Greece’s relevant development and economy ministry issued a quick response over the weekend to a yet another negative international ranking touching the recession-battered country’s competitiveness, claiming that foreign direct investments in the country will exceed four billion euros in 2017.
The hastily issued announcement comes in the wake of the publication of the Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), which places Greece in 87nd place out of 190 countries survey, one position lower than its ranking in 2016.
In a bid to allay the “bad press” from the latest international report, the ministry’s press release said all economic indices are up over the past three months, while the goal for a 1.8-percent increase in GDP for 2017 is being “approached”.
The last GDP growth recorded in the Greek economy, albeit marginal, came in 2014, after five straight years of what was essentially an economic and fiscal implosion. The recession resumed in 2015 and 2016.
The ministry, and extension by the leftist-rightist coalition government, also referred to “yet another erroneous forecast” by an international organization (again in the case of Greece). Athens also took offense with the World Economic Forum’s methodology, saying the still bailout-dependent country’s competitiveness is displayed in figures such as GDP, exports, economic confidence indexes, FDIs and employment.
