K.M, Charis and the Botanikos, Nikos and…the jaws of Stournaras, the Dendias law for the hospitals, the unknown property of Mykonos

Hello, the Christmas spirit continued yesterday in our politics, with K.M warmly welcoming Mayor Charis along with Christos Protopappas, as well as his own Skertsos and Livanio, who of course are also the Prime Minister’s airport transfers from PASOK. At the meeting, of course, was also Mylonakis with the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Development, Mrs. Oikonomou, to ensure there was at least one New Democrat. These are the things Afrodoula sees, and she complains about the PASOK members who…have flooded the ND, when she should have been asking Mitsotakis who he would accept into the party and the government.

N.A and the…jaws of Stournaras!

Now, we mentioned the Christmas spirit, but Nikolas is a PASOK man, and that never changes. Let me explain, about five days ago, PASOK submitted an amendment proposing an additional 5% tax on banks. Yesterday, the same party submitted another amendment, which didn’t include their proposal for the extra tax on banks (did they forget about it?), and instead proposed a drastic cut in commissions, a measure the government has already announced will be introduced on Sunday by Mitsotakis in the discussion of the budget in Parliament. That could have been it, but in yesterday’s amendment, our leader Nikos took it further, or rather, 35 years back. He proposed the administrative determination of loan interest rates, something that, as we know, has been abolished by the European Central Bank since 1987! Now, I don’t know if former minister Nikos Christodoulakis, who is also a friend of our president N.A, thought of this, but rumors say that the current central banker Stournaras, when he saw yesterday’s amendment…his jaw dropped!

Botanikos, etc.

Well, I did some reporting both with M.M and with the mayor, and they told me that indeed the atmosphere was good to very good between them, because simply, there’s no reason to think otherwise. The main issue, as I understand it, is the redevelopment of Botanikos to give Panathinaikos a stadium, which, between us, could have been resolved years ago with a nice reconstruction of the historic Alexandras Avenue. Back in 2019, the new government and the municipality of Athens had this pharaonic (relatively) project of dual redevelopment as a dream, which we certainly hope won’t turn out to be an illusion because it really is difficult. However, from both sides, it was said yesterday that it will happen, and I believe that since Mitsotakis committed, he will do it. Otherwise, they talked about the traffic, which today might be Athens’ biggest problem. Charis wants to create municipal transport, I don’t know how it will be done, but if it helps reduce congestion, it’s good for Athens, which is clogged and we’ll have a tough time driving during Christmas. They generally talked about other issues, like city safety, the creation of new schools, etc. My source told me that “Doukas fully understands that in order to succeed in the municipality, he necessarily needs to have the government and the Attica Region on his side, as the administrative and legal system is structured, and Mitsotakis doesn’t want the mayor to fail, whoever he is, because he always thinks institutionally.” Now, if there happens to be some separate New Year’s celebration between Hardalias and Doukas, let it be… It reminds me of the good old days when people would go to two nightclubs in the same night. He will start with Bofiliou, more to the left, with Charis, then go to the Melisses at Nikos’s, a few meters further up.

The discussions of Argyrou and Mitsotakis

In Brussels, where he was with Kostis Hatzidakis for the Eurogroup, the news of the promotion of economist and president of the Economic Council Michalis Argyrou to director of the Prime Minister’s Economic Office was found. In fact, after ECOFIN yesterday, he took the train from Brussels to Luxembourg, where the European Investment Bank is based. Argyrou is no stranger to ND, after all, he went there following Kostis Hatzidakis’ suggestion in 2016 and stayed as an economic advisor. He is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Konstantinos Karamanlis Foundation, and he himself identifies as a moderate center-right person, of the “orthodox” approach. I even hear that recently K.M has been discussing with him the practical details of his proposal for “flexibility” within the European framework for those member states that are high spenders on defense, such as Greece. This is the proposal he explained even privately to NATO’s Mark Rutte when he visited Greece a few days ago.

