Hello, then, before we begin the news, let us wish everyone who reads us (we can’t wish it to the rest…) health, safety, and mental peace, a happy Easter, and may you have a good time with those you love. We’ll talk again on the Tuesday after Easter.

Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP)

The decision to give the “green light” for the approval of the MSP was made by the Prime Minister, who, at the informal KYSEA meeting held last Tuesday at the Maximos Mansion, had listened to both scenarios — whether the MSP should come first or the resumption of research for laying the cable. The MSP had been ready for a while, waiting for political approval in order to proceed with its publication in the Government Gazette and subsequently its submission to the EU. Gerapetritis, in fact, insisted that no matter what, Greece cannot appear to be ignoring the decision of the European Court, which had essentially set April 27 as the final date for compliance and approval of the MSP. The MSP is a European obligation for Greece, and it is obvious that no partner can accept threats and warnings from Turkey over a European initiative. And obviously, no excuse can be accepted from Turkey, since the Greek planning is fully aligned with the Law of the Sea, which is naturally part of the EU acquis — something Turkey itself does not accept. Athens is therefore prepared for any possible reaction from Turkey, which will likely be limited to rhetorical outbursts. Still, with Turkey reacting both over the cable and the MSP… we can’t exactly say the atmosphere being set for the —still unscheduled— visit of K.M to Ankara is the most ideal… Before I close this comment, let me note that Gerapetritis had been planning this move for some time, but the new Energy Minister Papastavrou also played a role, due to his position, in this important move for the country. Now, regarding the cable — as we’ve said before — it’s not the time for national swagger; let’s first see where the “compass” of the U.S. president settles, and then we’ll talk.

Gerapetritis-Fidan

It’s obvious that the Turks were aware of Greece’s plans to submit the maritime spatial framework, as there was a set deadline from the European Court. Naturally, the meeting between Gerapetritis and Fidan at the beginning of the month, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit, was no coincidence. Gerapetritis’s main concern is to avoid excessive tension and to ensure that the (expected) Turkish response does not cause major waves in the Aegean.

Ivan–Papamimikos

So, I’ve got some news for you about Ivan and the vast Ivan-estate in Greece. According to my source, Ivan from Rostov sent out the now-classic message “I’m not selling anything,” and it seems that as far as his Open TV channel is concerned, it’s going to be run by Papamimikos, who is by far more experienced in politics than manager Davidian. And he also communicates well with M.M., being a right-winger and a lifelong New Democrat. My source tells me Ivan said “I’m not selling” about the rest of his assets too. I asked what M.M. thinks about Papamimikos in charge of the TV stuff, if he’s okay with it, and they told me: no problem. That’s that.

The Hour of Tinos

This afternoon Mitsotakis is finally heading to Tinos, overturning his initial plan to attend the Holy Passion service at the Metropolitan Cathedral. On the island where the Prime Minister has a vacation home, he will stay until Easter Monday, returning to his office on the Tuesday after Easter, when the first meetings are scheduled.

Pierrakakis–Donohoe at Cookoovaya

Kyriakos Pierrakakis hosted a lunch yesterday for the Irish president of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, choosing the restaurant Cookoovaya with its interesting (and seasonally adjusted) menu. The two had a very relaxed conversation, revolving around their favorite books and Netflix series. Donohoe is a voracious reader and, like Pierrakakis, enjoys science fiction. In fact, at Pierrakakis’s office, Donohoe browsed through his library and titles like Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari. Donohoe also brought a gift book for Kyriakos Mitsotakis — Technological Republic by Alex Karp — while Mitsotakis will send him in the coming days a book about the Parthenon.

The Irish tourists

Staying with the visit of the Eurogroup president to Athens, he personally observed that tourism in our country is already doing very well. And he found out first-hand, as while exiting the Ministry of Finance with Pierrakakis, he ran into a group of Irish tourists who were also surprised to see their country’s Finance Minister in Athens. And since Orthodox and Catholic Easter fall on the same day this year, you get the idea…

Tickets and Hatzidakis’ “project”

The matter of ferry ticket prices and the “brake” on their increase was one of the first issues Vice President of the government Kostis Hatzidakis had to handle upon entering the Maximos Mansion. The main challenge was the short timeframe, as the fare hikes were scheduled to begin on May 1, giving Hatzidakis little room to maneuver. In coordination with the responsible ministers (Kikilias–Papastavrou) and deputy ministers (Petralia–Tsafos), the solution of reducing the port fee was chosen. The government also estimates that some prices (mainly for high-speed ferries) will gradually decrease. This “crisis management” approach will be applied to the next “tough” situations that are bound to arise.

