Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund

By Sharon R Smyth, Nikos Chrysoloras and Paul Tugwell

Greece will proceed with the sale of stakes in strategic assets such as the port of Piraeus and 14 regional airports this year, according to Greek officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Greece's leftist government has said that future proceeds from privatizations would be diverted to pension funds instead of debt repayment ? a move the country's creditors are likely to oppose.

By Vangelis Mandravelis

Corporate executive Stergios Pitsiorlas is expected to be appointed the new head of state sell-off fund TAIPED next week as the first changes to the fund?s board are about to be implemented.

By Vangelis Mandravelis

On Wednesday, just days after asking the top executives of sell-off fund TAIPED to quit their posts, Alternate Finance Minister Nadia Valavani surprisingly called on them to stay on until further notice and to postpone any significant decisions on privatizations for at least two to three weeks.

Greece does not plan to undo privatizations that have already been completed but will only reassess state divestments that were in the previous government's pipeline, a government official said on Thursday.

"We will not cancel completed privatizations," the government official who declined to be named told Reuters.