Greece Sells Assets, Including Island Resorts, Planes, Highways, Buildings To Pay Down Debt
When governments announce that the sale of assets, they usually mean industries and companies owned and operated by the state. Greece has something slightly different in mind.
According to Bloomberg, Greece is preparing to sell its ownership stake in Astir Palace, described by the news agency as an “Athenian Riviera resort.” The resort includes almost 3 million square feet of beachfront property where guests can experience “the city and the seaside,” according to its website. Aristotelis Karytinos, the general manager of real estate for the National Bank of Greece, called Astir Palace a “trophy asset.”
Such sales have become a normal fact of life for the debt-ridden Mediterranean country.
The Greek government, in the midst of a major fiscal crisis, is unable to pay its bills. Roughly $228 billion in bailout loans have been provided to the country, and by the year 2020, Greece must raise 50 billion euro to meet its obligations to the European Union. According to Bloomberg, it has only raised 1.8 billion euro.