Greetings! Since the government isn’t producing much news for this column, except for Olgara, who popped up in court again yesterday with her signature black shades, “clarifying that she doesn’t make statements for the sake of her children”—who, if I’m not mistaken, are still babies, but anyway—I’ll move on to the PASOK-SYRIZA scene where things are more fun.

Offices galore…

Stefanos has rented some unbelievable offices near Tavros (a well-known media area, also infamous as the base of Avriani)—1,400 square meters—and he’s about to hold an opening event. Congrats, our little leader, may the new Macron-inspired party thrive! Forget the Bolsheviks—they’re heading to Piraeus (we’ll get to that)—and get to work. I hear the building is quite nice, renovated in 2017, and belongs to some K.N. Group, owned by a Mr. Konstantinos Stratantonakis, though I’m not familiar with more details. Furniture and equipment were found in no time, but from Kasse’s side, it’s said that “we’re renting the offices until December 3rd, because after that, the company needs them back, as they’re already leased to others.” What can I tell you? I don’t know much about this. Not that it doesn’t strike me as a bit… odd, but we’ll see soon enough. Now, of course, if Stefanos wins the SYRIZA elections, he might move there and leave Koumoundourou behind. But to win the elections, he needs to participate—also attend the conference. I don’t see either happening until after Christmas. We’ll be in short sleeves when it happens!

Pools in Spetses

Since we’re talking about Kasse, I’ll mention the water tanks in Spetses. The inspections by the mixed teams from the Ministries of Environment and Culture on the island—checking how many pools are legal—are moving about as fast as the diversion of the Acheloos River. Around 25 pools have been inspected (including our leader Stefanos’s), but apparently, most owners aren’t opening the door or answering. At this rate, the relevant minister might as well issue a statement: “Dear pool owners of Spetses, open up so we can inspect you.” Or the inspectors can try again at Easter 2025, when the Athenian elites will return to the island. Of course, you’ve realized by now that only Kasse has taken the hit from this story, and even that was purely for show. Or not?

Tsipras

Now back to the regular SYRIZA, the orthodox one. Today, the founder and natural leader (one in a hundred years, remember) Alexis Tsipras, through his institute, is organizing a conference at the Piraeus Municipal Theater on “inflation, and the challenges and prospects of the Greek economy.” Speaking will be former Minister Chouliarakis, Ioannidis from KEPE, Fanaras (who, as a respected pollster, fits in anywhere), a dozen professors, three more former ministers, Nikos Christodoulakis (modernizer-PASOK-SYRIZA type), Louka Katseli, and Yiannis Dragasakis with his lovely little houses (his) in Tinos. “French Prime Ministerial candidate Lucia Castets will also intervene in the discussion,” according to the press release, and the event will close with our real leader, Alexis Tsipras. These are the good times. Let’s wait and see who shows up and who doesn’t…

Doukas takes a stand (against)

So, the victorious leader of PASOK, Nikos, gave a thumbs up and appointed Anna as deputy leader, strategist of political planning, and Pavlos as the commander-in-chief in Parliament, rightly doing what’s obvious: “All together now, folks,” even if only for appearances. Immediately, the newlywed Charis positioned himself against it, saying, “Annoula (from the cold) has been Right-wing for years, so she’ll turn the socialist PASOK into her image, since we’re not there to propose taxing monopolies, banks, dividends, funds, and whatever else we can think of.” “Look, Charis has officially taken 40% of PASOK, so he’s making moves for the future,” a seasoned PASOK source told me. Well, there you go.

The Turks, the dialogue, and the preparation

These days, as is well known, Greek-Turkish relations are under discussion. My source assured me that no maps will be laid out during the meetings leading up to the High Council in January. However, the meeting between Gerapetritis and Fidan on the 8th will determine whether the Turks can overcome the pressures from their deep state. Behind the scenes, it’s said that Fidan is positive and is making an effort, but if he comes to Athens and makes the conversation about the continental shelf contingent on discussing territorial waters, things won’t progress. I asked the same source what it would mean if things don’t move forward, and the answer was that we’ll look to preserve the positive agenda and the calm atmosphere, but that’s about it. Of course, everyone knows that if there’s no momentum in the discussions, a concrete outcome, the positive atmosphere could easily change, no matter how much nobody wants turbulence in the Aegean.

