Hello, today I’m straying at the beginning from government matters because I have for you some nicer and especially Tsipro-Pasok-type things, because my readers told me that lately I’ve been neglecting the opposition. So what nicer setup could Rania Thraskia have given you yesterday, when she said, more or less, that PASOK must “talk” also with Tsipras and that a “democratic alliance” should be formed under the great leader Nikos Androulakis. I’m dying to see it honestly, although I don’t believe that either of them was excited, neither Nikos nor Alexis. Tsipras, in fact, a relatively short time ago, randomly ran into Rania in Thessaloniki; she rushed to give him her hand and Tsipras did not pull his… only for reasons of politeness. He doesn’t even want to see her.

The rubles with the little donkey…

Since we are on Tsipras-related matters, I asked my source about the recent denial by Lafazanis, Isychos and… other democratic forces that they ever met with Prime Minister Medvedev, as we learned the Tsipras book claims. The official answer I got was that we did not say that they had a one-on-one with Medvedev and discussed Russia’s financial assistance to Greece. However, Lafazanis had gone to the central banker of Russia and had asked him how… they would send us the rubles, and the answer he got from the Russian banker—bursting with laughter—was “by donkey.” I don’t think Tsipras will put that in the book, but don’t tell me it’s not good.

Alexis’ book…

Now, the book will be presented at the “Pallas” on December 3rd; of course GAP or Karamanlis or Stournaras will not be there, as is said, nor have the high-profile guests been finalized—the haggling is ongoing. I hear that our leader will engage in self-criticism, even on sensitive “family matters” that had been raised back then with a fair dose of obsession…

A small village is all quarrels

SYRIZA is down to three people and a cuckoo, and it’s certain that the appearance of Tsipras’ party will finish them off, but meanwhile the instruments have started playing. They say that Famellos is thinking of reshuffling the party’s sector heads, and some estimate that he may “eat” Pappas by removing him from Parliamentary Representative, but the tastiest “match” is being played for the Council of Europe. There SYRIZA now has one seat and not two, and Famellos is considering the scenario of replacing “lifelong” Nina Kasimati, who, however, signals that she’s not budging. It is said that Rena Dourou is interested in the post, while Kasselakis had also tried to move Nina, but without result. Besides, Kasimati is not a sure thing and maintains a steady line with PASOK due to her past.

After Djokovic, Bodiroga

These are days of dense sports meetings for K.M. After going to OAKA and watching the tennis tournament organized by Djokovic, yesterday he welcomed him at M.M., while today a “basketball man,” Dejan Bodiroga, is taking his turn. The former PAO player is now president of the Euroleague and the Final Four will take place in May in Athens, so preparations are underway. On Wednesday Bodiroga will meet formally with the competent minister, Giannis Vroutsis.

120,000 registrations

Registrations, which were completed on Friday, exceeded the expectations of the ND officials dealing with the weekend’s intra-party elections (Nezis, Kontadakis, Smyrlis, Skrekas). More than 120,000 members signed up to the registers and will have voting rights for presidents of Prefectural and Local Organizations and for the 1,000 delegates for the spring congress. About 120,000 had also voted in 2021, in a different context of course. As for the numbers: voting takes place from 07:00 to 19:00; 59 Prefectural and 330 Local presidents are elected; and it remains to be decided where K.M. will go to vote.

Back to Cyprus

Friday is Armed Forces Day and the President of the Republic, Kostas Tasoulas, will be in Cyprus for the second time. He will go on Thursday and on Friday morning he will attend a ceremony for ELDYK where he will speak, and Christodoulidis will also speak, while Tasoulas will decorate the ELDYK flag. The two will also meet privately, and I find the fact interesting given the smoothing over of disagreements about the cable and the efforts to continue the project with the entry of new investors.

The Ocean Sentinel

At the port of Amorgos the ship “Ocean Sentinel” has stood prominently since yesterday, on the occasion of the entry into force of the Presidential Decree for the Amorgorama (an emblematic initiative by the island’s fishermen for the protection of their sea). The European vessel will contribute to the guarding of the Protected Fishing Areas along with the Coast Guard and OFYPEKA for a few days, and its presence is symbolic. I remind you that K.M. together with the European Commissioner Kostas Kadis visited Amorgos in early October. The vessel has a fleet of drones and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. Notably, on Greece Talks, Alexandra Cousteau stated that “Greece is the first country in Europe to institutionalize the protection of its marine parks, while across the entire world, in just 70 years, 50% of life in the oceans has been lost.” Given that the government has the environment on its radar, not only energy, the Minister of Energy, Stavros Papastavrou, will be in Amorgos today along with the Secretary General of Shipping, Vangelis Kyriazopoulos.

