NEWSLETTER OCTOBER20

GREEK TECH FOOD INDUSTRY OUR VIEW: INVESTMENT PROSPECTS TRADE & RECOVERY

The newsletter is a monthly publication of Enterprise , the national investment and trade promotion agency. NEWSLETTER OCTOBER20

Greece has emerged as a regional technolo- gy hub for Southeast Greece emerges as as major multina- tionals from around the world invest in new hi-tech regional technology projects, promising start-ups and R&D initiatives around the hub amid growing country. In the past two years, companies such foreign investment as Cisco, Pfizer, Tesla and EY, among others, have all disclosed plans to invest in tech-related projects in Greece. And in early October, U.S. tech titan Microsoft announced plans to invest in a data center in Greece – it’s first in the region – a project that is expected to Greece has also become home to a fast-growing contribute €1 billion to the Greek economy. start-up scene that has attracted more than €350 million in investment, including from major multina- Under the agreement reached with the Greek tionals like Samsung and Daimler. Investors from government, Microsoft will also provide digi- Japan have also taken an interest in Greece’s start-up tal-skills training programs for some 100,000 scene and earlier this year, Microsoft and another government and private sector workers as well U.S. tech giant, Applied Materials, acquired two as educators and students. Greek tech companies. This summer, German inves- Although a relative latecomer to the digital age, tors have bought out a third Greek-owned start-up Greece has sprinted ahead in the last several headquartered in Dubai. years with a range of initiatives − from tax in- It is estimated that there are around 2,000 start-ups centives to building out broadband infrastruc- in Greece and that the tech industry could soon ture – that have helped propel the country’s make up roughly 10% of the Greek economy. Ac- tech sector to new heights. Most recently, cording to a recent survey by consultancy EY, 15% of Greece rolled out a new e-government plat- foreign direct investment into Greece over the last form, is implementing a strategy to upgrade IT three years was directed at the technology sector, skills in the private sector, and a national tender drawn by the country’s software and engineering for the construction of 5G networks has been talent. According to data, Greece boasts more STEM launched. students and graduates than the OECD average.

U.S. tech giants’ recent activity in Greece

+ Microsoft to build data center in Greece. + Tesla invests in new R&D center in + Pfizer to establish global hub for artificial focused on drive trains. intelligence, big data analytics. + Blink Charging is deploying a network of elec- + Cisco investing in digital hub to develop new tric vehicle charging stations. technologies. + Amazon Web Services to promote e-govern- + Microsoft acquired SoftoMotive in Athens. ment, digital infrastructure, cloud skills educa- tion. + Applied Materials acquired Think Silicon in Patras. NEWSLETTER OCTOBER20 news in

Medical Stockpile Port Privatization Greece has been named as one of six host Four bidders have expressed interest in acquir- states for the ’s new medical briefing a 67% stake in the northern port of Alexan- equipment strategic reserve. The stockpile, droupolis, according to Greece’s privatization that was set up in the wake of the coronavirus agency. Seen as an emerging energy and trans- pandemic and is financed by the European portation hub for the region, the port is one of Commission, aims to build up stocks of vital the centerpieces of Greece’s privatization drive medical equipment to be distributed across this year. Europe during medical emergencies. Casino Project Greek Budget Greece’s gaming commission has named the Greece’s economy is expected to rebound U.S.-Greek joint venture of Mohegan Gaming sharply next year with GDP forecast to grow 7.5% & Entertainment and GEK Terna as preferred in 2021, according to the Greek government’s bidder to build and operate a luxury casino resort draft budget. The primary budget is expected to on the site of the old Athens airport at Hellenikon. record a modest deficit of equal to 1% of GDP. A The move marks a major step forward in the €8 separate forecast by the International Monetary billion redevelopment of the site. Fund sees the Greek economy growing 4.1% next year and a balanced primary budget. Enterprise Greece’s webinars Enterprise Greece organized two webinars in Greek Islands October. The webinar "Doing Business in South Four Greek islands – Folegandros, Zakynthos, Korea - COVID 19 Challenges and Opportunities" Crete, and Mykonos – were voted among the 35 was held in collaboration with the Office of best in the world, according to the Condé Nast Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Greek Traveler 2020 Reader’s Choice Awards Survey. Embassy in Seoul on 21 October 2020. South Readers also named six Greek resorts among Korea is an important strategic market for the Top 30 in Europe. Greece, and Enterprise Greece has been building the trade relationship between Greece and South Renewable Energy Korea for several years already. Greek products Greece has the potential to be one of the with particularly positive prospects are food and leaders of the energy transition in Europe by beverages, construction materials such as marble 2030, moving away from a heavy reliance on and aluminum products, and furs. fossil fuels and shifting towards renewable energy, according to the report BloombergNEF The second webinar was organized on 14 Octo- Greece Market Outlook. Economics alone can ber 2020 in collaboration with the Office of Eco- drive Greece’s power sector to more than 90% nomic and Commercial Affairs in Berlin and was renewable electricity by 2050, the report said. entitled “Doing Business in Germany – COVID 19 Challenges and Opportunities”. Germany, is the Solar Power second largest export market for Greek products Greek state-controlled refiner Hellenic Petroleum and is of particular importance to Greek export- has completed the acquisition of a 204MW ers. This year, amid the pandemic, Greek Food & solar power project in the coal-producing Beverage exports to Germany rose 33.3% while region of Western Macedonia. The investment the Greek building materials sector increased by underscores the company’s efforts to diversify 6%. Other sectors of interest include Industrial its energy portfolio ahead of its planned privat- Equipment and ITC. ization, and coincides with Greek government efforts to help the region transition to cleaner fuels. NEWSLETTER OCTOBER20

