Why the Athenian Riviera is filled with Israeli businessmen, radio silence for Sunlight’s gigafactory and what Siamese’s “turn to realism” hides – Economic Post – 2024-03-06 19:27:28

Do you think that the ongoing war in Palestine concerns Greece only in the context of its foreign relations? If you think so, you are wrong. It does not only concern us at the diplomatic level. But on different levels. There is even an economic dimension that has not been “revealed” to its true extent….

Israelis

Yesterday, a prominent businessman, but low profile, was telling me what exactly happens in the buying and selling of real estate in the southern suburbs of Attica. “What is happening in Palestine is not going to end soon. They will take time. Israeli businessmen active in the high-tech sector have already begun to settle – mainly in the southern suburbs. Who by the way do not want to hear the name “Netanyahu”, there is an impressive division in Israeli society. They buy real estate in that area. Today the square meter is sold for 15,000 euros – I have in mind a few dozen such cases. Do you know how much a square meter costs in Tel Aviv? It costs over $40,000! They are currently buying to relocate their businesses. And in the second year they will also transport their families”.

In Larnaca

And he continued by saying that “the same is happening in Cyprus. Just as Limassol became a “Russian colony” in previous years, Larnaca will soon become an “Israeli colony”. In Larnaca, Israeli businessmen are constantly buying real estate.”

The increase

The other day when the issue of the Golden Visa was being discussed in the Parliament, I was impressed by the fact that the president of PASOK/KINAL, Mr. Nikos Androulakis, proposed to raise it from 250,000 euros to 800,000 euros and the Prime Minister, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, accepted it. Something was wrong with me. So I asked and learned that many real estate transactions in the “good areas” of Attica are done with “black money”. And the impressive increase in the value of the Golden Visa – in one night in fact, as the saying goes! – was imposed to limit as much as possible tax evasion in the specific sector. We are talking about a lot of “black money”….

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Sunlight’s gigafactory

Undoubtedly, yesterday, the business news of the day was the deal of businessman Mr. Panos Germanos for the acquisition of Entersoft.

This fact prompted me to look a bit for another investment of a member company of Mr. Germanos’ Olympia Group.

The reason for Sunlight and the large investment project of 1.5 billion euros for the construction of the large factory “gigafactory” for the production of lithium cells in Western Macedonia.

Coal the treasure…?

Let me remind you of the statements made three months ago by the CEO, Mr. Lambru Bisala, who neither more nor less noted the state’s lack of responsibility for undertaking the implementation of the investment, as well as the proposal that Sunlight had from the French government for financial support for the factory if it is manufactured in the country.

So far, both Sunlight and the competent Ministry of National Economy and Finance (N. Papathanasis) have been radio silent…

I want to believe that this particular investment will not have the same luck as the overall project of the regeneration of the regions of Western Macedonia in the context of lignitization. In general, coal is the treasure… of big projects

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Green transition

I will try to solve you, now another mystery. And specifically a phrase from the CEO of HELLENiQ ENERGY, Mr. Andreas Siamisii, during the announcement of the group’s annual financial results. And it was about the role that fossil fuels will have in the green transition.

But before I remind you of Mr. Siamisii’s statement and share with you what I learned to give you a bit of the big picture.

He has read about the green transition as well as about its necessity which is none other than to limit – I say this as simply as possible – further global warming.

So, therefore, the E.E. has set targets for limiting air pollutants and the penetration of RES and alternative forms of fuel.

The path to net zero in 2050 and intermediate high targets for less pollution in 2030 and 2040 has mobilized businesses as well as the international and domestic banking system in green investments.

Some to implement them and others to finance them.

Refineries

Refineries of petroleum products are also running in this green race.

HELLENiQ ENERGY and Motor Oil have already started and are implementing multi-billion euro investments in both RES and green hydrogen as well as alternative fuel production.

Mr. Andreas Siamisiis

Mr. Siamisiis, therefore, considered a specific reference to the text of the conclusions of the recent COP28 as a milestone for the sector. He observed “a gradual change in the until recently one-dimensional approach to the energy sector with a shift to realism, recognizing that petroleum is part of the solution and must contribute more concretely to the energy transition.” According to him, “indicative is the conclusion, formulated so clearly for the first time at the recent COP28, that extreme non-workable solutions do not solve the problem. On the contrary, they work negatively in terms of the environment, as they prevent improvement investments in existing energy sectors that would have significant environmental benefits, while they also negatively affect energy costs and energy security, especially in the European market,” he concluded.

Closed doors

So, I learn that this sentence of the CEO of HELLENiQ ENERGY hid the difficulties encountered by companies in the oil industry to find financing from banks for investment projects in refineries…

And obviously in certain projects even green ones… Let’s see if the doors will open now?