Hello. Over the past six days, society has experienced an exceptionally sad event with unprecedented intensity, with a heavy dose of police thriller thrown in: the death of a much-loved artist, singer Giorgos Mazonakis. In the last 15 years, since the rise of social media has exploded and it has functioned as a huge magnifying glass on society, personally I have never seen such viewing figures. I do not know whether statistics mean anything to some of us, or how comprehensible they are, but literally, across our own digital media, the event “Mazonakis’s death,” with its police, social and emotional dimensions, was seen by millions of people. From Wednesday until yesterday, around 2 million unique users of protothema.gr and our other platforms “saw Mazonakis”; on YouTube there were 3.2 million views, on TikTok 17 million views, and 27 million views on Instagram and Facebook combined. Needless to say, the mysterious death of such a beloved figure among the general public—the smiling, kind-hearted Giorgos with the incredible voice, who was also somewhat carefree in life and a bit of a bohemian, and who did not hang around… at the feet of the social elite but simply did his own thing—was obviously going to unfold something like this. Like a huge social event-phenomenon that shook the whole of Greece. And it entered every home many times a day through the terrifying power of digital media. Either way, if only Giorgos Mazonakis had lived, if only they had managed to save his life, and if none of this enormous and frightening wave of publicity had ever happened.

Gunshots…

For the rest, we have well and truly returned to everyday life, and what is… being observed is an escalation of business passions (sic) in recent hours, reminiscent of a sudden little Wild West, mainly among contracting interests, but also involving state advertising and digital services, with the state always the ultimate recipient. These things usually also involve the necessary gunslingers (or water-pistol gunslingers) of the trade, and a referee, peacemaker, or at least mediator is expected to restore, even temporarily, a fragile calm. Not for anything else, but there is also a shortage of a fixer at the Maximos Mansion.

A lasting ban on Kasidiaris

One particularly interesting case that will “go up” from today is whether Kasidiaris can be a candidate, with some political formation, in the next elections. He is being released from prison this afternoon and has announced a show of sorts for whatever cameras turn up outside Domokos Prison, while for months now social media has been having a field day with posts by him or his associates. The law, however, some sources say, is rather clear: he cannot stand as a candidate as party leader or as a parliamentary candidate for as long as the sentence imposed on him remains in force, namely 13 years. “The deprivation of the right to form electoral combinations, pursuant to the present provision, shall apply for the duration of the sentence imposed and shall be calculated from the day following the date of the final conviction. Whether or not the sentence is served, or whether it becomes time-barred, has no bearing on the calculation of the aforementioned period,” the Voridis law states. In other words, even if he was released earlier, that is irrelevant to the legislator and the Supreme Court. The only way out for Kasidiaris—as it is argued—is to run as an independent in an electoral constituency, since he has not lost his right to vote or to stand for election, but it is almost impossible for him to be elected, since in order to do so he would have to collect 3% of the votes nationwide. To put this into perspective, in 2023, when Plefsi Eleftherias received 3.17% and just made it into Parliament, it collected 165,000 votes—a number Kasidiaris would be unable to amass. I should tell you that quite a few constitutional law professors agree on this, regardless of their political background. I would simply add that the “Kasidiaris party” is registering in the polls and, based on the figures, would comfortably enter Parliament.

Costing PASOK’s proposals

Meanwhile, yesterday morning’s coffee meeting at the Maximos Mansion also discussed Nikos A.’s economic programme of announcements at the Thessaloniki International Fair. “We can broadly do the serious things he said; otherwise, he too blew the bank,” a government source told me. Thanοs Petralias at the Ministry of Finance is already carrying out an initial costing, based on the information available, because in some cases Nikos did not go into much detail—for example, what scale of reduction in the fuel excise tax is envisaged? In any case, at first glance the economic team sees seven central PASOK measures costing at least €6 billion, although they are not going to get into a confrontation over the costing, as they did with EL.AS.

From Canada to San Francisco

After the 20th of the month, K.M. will leave for the United States and the UN, while Gerapetritis will go earlier. He will begin his travel programme in Canada next Thursday, and will then head to New York, where he has his own programme of meetings and, of course, appearances together with Mitsotakis. He will also accompany him to San Francisco, which will be the second stop on the prime minister’s US visit. As I have told you, there will obviously be no meeting with Erdogan, nor will Gerapetritis meet Fidan.

