Hello,

Yesterday, Mitsotakis once again had to handle, arguably, the toughest issue that could land on a prime minister’s tenure—a horrific accident with 57 dead, mostly young people. K.M. struggled, was pressured, and was visibly stressed during an interview where journalist Sroiter asked him about everything concerning the Tempi disaster—without holding back. But in my view, he gave the impression of a politician who wasn’t there to hide or patch things up but rather to offer an apology, even for matters he couldn’t have known about two years ago.

He did not deny that in his initial interview, he had conveyed a different image to the public regarding the private company managing the trains, as well as the Fire Department and the state-owned OSE (Hellenic Railways Organization). He had stated with certainty that there were no flammable materials in the train cars. But any reasonable person understands that no prime minister—not just Mitsotakis—would risk his name and reputation for some smugglers. He did not deny that the parliamentary investigation committee on Tempi, composed of his own MPs, failed to convince anyone. And, naturally, he did not rule out the possibility of a preliminary investigative committee if the judiciary indicts political figures. Nor could he, in my opinion. Mitsotakis knows that citizens entrusted him with a second term because they believe he is capable of taking the country forward. He also knows that if something goes wrong, he will have to answer directly to those who placed their trust in him. That is exactly what he is trying to do now that the Tempi tragedy has turned into a political crisis—partly due to broader issues stemming from his five-year tenure. Whether he can navigate through this undeniably difficult obstacle remains to be seen. But first and foremost, he must get the basics right. With a clear mind, he must hold accountable those who have failed to do their jobs, so that he can stand tall and state what he has done for railway safety—so that such a tragedy never happens again. And responsibility must inevitably fall on his ministers and key officials, as well as those who left him exposed in managing this serious crisis.

Reshuffle?

The shock of the Tempi protests has now sparked discussions about a cabinet reshuffle—something that Mitsotakis himself left open in yesterday’s interview. It certainly did not go unnoticed that, apart from Floridis and spokesperson Marinakis, no one stepped forward to defend the government regarding Tempi. And, of course, we are mainly talking about Staikouras, who is busy with infrastructure projects but not with transportation. Most likely, he refrained from commenting on OSE because, unfortunately, he has little to show in terms of railway safety. Now, of course, many names are being thrown around, such as Gerapetritis for the Ministry of Infrastructure (although just the other day, Papastavrou was spotted there). There is also talk of splitting the Ministry of Transport in two so that at last, there is a minister dedicated solely to public transport. But let’s not get carried away with speculation without concrete reporting.

The Vassilakis Family Enters Real Estate

It’s hardly surprising that yet another powerful business family in Greece has decided to invest in the real estate sector. On January 29, a new company was established with an initial share capital of €6 million, corresponding to 600,000 shares (100% ownership of the company), paid in cash by Emmanouela Vassilaki. She is the wife of the late Theodoros Vassilakis, who passed away in 2018 and was the founder of the group that owns Aegean Airlines, as well as several companies in the car rental and leasing market and the tourism sector. In fact, Emmanouela Vassilaki is also the President of Autohellas (Hertz). The new company aims to cover nearly everything related to real estate—leasing and management, short-term rental services, long-term furnished apartment rentals (without hospitality services), and much more, as listed in the relevant business activity codes. The company is headquartered at the group’s “command center” on Viltanioti Street 31 in Kifisia. The three-member Board of Directors consists of Emmanouela Vassilaki as President and CEO, and Eleni Krania and Georgios Koutsoukos as members. Judging by the initial €6 million investment, the new venture has ambitious goals. The company’s official name is “Thema Akiniton Single-Member S.A.” with the trade name “The.Ma Akiniton” and the English equivalent “Thema Akiniton Single Member S.A.”

