Trade and Investment
Since the fall of communism, Greece has invested heavily in neighbouring Balkan countries. Between 1997 and 2009, 12.11% of foreign direct investment capital in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was Greek, ranking fourth. In 2009 alone, Greeks invested €380 million in the country, with companies such as Hellenic Petroleum having made important strategic investments.
Greece invested €1.38 billion in Bulgaria between 2005 and 2007 and many important companies (including Bulgarian Postbank, United Bulgarian Bank Coca-Cola Bulgaria) are owned by Greek financial groups. In Serbia, 250 Greek companies are active with a total investment of over €2 billion. Romanian statistics from 2005 show that Greek investment in the country exceeded €3 billion.
Since the 2009 crisis, Greece's negative balance of trade has decreased significantly from €43.3 billion in 2008 to €20.8 billion in 2011, a decrease of €22.5 billion or 52%. Exports in 2011 alone saw an overall increase of 39%, while imports fell by 9.2%. In the first three months of 2012, imports fell by 12.8% while exports rose by 16.2% compared to the same period in 2011.
| Rank | Imports | Rank | Exports | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Value | Destination | Value | ||
| 1 | Germany | €7,238.2 | 1 | Denmark | €2,001.9 |
| 2 | Italy | €6,918.5 | 2 | Italy | €1,821.3 |
| 3 | Russia | €4,454.0 | 3 | France | €1,237.0 |
| 4 | China | €3,347.1 | 4 | Netherlands | €1,103.0 |
| 5 | France | €3,098.0 | 5 | Russia | €885.4 |
| – | European Union | €33,330.5 | – | European Union | €11,102.0 |
| – | Total | €60,669.9 | – | Total | €17,334.1 |
| Rank | Imports | Rank | Exports | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | European Union | €22,688.5 | – | European Union | €11,377.7 |
| – | Total | €42,045.4 | – | Total | €22,451.1 |
| Rank | Imports | Rank | Exports | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | European Union | €5,183.4 | – | European Union | €2,650.2 |
| – | Total | €9,588.8 | – | Total | €5,550.8 |
According to an OECD report in 2011, Greece is set to have a positive balance of trade of €12.3 billion by 2013 (the figure includes imports/exports of both goods and services). The head of the European Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer, said on 4 March 2012 that Greece would receive loans for a total of €2 billion in what Mr. Hoyer dubbed a "new Marshall Plan".
Read more about this topic: Economy Of Greece
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