A resignation and a transfer

A great deal of discussion has opened up around the resignation of Christos Karadimas, president of Attiko Metro, at the end of last week, against the backdrop also of the report on the structural integrity of buildings in Kypseli following the works for Metro Line 4. I asked an informed source about the Karadimas case and whether he had been sacrificed and whether his resignation was, in fact, more of a dismissal. “Nothing of the sort. The man came from Olympia Odos and will return to a key position in the new Olympia consortium, in which the French company Vinci has a dominant position.” The position he is being lined up for is CEO of Olympia, with a significant salary upgrade compared with the public sector. Also, AVAX, which holds the contract for the Line 4 project, participates in the Olympia consortium, so I imagine such a transfer would not have happened if there had been a broader issue involving the individual.

Hard rock ahead and general alert at the Stock Exchange

In any case, September is historically not a good month for stock markets; strange things have already begun, and the upgrade is approaching, so the future of the Athens Stock Exchange is uncertain. If we have impressive turnover on September 18, it will be meaningless. The crucial issue is what happens from September 21 onward. Our experience the last time the Athens Stock Exchange was upgraded was not good, just as the experience with upgrades in Poland and Israel was not good either. Ahead of Friday, however, meetings are being held on cooperation agreements and technical support with members and systems providers, as well as stress tests of trading and clearing infrastructure. All of this is aimed at ensuring the smooth conduct of what is estimated to be the largest trading session in the market’s history. Everyone wants the day to pass without the “crashes” and blackout of March 2025, when a hardware failure froze the system at 14:40, during the very first session after Moody’s upgrade. Estimates for the value of transactions in Friday’s session are that they will exceed €5 billion, compared with €300–350 million in a normal session. The critical technical point is the closing auction. That is where, within a matter of minutes, the orders of passive funds that are required to execute at the benchmark index reference price will “crowd in,” because of the triple rebalancing by FTSE Russell, S&P DJI and STOXX for the transition of the Greek market to developed-market status. On Friday, we also have the expiry of the September contracts on the Athens Derivatives Exchange, with the contracts already being rolled over into December. That same evening, the verdicts of Scope (BBB, positive outlook) and Moody’s (Baa3, stable) are also expected. With the upgrade, nine securities—four systemic banks, PPC, METLEN, Jumbo, GEK TERNA and Motor Oil—will be included in the STOXX Europe 600. Note that no Greek share was included in the Large Cap category, due to market capitalization.

New capital “injection” for Snappi

The capital strengthening of Snappi continues, with the digital bank proceeding with yet another capital increase. At an Extraordinary General Meeting on September 10, a €1.72 million increase in share capital was approved, through the issuance of 17,221,925 new ordinary shares with a nominal value of €0.10 and an issue price of approximately €0.581 per share, plus €8.27 million as share premium. Following the new capital increase, Snappi’s share capital stands at €63.93 million. The move is a continuation of the successive capital injections made by shareholders to finance the bank’s growth. It is characteristic that two further capital increases had already taken place in February and May 2026.

Golden ashes…brrrr

Activity at the Ritsona Crematorium is increasing, with Crem Services proceeding during 2026 with the construction of a new building to accommodate additional furnaces. The investment comes as cremation gains ground in Greece, as demonstrated by the opening of a second business in northern Greece, “Hyperion,” in Alexandria, Imathia. According to the financial statements just released, Crem Services’ turnover increased by 9.8% in 2025, to €4.95 million, while net profits reached €2.11 million. Shareholders will receive a dividend of €1.2 million, the same as the previous year. Behind this particularly profitable business is Antonis Alakiotis, the driving force behind an effort that took more than 20 years and faced considerable “warfare” before becoming a reality. Since 2019, Ritsona has offered citizens an option they had not had for decades, putting an end to the unpleasant transportation of bodies abroad and sparing many families the ordeal of exhumation.

