A large number of local entrpreneurs, especially industrialists active in the fields of energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, are keen to make investments as soon as conditions allow, judging by the content of speeches, as well as the sideline talk, at a SEV (Hellenic Association of Industrialists) conference staged at the Athens Hilton.

Mihalis Stasinopoulos, chief at Elval (Hellenic Aluminium Industry) and the Viohalco group, who usually avoids public events, as well as other prominent entrepreneurs, among them Evangelos Mytilineos, chief exectutive at the Mytilineos corporate group, participated.

Political stability and Greek State consistency are essential factors for improved conditions that can once again attract capital and investments, it was reiterated.

Mytilineos pointed out that the ruling Syriza leftist-led coalition and main opposition conservative New Democracy party’s shared pro-EU outlook and support for reforms offers stability and a predictable business environment, necessary traits for long-term investments.

Industrialist Spyros Theodoropoulos, head of Chipita, underlined that the managerial ability, versatility, decisiveness, and strength displayed by Greek enterprises that managed to establish themselves internationally amid the crisis stands as their greatest asset.

A number of entrepreneurs appear ready to invest, conditions permitting. The Mytilineos group, for example, is preparing to invest 110 million euros in renewable energy (RES) projects within the next two months as long as economic and political stability prevails with the completion of the first review of Greece’s third bailout package. Elval, too, seems set to proceed with a major investment, backed by EU funding support, that will double the aluminium industry’s production capacity.

Certain macroeconomic factors, the most noteable being the handling of Greece’s debt issue, a constant threat for the economy’s sustainability, will need to be addressed if the country’s investment climate is to improve, it was pointed out at the conference.

At a practical level, entrepreneurs are waiting to see positive impact from last night’s agreement at the Euro Working Group, in the form of a further fall in Greek bond interest rates from the current levels of 7.5 percent to about 5 percent. This will help reduce the extraordinarily high cost of capital for Greek enterprises, compared to levels enjoyed by competitors abroad.