FAMILY I: The latest ELSTAT figures are sounding… alarm bells—not just little bells! New births in Greece fell by 4.2% in 2025, while compared to 2020, the decline exceeds 22%!
All within just five years.
The country is in danger of becoming depopulated, as each new year starts from a lower baseline and society is growing accustomed to this loss as if it were a natural phenomenon.
Meanwhile, we mainly discuss demographics in terms of benefits, housing, and daycare centers. All of these are necessary and important, but one very critical factor is the ever-increasing age at which women are having children.
Eurostat ranks Greece among the countries where the age at which women have their first child is well above the European average, while the fertility rate is below it. Simply put: we’re waiting longer and having fewer children.
Age, however, is not a neutral variable. The longer childbearing is postponed, the greater the likelihood of fertility problems arising.
FAMILY II: That’s why the AMH test—a simple blood test that measures ovarian reserve—doesn’t, of course, solve the demographic problem on its own, but it can serve as an early warning sign.
It provides every woman with critical information for family planning BEFORE her options become limited. An additional factor, as specialist doctors have told us, is the widespread lack of knowledge about fertility issues, which leads both women and men to have a misconception about when problems begin.
This would change if this screening were made widely available and provided free of charge.
Curiously enough, although the measure was announced by Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Thessaloniki International Fair in… 2024 for women aged 30–35, absolutely nothing has been done. And this despite the fact that it was reportedly specified as a free preventive fertility screening, at a cost of just 2–3 million euros.
According to our reliable sources, the current Minister of Family Affairs, Domna Michailidou, supports this initiative and has been promoting it with great enthusiasm. It is certain that Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis would be very unlikely to object. His views on issues such as low birth rates and demographics are well known.
So the question is simple: who is keeping it on the back burner? EOPYY, bureaucracy, overlapping jurisdictions? Certain vested interests?
For such a low-cost measure, the delay is disproportionate. And above all, it is politically inexplicable.
KONSTANTAKOPOULOS: TEMES will “boost” the coffers of its newly formed parent company, Ensofi S.A., with 190 million euros. On June 8, Ensofi, as the sole shareholder of TEMES, decided to reduce the share capital of its subsidiary by 190.07 million euros, lowering the par value of each share from 21.02 euros to 7.36 euros. The amount of the reduction is attributed to Ensofi, which will likely, in turn, distribute the vast majority of this amount to its shareholders (the Konstantakopoulos family and Olayan).
SHIPPING: Shipowners are currently experiencing one of the most favorable periods for shipping finance in recent years, as banks, bond investors, and alternative financiers are competing fiercely for new deals.
According to Michalis Zolotas, head of the consulting firm Eurofin, the market currently offers one of the widest ranges of financing options seen in recent years, with the result that lenders are squeezing their profit margins to secure high-quality clients.
As he points out, European banks have become significantly more competitive, while the difference in borrowing costs between European and Asian lenders has narrowed considerably over the past twelve months. Greek banks, such as the National Bank of Greece and Eurobank, are particularly active; they now offer highly competitive terms and are gradually expanding their presence among foreign shipping groups as well.
At the same time, interest is growing in alternative sources of financing, such as the Scandinavian high-yield bond market. At the same time, the strong profitability reported by many shipping companies has reduced the need for highly leveraged financing, diminishing the appeal of Chinese leasing schemes.
On the mergers and acquisitions front, Michalis Zolotas notes that the driving force is not so much industry consolidation as the entry of private equity and infrastructure investment funds seeking stable returns in sectors such as LNG, offshore wind energy, and specialized maritime transport. “There is a great deal of capital available seeking investment opportunities, and shipping has now caught their attention,” he emphasizes.
IONIC: Dimitris Frank Sarakakis’s Greek company, Ionic Shipping, is moving forward with the renewal of its fleet, remaining faithful to its long-standing strategy of having all its ships built in Japan. The Greek shipowner revealed in a rare interview with Japan’s Kaiji Press that the company has ordered four new tankers, which are scheduled for delivery between 2028 and 2029.
According to reports, the orders consist of three Suezmax and one Aframax tankers, all equipped with scrubbers. The contracts were signed earlier this year with shipyards with which the company has long-standing partnerships, such as Japan Marine United, Imabari Shipbuilding, and Sumitomo Heavy Industries.
With these new additions, Ionic’s tanker fleet will grow to 11 vessels. The company also owns 11 dry bulk carriers and remains the only Greek shipping company with a fleet built entirely in Japan.
Dimitris Sarakakis made it clear, however, that the new orders are primarily intended to renew rather than expand the fleet, noting that the significant increase in the global order book calls for greater restraint.