Coca-Cola HBC’s African expansion, subject to terms and conditions

The Competition Tribunal of South Africa (something comparable to our own Competition Commission) approved last week, subject to conditions, the acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa by Coca-Cola HBC. This was the most critical regulatory obstacle facing the largest bottling deal the African continent has ever seen. It is well known that the October 2025 agreement provides for the acquisition of 75% of CCBA for $2.6 billion from The Coca-Cola Company (66.5%) and the Gutsche family, with an option for the remaining 25% within six years. The combined entity will control approximately two-thirds of the volumes of the Coca-Cola system in Africa, adding 14 new markets (South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, etc.). This will make the group the second-largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world by volume. The approval conditions bear a distinctly South African stamp: a moratorium on layoffs, retention of CCBA’s headquarters in the country, and a secondary listing of HBC on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. At the same time, the Coca-Cola system has committed approximately $1 billion in investment in South Africa through 2030. Coca-Cola 3E was born in Nigeria in 1951 as the Levantis and David’s Nigerian Bottling Company, before eventually arriving in Marousi and Zug; it remains dual-listed in London and Athens and is the heavyweight stock of Euronext Athens. The African expansion also reduces the Group’s dependence on Russia, which accounted for 13% of the Group’s revenue in 2024. However, this approval does not yet complete the transaction. In the August conference call, management was counting approvals in four of the six required jurisdictions. South Africa was the fifth, and the most significant. One signature remains.

A Lifeline for the Athens Stock Exchange

While we are on the subject of Coca-Cola HBC, it is worth mentioning that its stock acted yesterday as a strong counterweight for the Athens Stock Exchange, providing significant support during a session of intense selling. Buoyed by the positive developments on the international expansion front that we mentioned above, the stock closed with gains of more than 2%, at €53.80, with the group’s market capitalization returning to the €20 billion milestone. Yesterday’s transactions reached €2.16 million, with volume exceeding 40,000 shares. Despite the positive reaction, the stock remains below its all-time high of €60, which it reached last July. The obvious catalyst for the rise was the “green light” given by South Africa’s Competition Authority for the $2.6 billion deal to acquire 75% of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), paving the way for completion of the agreement in the second half of 2026.

AKTOR buys back its own shares

Through Piraeus Securities, which will act as the principal manager, the AKTOR Group is activating its share buyback programme. The relevant announcement was made late yesterday afternoon, and share purchases begin today, with a price range of €0.30 to €15. AKTOR currently holds 30,000 treasury shares, while the buyback programme has a duration of 24 months, in accordance with the relevant decision of the general meeting. The company may use the shares it acquires in any manner permitted by law.

GEK TERNA: Romania and the results

Romania is developing into one of the important markets for GEK TERNA, with the group building a portfolio of major projects in railway and energy infrastructure. TERNA was named provisional contractor for a project worth approximately €144.6 million in western Romania, on behalf of PPC Renewables Romania, involving 400/110 kV substations and high-voltage infrastructure. Through its subsidiary TERNA, in a consortium with Alstom Romania, the group has already been declared final contractor for two railway projects with a combined budget of around €1 billion, while it also has a real-estate portfolio in the country. In today’s half-year results, GEK is expected to report a slight improvement in profitability compared with last year, according to the market’s consensus estimates. However, last year’s performance was boosted by the sale of Heron’s power-generation units to PPC, which generated an extraordinary €30 million revenue item in the energy business. On an organically comparable basis, profitability will be stronger, also reflecting the addition and full consolidation of the Egnatia Odos motorway, which was not included in last year’s first-half revenues.

V. Lazarakou at Eurofi

The Chair of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, V. Lazarakou, will participate in Eurofi, an important European forum held every six months in the country holding the EU presidency, attended by central bankers, finance ministers, capital-market supervisors, and representatives of the market and the international financial sector. The Chair will moderate a panel entitled “Securities Trading: Fragmentation, Future Trends and the New European Framework (MISP)” and will speak about the structure of trading markets in the EU. She will also participate as a speaker in a second panel on tokenization and how it can contribute to the further integration of the European capital market. Her participation in two panels highlights the active role of the HCMC in the European dialogue on shaping the new regulatory and supervisory environment.

A quiet profit machine in Neo Psychiko

The publicity spotlight is currently focused on the banks and heavyweight blue chips, but the small ILIDA published perhaps one of the clearest half-year results of this year’s reporting season. It doubled its net profits to €3.13 million, with an EBITDA margin approaching 72%—a performance that is rare even among software companies. The stock is trading approximately 35% higher than last year, and its market capitalization has exceeded €62.7 million. And yet, annualizing its half-year profitability gives a P/E of around 10, perhaps even lower if the second half proves stronger, as is customary in the sector. For an IT company paying a €0.09 dividend, with high liquidity and a strong capital structure, the multiple looks like something from another era. In July, its management signed a strategic partnership with ACT and GVSOFT, involving technology transfer and an investment of up to €4 million, for a unified platform covering all car dealerships, repair shops, spare parts and after-sales service, seeking a dominant position in automotive software. At the same time, according to information, the company’s backlog of contracts locks in its revenues for the next three years. Since June, the stock has had a designated market maker (Eurobank Equities), and the company has obtained ISO 42001 certification for artificial-intelligence management.

