Economy of Greece

Six candidates have expressed their interest in a tender to buy Larco General Mining & Metallurgical Company assets, including the leasing of the mining complex in Larymna.

According to information, the six candidates were: GEK Terna, Tharisa Plc, Mytilineos Group, Solway Investment Group, Trafigura Group Pte, and Commodity and Mining Insight Ireland Limited.

The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund SA (TAIPED) announced on Monday that six interested parties have submitted expressions of interest for the lease of a number of Larco General Mining & Metallurgical Company assets, namely its Larymna smelting plant, the Larymna and Loutsi mines and relevant mining rights, and other assets owned by the Greek state.

The market's focus on the sovereign bond issue left the field wide open for sellers on the local bourse - and they took full advantage of it. Stocks suffered significant losses, again led by the bank sector. It had been expected by many that stocks were set to fall in Athens and the rest of Europe, due to rising concerns over vaccine supplies.

Greek stocks suffered extensive losses at the end of the week, underperforming their peers across most of the continent. While the prospect of the share capital increases in banks takes its toll on the local market in general, the trend for sales was universal, affecting even the majority of small-caps.

A mixed Wednesday on the Greek bourse saw gainers edge out the losers and provided the benchmark with just enough fuel to climb back above the 800-point level, thanks mainly to the growth of bank stocks for the second day in a row.

The impressive rebound by bank stocks led the benchmark at Athinon Avenue back up to within sniffing distance of 800 points, and the risers outnumbered the losers by almost three to one. After three days of decline, it was considered about time for this market recovery, as there is no obvious reason for stocks to head lower at this point.

The Greek economy is poised to stage an "explosive recovery" in the second half of the year, with growth at 7% and 5% in the second and third quarter respectively on a quarterly basis, leading up to an annual growth rate of 9.5% in 2022, according to a report by Piraeus Bank, one of Greece's four biggest lenders.

Just like in Tuesday's session, stocks started with gains at Athinon Avenue on Thursday but eventually had to settle for losses. Despite the positive start on Wall Street, the closing auctions at the same time in Athens took the main index lower, beyond -1%, on increased turnover.

The benchmark of the Greek stock market narrowly managed to avoid dropping below the 800-point mark on Monday as investors indulged in profit taking following the recent gains enjoyed by most stocks. All but two blue chips suffered losses, led by banks, in line with most other European markets.

The Greek economy continued to display resilience amid the lockdown, with exports on the rise in November and economic sentiment showing signs of improvement in December.

Despite the problems with the global economy, Greek products continued to find their way to markets abroad, so, excluding fuel, exports in the first 11 months of last year headed higher on an annual basis.