The ports are taking off

The ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki had their moment in yesterday’s stock exchange session. The Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) came within a hair’s breadth of 40 euros per share and a valuation of 1 billion euros, setting a new all-time high and a trading volume elevated by its standards. Transactions exceeded 1 million euros in value and 25,000 shares in volume. Similarly, the Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH) broke the 30-euro barrier for the first time in six years — specifically since August 2019. Turnover topped 600,000 euros, the highest in three months, with over 20,000 shares traded. Its market capitalization now exceeds 300 million euros. With the construction of Pier 6, OLTH will enter the cruise sector dynamically, aiming to further improve its profit margins. The stock has reached 30€, while Ivan Savvidis bought in at 34€/share. However, it remains a stable dividend-yielding machine. What concerns investors is the silence from its major shareholders. After the failed “friendly takeover” attempt by the Dreyfus family, none of the main shareholders has shown any interest or made any move. Clearly, everyone is preparing for the next phase…

The 2+1 Moves of Fourlis

At Fourlis, the management is leaving behind the 20-million-euro loss from the hacking incident and changing course with 2+1 moves that could prove to be very significant both in business and in terms of shareholding. First, it completed the acquisition of Foot Locker’s operations in Greece and Romania and now holds the exclusive rights to develop the store network of the well-known chain in 8 countries of Southeastern Europe. Management anticipates that this activity will boost revenue and EBITDA as early as this year, while over a five-year horizon, the target is annual sales of 250 million euros and an EBITDA margin of 8–10%. Second, it launched the new, large store in Heraklion, Crete (in the Alikarnassos area), which is considered a “trophy” market for retailers due to its size, consumption, etc. It’s no coincidence that the group had been trying for many years to establish an IKEA in Crete, nor that it will be the largest store of the chain in years, with a surface area of 10,000 sqm. It is estimated that it will add 20 million euros in turnover to the group. It’s also worth noting that not long ago, an IKEA also opened in Patras, within the Top Parks shopping center of Trade Estates, a Fourlis subsidiary, which is fully leased. And third, and equally important, the placement that took place two months ago for 16% of the Trade Estates subsidiary has reduced Fourlis’s stake below 50% and allows for the deconsolidation of the subsidiary, something that will significantly improve Fourlis’s balance sheet by reducing net debt and strengthening its financial position. Additionally, there’s a bonus: through its subsidiaries, the company is advancing Inter IKEA’s major project, involving the construction of a logistics hub for the Swedish giant, which will serve six Eastern Mediterranean countries, with the goal of becoming fully operational by the end of July 2025 at the latest. All of this is expected to be reflected positively in the stock, something also noted by Pantelakis Securities, which considers the share undervalued and has set a target price of 5.5 euros, indicating a 40% upside from yesterday’s closing price of 3.96 euros.

Lavipharm and the Tariff Game

One week from today, on 24/4, Lavipharm has invited stock market analysts to the HERMES hall of the Stock Exchange to update them on the latest developments. Recently, after the outbreak of the tariff war, Lavipharm has been receiving a slew of proposals to produce formulations—for third-party companies—at its facilities in Paiania. At a time when major European pharmaceutical companies are asking the Commission for protective measures to avoid being forced to relocate production outside Europe and to continue investing, Lavipharm is winning production contracts in Greece. Moreover, medicinal cannabis appears to be starting to yield its first significant operating profits. Lavipharm has already surpassed a market capitalization of 130 million euros.

The Battle of Marathon…with (Municipal) Bureaucracy

Yesterday I wrote about the quiet revolution taking place at the Hellenic Cadastre, where the use of digital technology is helping us leave behind years of delays and the bureaucracy of the mortgage offices, moving toward a more modern and efficient property management model. But there is also a… counter-revolution. Do the relevant authorities—of all kinds—know that for a citizen to get a simple document, for example a copy of a building permit, from a municipality, they take a time-traveling journey from the era of AI to… the donkey cart? Do they know that even among last year’s wildfire victims in Attica, various legalization documents are being requested before they can begin restoring their homes, yet some municipalities are completely incapable of responding and serving the public? This of course doesn’t apply to all municipalities, as there are those that have made significant progress. However, it does apply to certain glaring cases like the municipality of Marathon. There, for a simple document, a citizen might wait two months for the relevant Urban Planning Service to find it. And once those months pass and they “discover” that it’s not there but in the annex at… exotic Kapandriti, just a few kilometers away, another couple of months (if not more) are needed for it to arrive. And as if that weren’t enough, they refuse to let citizens go and pick it up themselves to get it over with… We’re talking about… digital local governance. Congratulations to them…