The REIC business plans are being put to the test

The ECB raised the euro deposit rate to 2.5%, and markets are already discussing the possibility of a third increase, during 2026 or, at the latest, in the first months of 2027, to 3%. The business plans of most Greek REICs were drawn up in the era of cheap money, and their implementation is becoming even more difficult today. The stock market has reacted, pushing the sector’s average discount above 25% (excluding Prodea). Eurobank Equities (7/8) calculated a 48% discount for Premia (higher because of leverage), 46% for Noval and 35% for Trade Estates, which it identifies as its top pick in the sector, with a dividend yield of 7.2% this year and an LTV of 43%. The half-year results, however, show that the operating engine is working. On September 8, BriQ announced net profits up 25%, NAV up 6.2% to €184.5 million, and an interim dividend, with a portfolio of 52 properties worth €296 million. Trade Estates reported NAV of €347.6 million (€2.86 per share, up 2.2% from December) and revenues of €26.7 million, with the Ellinikon Commercial Park under construction. Noval is running with rents up 17% and FFO up 38%, with NAV at €563.6 million. BriQ Properties reported a 25% increase in first-half net profits and the distribution of an interim dividend. What is interesting is that, internationally, the criterion of net asset value in the sector appears to be declining in importance, while analysts are now focusing on the generation of earnings per share. Anyone increasing their earnings faster than inflation (at 3% this year) has no reason to fear interest rates. In the real-estate market, interest rates are testing valuations, but rents are confirming them.

China enters through the…back door

Do not look only at the Panamax floating dry dock that Skaramangas is discussing acquiring from China. Look a little further. Because this particular case shows just how deeply the Chinese shipbuilding industry has now penetrated the global shipping supply chain. Until a few years ago, we mainly talked about Greek shipowners travelling to China to order ships. Now, the infrastructure needed to repair those ships can also come to Greece from Chinese shipyards and equipment manufacturers. And this is happening at a time when Europe is looking for a way to regain the shipbuilding strength it has lost to Asia. In order to strengthen its own shipbuilding and ship-repair capacity, Greece is turning—even if only at the level of a specific investment currently under negotiation—to the very same industrial superpower from which Europe is trying to reduce its dependence. If the final signatures are put on paper, Skaramangas’s Panamax will therefore be more than just a new dry dock. It will be a miniature version of the major battle currently taking place in the shipbuilding industry. Europe wants to return to the game, but China has already made sure that it is inside the game’s supply chain.

Pitta’s ATM and the “20 million” in the drawer

One detail from the latest announcements by Aristidis Pitta’s EuroDry deserves more attention. The company opened an ATM programme on Wall Street for up to $20 million, meaning it acquired the ability to gradually sell new shares when and if it decides that market conditions are favourable. This does not mean that it will raise the entire amount tomorrow morning. It does, however, mean that it wants the “weapon” fully loaded. And the timing is interesting. EuroDry has 11 bulkers and, at the same time, four newbuildings in its orderbook—two Kamsarmaxes and two Ultramaxes. So there is CAPEX ahead and a need to maintain financing flexibility. In the market, after all, ATMs are usually not opened so that they can remain forever in the drawer. They are opened so that management can move quickly when the right price appears in the stock or the right opportunity arises in ships. So the interesting point is not the $20 million. It is when and why Pitta will decide to use it. Because that is probably where the next piece of news will be.

What will Diana do with the $51 million?

