Greece to Proceed With Piraeus Port Privatization

[former9thward]

Source: Wall Street Journal

Greece will proceed with the privatization of the country’s main port of Piraeus, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis plans to tell his eurozone counterparts at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, backtracking on previous statements from the new leftist government that had pledged to freeze the deal, senior Greek government officials said.

The U-turn comes as Greece’s new leftist, Syriza-led coalition government scrambles to reach a financing deal with international creditors that will keep the country from running out of cash in coming weeks and potentially defaulting on its debts. Since being voted into power just over two weeks ago, the new government has set a collision course with its European creditors by promising to roll back many of the austerity measures and reforms—such as privatizations—that Greece has undertaken in the past five years to secure billions of euros in aid.

Selling the state’s 67% stake in the Piraeus Port Authority is one of the biggest divestments of an ambitious privatization plan agreed to by the previous conservative government with the so-called troika of creditors—the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund—for the debt-ridden country to continue receiving bailout funds. It is also one of the more symbolic: The port of Piraeus, just a few miles south of the Greek capital of Athens, is the de facto home of Greece’s giant shipping industry and is one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean.

“The Piraeus sale is on. It will proceed as planned,” a senior finance-ministry official told The Wall Street Journal.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/greece-to-proceed-with-piraeus-port-privatization-1423573999

[PoliticAverse]

1. And so the compromises begin. n/t

[fasttense]

2. So much for the far, far radical leftist new Greek government that

the Wall Street Urinal was all so concerned about.

Seems the new far left government still wants to sell off Greece's thriving port operations to Chinese Cosco (who does NOT play nicely with Labor Unions). This is the Walmartization of Europe.

Tell me again how exactly China is a communist country?

[Kelvin Mace]

3. Gosh, it didn't take long for them to betray the voters.

[villager]

6. It never does. As we have come to learn.

n/t

[EEO]

4. Damn it.

[FLPanhandle]

5. So many people are quick to condemn the governments actions

These guys aren't stupid.

Much of their tough talk is to set a favorable beginning bargaining position, but as long as they are staying in the EU, and want to continue to borrow money, they will be making compromises from that initial bargaining position.

Did anyone here really believe otherwise?

[Kelvin Mace]

7. Much safer to assume that any group

claiming they will adhere to liberal values is lying to us.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. He had said something similar a couple of weeks ago, but govt says it's blocking the privatisation

From 2 weeks ago:

"What about the privatisations of the ports? Are you going to go ahead with that, or are you going to reverse that?"

"Allow me to say one thing. Firstly, personally, and as a finance minister, I can assure you the particular investment in the port of Piraeus that has been unfolding in the past few years has my full support, and I would like to be part of an attempt to attract to this country forward directing investment that has a similar effect on raising productivity and competitiveness. But the privatisations that have mostly been pursued over the last few years have been a kind of fire sale in the middle of a deflationary process where essentially, assets that are potentially very valuable to this nation are being sold off during a deflationary crisis for peanuts, and even those peanuts are being thrown into a black hole of unsustainable debt."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1002327

From today, after the WSJ report in the OP:

Greece no longer discussing Piraeus port sale - govt spokesman

Greece is no longer discussing the privatisation of the country's two biggest ports in Piraeus and Thessaloniki, its government spokesman said on Wednesday.

"We are not discussing any further sale or privatisation of Piraeus Port or Thessaloniki port," Gabriel Sakellaridis told Greek television.

China's Cosco managed two of Piraeus port's cargo piers and had been shortlisted along with another four suitors as potential buyers of a 67 percent stake in the port under last year's privatisation scheme.

But the new government of the left-wing Syriza party which took power last month said it was cancelling the sale.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/11/eurozone-greece-privatisation-ports-idUSL5N0VL1SR20150211

[JackRiddler]

9. BULLSHIT

Possible bit of sabotage from within the ministry, speculative overreach (wishful thinking or disinformation) by WSJ.


Greek press, next day: Athens says no more talk of selling Piraeus port

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_11/02/2015_547158

Reuters, next day: Greece says still intent on halting privatization of ports

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/international/greece-says-still-intent/1652528.html

In coming months the bullshit on Greece is really going to fly. Check all stories twice - except for those telling you hundreds of thousands of people are in the street in Athens and Europe in support of the Greek move to end austerity. Those are true!