Greece to open offers for Piraeus Port on Tuesday

Greek authorities on Tuesday will open financial offers submitted in a tender to buy 67 pct of Piraeus Port Organization, a process characterized as the country’s biggest challenge so far in its drive to put Greece again in the map of international investment funds.

Despite the fact that Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund has not published the number of binding offers submitted with Morgan Stanley in London, Merchant Shipping ministry sources told ANA-MPA that the only bid submitted to the Fund was by Chinese COSCO, while the other candidate, Danish Maersk, was seemed to be interest more in the Thessaloniki Port, with binding offers expected to be submitted in three months.

Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund is expected to ask for an improved offer if COSCO was the only candidate for Piraeus Port, depending on the offer submitted by the Chinese company. Port authority officials told ANA-MPA that the market value of Piraeus Port Organization was currently around 250 million euros and noted that regardless of the price offered to buy a 67 pct of the port, the candidate investor would also undertake a large investment risk. Under the terms of the tender, any possible buyer of Piraeus Port was committed to make investments worth 340 million euros in the port, mainly to boost sea cruise services, new tanks for ship repair and new infrastructure in the ship-building zone.