Which businesspeople visited Mitsotakis

In a packed room, with many standing and others left outside due to capacity, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Development presented the country’s new production model yesterday at the National Gallery. Present were the entire Cabinet, the Governor of the Bank of Greece, G. Stournaras, former Prime Minister Loukas Papadimos, Evangelos Mytilineos, Chairman of Grand Thornton and SMERC Nikos Karamouzis, Chairman of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) Spyros Theodoropoulos, Chairman of the Hellenic Bank Association (EET) Gikas Hardouvelis, Giorgos Zavvos, Yiannis Masoutis, Loukia Saranti, Manolis Karamolegos, Yiannis Bratakos, Christian Chatzimina, Nikos Emmanouilidis (Nestlé), Yiannis Giotis, Kostas Tottis, Rania Aikaterinari, Vasilis Gounaris (BASF Hellas), Armodios Giannidis (Vitex), Theodoros Tryfon (Elpen), many MPs, and others.

The Emfietzoglou estate in Mykonos sold – Price close to 20 million

So you don’t think I only cover high-profile auctions, we have good news for once. The well-known Emfietzoglou estate in Agrari, Mykonos – yes, the one where the last auction started at 3,000,000 euros – not only avoided foreclosure but was also sold for a handsome sum. Apart from Alpha Bank, which recovered its money (without a haircut) and interest up to the day of repayment, the big winners are the wife of Prodromos Emfietzoglou and their daughter, Melina. According to reports, a buyer came forward with nearly 20 million euros in cold, hard cash to acquire the estate. Despite the President of the Patriots party’s knack for spilling the milk, they managed to sell it rather than lose it for 3 million. The new owner is reportedly a low-profile institutional investor in family wealth funds, planning gentle development in one of the last untouched beaches on the island. The estate is in a prime spot along Mykonos’ coast, comprising two properties totaling approximately 11 acres, with two villas of about 200 square meters each. Now, we’ll see what happens with Piraeus Bank, which holds the house-museum with the famous “Hidden School” and the 60 acres in Anavryta. After this good start, reportedly the highest price per square meter ever in Mykonos, I wish them the best. It’s worth noting that the sale of the Emfietzoglou estate in Agrari became a topic of conversation among the wealthy and realtors, who jokingly say it hit the… “emfietzoker.”

Piraeus Bank’s stake in Douleutaras

With Latsco Family Office and Apostolos Apostolakis (Venture Friends) entering the latest funding round via capital increase for Douleutaras, the Greek platform for home services and solutions (which includes Olympia Group among its investors) has so far raised 20 million euros. Among the early investors was the PJ Catalyst fund of Piraeus Bank, which recently completed its life cycle. Its roughly 5% stake was rumored to be up for sale, but the price was considered high, and no deal has been made yet. Given that the investment was made early, and the company has since grown significantly, the return on capital is substantial. Douleutaras, which operates not only in Greece but also in Cyprus, Ireland (under the name YourPro), Portugal (as YourHero), and is eyeing the Spanish market, currently generates 20% of its revenue outside Greece. Besides expanding its B2B activities in key sectors, the company is preparing to offer users online payments in collaboration with international player Stripe.

JPMorgan’s new offices in Athens

JPMorgan is moving north. The offices have been relocated from Kolonaki to Kifisia Avenue in Halandri, in the same building as the headquarters of the Greek subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline. Beyond its “adventurous” involvement with Viva, the American investment bank has been operating a branch in Greece since early 2021, led by Stelios Papadopoulos, and is expanding its activities.