PIRAEUS: Last February, Piraeus established a new subsidiary under the name Piraeus Investment Holdings. Subsequently, the bank transferred its holdings in funds managed by sixteen domestic asset management companies to the newly formed company through a capital increase, which will be covered by a contribution in kind. These include Diorama II, EOS Hellenic Renaissance Fund RAIF I and II, SMER I and II, Dromeus Real Estate II, EuSIF, Invel Eudora II, Corallia Ventures, Zelos I, Elbridge Capital I, Iliad Partners Tech Fund I, Lstone, and others. The fair value of the above holdings was estimated at 49.85 million euros. At the same time, the Bank will contribute an additional 15.75 million euros in cash. In total, the capital increase will amount to 65.6 million euros.
Anastasia Sakellariou will serve as CEO of the new company, with Dimitris Konstantopoulos as chairman and Petros Katsoulas as a member of the board of directors. The plan calls for additional cash to be injected, enabling the company to manage funds exceeding 100 million euros.
QUEST: The ACS annual general meeting on May 18 approved a distribution of 8 million euros to shareholders from retained earnings. Eighty percent of the amount will go to Quest, and the remaining 20% to GLS. The market interprets this decision as a sign of harmonious cooperation, which will lead to GLS exercising its call option on the 80% stake in ACS held by Quest. Finally, the shareholders decided to distribute 2.28 million euros to the company’s employees from retained earnings.
QUEST II: Management of the “Benroubi” Group subsidiary expects an increase in sales and profitability this year, while liquidity is expected to improve further, leading to a reduction in (net) debt and financial costs. Last year, sales totaled 25.4 million euros, EBITDA reached 4.5 million euros, and net income stood at 1.67 million euros. Net debt stood at just under 4 million euros as of December 31, 2024.
ALLWYN: The new 12-year concession agreement for the operation of state lotteries, signed by Hellenic Lotteries (editor’s note: a subsidiary of Allwyn through OPAP Investments) with the Superfund, compared to the 2013 contract.
Hellenic Lotteries is committed to paying 30% of its gross revenue annually to the State (with the exception of the New Year’s Lottery). In any case, this amount must not be less than 20 million euros for the remaining years of its operation.
The previous 12-year contract (which began in 2013) also provided for the payment of 30% of gross revenue on an annual basis, but with a minimum amount of 50 million euros. It provided an exception for the first and last years of operation. For the first year of operation, the annual fee was calculated as 30 million euros, multiplied by the number of operating days and divided by 365, while for the final year, it was calculated as 50 million euros, multiplied by the number of operating days and divided by 365.
As of December 31, 2025, Hellenic Lotteries had a negative net worth of 80.9 million euros, with Allwyn committing to continue supporting the company by taking all necessary measures to improve its capital structure.
STOCK MARKET: A phenomenon rarely seen in the domestic market occurred on Friday. Not only because two companies from the same group topped the list of top performers, but also because the usual “suspects” from the periphery were completely absent from the top ten best-performing stocks.
ElvalHalcor closed at 5.31 euros, up 14.19%, taking first place among the top gainers in the first trading session following the announcement of the planned share capital increase of up to 300 million euros. And while the reaction may have surprised some, the second-place finish by parent company Viohalco—which closed at 20.95 euros with a 9.11% gain—showed that the market valued not only the subsidiary’s move but the group’s overall growth plan.
The group was also represented at the bottom of the list. Cenergy closed at 25.46 euros, up 3.41%, ranking 10th in daily returns.
As mentioned earlier, the top 10 list did not include a single small-cap or regional stock. Instead, it was dominated by well-known large- and mid-cap names, such as ADMIE (€4.715, +5.36%), ABAX (€3.52, +4.30%), Ellaktor (€1.42, +3.65%), Aktor (€12, +3.45%), and Lamda Development (€6.92, +3.44%).
DIVIDENDS: Companies in the Viohalco group and Intracom are trading ex-dividend as of today.
Specifically, ElvalHalcor is trading ex-dividend at €0.11017 per share, with shareholders receiving a net amount of €0.10466.
Similarly, Cenergy is trading ex-dividend at €0.26 per share (subject to a 30% withholding tax on dividends in accordance with Belgian law), while Noval Property is trading ex-dividend at €0.0702221659 per share (net amount).
Finally, Intracom will be traded excluding the dividend of €0.1813401995 per share, with shareholders receiving a net amount of €0.1722731895 per share.
ADMIE: The stock closed Friday at a new all-time high of 4.715 euros, with strong gains of over 5% and trading volume reaching 20 million euros.
The stock has posted an impressive 46% rise over the past month, gains that accelerated following the significant oversubscription recorded in the capital increase. Given that participants would not receive the shares they wanted through the capital increase, they turned to the stock exchange to complete the transaction.
With the offering price set at 4.05 euros, all eyes are now on next Wednesday, June 24, when the new shares will be listed, to see if—and to what extent—some “quick traders” will rush to “lock in” the difference.