By Danai Alexaki 

 

Naftemporiki awarded the leading Greek companies for 2023 in a special event held at Grande Bretagne hotel.

 

These are companies that kept their “promises” to shareholders, the market and society and managed to improve their financial figures, create new jobs, implement investments of tens of billions of euros contributing to the strengthening of the GDP, which is expected to approach 215 billion euros.

 

Ktenas: “Greece is now a success story in international markets”

 

The general manager of Naftemporiki Group, Spyros Ktenas, opened the event and pointed out:

 

“Your presence here is a special honor for Naftemporiki, which was awarded by the European Newspaper Awards as the leading European Newspaper of the Year.

 

Today, we have an additional reason to be optimistic since the Greek economy is steadily improving its performance. Greece is now a success story in the international markets while S&P, Fitch and DBRS’ upgrade of government bonds paves the way for lower corporate borrowing costs.

 

Major listed companies’ recorded 10.3 billion euro profit last year, and this is something that can be achieved again this year, providing another reason for optimism.

 

The financial performance of the Greek economy and businesses is increasing during the current period.

 

Tourism breaks one record after another.

 

The construction sector is supported by public and private projects with a backlog of 14 billion euros.

 

Large Greek companies have undertaken projects abroad.

 

The projects of the Recovery Fund create needs of 1 billion euros.

 

By 2030, investments of over 10 billion euros are expected in the energy sector.

 

All this and much more creates a particularly positive business climate for all of you who are on the list of Diamonds of the Greek Economy.

 

I welcome you to today’s event and invite you to renew our appointment in 2024, the year in which Naftemporiki will celebrate its 100 years.”

 

“Naftemporiki has learnt to highlight and reward excellence”

 

Stressing that Naftemporiki has learnt to highlight and reward excellence, the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Staikouras, in his speech, confirmed the realistically positive assessments of the Greek economy, as they unfold for 2024 and the following years. “The country, together with households and businesses, citizens and the state, succeeded in upgrading and strengthening the Greek economy. Public finances have stabilized, unemployment is decreasing, the quality of the wealth of the Greek economy is improving, investments and exports have increased, the economic climate is improving, so we are converging faster and faster to the European average.”

 

However, he pointed out that risks have not been eliminated but still exist at an international level: a volatile fiscal environment, high and persistent inflation that will continue in 2024. In this light, Staikouras pointed out that “we must walk on the path of fiscal prudence and financial responsibility.”