ECONOMY: Spyros Theodoropoulos’s statement that the government, instead of covering the cost of accelerated depreciation for productive investments in industry, prefers to provide fuel passes, sparked discussions in the corridors following the conclusion of the presentation of a study by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece.
As the president of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) noted, the cost of the reduction in tax revenue is equivalent to two fuel passes or the support measures for vulnerable groups due to rising energy costs. At the same time, large energy-intensive industries have also requested support but have not received it.
In the corridors of power, the issue of fiscal discipline has come into play, along with the technocratic approach to “cutting” or approving expenditures or reductions in tax revenue. However, only a political decision can save any of the “cuts.”
And now the rhetorical question that provides the answer: Where do you allocate 300 or 500 million euros over the next one or two years? To big business or to hundreds of thousands of households? Where do most of the votes come from? And how many votes might be lost if support for big industry is prioritized?
The answer, perhaps, is obvious. But it’s short-sighted. Obviously, vulnerable households need support. But when we’re talking about thousands of vulnerable households, the problem requires a permanent solution, not temporary handouts.
On the other hand, a nation’s prosperity depends on productivity. An expenditure today can ensure a steady flow of investment and an increase in productivity and prosperity in the future. And in practical terms, this means higher incomes for everyone and, therefore, less need for… handouts.
Politicians know, however, that voters at the polls respond to the most recent measures that have an immediate positive impact on their wallets.
Not long-term strategic plans…
MARKETS: Major stock market indices may remain at high levels, but beneath the surface, a crisis continues to unfold concerning the “trendiest” aspect of finance: private credit.
The problem isn’t new, but in 2026 it appears to be taking on ever-greater proportions. Many funds that invest in private debt—primarily non-bank loans to businesses—are facing increased redemption requests from investors.
The problem is that the funds are not held in cash or in listed bonds that can be sold immediately. They are tied up in loans—often unlisted—that are difficult to value and even harder to liquidate.
Shares in these funds were sold to wealthy individuals and institutional investors as “semi-liquid” solutions, with the option of periodic redemptions. However, redemptions are capped, usually at 5% of net asset value per quarter. When redemption requests exceed this limit, so-called “exit gates” kick in. You may want to cash out, but you can’t.
And this is happening more and more frequently, affecting even the biggest names in the international market.
The most recent example came from Apollo. Apollo Debt Solutions, a large private credit fund that primarily targets wealthy individuals, received redemption requests amounting to approximately 17% of its shares. Ultimately, it honored only 5% of those requests—the contractual limit of its obligation.
However, this is not an isolated case.
MARKETS II: Similar pressures have recently emerged at major asset managers such as BlackRock, Blue Owl, Ares, Blackstone, Barings, and others.
According to international reports, in the first quarter of 2026, redemption requests for more than a dozen private credit funds totaled approximately $13 billion, with several billion effectively left “in the queue,” with the paperwork in hand.
Fund managers argue that the restrictions are known in advance and protect other investors from fire sales. Technically, they are right.
The question, however, is a different one. How “liquid” is an investment, after all, when investors cannot get their money back when they want it?
And this is where the underlying crisis we mentioned in the headline lies. The investors seeking to liquidate aren’t exactly… novices. They want to “get out” because they see interest rates rising, as well as market imbalances that could create repayment problems for the loans they indirectly hold through the funds.
If these trends intensify, the desire of “sophisticated” investors to rush out of private credit funds could prove to be a harbinger of very unpleasant developments.
METLEN: About a dozen foreign companies, including all of Metlen’s key defense partners—such as KNDS, Naval, Iveco Defense, TKMS, and Raytheon—attended yesterday’s event in Volos for the inauguration of M-Technologies’ fourth facility.
“At Capital Markets Day in London in April 2025, we presented our strategic transformation. Today, here in Volos, we are seeing one of the clearest examples of what that means in practice. Not as a prediction. But as a reality,” was Mytilineos’ message. Together with Defense Minister Nikos Dendias, Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos, and M-Technologies CEO Vasilis Tsiamis, pressed the button, symbolically marking the start of operations at the new factory.
It is significant that among the 350 attendees, a host of executives from across the entire defense supply chain were present.
DENDIAS: The Defense Minister’s reference to the Greek economy—which is considered the government’s trump card—certainly made an impression. “The country faces two major challenges,” he said.
The first challenge is straightforward: the security challenge. “The second, which is equally important,” as the Defense Minister noted, “is one of the three reasons that led the country to default in 2010, and that is the balance of payments deficit.”
He went on to say “We must address these challenges in an innovative and different way so that we can achieve the desired result, but also tackle the balance of payments deficit, which is damaging the Greek economy, is undermining our very existence and our credibility. Because a poor country cannot be a strong country, and Greece’s destiny is not to be a poor country.”
Draw your own conclusions…
LOVERDOS: Yes, we’ve heard that too—and from a senior government official, no less. That austerity doesn’t affect very many Greeks, and this is proven by the… delivery drivers.
