China's COSCO not seen bidding for Greek rail freight centre -sources

Prodea Real Estate Investment SA

01/08/2016 13:29

ATHENS, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Greece is still struggling to find 
investors for a rail freight hub that it has been trying to set 
up since 2008, sources close to the process said on Monday.  
    China's COSCO  601919.SS  had been expected to team up with 
other investors after the Greek government launched a new tender 
for the 250 million euro ($280 million) investment project last 
year, part of a bid to turn Greece to a European transhipment 
hub. 
    Greece, which had to turn to its euro zone partners and the 
International Monetary Fund in 2010 for help in riding out a 
debt crisis, is still struggling to revive its economy.  
    The selected investor will have to build a terminal with 
access to the national railway network and Greece's largest port 
in Piraeus  OLPr.AT  and operate it for 60 years. The deadline 
for binding bids - which was pushed back twice this year to give 
investors more time to prepare - expires at 1300 GMT on Monday. 
    A potential suitor, China's COSCO along with Greek real 
estate developer Grivalia  GRIr.AT  and real estate investment 
firm NBG Pangaea, a unit of National Bank  NBGr.AT , will not 
submit an offer, two officials told Reuters.  
    Greek media have reported the firms were interested in the 
tender.  ID:nL5N17G1PD  
    "Our potential interest in Thriasio was always linked with 
COSCO as we are not a logistics company and thus not a basic 
user. As Cosco is not going to bid, we will not either," said an 
executive at NBG Pangaea, who declined to be named. 
    Another official at Grivalia said the company would not take 
part in the tender either. 
    China COSCO Shipping  600428.SS  bought a majority stake 
this year in Piraeus Port  OLPr.AT  in one of Greece's biggest 
privatisations, a move which fits with China's "one belt, one 
road" policy of building a modern silk road to boost trade. 
    Another potential bidder, ETBA, a unit of Piraeus Bank 
 BOPr.AT  which manages and develops industrial parks, was 
interested in the tender, an official close to the process said. 
    "ETBA has a positive view on the asset," the official told 
Reuters on condition of anonymity. 
     There were media reports that ETBA along with Greece's 
Goldair, which offers cargo and logistics services, could 
possibly submit an offer for Thriasio. Goldair was not 
immediately available for comment. 
 
($1 = 0.8961 euros) 
 
 (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Additional reporting by 
Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) 
 ((angeliki.koutantou@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376436; 
Reuters Messaging: angeliki.koutantou.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: GREECE TENDER/FREIGHT