Greece’s food conglomerates are seeing re- Helping the industry has been the relative newed prospects amid rising exports and after strength of Greek food exports, particularly to struggling through a years-long downturn upmarket European and Asian consumers. Sup- during the country’s recent financial crisis. porting that momentum, Enterprise Greece this In the last 12 months, investor interest in com- month held two webinars for exporters to Ger- panies such as Vivartia, Creta Farms and Nireus many – where Greek food exports are up 11.7% have underscored the sector’s promise this year – and to South Korea, where and resilience. But it also follows a Greece has seen a 69.3% jump. difficult and wide-ranging re- In September, Greek dairy organization in the indus- products company Kri re- try. ported a record quar- In September, pri- terly performance on vate equity fund strong yoghurt ex- CVC Capital Part- Greek food ports, while rival ners – which has dairy company invested in a Dodoni has also range of Greek conglomerates see signalled strong assets – offered prospect for to buy Vivartia, overseas sales Greece’s leading fresh prospects, this year. Greek food conglomer- snack food ate. A month earli- maker, , al- er, Greek meat prod- investor interest ready active in 56 ucts company Creta countries, has been Farms changed owner- expanding its pres- ship as part of a compa- ence in the U.S. ny-wide restructuring. Rival meat processor Nikas, emerg- ing from its own four-year restructuring, returned to profit in September after reporting a more than 40% jump in first half sales. And this spring, Spain’s Andromeda Seafood completed its acquisition of Greece’s struggling fish farming company Nireus following a protracted debt re- structuring.

Sou rce: Comp a ny website s NEWSLETTER Our View is an occasional column by Enterprise Greece staff on new and noteworthy events in the world of Greek OCTOBER20 exports, investments and the economy. COMING UP NOVEMBER

• Tech Tuesdays (new series, starts November 3) Christos Skouras Director of International and Institutional Affairs • China International Import Expo (Nov. 5-10)

• Resort & Residential Hospitality Forum, Our View: Free trade and Portugal, web-based (Nov. 9-10) • Greek Nordic Trade Week, online F&B trade economic recovery event (Nov. 9-13)

Global markets are an important source of growth for European small- • Thriving in the Storm, webinar organized by and medium-sized companies. And small businesses hold the key to Enterprise Greece for innovative tech Europe’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. companies (Nov. 10) But the global health crisis has also brought worrying signs of protec- tionism in world trade. European authorities and national governments • Cosmoprof Asia (Nov. 11-13) will have to work hard to ensure free trade and a healthy business en- vironment where SMEs will be able to flourish. • Virtual.MEDICA, medical equipment & supplies trade fair (Nov. 16-19) That effort has already begun. To support SMEs – the backbone of the European business ecosystem – the European Commission has just • Doing Business in Saudi Arabia -Covid 19 launched its new Access2Market portal. The portal is a new tool to Challenges & Opportunities– 3rd week of help SMEs navigate the EU’s more than 70 trade agreements around November the world.

And earlier in October, Enterprise Greece organized a special online • The Big 5 Digital Festival Global, building conference with experts from the Commission, the World Trade Or- supplies trade fair (Nov. 23-26) ganization, the International Finance Corporation, the Internation- al Trade Centre and BusinessEurope, to examine trade policy in the post-Covid world. Europe’s trade promotion organizations operate at the nexus of small businesses and free trade. It will be their mission now to ensure Eu- rope’s economic recovery. Economic recovery will depend on free trade CONTACT US To learn more about the many World trade and investment and trade opportunities Greece offers, visit us today at protectionism in the www.enterprisegreece.gov.gr

post-COVID era 109 Vasilissis Sophias Avenue 115 21 Athens GREECE T: +30 210 335 5700 Email: [email protected]

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Sour ce: Enterprise Greece