With the close of today’s session, the Athens Stock Exchange officially moved, after 13 years, into developed markets. It is an important development for the economy and yet another tangible recognition of the tremendous progress that has taken place in the country, the Minister of Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, underlined in a statement.
As he notes, “during these years, Greece moved from doubt to credibility and from disinvestment to attracting capital. The regaining of investment grade, the inclusion of the Athens Stock Exchange in the Euronext group, and now the return to developed markets, are different milestones of the same course.
What is most important, however, is what this development means for the next day. The return to developed markets broadens the investment base to which the country is addressed and strengthens its ability to attract international capital. At the same time, a stronger and deeper capital market opens up more financing options for businesses.
This is the real objective: for the credibility we have gained to become capital for the next big step. For new investments, stronger and more competitive businesses, more and better-paid jobs.
The upgrade is not the end of the journey. It raises the bar for what comes next. For a larger, deeper and more outward-looking capital market, which will finance the country’s growth more substantially”.