Three Greek Biotechnology Projects

EquiFund II is a European Investment Fund that supports—indirectly, not directly—entrepreneurial initiatives in the Life Sciences and Health sectors, as well as in Sustainability. EquiFund II invests in funds managed by Financial Intermediaries, which are selected according to the standard procedures of the European Investment Fund (EIF). A budget of 150 million euros was available to fund Financial Intermediaries investing in biotechnology in Greece. Eight investment proposals were submitted. Four were rejected, and of the remaining four, three will ultimately receive funding: Untethered Ventures, Rhea Ventures, and Olive Tree, each of which submitted specific advanced biotechnology projects in Greece.

Hopes for Japanese inflows lifted morale on the ASE

Last night’s announcement that “China now faces tariffs of up to 245% for its exports to the U.S.” triggered a small panic in the markets and, naturally, dragged the Athens Stock Exchange down as well. The General Index fell shortly after opening to 1,638.1 points (-1.11%), with most investors rushing to lock in their short-term gains. Later in the day, however, another announcement emerged: Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) officially announced a revision in its investment strategy regarding foreign equities. The GPIF, one of the largest institutional investors in the world, decided to stop purchasing Chinese stocks, citing geopolitical tensions between China and Japan, as well as broader market uncertainties related to China’s economy and regulatory environment. This announcement lifted the spirits of the local market, sparking hopes that, by excluding Chinese equities, the GPIF might redirect investments to other regions—namely Europe, and more specifically Greece. As a result, the General Index recovered and closed at 1,655.23 (-0.08%). All of this happened with extremely low—and cautious due to upcoming holidays—transaction volume of €119.69 million, including €9 million in block trades. The sluggish trading activity does not allow for any solid conclusions, with the exception of CENERGY’s movement, which seems to have shaken off the persistent seller from Western markets who appeared daily around midday. CENERGY closed up +2.72% at €8.7. Coca Cola (+1.97%) at €43.44 and TITAN (+1.24%) at €40.8 did their part at the session’s close to offset losses from nearly all bank stocks, except for Piraeus (+0.37%) at €4.818. PPA (+4.45%) at €39.9 once again impressed the market, Intralot is—as usual—awaiting announcements on its major deal (+1.91%) at €1.066, while Quest (+2.11%) at €6.29 reflected ongoing discussions in the IT sector.

The global influence of the dollar is shrinking

One of the reasons behind the explosive increase in gold prices (now at $3,320/oz) and the equally spectacular inflow of savings capital into cryptocurrencies is the collapse of trust in the U.S. dollar. Many believe that since the Fed can “print money” at will, fiscal problems will be solved automatically. Of course, this is not the case. The U.S. dollar today represents about 58% of global foreign exchange reserves. Two decades ago, it accounted for 70%. Worse still, more than 50% of the decline in dollar reserves was due to active sales by central banks—not market fluctuations. It wasn’t passive portfolio rebalancing; it was a conscious decision. The reasons are obvious: the enormous public debt of $34 trillion, the unpredictable and unstable political handling of geopolitical issues, and the use of the dollar as a tool for economic sanctions. The dollar is no longer a neutral store of value. At the same time, U.S. competitors are developing alternatives: China and Russia settle trade in local currencies. Digital currencies and gold reserves are widely used by central banks in the Middle East and Asia. The consequences of this shift are already visible: the U.S. is facing higher borrowing costs, reduced demand for government bonds, and diminished global influence. Trump is trying to reverse this course using the old-school weapon of tariffs.

Are the Chinese selling confiscated cryptocurrencies?

It’s a “rumor” that’s been circulating heavily—online, of course—to explain the recent downward trend in most cryptocurrencies, reflecting the broader cautious behavior of investment liquidity. The rumor suggests that local Chinese governments are quietly, yet en masse, selling off confiscated crypto assets—in China, crypto transactions are strictly banned—to refill public coffers. According to the information, they held around 15,000 Bitcoin worth $1.4 billion just last year. China could follow Trump’s example and create strategic Bitcoin reserves to hedge against economic pressures. But for now, Beijing’s local governments are cashing in on cryptocurrencies through offshore purchasing firms, converting the seized digital gold into quick cash.