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.