Eurobank: Roadshow with UAE Investors and 8th RRF Installment

You could call it a roadshow—Eurobank is preparing an event with investors from the United Arab Emirates, scheduled for early summer (expected in June). That’s why the bank’s CEO, Fokion Karavias, met with Minister Kostis Hatzidakis on Monday. A roadshow like this cannot be limited to just the bank’s clients—it needs to be expanded, with the participation of the government’s economic team and beyond. Meanwhile, yesterday, Eurobank was the first to submit an application for the 8th installment of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), amounting to €300 million—2.5 years after the program’s launch. The bank has already planned in detail how these funds will be allocated to various projects.

CEO by Day, Folk Singer by Night (Somebody Get Him a Manager…!)

Work is work, but passion is passion! Antonis Karatzis, a few years after delisting his family business from the stock exchange, has thrown himself into singing! And we’re not talking about amateur performances—he’s gone all in! He’s recruited high-profile collaborators like Phoebus, the music producer who ruled the Greek pop scene from the mid-’90s to the mid-’00s. The President and CEO of the Karatzis Group is investing heavily in becoming a folk singer. His first three singles are already out, complete with music videos! The titles? “Meltemi,” “Pio Poli,” and “Sto Cheirotero Semeio.” I’m not sure if this signals a full career shift, given that the group, based in Crete, is constantly expanding its activities. But hey, I wish him the best in finding his true calling!

Tseti Gearing Up for Round Two

Since last June, Spyros Theodoropoulos has been leading SEV (the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises) as its President. But at the same time, the opposition—appearing for the first time in the federation’s history, led by Ioulia Tseti—is carefully organizing and preparing for the next electoral battle in a year and a half. Just recently, Unifarma (a pharmaceutical company under Tseti’s group) has become a member of SEV (regional industries), the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (which includes both Greek and multinational pharmaceutical firms), and the Association of Industries of Attica-Piraeus.

Joker Breaks Records and OPAP Heads to Paris

The biggest jackpot since Joker started in Greece will be drawn today. A total of €19.5 million has been accumulated, marking the largest prize since OPAP launched the game in 1997. This mega jackpot will significantly impact OPAP’s first-quarter results, as the stock has been climbing towards €17 in recent trading sessions. It’s worth noting that last March’s €17.35 remains the highest share price in the past 52 weeks. Since the beginning of the year, OPAP has gained 7% (with the General Index at +5%). Of course, this isn’t the only reason for the stock’s rise, as the market anticipates strong 2024 results, leading to further upward re-rating and positive news in terms of dividends and distributions. After all, OPAP is one of the best dividend plays on the Athens Stock Exchange right now, boasting a 12-month yield of 8.71%. Meanwhile, at today’s Greek Investment Day organized by Piraeus Securities in Paris (featuring 20 listed companies), OPAP’s executives have a fully booked schedule of meetings.

We’re Entering the Transfer Season

February will be the month of many—perhaps even shocking—job transfers in the broader Greek tech sector. The 2024 performance review is complete, bonuses have been recorded and locked in, and now it’s time for senior executives to leave major telecom companies, e-commerce firms, as well as IT and tech enterprises. On top of that, shareholding balances seem to be shifting dramatically in many companies. The baton is now passing to a top executive of a multinational high-tech company in a commercial role, currently on sabbatical while awaiting his next move. At the same time, another senior telecom sales executive is preparing to switch gears—and this is just the beginning.

Titanic… Hidden Thoughts

A few days ago, many investors were disappointed when it was officially announced that only 15% of Titan America’s share capital would be available in the public offering for its Wall Street debut. That’s why the stock’s upward rally stalled and dropped by -3.3% that day. Investors showed similar sentiment yesterday morning, with the stock slipping to €43.1. But after 11 a.m., the mood shifted. Perhaps some investors thought—or were tipped off—that offering a smaller percentage initially might actually be the smarter move, given the strong momentum of the U.S. market. As a result, rumors started circulating that—if the initial IPO goes well—another 15% offering might follow down the line, totaling 30%. These “second thoughts,” insights, or leaks quickly turned Titan’s stock positive (+0.34% to €43.6), pushing its market capitalization above €3.4 billion. After all, Marcel Constantin Cobuz, who is spearheading the U.S. expansion, enjoys the full backing of the Papalexopoulos and Kanellopoulos families in ensuring the success of this venture.

