscal cost of EUR 21 million. Also progressing is the harmonization of taxation of corporate bonds for all investors worth €7 million and the provision of incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises to enter the stock market with a 100 percent deduction of implementation costs from the tax, worth €1.6 million.

4. Improvement of the operating system. This is facilitated by the simplification and digitization of procedures, the extension of the scope of the Corporate Governance Law to large non-listed companies, and the development by AXA of a competitive structure for an alternative market to facilitate the entry of small and medium-sized companies into the market, as well as the simplification/reduction of costs for input for companies in general.

5. Stimulation of demand for investment. A Capital Markets Committee (CMC) will be established to address the distortions created by the demand-side social security structure. In this pillar, for its part, the Stock Exchange will contribute by expanding the investment field of business angels (private investors who have equity in start-up companies).

6. Acceleration and deepening of work on improving financial literacy through specialized seminars, as well as increasing the level of knowledge of investors and the younger generation, starting with universities.

• During 2023, announcements of the Exchange update.

On a “relevant” issue for the Greek market, the return of the Athens Stock Exchange to the category of developed markets from developing (Pillar 2), Mr. Nikolaos Porphyris, Staff Director of Post-trade Services and International Activities, The Athens Stock Exchange Group emphasized the need to comply with a number of quality and quantitative criteria. The condition is an increase in the credit rating of Greece, as well as sufficient capitalization of shares in free float.

In April, MSCI will assess whether Greece meets the criteria (which is assessed as being met), and in June, relevant announcements will follow and whether A.A. can be updated. The FTSE evaluation will take place by September, and announcements will be made later (September). However, as Mr. Porfiris noted, since December 2021, Greece has already met all the quality market criteria for an FTSE rating upgrade.