Pyatt airs concerns over OLTH sale

US Ambassador in Athens Geoffrey Pyatt has expressed concern regarding the concession of Thessaloniki’s port and said Washington is awaiting the fruition of promises to improve Greece’s investment climate.

Speaking on Monday at the Greek Economy conference organized by the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce in Athens, the American diplomat said, “We are waiting to see whether the right conditions for investments in Greece are created” and whether Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s message that “Greece is back” is true, as bureaucracy remains a problem.

Pyatt said some investments in Greece are generating concern, citing the privatization of Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLTH). He said that the identity of the investors in the facilities at the northern port remains unclear, as does the provenance of their funding. He contrasted that to “positive examples” such as the concession of 14 regional airports to Fraport.

The preferred bidder for the 67 percent stake in OLTH is a consortium of Deutsche Invest Equity Partners, Terminal Link and Belterra Investments, owned by RussianGreek entrepreneur Ivan Savvidis, who also appears to be the main source of funding for the project.

Pyatt said Greece will be the third European country after Poland and Lithuania to which the US will export liquefied natural gas.

The recent rush to buy Greek bonds resulted in the benchmark 10-year debt yield dropping below the 5 percent mark yesterday, to 4.77 percent from 5.09 percent on Monday. Its price soared from 89.6 cents per euro to 91.95 cents/euro, following the...

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt said Washington wants to see pledge to investors prove true.