Investor and Entrepreneur

Dimitris Vranopoulos (son of banker Vranopoulos) and Alexandros Kelaiditis have built an outstanding fintech company that, as of a few days ago, is now part of the Alpha Bank Group. What sets these two young entrepreneurs apart is that they first made their mark in Greece as Angel Investors, supporting startups in the fintech space before launching their own company. As Angel Investors, they were among the first to invest in Taxibeat, which was later acquired—at a hefty price—by a German group. They also invested in Hellas Direct (founded by Alexis Pantazis and Emilios Markou), a move that proved lucrative for all involved.

Chickens Boost Vivartia’s Value

At the end of 2024, Vivartia acquired one of the most successful small street food chains of recent years—Jackaroo, founded by Michalis Matzouranis. Launched in 2018 in Piraeus, the chain now operates five locations in Attica (two in Piraeus, as well as in Fokionos Negri, Neos Kosmos, and Peristeri) and is expanding further. Jackaroo’s success seems to be adding value to Vivartia (which owns Goody’s, Everest, Flocafe, La Pasteria, and Olympus Plaza), positioning CVC Capital to find a buyer at a good price—recouping its initial investment with a nice profit on top. Market rumors suggest that discussions have already begun with a Greek food industry group.

The Stock Market Gets Comfortable at Highs but Needs Fresh Cash

Another positive session with higher trading volume than Monday’s downturn. The stock market seems confident in its strength and prospects, but on the flip side, it needs higher turnover to test new highs—something quite challenging in this era of uncertainty. The General Index tried to break past 1,560 points, reached 1,553.86 (+0.53%), but ultimately settled back to Monday’s levels (1,547.03 points, +0.03%). Trading volume hit €123.72 million, with just €6.3 million in block trades. Alpha Bank kept the banking index in positive territory with a +1.4% rise to €1.81. Eurobank and National Bank held their ground, while Piraeus Bank succumbed to pressure, closing at €4.45 (-0.657%). One standout performer on the stock board is AVAX, which has gained +30.5% since the start of the year—perhaps due to market whispers that it’s about to join a major concession consortium. Yesterday, it climbed to €1.99 (+2.05%). Viohalco stabilized above €6, up +2.71%, while Athens Medical Group continues to gain strength from HHG, rising +4.1% to €1.9 on increased trading volume.

DeepSeek: China’s ‘Sputnik Moment’

The explosive debut of DeepSeek is, for many analysts, China’s “Sputnik moment.” It will undoubtedly push the U.S. to mobilize even more capital and talent to maintain its edge in the AI race. But there’s an extremely significant detail: DeepSeek is the first AI model to exhibit characteristics of human intelligence. During its reinforcement learning process (a stage that optimizes the model after training), DeepSeek completed complex chains of reasoning (something OpenAI’s GPT-4o required researchers to manually trigger), demonstrated self-reflection, and even self-verified its thoughts! Given that we are now entering an era of exponential AI capability growth, the developments ahead promise to be nothing short of mind-blowing.

Continuing Pressures on NVIDIA and Apple’s Rise

The tech storm is hitting Wall Street, which is struggling to find its balance. Yesterday marked the first session of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) for 2025, and no one expects any changes to the current dollar interest rates of 4.25%-4.50%. OpenAI has come out openly, accusing DeepSeek of illegally stealing its intellectual property. Meanwhile, on the same day, Alibaba presented its own AI model, claiming it outperforms both of the other two, which are already embroiled in legal battles. Apple is set to announce its earnings today, and its stock continues its upward trajectory as AI now extends into small personal devices—its stronghold. In just a few days, on Saturday, the 25% tariffs threatened by President Trump against Canada and Mexico will take effect. For over 30 years, these tariffs have remained below 4% but are set to climb to 21.6% by 2028, according to Trump’s plans. Tech stocks continue to dominate U.S. markets, but the key feature of the current landscape is that no one knows which way the scales will tip.