Piraeus Bank

The placement of the state's stake in Piraeus Bank deservedly monopolized interest at Athinon Avenue on Monday, and the huge interest generated boosted the benchmark and most other stocks in the market that climbed to new 13-year highs.

Greek banks eye dividends on a par with the European average in the coming years, pointing to the high profitability fueled by higher interest rates and clearing their balance sheets of bad loans.

In anticipation of the Piraeus Bank placement next week, the Greek stock market had a rather quiet day on Friday, at the closing of another week of gains for the main index at Athinon Avenue, the sixth in a row. The blue chip index and that of banks headed lower on the day, while the majority of stocks and the mid-cap index ended up with gains.

The historic Titania Hotel, near Omonia Square in central Athens, has just changed hands: H Hotels, of the Hatzilazarou family, has spent 74 million euros on acquiring the famous unit from London and Regional in the Greek group's first acquisition outside the island of Rhodes.

Financial consultants UBS, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are conducting critical consultations on the intentions of potential investors in relation to the price they are willing to pay for 27% of Piraeus Bank on behalf of bank bailout fund HFSF. 

Stocks at the Greek stock market continued their mild decline on Wednesday for a second session in a row, with a number of blue chips posting a decline and only a few resisting the pressure that could have brought the benchmark below the 1,400-point mark. The week continues in a quiet mode ahead of next week's expected placement of the state's 27% holding in Piraeus Bank.

Greece will proceed with the complete divestment of the state from Piraeus Bank with the disposition of the 27% it controls through the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF).

Stocks took a dive at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday, though they had largely recovered by the close of trade.

Buyers appeared to skip most of that session, with interest focusing on the upcoming placement of the 27% stake the state still controls in Piraeus Bank, expected in the first week of March.

A crucial milestone is expected in March for the East to Med Data Corridor (EMC) telecommunications submarine cable system, an ambitious project aimed at creating an "international digital highway," where Cyprus, Greece and Saudi Arabia are key components.

The better-than-expected annual results of Coca-Cola HBC and the strong figures of Piraeus Bank gave strong momentum to Greek stocks on Wednesday, which combined with the positive mood across Europe led the ATHEX benchmark to a new 13-year high.