Deputy Foreign Minister Yannis Loverdos said (on Mega): “It’s not true that people’s pay runs out by the 15th of the month. A great many Greeks don’t have a problem with inflation. You go out on the streets and see so many delivery riders around; you realize that those who use delivery services every day don’t have a problem.”
Do they mean what they say, or do these things just… slip out by accident? Either way, the “modesty and humility” once advocated by Kostas Karamanlis—or Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s similar exhortations to his colleagues—don’t seem to be taking hold.
TITAN: Titan America has taken a significant step toward the future of construction by introducing xForm3D™, a new concrete technology specifically designed for 3D printing applications.
This innovative solution is part of the group’s strategy to develop advanced building materials and harness the potential of digital and automated construction. According to the company, xForm3D™ enables the automated placement of concrete, significantly reducing the need for traditional formwork, while also offering faster execution, greater precision, and increased design flexibility.
Titan America believes that the new technology will help accelerate the construction industry’s transition to more efficient and digitized production methods, strengthening its position in emerging high-performance construction technologies.
AKROLITHOS: Akrolithos S.A., one of Greece’s largest natural stone processing companies, has completed its project to expand its production capacity.
The investment, carried out in Kipia, Eleftheroupoli, Kavala, involved the addition of a new “rockface” product.
The investment further boosted the plant’s capacity, which now stands at 86.5 million kilograms of natural stone per year.
LAMDA DEVELOPMENT: The fund’s 800 million euros and strong fundamentals may be compelling arguments for Lamda Development’s management, but for shareholders seeking dividends, the news is not quite as welcome.
Odysseas Athanasiou deferred related expectations to 2029, asking the market for a little more patience.
As for the stock, which continues to trade well below the valuations management would like to see, he acknowledged that “it has been a source of frustration for us,” though he believes that sooner or later the stock’s market value will align with the company’s performance.
Yesterday’s general meeting also revealed another interesting piece of information regarding the future use of the residential units at Elliniko. When asked about the possibility of apartments being made available through short-term rental platforms, the head of Lamda clarified that this is not part of the company’s plans.
He was quick to add, however, that this is a free market, and once the homes are transferred to their owners, no one can know for certain how they will choose to use them.
IDEAL HOLDINGS: The public offering for the listing of Attica Department Stores on the stock exchange begins today and will run through Friday.
As announced yesterday, the offering price will range between 3.00 and 3.20 euros per share. Retail investors are subscribing at the upper end of the range, i.e., 3.20 euros, and the final price will be announced on Monday, June 29. If the final price is lower, the difference will be refunded.
The amount the group will raise exceeds 50 million euros if the offering reaches the upper end of the price range.
AKTOR: The stock remained on its own (upward) trajectory, bucking the corrective trend in the domestic market. It closed at the day’s high of 12.84 euros, with gains reaching 3.05%, despite selling pressure at the open, which saw the stock trade at 12.24 euros—1.77% lower.
In response to a query from the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, the company’s management stated that it “systematically seeks and examines the best ways to implement its investment plan as well as potential investment opportunities,” adding that “at this time, there is no definitive decision or binding agreement that needs to be disclosed to the investing public.”
In any case, the return over six trading sessions has reached 30%. Market capitalization has exceeded 2.6 billion euros.
VIOHALCO GROUP: Cenergy’s closing price yesterday was marginally below the price at which the placement took place the day before yesterday (24.2 euros), with trading in the stock beginning first thing in the morning.
The stock closed at 24.16 euros (-7.79%), having traded as low as 24.08 euros during the session. “Block trades” (worth 152.5 million euros) drove the total trading value to 176.8 million euros.
Selling pressure was also seen in the parent company, Viohalco. It closed the session at 21.35 euros (-2.29%). Nevertheless, it has posted a 64% return over the past three months.
Finally, Elvalhalcor, which is heading toward a major capital increase, fell 2.1%, with the price now at 5.6 euros.
ADMIE: Only 3.3% of the shares requested were allocated to those who submitted bids in the book for the private placement (international offering segment) of ADMIE Holdings’ capital increase.
Given that 66,901,566 new shares out of the 104,398,742 offered in the private placement were allocated to DES ADMIE, and another 17,283,951 shares were allocated to Capital (i.e., cornerstone investors), a total of 17,283,951 shares were allocated, leaving only 20,213,226 shares for the remaining investors.
Demand for these shares totaled 608,149,862 shares.
ADMIE II: Things went much better for domestic investors. In the public offering, 26,465,455 shares were allocated, with demand totaling 172,566,626 shares. In other words, they received 15.3% of the shares they requested.
All of the new shares were allocated on a priority basis to investors (i.e., to those who were shareholders and participated in the public offering, thereby securing preferential treatment during the allocation).
As a result of this particular arrangement, domestic institutional investors received 15.93% of the shares they requested, and retail investors received 14.6%.