Meeting with a (new-mix) set of funds in London for Greek banks

On November 20 and 21 is scheduled the European Financials Conference of JP Morgan Chase. At the EFC the head of JPMC, Jamie Dimon, will be physically present. Greek banks will be present at the CFO level. At the event, which includes discussions on financial markets and company presentations, the financial elite of the country will have the opportunity to converse, among others, with representatives of Barclays, Citadel, Amundi, Capital and Morgan Stanley. A noteworthy point is that the participants consist of a mix of funds seeking to determine their positions in a market that next year will be considered developed. In any case, the point of interest is that the banks will be able to give investors an overview both of the country’s economy and their plans for 2026, as well as for the year that is coming to an end. A key point for investors is how credit institutions will operate in the post-RRF era, since credit expansion is the banks’ main activity despite diversified revenues. It is recalled that on December 1 and 2 Greek companies—not only banks—will be in London for the major Morgan Stanley conference with the presence of the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while on December 2–5 follows in Prague the Wood & Co conference, Wood’s Winter Wonderland EMEA Conference. On December 8 follows Capital Link’s forum in New York. Already the managements of DAA, GEK TERNA, PPC, HelleniQ Energy, Metlen Energy & Metals, Viohalco, Lamda Development, Alter Ego Media, EYDAP, Dimand have declared participation. From the banking sector, beyond the four systemic banks, Credia Bank will also participate. Apart from the above, there is also the HELEX (Hellenic Exchanges) mid-cap event. Participants who have declared are ADMIE, Alter Ego Media, Alumil, Austria Card, AVAX, BriQ, Dimand, Europe Holdings, Fais, Ideal Holdings, Noval Property, Lavipharm, KRI KRI, Plastika Kritis, Plastika Thrakis, Trade Estates, Trastor, Profile, Premia.

The Crete cable plugged in

Within the first ten days of December the official start of operation will be given for the major Crete–Attica electrical interconnection, totaling €1.1 billion, by ADMIE. In the coming days, Crete will once again come to the foreground, as one of the most significant energy projects of recent years, the Crete–Attica interconnection, enters the stage of commercial operation. The inauguration ceremony in Heraklion, with the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is expected to give the official tone to an infrastructure that changes the facts for the island. In the background, there is widespread satisfaction over the completion of such a large project, which enhances Crete’s energy stability. However, full adjustment of the system requires some more time, which is why PPC’s oil-fired units will remain in reserve. At the same time, the adventurous plan of the large Crete–Cyprus–Israel interconnection continues to occupy discussions, with open issues concerning final design, investors, the order of segment implementation, and the role of American and Chinese investors. This is why the Crete–Attica cable is considered a decisive “piece of the puzzle,” giving momentum to the vision of domestic electrical interconnections. ADMIE plans to invest a total of €6 billion in the development of electrical transmission corridors included in the operator’s ten-year development plan, to be financed by the company’s forthcoming capital increase when decided. These concern the interconnection of the North Aegean islands and the Dodecanese, which will ensure stable and cheap electricity, replacing old oil units; the second Greece–Italy line, which will strengthen the flow of green energy to Central Europe; and the Greece–Saudi Arabia interconnection, which opens new horizons for the transfer of clean energy from the Middle East to the EU. For this project ADMIE is currently completing the feasibility study. According to information, only the Dodecanese project (Corinth–Kos interconnection), for which the tender was declared void last September, has seen its budget soar to €3 billion, without a new tender procedure having been relaunched so far.

How GEK TERNA ended up in Ukraine

The agreement opened by the cooperation of GEK TERNA with Ukrhydroenergo is very interesting. It was not an easy agreement, as Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Energy Roman Andarak and Greece’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Haris Theoharis had been working on it for the past six months. Last Thursday and Friday a fair for the reconstruction of Ukraine was held in Poland, and the agreement was closed there. On Saturday morning we had a deal, but Ukrhydroenergo’s CEO did not have time to come to Athens with the Zelensky delegation, so the related announcement was issued. GEK TERNA’s entry into Ukraine is via partnership with the top Ukrainian player in hydroelectric projects, which significantly reduces business risk. At the same time, the Group expands into a market where the projects are still at their initial stage, offering significant room to create added value as they mature. The agreement concerns the joint development and implementation of large hydroelectric and pumped-storage projects in Ukraine, with a total budget of about €1.5 billion, which are expected to be supported by international financiers such as the EBRD and EIB, both in funding and technical support. As information indicates, for the use of own capital for the projects, GEK TERNA first needs clarity on a series of issues (regulatory and operational framework, as well as financing structure) so that the investment’s return and safety are ensured—obviously at levels higher than similar investments in Greece. In any case, the capital required from GEK, if the investment is decided, is fully manageable through the company’s cash flows and existing liquidity. Based on available data, the investment cost is about €1 million/MW—at the same level as Amfilochia—something especially competitive, particularly for projects with a life span of over 100 years. The market value of similar projects exceeds €3 million/MW.

