Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-12-22

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Evaluation of economic figures should be held within the context of the negotiations, says EU spokesperson

[02] Economy Min Papadimitriou outlines factors to attract investments

[03] Spectacular increase in reservations for 2017, says Tourism Minister Kountoura

[01] Evaluation of economic figures should be held within the context of the negotiations, says EU spokesperson

Asked to comment on IMF's Poul Thomsen article she said: "We continue to be certain of the sources of our data and we believe that the essential talks on the analysis on the data and the evaluation of the economic figures are more useful to be held within the context of the in-progress negotiations".

[02] Economy Min Papadimitriou outlines factors to attract investments

Papadimitriou stressed that securing financing in conjunction with removing disincentives to investment and maintaining the stabilization programme are three conditions for attracting investments.

Referring to the EquiFund, the minister outlined the four objectives: the promotion of innovation, encouraging entrepreneurship and extroversion, stopping the brain drain and the transformation of the industrial base through the funding of ideas that could not be otherwise funded.

The EquiFund will fund companies participating in their capital and not by providing loans. Funding will be provided through intermediary holding funds, which will be selected by tender.

The Fund will operate on four sectors: a) research and innovation, b) in the general entrepreneurship for companies in the early stages and c) in the general entrepreneurship for companies in development stage. At sectoral level, it addresses to all kinds of businesses, with particular emphasis on the strategic priority areas of the Greek economy, namely tourism, energy, agri-food, environment, supply chain, IT and communication technologies, health and pharmaceutical industry, the creative and cultural industries, materials and construction.

On his part, National Bank of Greece managing director Leonidas Frangiadakis said that the signing of the agreement offers liquidity solutions that combine the European with the local knowhow and widen and facilitate the accession to middle and small size enterprises to financing. This specific programme offers incentives on the employment of young people which is an additional and very important asset of this initiative.

If we want the economic recovery to last long and to have strong foundations then we must keep the young scientists here (in Greece). The participation of the four systemic banks in the programme underlines our mutual aim for the financing and revival of the economy, said Frangiadakis.

[03] Spectacular increase in reservations for 2017, says Tourism Minister Kountoura

Kountoura referred to the top performance recorded in the Greek tourism sector in the last two years and the successful results of the national 4-year tourism campaign with emphasis on the extension of the tourism period, the opening to new foreign markets, new direct flights, the promotion of new Greek tourist destinations, the thematic tourism and the attraction of new tourism investments.

The minister said that a spectacular increase in reservations for 2017 has been recorded and presented the ministry's programme for the next year. In this context she invited them to submit their own proposals on the country's tourist development.

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