The Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has said it would "not very smart" to sell off "the family jewels" of the country by further privatization, in an interview published in Le Monde online.
"In the midst of a deflationary crisis, it is not very smart to sell the family jewels for peccadilloes. (...) It is wiser to develop state property, to increase their value using smart financial resources to strengthen our economy, "he said.
Will he "stop" the process of privatization of the port of Piraeus?
Yanis Varoufakis has however ruled out the "recall of privatizations which are due to be completed", saying that would be "unwise". The new Greek government of Alexis Tsipras in a statement released last Wednesday had said it wanted to "stop" the process of privatization of the port of Piraeus, the largest in the country and a centerpiece of the comprehensive plan for selling public assets required by creditors countries.
Chinese conglomerate Cosco, which has already acquired two terminals of the port of Piraeus, near Athens, was tipped to get the 67% share that the Greek State has in the port operating company.
Yanis Varoufakis said in the Le Monde interview that the Cosco investments were "very positive for Greece." The Greek finance minister also said he "considers foreign investment, including Chinese" as "a great source of hope to improve our infrastructures and strengthen our competitiveness."
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