Greek exports in H1 of 2017 have already exceeded official estimates, says Papadimitriou
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Greek exports in the first six months of the year have already exceeded estimates from the European Commission, OECD and the Greek budget, Economy Minister Dimitri Papadimitriou said on Friday in a speech at a Bank of Greece conference titled “Exports for Growth”.
Papadimitriou said foreign direct investment grew by 142 percent in 2016 compared to 2015, even surpassing 2014 levels, and this year it increased by 69 percent in the first nine months of 2011 compared to 2016while it tends to exceed 4 billion euros in total year.
Exports of goods and services increased by 7.4 percent in the first half of 2017 when the European Commission estimated an increase of 3.3 percent for the year 2017, the OECD 5.7 percent and the official target, based on a budget, is 6.9 percent, he continued.
“In other words, in the first half of the year, exports have already exceeded any official estimate, with projections for 2018 moving around 4-5 percent,” he said.
The minister also said the country needs to modernize its small economy, opening it up to productive investment, and in particular foreign direct investment, as well as turn its productive potential into exports, focusing on industrial exports.
ΑΝΑ-ΜPA