Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research

The government has ordered the drafting of a new Growth Plan for the Greek Economy - one that responds to market demand to determine the country's economic model so as to facilitate investment decisions.

Greece's definitive emergence from its financial crisis and the recovery of living standards in the country require considerable new investments, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) said in a report presented on Tuesday, which proposed three policy measures for strengthening bank savings through the capital market.

The rise in demand for properties over the past few months, not just due to interest from foreign buyers and investors but also thanks to an improvement in sentiment among the Greek buying public, has shaken up the residential property market by creating new conditions.

Industrial exports recorded 8 percent growth in the first seven months of the year, with their value topping 8.7 billion euros, according to a report by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).

Consumer confidence climbed to a 19-year peak in September, coinciding with an improvement in the economic sentiment index, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) reported on Tuesday.

It attributed the record levels registered to the post-election euphoria this summer that notably continued into September.

Greece's economic sentiment index shot up to 105.3 points in July from 101 the month before, to reach a high unseen since March 2008, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) said in its latest monthly Business and Consumer Survey, confirming a report from Eurostat on Wednesday.

Economic sentiment in Greece reached its highest point in almost a decade last month, mainly thanks to the results of the May 26 elections that triggered the snap poll this Sunday.

Investment in industry will decrease instead of expanding this year, according to the latest estimate published on Wednesday by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).

Greece has among the highest per capita private spending on pharmaceuticals in the European Union, ranking fifth among the 22 member-states for which there are available figures.
The data, concerning 2016, showed that each Greek spent an average of 171 euros per year on drugs, vaccines, bandages etc, compared to an EU mean rate of 135 euros/year.

The government received on Thursday another warning about the risk that growth rates may fail to rise above the current low level, with investments remaining at half the amount of those in other European countries and the unemployment rate refusing to budge below 15 percent.