“Early in 2026” the Conrad Athens, The Ilisian opens

Excited by the work being carried out by the Konstantakopoulou-Olayan duo on the former Hilton property, the senior management team of the Hilton Group for Continental and Southern Europe appeared enthusiastic during their visit to our country. The two executives of the group who came to Athens to communicate Hilton’s strategic expansion in the country (it is enough to mention that in the last five years the Greek portfolio under the group’s umbrella has reached 67 hotels either in operation or under development) toured the hotel’s facilities on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue ahead of the opening of the new five-star “Conrad Athens, The Ilisian.” The name “Conrad” is inspired by the name of the group’s founder and represents the group’s most “premium” brand. As Hilton executives said, the hotel will open “early in 2026,” with bookings already open for the summer 2026 season, and as the opening approaches—from late January onward—the systems will allow bookings even earlier. The reason behind the gradual opening of bookings is to address possible “teething problems,” especially for such a large project. It is noted that of the 67 hotels, 49 are already operating, either under the umbrella of affiliated Small Luxury Hotels (38) or under the group’s brands (11), specifically three brands: Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, and Hilton Garden Inn. Additionally, 18 hotels in urban centers and resort destinations have already been scheduled through new agreements for the 7 brands of the group, including of course “Conrad.”

Mr. €5.1 billion

He may not have become the third Czech billionaire investing in Greece, after Jiri Smejc and Karel Komarek, but he focused on other markets and ultimately managed to close a huge energy deal. Daniel Kretinsky, who in 2018 had expressed interest in PPC’s lignite units in Florina and Megalopolis and a few years later pursued DEPA Infrastructure, sold 50% of the power generation units his group, EPH, owns in Western European countries for €5.1 billion. Based on the structure of the agreement, EPH will receive 95.4 million new shares, acquiring approximately 4.1% of Total Energies and turning its founder, Daniel Kretinsky, into one of the largest shareholders of the French energy company. The 50-year-old Kretinsky is among the fastest-rising entrepreneurs in Europe, with activities ranging from energy and infrastructure to media (stake in the French Le Monde), retail and logistics (share in Royal Mail, PostNL, Footlocker, and Casino Group) and telecommunications. A graduate of the law school of Masaryk University, where his father was a computer science professor, he started working as a lawyer with a $900 salary. He discovered his aptitude for business during his tenure at the Slovak investment group J&T. In 2003, he became a partner and shareholder, and five years later, when J&T decided to establish EPH, he took a 20% stake and gradually came to control the group. Football could not be absent from his investments; apart from Spartak Prague, he is also a major shareholder in West Ham.

Thanasis Martinos’ forecasts for 2026

At this year’s 20th Annual ICS Greek Branch Forum, Thanasis Martinos, the man who “reads” freight markets as others read the weather, was unable to attend the hall. However, he sent a recorded message and made forecasts for the future. He emphasized that in 2026 most markets will move toward a balance leaning toward oversupply. Increased capacity supply, but not increased demand. Therefore, pressure on freight rates. With three exceptions, which, as he implied, will make the difference in the year: large tankers—VLCCs, large bulk carriers—Capesizes, and Feeder containerships. For VLCCs, he was clear: a mini boom is coming in the winter. The reason? Russian oil, which currently travels on medium-sized tankers, seems that due to sanctions it will gradually be replaced by American and Arab crude, which traditionally loads on VLCCs. In short, the flow map changes, and with it, the market balance changes.

Something bigger than a simple order

The triple order of Kamsarmax bulk carriers by Oceanbulk at the Chinese shipyard Hengli has drawn curious attention. The reason? It does not resemble a typical fleet expansion, but rather a strategic move with timing that does not go unnoticed. Market insiders comment that Petros Pappas, who handles expansion moves with the precision of a hedge fund manager, is showing here something more than mere interest. With the private Oceanbulk ordering three new Kamsarmax vessels, separately from the “sister” deal of the listed Star Bulk, Wall Street sees the classic pattern that often precedes an upcycle in dry bulk assets. “When Pappas strikes twice, with a private company and a listed one, it’s not a coincidence,” comments an analyst from a major American investment bank. “He is sending a message that he believes capacity in the coming years is worth ‘locking in’ now.” Wall Street observes the pattern and seems to interpret it as a deliberate play by Pappas. The simultaneous exploration of Oceanbulk’s return to containerships with a potential order of two 3,100 TEU feeders gives another clue to the puzzle: the company is not merely expanding; it is doing multi-layered repositioning before the cycle changes.

