Public Power Corporation

The buyout of 100% of the shares of Dixons South-East Europe SA by the Public Power Corporation is now at the Hellenic Competition Commission for review, the latter announced on Wednesday. The file was received by the Commission on Monday, it said.

The intention of Public Power Corporation to withdraw a total of 41 power generation units from Crete, the Cyclades and the non-interconnected islands from end-2023 up until 2028 sounded the alarm at the Ministry of Environment and Energy and the competent authorities.

The Greek stock market benchmark came off a 12-week high on Tuesday to post minimal losses, in what was a mixed session that saw banks return to price growth and the majority of stocks heading lower, while turnover remained at Monday's high levels.

The stocks of Greek banks sent turnover at the local bourse soaring on Monday, as they accounted for about 90% of the nearly 400 million euros traded at Athinon Avenue on the day, helped by the divestment of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund from Alpha and National. Prices varied, with winners edging out the losers by the smallest of margins.

The decline of the benchmark at Athinon Avenue continued on Friday for a fourth day in a row, only this time at an accelerated pace and with twice as many stocks declining as those that reported growth. The main index was down by as much as 1.55% at one point during the session, exercising some damage limitation toward the end.

The sharp drop in energy prices compared to last year's nine-month highs reduced Public Power Corporation's spending on energy purchases, natural gas and CO2 emissions by more than 50% in the first nine months of 2023 and led to a 45.4% increase in operating profitability, PPC reported on Thursday.

Our cities look like vast construction sites. This is not because of major infrastructure projects like the metro, for example, where the hassle is "temporary but the benefits permanent," nor is it a new phenomenon. It's been years that Greek cities have been beset by crews digging all over the place.

The main index at the Greek stock market climbed to a new seven-week high on Monday with banks and a few more blue chips leading the rest of the bourse higher on a day of relatively low turnover. The trend of the market remains upward after the previous months' decline, and the year-end window dressing promises even greater gains for local stocks.

Public Power Corporation reached an agreement with British group Currys for the purchase of electrical and electronic goods chain Kotsovolos for 200 million euros. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024, subject to approval by Currys shareholders and Greek competition authorities.

British electricals retailer Currys said it will exit Greece after agreeing to sell its Kotsovolos unit to Greek power utility Public Power Corporation (PPC) for an enterprise value of 175 million pounds (200 million euros).