Greece Unblocks Piraeus Port Sale

May 14 Greece has requested three corporations to submit binding bids by September for a majority stake within the nation’s greatest port, Piraeus, a senior privatisation official informed Reuters on Thursday, unblocking a significant asset sale.

Greece had shorlisted China’s Cosco Group and 4 different teams for a 67 p.c stake in Piraeus Port final 12 months however the sale was halted after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s leftist authorities got here to energy this 12 months.

Pressing forward on the sale is predicted to be one of many main concessions provided by Tsipras to EU and IMF lenders throughout ongoing talks to safe support.

Athens late on Wednesday wrote to traders with an amended invitation to bid for 51 p.c moderately than the earlier 67 p.c stake, the official mentioned.

Only three of the 5 preliminary bidders – Cosco, Dutch container terminal operator APM Terminals, and Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services – are nonetheless within the port, the official mentioned.

“It will be for 51 percent with an option to reach 67 percent in five years if they invest 300 million euros,” he mentioned. “We want to name the winner at the end of September or early October.”

The new leftist-led authorities is attempting to renegotiate a 240-billion-euro bailout and has mentioned it should evaluate asset gross sales, however needs the state to stay concerned in any privatisations. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, enhancing by Deepa Babington/Jeremy Gaunt)