Greece to push back Thessaloniki Port sale deadline to January -newspaper

Thessaloniki Port Authority SA

20/10/2016 11:20

ATHENS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Greece will push back to early 
next year a deadline for the submission of binding bids for a 
majority stake in Thessaloniki Port  OLTr.AT , the country's 
second biggest, Greek newspaper Naftemporiki reported on 
Thursday. 
    Privatisations, a major part of Greece's international 
bailouts since 2010, have reaped only 3.5 billion euros ($3.84 
billion) because of political opposition and a strongly 
unionised public sector. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N18S3G7 
    But Greece has pressed ahead with the programme after 
signing a new financial rescue deal last year, aiming at 
revenues of 14 billion euros by 2022 from divesting state 
assets, including the sale of a 67 percent stake in Thessaloniki 
Port. 
    The head of the country's privatisation agency Stergios 
Pitsiorlas has said that final bids for the port were expected 
towards the end of October. However, the agency will now 
postpone the deadline to early January, Naftemporiki quoted 
Pitsiorlas as saying at an event in Thessaloniki. 
    A source close to the matter has said that Greece needs more 
time to finalise the terms of the sale agreement, including the 
size of investments. The source said that seven out of eight 
shortlisted investors are still interested in the asset. 
    Potential investors include Danish container terminal 
operator APM Terminals  APMOLM.UL , Phillipines-based 
International Container Terminal Services ICTS  ICT.PS , 
Dubai-based P&O Steam Navigation Company (DP World) DPW.DI  and 
Japan's Mitsui & Co  8031.T . 
    Greece initially planned to divest a 51 percent stake in the 
port sell a further 16 percent once the buyer concluded 
mandatory investments. But Pitsiorlas said that Greece is now 
considering an outright sale of the stake as most of the suitors 
have requested, Naftemporiki reported.  
    Athens has said that the buyer will have to invest 180 
million euros by 2021 to develop the port. 
    Last summer Greece sold a 51 percent stake in its biggest 
port, Piraeus  OLPr.AT , to China's COSCO for 280.5 million 
euros in one of the country's biggest privatisations so far. 
    Under the deal, COSCO must conclude investments of about 300 
million euros in five years before buying an additional 16 
percent stake in the port. 
($1 = 0.9114 euros) 
     
 
 (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by David Goodman) 
 ((angeliki.koutantou@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376436; 
Reuters Messaging: angeliki.koutantou.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: GREECE PRIVATISATION/PORT