Economy of Greece

Greek bonds outperformed their eurozone counterparts considerably on Monday, with the 5-year Greek note even matching Spanish paper, having received a boost from Greece's upgrade by Fitch Ratings on Friday night.

The investment community recognizes the momentum of the Greek economy, sees the Greek stock market as a stable pillar of growth and gives a vote of confidence to Greek listed companies, according to the managing director of the Athens Stock Exchange group, Yianos Kontopoulos, in an interview with Kathimerini, as he returned from London.

The Greek economy's six challenges in 2024 were the focus of an address by National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis at an event on Monday, although he underlined that Greece has "turned the page."

Labor productivity in Greece remains low compared to Europe, according to the annual report of the Hellenic Productivity Council highlighting a permanent weakness of the Greek economy.

Fitch Ratings added itself on Friday night to the list of rating agencies that have reverted Greece to investment grade, raising its sovereign credit rating to BBB- from BB+.

What is more, Fitch said the Greek rating also has a positive outlook, which may well mean a further upgrade is on the horizon.

The government is proceeding with the expansion of card terminals (POS) in 35 sectors of the Greek economy from January 1, 2024.

According to the draft decision, 100% of economic activity is now covered and immediately after the passage of the tax bill, the conditions and fines for those who do not comply will be made public.

Briefing the press on Friday, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis spoke about the state of the Greek economy, which he described as "very resilient."

November proved to be a very profitable month for the Greek stock market, and not only for bank stocks, whose index soared 12.44%, but also for the benchmark, which has grabbed 6.88% from October 31. The month ended with a high-trade day due to index rebalancing and gains for most stocks, which took the main index to a new 12-week high on Thursday.

The Greek central bank is set to trim its growth outlook for next year significantly in its upcoming December forecasts.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras told Politico that his institution now expects the Greek economy to expand 2.4% this year, and by 2.5% in each of the two subsequent years.

The Greek economy is projected to grow by 2.4% this year and 2% in 2024, rising again to 2.4% in 2025, the OECD said in its economic survey report released on Wednesday.

The Paris-based organization said that Greece's strong economic rebound from the Covid-19 crisis is being put to the test by surging energy and food prices and renewed global uncertainty.