Pankin: The pandemic may work in Greece’s favor

More than ten Greek projects, with a total budget of about 850 million euros, are being considered for financing in the years 2021 and 2022 by the transnational Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, in the sectors such as gas distribution, electricity, infrastructure and the financial sector, according to its chairman, Russian economist Dmitry Pankin.

He added that the Bank has ambitious plans to further increase its portfolio in Greece, which during the difficult year 2020 was the second largest borrower among the 11 shareholder countries of the Black Sea, with a share of 18.4%. Mr Pankin announced that a tender is immediately announced for the purchase of a plot of land in Thessaloniki, where the privately owned building of the facilities of the BSTDB will be built, after waiting 22 years (since these permanent facilities, fulfill a commitment of the Greek government, that had been pending since the establishment of the Bank in 1999).

Mr. Pankin also expressed the assessment that the pandemic may work in favor of Greece: on the one hand, the country's reputation in international markets has improved, thanks to the way the pandemic crisis was managed. On the other hand, the pandemic may contribute to the attraction, in Greece, of a high level of human talent, as remote work is now a common practice and Greece offers a pleasant living environment.

"I think it is important for Greece that you no longer need to live in Frankfurt, or London to work for a large company. You can do the same job from Halkidiki, where the living environment is more pleasant. "I think many people will prefer to work in Greece and this kind of change in the labor market is favorable for the country," he said in an interview with news outlet AMNA, adding that developments...

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