Tourism: “Yes, but…” for the hot months of July and August

A few quick takeaways from the general data released yesterday by the Bank of Greece on the balance of payments as of August (specific data on the travel balance is expected today). Despite continued growth in arrivals, this August saw the second consecutive drop in travel receipts after July. Based on BoG data, tourist arrivals in August increased by 6.6% year-on-year, while receipts fell by 1.8% to 4.25 billion euros. For the eight months, both arrivals (+9.9%) and receipts (+3.2%) were up, reaching 15.18 billion euros. The decline is attributed to shorter stays by Europeans, due to pressures on their incomes, an increase in the share of road tourism returning to pre-pandemic levels (which is significantly cheaper as Balkan visitors spend less than Western Europeans), and the rise in short weekend trips as Europeans now prefer more frequent, shorter trips. Another reason seems to be the trend of traveling outside the “hot” months of July and August, both in terms of temperature and high prices. For this reason, local tourism operators are not expecting a third consecutive drop in September. However, they caution about 2025, as the Greek summer appears to be nearing its peak, particularly during the hotter months, reiterating the pressing need to address infrastructure issues.

Golden business with garbage

The European Union has changed the rules of the game. The terms of funding for waste processing projects from European funds have changed, and Greece has fallen behind. However, a 5 billion euro market for waste collection and transportation through public-private partnerships (PPPs) seems to be opening up. Major players in the construction and infrastructure sectors have already formed alliances: TERNA Energy with TITAN are bidding for the Central Macedonia Waste Management (a 202 million euro PPP project), Intrakat-Watt-Goecycle, AVAX-Thalis, and ΗΛΕΚΤΩΡ-AKTOR Concessions, Metlen-METKA have all participated in the 450 million euro tender in Northern Greece, etc. There’s a lot of money involved, huge needs, and fewer competitors. Strategic agreements have already been recorded through acquisitions, such as Thales-ELECTOR by the Motor Oil group, and Watt by Iraklis, showing that the sector is consolidating its forces to claim larger shares. PPC also wants to join the game, while Metlen is moving forward with acquisitions of specialized companies, backed by its strong capital base. Before the year ends, there will be more acquisitions, so everyone will be ready to race for the next three years starting in 2025…

Change in ownership and leadership at CRI

For the past 16 years, the name Dimitris Mavros has been synonymous with the Corporate Responsibility Institute (CRI). The CRI is a Non-Profit Civic Organization that has exclusively represented the CR Index in Greece in collaboration with BITC (Business in the Community). The CRI’s goal is to provide Greek businesses with the most recognized evaluation tool and benchmark for assessing their corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance based on international criteria. The CR Index is Greece’s first ESG Index. It evaluates businesses’ performance concerning society, the environment, employees, corporate governance, and the market based on 100 international criteria, which are now required across Europe. After 16 years, CRI’s ownership structure is changing. Dimitris Mavros will remain honorary president, while the responsibility for the Institute now falls to the well-known lawyer Giannos Grammatis.

It wasn’t a good day for the banks

Yesterday’s stock market performance was indifferent and gloomy. National Bank started the day with enthusiasm, resisted the negative global market sentiment, and climbed to 7.5 euros. However, after 12:15, it slightly retreated to 7.44 euros (-0.35%) with many transactions. Piraeus, eager to announce its nine-month profits, maintained a slightly positive outlook but remained below 4 euros (+0.21% at 3.875 euros). Eurobank (-2.33%) was at 2.01 euros, and Alpha (-1.8%) at 1.502 euros. Overall, the value of transactions yesterday reached 84.52 million euros, with 9.2 million euros in block trades, indicating hesitation and indifference. OTE shares were pressured by developments in Romania, and the market decided to wait until details were settled. The stock fell to 16.06 euros (-0.37%). PPC, which returned to the markets with a seven-year bond and interest below 5%, closed at 12.22 euros (+0.58%), while OPAP, Metlen, VIOHALCO, and EYDAP simply fulfilled their duty. The General Index started boldly but ended the session at 1,438.72 points (-0.34%), preferring the safety of a narrow range.

After Gold, Silver

We live in an era where investors no longer trust official announcements and prefer to act based on their “instincts.” After gold, it’s now silver’s turn to soar to new record heights, above $33 for the first time in 12 years. Since the beginning of the year, the price of silver has risen by 41%, performing even better than gold. Gold has surpassed $2,750 for the first time in history, gaining +32% since the start of the year. Everyone is talking about the victory of central banks over inflation and the return to growth. However, markets are investing in the (supposedly?) safe haven of precious metals and cryptocurrencies.