Port of Piraeus

Container traffic at Greece's biggest port in Piraeus contracted 4.4 percent last month, according to data published by Chinese operator Cosco, which showed that the port handled 309,000 cargo containers this July compared with 323,300 in the same period last year.

The first conflict since the privatization last year of Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) has emerged between the Greek state and Chinese group Cosco, the owner of 51 percent of the Athens-listed company.

One in every four employees at the recently privatized Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) has expressed an interest in transferring to the broader state sector.

Business at Greece's two privatized ports, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, could increase the country's gross domestic product by up to 5.6 billion euros a year, a survey by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) has found. The strategic position of Greece's two main ports is seen as crucial for international trade.

There is nothing coincidental about the Culture Ministry's constant interventions in its effort to privatize state assets.

Two Chinese officials will be in Piraeus on Monday to sign a cooperation memorandum between Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), its owner Cosco, and the port of Shanghai, concerning the increase in incoming cargo from China to Europe.

The deal will be signed by China Cosco Shipping Corporation Limited head Xu Lirong and the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) chairman Chen Xuyuan.

The Western Balkans have become China's preferred access point to the EU, and a corridor to Europe's north from the Greek port of Piraeus is being financed by Beijing. But Brussels fears EU rules will not be respected, while in northern countries, big ports resent the competition, EurActiv.com reports.

China Cosco Shipping Corporation Limited chairman Xu Lirong is about to arrive in Athens to sign two memorandums of cooperation, both of which are of high symbolic importance to Beijing. Xu will be joined by the head of the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), the country's biggest port authority.

A few days before Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras heads off to Beijing to take part in the Belt and Road Initiative Forum in search of investors, Chinese group Cosco is faced with a fresh obstacle in its plans to develop the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) as the Ministry of Culture says it wants to acquire OLP buildings.

The improved bid of 231.92 million euros sufficed for the consortium of Deutsche Invest Equity Partners (DIEP) with the subsidiary of France's CMA CGM (Terminal Link) and the Savvidis Group (Belterra Investments Ltd) to win the tender for a 67 percent stake in Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH).