Prem Watsa: Make Greece business-friendly

In an interview with Kathimerini, Indo-Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, head of Fairfax Financial Holdings, expresses optimism that Greece can achieve a strong economic recovery in the coming years.

Apart from Eurobank and Grivalia Properties REIC, a Greece-based real estate investment company, Watsa has also invested in the Eurolife ERB insurance group and other companies.

The country's positive economic outlook prompted his decision to move ahead with the merger of Eurobank and Grivalia, a move that will allow the bank's big pile of nonperforming loans to be reduced at a faster rate, while boosting its capital base. In that context he notes that the plan will be completed with no need for additional capital.

"Given the depression that Greece has gone through, I do not think it is overly optimistic to expect the economy to recover significantly over the...