What will Diana Shipping do with the $51 million it put into its coffers? Will it remain as a liquidity cushion, be directed toward debt reduction, or is some new move in the shipping market in the works? And why, while it sold 2 million shares of Genco, did it choose to retain a stake of approximately 5.4%? These are the questions left behind by a move that passed relatively under the radar. Between August 27 and September 10, Diana sold 2 million shares of Genco Shipping & Trading, taking in approximately $51 million. In fact, around 1.52 million shares were sold through a block trade at $26.75. The substance of the matter is that Semiramis Paliou’s Diana made a partial cash-out, not an exit. It took a significant amount off the table, but retained a position in Genco and therefore exposure to a possible further rise in the company’s stock. In shipping, however, $51 million of fresh liquidity is difficult to overlook. Especially at a time when opportunities to buy vessels emerge quickly and those with cash available can move without waiting for the banks. Diana’s next move will show whether this is simply profit-taking or whether it is preparing its cash reserves for something else.

The “child” of Agricultural Bank now speaks Hungarian too

ELVIZ was born in 1963 as a subsidiary of the once-powerful Agricultural Bank of Greece, with the mission of “regulating” the animal-feed market. Its first production was recorded in Platy, Imathia, in 1969, while the second factory was established in Petrochori, Xanthi, in 1993. When ATE disappeared, 99.9% passed to EUROFARM. Now, the historic Greek animal-feed industry speaks Hungarian as well. UBM Group acquired 65%. The legal adviser and representative of the buyer was the Sardelas Petsa law firm. UBM Group is listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange, with turnover of almost €600 million. It started in 1996 as an importer of soybean meal and today is pursuing a series of acquisitions. Last year it absorbed Agrifirm Hungary from the Dutch Royal Agrifirm Group, while it is investing in premix facilities and three animal-feed factories in Kazakhstan through 2028. With ELVIZ’s 250,000 tonnes of capacity, the group now exceeds 1 million tonnes annually and gains a “gateway” to the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean. ELVIZ closed 2025 with sales of €18.3 million (+2%, with volumes +10%), but pre-tax losses of €654,000. This year, sales have declined as animal diseases are decimating sheep and goat farming and, with it, demand. The Hungarians’ experience with these issues may prove useful; their own market has gone through avian influenza and foot-and-mouth disease.

Interest rates are rising, Americans are getting poorer

The US 10-year Treasury yield crossed the 5% threshold, for the first time since October 2023. The previous milestone is 5.02%, the levels of July 2007—before the world had experienced Lehman Brothers, QE and zero interest rates. The 30-year is already running at 5.36%, while the 2-year is at 4.65%, its highest level since July 2024. The Fed, which meets today and tomorrow, is watching the cost of money rise without its own signature on it. Thirty-year mortgages cost more than 7%, freezing the US housing market once again; the 2-percentage-point spread over the 10-year Treasury is working relentlessly. The Greek 10-year, at 4.24%, allows the government to borrow more cheaply than the US government by more than 75 basis points. But a “risk-free” rate of 5% reprices everything, from stock valuations to real estate. When zero risk pays 5%, all other risks have to go back on the scales.

The cola war in the media

The news caused seismic shockwaves because it changed the balance of power in the global advertising market. It all started with a soft drink. Publicis Groupe took over all of PepsiCo’s media business in more than 200 markets. There was never an official pitch; its technological capabilities were simply evaluated. Publicis ousted Omnicom, whose OMD network had held Pepsi’s account in the US and Britain for more than 20 years. To give a sense of the scale, in 2025 PepsiCo spent $5.4 billion on promotional activities, of which $3.4 billion went to advertising. The earthquake was also felt in Atlanta. Publicis withdrew from Coca-Cola’s international tender for media, data science and technology. This was a process that began in July, is being run by MediaSense, and the “business” is valued at around $4 billion. Everything indicated that Publicis and WPP would battle it out for Coca-Cola’s tender. It also appears that Coca-Cola is preparing to review its North American media account, currently held by Publicis—which had taken it away from WPP only in March 2025—and for this reason it was in talks with WPP, Omnicom and Dentsu. Dentsu is already a Coca-Cola partner in the Japanese and Korean markets. There is an unwritten, rather self-evident rule in the industry: no one can serve both colas. For now, WPP is coming out the winner, as it sees the $4 billion playing field clearing for it to play alone. Omnicom is losing PepsiCo’s media business but remains a “critical strategic partner” in creative, sports marketing and public relations. It also has time to bid for Coca-Cola’s North American business. The war is much broader and deeper. PepsiCo is simultaneously running a separate tender for Artificial Intelligence (AI transformation), with companies such as Accenture, Deloitte and Omnicom among the candidates. Algorithm infrastructure is the new trophy of the advertising market.