Seaunity “whispers” that the market has awakened

In the corridors of shipping, where conversations often carry more weight than contracts, the sale of Seaunity by Thenamaris, owned by Nikolas Martinos, has become the new favorite topic of whispers. Not because the 15-year-old capesize fetched around $30–31 million, but because someone had to take the first step after two weeks of market silence in the S&P (sales and purchases) of large bulkers. They say that Nikolas Martinos, who consistently avoids the spotlight, did exactly what he always does: a move that was heard everywhere. Thus, Seaunity became a reference point for all shipowners who have something similar in their drawer but were waiting for a “bold” one to open the dance. The most interesting part? In the brokers’ spots in Piraeus, they say the price was not only a matter of purchase. The vessel is Japanese, has a scrubber, passed a special survey—all good. But the market is desperately seeking a directional signal, and Thenamaris probably knew that. Some even whisper that this move is also a small “dusting off” of the fleet before the new Suezmax vessels from Waigaoqiao start arriving gradually. Others smile knowingly: “Classic Thenamaris… they will never go public with statements, but the market always learns what it needs to.”

Tepid reception to the new upgrade

The excitement appeared last week. The new upgrade of the Greek Economy by FITCH was met with phlegmatic indifference by the stock market, with low turnover and anemic movements. The session started as expected with a positive sign; the General Index climbed to 2,077 points (+0.88%), but then it glanced at the international stock environment, which had little to say, and it settled at 2,055.51 (-0.19%), transaction value €147.6 million, and few packages worth €3.1 million. In the first three hours of trading, transaction value was under €50 million. At 16:25, it surpassed €100 million. Alpha Bank (+1.48% at €3.57) showed appetite for bigger moves, but followed reluctantly only by National (+0.23% at €13.10), while Piraeus (-1.14% at €6.95) showed no enthusiasm. In contrast, Cenergy (+3.3% at €15.66) soared to unprecedented levels, while the proud “mother” VIOHALCO (+2.34%) watched at €10.08. The premiere of TREK Development, which rang the opening bell, had a festive character with an increase of +55.71% to €2.18 and capitalization of €17.1 million. Coca-Cola (+1.17% at €41.5) did its duty, as did OTE (+1.2% at €16.82), while AustriaCard (+5.3% at €5.57) validated its management’s predictions, completing seven consecutive upward sessions. Curiously, ADMIE started energetically up to €3.13 (+1.46%), but in the end something circulated in the market regarding GSI and it finally closed at €3.01 (-2.43%).

The vertigo of leverage in cryptocurrencies

At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price had dropped well below $95,000, to $93,902. However, the overall situation in the cryptocurrency market is far from the era of absolute euphoria, during which no one knew the intrinsic value of what they were buying but knew they could sell at a higher price. That’s why many new investors fell into the trap of leverage. They were buying with borrowed money. The sharp fall of the crypto market by $1.1 trillion in just 41 days (losing $27 billion per day) has created many dramas. From a $4.3 trillion capitalization, the crypto market is now 10% below the levels of the famous $19 billion liquidation in October. The root of the problem lies in excessive leverage. Institutional and private investors had accumulated massive leveraged positions, having bought 20 times, 50 times, or even 100 times their available capital. When Bitcoin started to decline, 100x leverage means that a small 2% drop wipes out the investment entirely. Thus, a storm of forced liquidations was created. October saw the largest liquidation in cryptocurrency history. In November, only in the first week, positions worth $1.2 billion were liquidated. On October 16, 120,000 Bitcoins changed hands in one day, an unprecedented volume. And if Bitcoin shows some resilience, the wider crypto universe is bleeding. Ether has dropped 35% since October, to $3,122.

Jeff Bezos returns

The New York Times revealed that Amazon’s founder is returning to active involvement. Jeff Bezos took the role of co-CEO at “Prometheus.” Project Prometheus is a startup AI enterprise aiming at revolutionary engineering and manufacturing of computers, vehicles, and spacecraft. The startup has already secured $6.2 billion in funding. Bezos had resigned as Amazon CEO in 2021 to focus on Blue Origin, a space company he founded in 2000 with the aim of making space travel accessible and allowing millions to live and work in space. Now, however, Project Prometheus seems to combine both of Bezos’ passions: cutting-edge technology and space exploration. The focus on “next-generation engineering and manufacturing” will not just create software, but devices and systems that will transform industries. While the entire planet is preoccupied with AI, chatbots, and generative models, “Prometheus” seeks to apply AI in physical production, precisely where the US faces a manufacturing capacity gap compared to China. If successful, Bezos will once again not just create a giant company, but a whole new sector in the global economy.