Arabs buying from Westerners
Whether it is direct foreign investment in new projects or portfolio investments, the numbers are constantly growing and have now reached 10 billion euros since the mid-2010s.
Many of these funds, however, are replacing other investors who came from the West. A typical example is last week’s acquisition of 60% of Hellenic Healthcare Group by PureHealth Holding of the United Arab Emirates. The seller is the US investment fund CVC Capital. Similarly, private investment fund BC Partners is in talks with the Saudi Telecom Company, with the prospect of selling United Group’s European activities, including Greek telecommunications company Nova, though this deal is still far from done.
Several other large investments, such as Masdar’s in Terna Energy, and smaller ones such as in hotels in Argolida, testify that Arab funds and even Gulf states’ royal families are investing in Greece.
Following investment flows over the last two decades, market insiders say the reasons are obvious: Crucially, there are now high-value assets in Greece in which Arabs prefer to invest. Furthermore, transactions are being made on a private level, not through open international tenders.
Kathimerini
