Greece is one of the most attractive, beautiful countries to live, study, work and retire. The country also has one of the biggest and most popular golden visa schemes in Europe.
FDI inflows, strategic investments, revival of property market through golden visas have pulled Greece out of recession, towards positive growth. With economy back on track, Greece will pay €3.7 billion in loans to IMF in the next two years. Greece is also receiving €16bn in direct tourism revenues in 2018
Here are some solid performance indicators of Greece making the country very attractive for investment.
1. Economy
Greece’s economy is forecast to grow by 2.4% this year, according to the latest IMF World Economic Outlook, while the Bank of Greece, in its most recent projections, sees a 1.9% growth rate in 2019. The forecasts confirm that Greece is headed into its third year of economic recovery following 1.9% growth in 2018.
2. Loans
Greece will repay about €3.7 billion in loans to the IMF coming due in the next two years ahead of schedule, marking another milestone in the country’s emergence from its recent crisis. The news helped boost prices on Greek government bonds, sending the yields on the benchmark 10 year sovereign to a 13 year low
3. Tourism
Greek tourism revenue rose by 53.2% in January, signalling a strong year ahead for Greece’s tourism industry. According to the latest Bank of Greece data, January travel receipts totalled €232 million, up from €152 million in January 2018. The rise is attributed to a 40.4% increase in visitor spending and a 9.4% rise in visitors. In 2018, Greece took in €16 billion in direct tourism revenue.
The island of Crete is poised for an economic take off with billions of euros worth of investments planned, including in new infrastructure, tourism developments and privatizations. Crete welcomed more than 5 million visitors last year, representing about one sixth of Greece’s total tourist arrivals.
4. FDI inflows
The net Foreign Direct Investment inflows during 2018 reached € 3,606 million vs. € 3.204 million during 2017, an increase of 12.5%. The year 2018 is the third consecutive year of increased foreign investment flows in Greece after an annual increase of 28.3% from 2016 to 2017 and of 118.5% from 2015 to 2016.
5. Housing
Greek housing prices are seen gradually increasing over the next 12 to 18 months, international credit ratings agency Moody’s said in a recent report. In 2018, housing prices rose an average 1.5%, the first increase in ten years, thanks to the improving macroeconomic environment and high foreign investment in Greece’s residential property sector. Still Greece has the lowest property prices compared to other EU countries, attractiing foreign investors.
6. Golden visas
Greece has issued a total of 4,154 Golden Visas to foreign investors from the program’s inception in 2013 through the end of March this year, according to the latest Greek government data. Last year, Greece issued 1,399 Golden Visas to foreign investors, up from 961 in 2017.
7. Strategic investments
Greece’s inter-ministerial committee on strategic investments is evaluating for approval up to ten new projects worth a combined €2.2 billion, underscoring the growing investor interest in the country. Combined, the ten projects are expected to create 2,200 jobs with the approvals expected to be completed by the end of May. Most of the projects are in tourism assets or renewable energy production.
- Projects of €100m or more are automatically deemed strategic investments.
- Manufacturing projects of minimum investment €15m
- Business Park development projects of minimum investment €5m
- JESSICA program approved projects of minimum investment €5m
- Projects of minimum investment €40m at least new 40 jobs
- Investment projects creating 150 new jobs
- Investment projects creating 600 long-term jobs
- European energy infrastructure Projects of Common Interest
Golden visa scheme also have provisions offering residency against strategic investment in Greece.
8. Belt Road Initiative
The port of Piraeus will be part of BRI connecting Europe to silk road. The foreign ministers of China and Greece signed a Memorandum of Understanding related to further cooperation under the Belt and Road initiative on Aug 29, 2018. Once the belt is open for trade, millions of dollars worth of trade goods, oil, cargo flow through this greek port.
9. Venture capital
Greece has a favorable position in the upper status of European VC rankings and is among the countries performing better than the European average, thanks to a good balance between the tax and legal environments for private equity and venture capital investors, managers and investee companies.
10. Government bonds
Greece successfully issued a new €2.5 billion, 10-year government bond, its first since the country entered its protracted financial crisis in 2010. The bond issue, which was more than four times subscribed, was priced at a yield of just 3.9%, reflecting strong investor confidence in Greece’s recovery and follows just weeks after the country returned to international bond markets with a seven-year issue.
Greece is also expanding golden visa scheme to include Government bonds and other fund options along with real estate.