Dendias’ bill for military hospitals

After yesterday’s “dismissals” of the commanders of military hospitals and the health services of the Armed Forces by Nikos Dendias and the Chief of General Staff Houpis, the main reform to follow is the bill for upgrading the services provided by these hospitals. It is already in the General Secretariat of the Government, has been approved by the Cabinet since October (it passed under the radar), and is expected to be introduced for voting in January. In fact, the bill had been prepared before the allegations confirming the existing problem came to light. The “core” is that quality indicators for military hospitals will be introduced in cooperation with the Organization for Quality Assurance in Healthcare (ODIPYAE), based on international scientific standards. Military hospitals will become financially autonomous, while significant changes are expected, such as the establishment of a Training Center and a War Trauma Treatment Unit, a reduction in waiting times for medical specialties, compensation for on-call and night shifts, the possibility of nurses taking on private work, the free choice of private doctors, etc.

European “brake” on asylum

Although the final decision on the asylum procedures concerning Syrian citizens may be taken in the Council of Ministers on Friday, these days, mature decisions have silently been frozen. It’s not that someone can’t apply or that if they have a scheduled interview, it won’t take place, but these days asylum will not be granted. There are over 9,000 Syrians in Greece’s structures, but there aren’t as many “mature decisions.” Essentially, Europe’s (and Greece’s) hope is that many Syrians will voluntarily return. Of course, the “freeze” does not apply to those who have already received a positive asylum decision. In Parliament, the bets are high on which SYRIZA MP will follow Rania Thraskia out in the coming period. Suspicions are turning to Vassilis Kokkalis from Larissa, a “multi-faceted” area where a small party could win a seat in the elections if it passes the 3% threshold. As for Giorgos Gavrilos from Argolida (I’ve talked about the drama of MPs from the provinces who can’t get elected unless they’re in one of the two main parties), he’s not in a hurry to leave SYRIZA, no matter how much he’s concerned.

The battle for the chair at the Growthfund

Recently, a call for applications has gone out for the position of CEO at the Growthfund (or the Hellenic Public Holdings Corporation), which is growing as it merges and absorbs the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) and the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF). By next April-May, it will formally become the National Investment Fund (sovereign fund). The process is being managed by the well-known Stanton Chase, and the deadline for expressing interest is December 11, 2024. The current CEO of the Growthfund, Grigoris D. Dimitriadis, as he stated yesterday in a meeting with journalists, will be a candidate, as will Dimitris Politis, the current CEO of HRADF. Beyond that, many consider it certain that there will be other strong candidates, as well as some not-so-strong ones. The final choice will be made by Stanton Chase, which will present the shortlist to the relevant minister, Kostis Hatzidakis. The Ministry of Finance is the sole shareholder of the Growthfund, and the minister will inform the public about the selection of the new CEO from the proposed shortlist. As you can imagine, the battle for the position of CEO will have many candidates and is expected to be tough. Also, note that in the new structure, the Strategic Importance Contracts Unit (PPF) of HRADF will remain autonomous after the transition to the Fund. There will also be a call for applications for the position of the Special Advisor for the PPF, with the current head, Panagiotis Stamboulidis, wanting to remain in the position.

The management audit at ELTA and the unknown property in Mykonos

With ELTA trying to recover, the troubled and seriously loss-making state-owned company, an order was given to conduct a management audit for the activities of 2021-2022. The audit was assigned to Deloitte, and the Growthfund’s administration (which owns ELTA) revealed that it was completed without any significant findings. Meanwhile, organizing ELTA is far from easy. In terms of results, the organization continued to show losses, reaching 7 million euros in 2023 before taxes (down from 18 million euros in 2022), while equity was negative by 132 million euros. The new management has focused on three areas: reducing operational costs, strengthening commercial activities, and leveraging real estate assets, as many buildings previously functioning as post offices have closed. However, especially in the real estate segment, there is still a long way to go, particularly when considering that a property of the organization in Mykonos ended up operating as a store by a private individual, with the ELTA administration unaware of this… initiative for its utilization.

Performance of Donkey Hotels, the Ioannou family

Donkey Hotels, owned by the Ioannou family, reported improved performance in the 2023 financial year. Specifically, the company, which controls the Athenaeum Intercontinental, Semiramis, New Hotel, Periscope, and Nous Santorini hotels, posted a turnover of 49.61 million euros, compared to 37.11 million euros in 2022, and the final result was a loss of 294,514 euros, down from 1.75 million euros in the previous year, thus significantly reduced compared to the previous financial year. It should be noted that the company reached an agreement with the banks, and the repayment of certain loan obligations totaling 4.5 million euros was postponed to 2024 and beyond. Additionally, in 2024, bondholders exercised their right to convert the 8 million euro bond loan into shares, “thus once again demonstrating their support for the company,” as stated. At the same time, it is emphasized that a realistic program for the expansion and modernization of the hotel units has been implemented, and during 2022 and 2023, the company purchased capital equipment worth 16.9 million euros and launched two new units in Santorini. Furthermore, the management strongly believes that the turnover for 2024 will be significantly higher than in 2023.

Digitization of mortgage eliminations

Those who have taken out a mortgage loan by securing it with their property know how it works. Once the entire loan, including interest, has been repaid, the process of “elimination,” that is, the notorious “paper” for reclaiming full ownership of the property from the bank, is a lengthy, expensive, and truly painful process of months of hassle. A certificate from the bank is not enough. The lawyer must obtain the necessary legal documents with the loan history, submit them to court, agree with the bank’s lawyer, set a trial date, wait for the decision, submit the decision to the Land Registry, and eventually obtain ownership. Now, there is an effort to streamline this process: The Ministry of Digital Governance, in collaboration with the Land Registry and the Hellenic Bank Association, is creating an electronic platform with which the entire procedure will be completed in just a few days, without the hassle for the borrower. Let’s hope…In the first corrective move of the Stock Exchange after 6 consecutive bullish sessions, the transaction value reached 145.7 million euros, but with many large packages worth 18.65 million. The General Index stood above 1,458 points with small losses of -0.4%. Those wanting to lock in their short-term profits have no other option. The banks, which saw a rise of +13% in the previous 6 sessions, also have the highest liquidity in terms of available stocks for buying and selling. That’s where the market game was played yesterday, which is why over 90 million euros of yesterday’s transaction value was focused on the banking sector. PPC, JUMBO, HELLENIC PETROLEUM, and Cenergy closed with positive signs, but they didn’t receive support from the banks and other heavyweight stocks, as neither TITAN nor Coca-Cola showed any inclination for a positive performance.

A professor at OSE

Professor Giorgos Ioannou has been chosen as the head (chairman of the board) of OSE to implement the major effort to unify the railway companies and, most importantly, to bring the train back into the everyday lives of Greeks. Mr. Ioannou is a Professor of Production Management and Business Processes at the Athens University of Economics and Business, Director of the MBA International Program, and Head of the ERP Business Processes and Systems Center at the Laboratory of Management Science. He has served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech, where he directed the Manufacturing Systems Integration Laboratory. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and an M.Sc./DIC in Industrial Robotics/Production Automation from Imperial College, London, United Kingdom.

Gold and bitcoin are the champions of 2024

Anyone who had the insight at the beginning of the year to invest in gold, bitcoin, and the S&P 500 Index simultaneously is now enjoying unprecedented returns. For the first time in history, both gold and the heavy stock market index S&P 500 are simultaneously recording gains of around 30%. Bitcoin surged above 100,000 dollars last week and is now trading above 96,000. The total value of the cryptocurrency market has nearly doubled throughout the year. At one point, it reached close to 3.8 trillion dollars, which is equal to the market capitalization of Apple. The last time we saw gold recording gains of more than +30% in a year was in 2010, immediately after the great economic crisis of Lehman Brothers. For gold, there are data showing who buys and what. Central banks are accumulating gold at a record pace, having bought 60 tons of gold just in October. India bought 77 tons, and Turkey bought 72 tons of gold. Central banks have purchased 694 tons of gold since the beginning of the year. China currently holds 193 billion dollars in gold reserves. China’s gold reserves have increased by 10 million ounces over the past two years. As for bitcoin, the data on mining and savings remain unclear and unofficial. However, there is an obvious investment thirst and a new American government that has officially declared its intention to integrate the digital asset ecosystem into the financial mainstream, with institutional adoption and regulation of daily payments.

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