Syriza Party News

Greek lawmakers on Thursday approved an amended deal with Chinese shipping group COSCO that will allow it to raise its stake in Greece’s biggest port of Piraeus, paving the way for Greece to secure a major investment.Under a 2016 Greek privatisation deal, COSCO Shipping bought a 51% stake in Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) for 280 million euros ($328 million). It then committed to mandatory investments worth about 294 million euros over five years to purchase an additional 16% stake for 88 million euros.COSCO was due to fulfil this key condition by August…

Greece Economy Minister George Stathakis said that his government is dropping its opposition to selling off the Piraeus Port Authority SA. A sale of the Piraeus Port would be a reversal on the part of Greece’s Syriza party-led government, which had earlier pledged to block such moves. The country's leftist government had ruled out any privatization plans when it came into power but it later started pondering the revision of the sale terms and now has have given the green light for the sale of a majority stake in Piraeus port . Greek government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis said that final decisions on the privatization plan were linked to ongoing negotiations with international lenders on a new deal regarding the resolution of the Greek debt crisis.

The New Leftist government in Greece is expected to avoid tax clash with shipping tycoons, reports Reuters. Many owners in Greece’s important shipping sector were in fear that the new government led by Syriza party of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will levy higher taxes that the industry can’t afford. Before election the party had promised to take on ship-owners and their generous tax allowances. Though Syriza has confronted fellow EU governments with radical plans to renegotiate Greece's debts, overturn austerity policies and cancel privatizations, its stand on ship-owners, by contrast, has been decidedly conciliatory. The Economy Minister George Stathakis, who is in charge of shipping portfolio, confirmed that his government has come to power to solve problems, not to create new ones.

International accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens says it is too soon to say whether the Syriza party’s victory in the country’s elections could, as some fear, have a damaging effect on the country’s shipping industry. Rather, it says, Greek shipping interests will need to monitor how the change of government might affect them on both a business and personal level before reviewing any long-term plans. Moore Stephens London partner Michael Kotsapas, a shipping specialist who has been advising Greek families for over fifteen years…

The new Greek government led by the left-wing Syriza party will halt the sale of a majority stake in the port of Piraeus, Greece's biggest, begun by the previous government, the deputy minister in charge of shipping said on Tuesday. "We will not sell a majority stake in Piraeus port," Thodoris Dritsas told Reuters. "The Cosco deal will be reviewed to the benefit of the Greek people." Greece had shortlisted China's Cosco Group and four other suitors as potential buyers of a 67 percent stake in Piraeus Port Authority OLP last year under its privatisation scheme agreed with its international lenders. Cosco manages two of the port's cargo piers. Binding bids for the stake were expected by the end of the month. Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas

European shares fell on Tuesday, the last full trading day of the year, led lower by energy companies as Brent oil fell to a 5-1/2-year low on persistent concerns about a global supply glut. The STOXX Europe 600 oil & gas index was down 1.9 percent at 1219 GMT, taking its loss for the year to 15 percent. The price of Brent oil is down by about half since June due to a big oversupply and tepid demand, hitting energy companies hard. Explorers Seadrill and Tullow Oil were down around 3 percent. The UK FTSE 100 index fell 0.9 percent, underperforming its European peers, with London-listed energy majors BP and Shell down some 2 percent. UK retailer Next bucked the trend…

The International Monetary Fund will resume bailout talks with Greece once a new government is in place after next month's snap general election, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement on Monday, noting that Athens faces no immediate funding needs. "Discussions with the Greek authorities on the completion of the sixth review of the program that is being supported by an Extended Arrangement will resume once a new government is in place, in consultation with the European Commission and the European Central Bank," the emailed statement said. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced plans for a general election on Jan. 25 after lawmakers rejected his candidate for president in a vote that will automatically lead to the dissolution of parliament.