Delays in major projects make investors reluctant

The Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) has again warned that overtaxation could keep the country's growth rates at subdued levels, while the obstacles the government is putting in the way of big investment projects such as the Halkidiki gold mines (Eldorado Gold) and the development of the former airport at Elliniko (Lamda Development) serve as a deterrent to other would-be investors.

In its monthly bulletin, SEV forecast that the economic recovery will strengthen in 2018 and 2019, but "the risk of remaining on a course of anaemic growth persists, as overtaxation puts pressure on incomes and consumption."

The bulletin, issued on Monday, adds that, "at the same time, various bureaucratic and licensing obstacles that the government creates or finds hard to overcome are reversing the planning and implementation of emblematic investments that enjoy international...