By S. Zisimos
[email protected]
Greece’s energy sector appears to be at the forefront of Chinese state investment interest, as detailed in a MoU signed on Monday by the relevant Greek and Chinese ministers in Athens, on the sidelines of a very prominent official visit to the country by Chinese President Xi Jinping and a throng of ministers, company executives and journalists from the Far East powerhouse.
The center-right Mitsotakis government directly referred to 14 state-owned or managed energy-related entities, included in listed companies, in the memorandum of understanding, including the Hellenic Petroleum (Hel.Pe) petro-chemical group, the natural gas provider (DE.PA), the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or ADMIE), the Attica-Crete (Ariadne) power inter-connection project, as well as a bevy of major wind power units.
As widely expected, a foreseen purchase of another 18-percent stake of the Piraeus Port Authority (to bring the total to 69 percent) by Cosco and the port’s expansion is listed
Beyond energy, the Greek side also referred to waste management on a regional level, where Greece still lacks state-of-the-art recycling and disposal systems and still relies mostly on landfall burial and collection by municipal sanitation crews.
The MoU was signed by Greek Development & Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis and Chinese Commerce Minister Commerce Minister Zhong Shan.
