DENDIAS-SHIPOWNERS: The Minister of National Defence revealed yesterday that a letter would be sent to the Union of Greek Shipowners, formally requesting a donation of €250 million to strengthen the operational capabilities of the Hellenic Navy.
And so, unexpectedly, he “made news” during the official presentation of the redevelopment of the north façade of the central building of the Ministry of National Defence, funded by a €10 million donation from Piraeus Bank.
According to information received by this column, the letter requesting this sum has not come out of the blue. The matter was discussed at a meeting between the Union’s president, Melina Travlou, and Nikos Dendias, and, we understand, there have also been related contacts with the Prime Minister’s office.
Officially, the matter has not yet been “settled”. However, given the contacts that have already taken place, as well as the huge profits the shipping industry has made in recent years, our sources believe it is very unlikely that Greek shipowners will say no.
If it goes ahead, the donation would be almost double the total amount the Defence Ministry has received in donations from the private sector, which stands at €130 million.
MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENCE REDEVELOPMENT: The work of professor and renowned sculptor Kostas Varotsos, the redevelopment will bring a building complex that has been outdated and poorly maintained for decades into the modern era, with a fresh, contemporary aesthetic that also respects the environment and its long history.
Piraeus Bank took on this sponsorship in part because CEO Christos Megalou has a particular commitment to serving the country. In his speech, he revealed that both his parents served the nation, something rare at the time.
As this column has learned, his father was a pilot and Air Force officer, while his mother volunteered in hospital care during the Korean War, holding the honorary rank of lieutenant.
PRIVATE DEBT: There was discussion after discussion and argument after argument in parliament about private debt, yet our politicians cannot even agree on how to define it or how to record it statistically.
Nikos Androulakis said that we are “Europe’s champions in private debt”, prompting Kyriakos Pierrakakis to rush to contradict him, citing Eurostat figures. As the Minister of National Economy and Finance stressed, the latest data show that “Greece’s average private debt is 96.6% (of GDP), while the European average is 119.3%”.
Kyriakos Pierrakakis was not lying, but nor was Nikos Androulakis wrong. The issue here is one of definitions: Eurostat’s private-debt figures include only total borrowing—of all kinds, from bank loans to bonds—taken on by businesses and households.
By that definition, Europeans do indeed owe more than Greeks, relative to GDP.
But Nikos Androulakis was not wrong to say that we are champions in private debt either, because he presumably had a broader definition in mind, one that also includes debts owed to the tax authorities and EFKA.
Here, the figures swell considerably. We quote from the latest IOBE report on private debt, which includes all performing and non-performing loans, as well as debts to the state: “Total private debt amounted to €420.9 billion (169% of GDP)”.
Eurostat does not publish comparable figures that include debts to the state. But given that figure of 169% of GDP—and the fact that Europeans do not tend to leave many debts to the state unpaid—Greece must take the unenviable title of Europe’s private-debt champion.
PARLIAMENT: Two points in yesterday’s exchange did not go unnoticed. First, Nikos Androulakis did not devote the usual lengthy criticism to the Tsipras government’s policy on bad loans.
He did say that €20 billion in bad loans were sold to funds during that period, “and Mr Tsipras is now forgetting that”, but he left it at that. This contrasted with previous remarks, when criticism of the former and current prime ministers was almost evenly divided.
Second, Kyriakos Pierrakakis gave clear, if indirect, support to AADE head Giorgos Pitsilis, who has been targeted by the opposition over the tax-evasion scandals recently coming to light. This follows revelations that 25 Authority officials appear to be implicated in the case involving the company “Choriatiko”.
The finance minister’s words that were interpreted as support? “AADE has managed to recover more than €2 billion a year from tax evasion”.
A clear show of support, then.
TSIPRAS: The former prime minister, as the saying goes, “lost his temper” over the allegations levelled against him (again) recently by Adonis Georgiadis, accusing him of taking bribes while in office.
The phrase “provide evidence or shut up” in yesterday’s official statement by the Hellenic Police captures his anger, which is also directed at Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who appeared to endorse the allegations and return the corruption accusations against him.
As those at Amalias Street point out, these allegations are nothing more than “reheated leftovers”, reviving familiar claims from the New Democracy camp that Mr Tsipras took money from Maduro in 2012 or repaid political debts by changing the Criminal Codes shortly before the 2019 election.
So the former prime minister’s team settled on a “no more niceties” line and challenged his accusers to prove their claims. Otherwise, they should “shut up”, as the official statement put it.
Watch this space.
VELOPOULOS: The one who seized the opportunity was Kyriakos Velopoulos: he called for a Preliminary Investigation Committee to be set up to investigate whether Tsipras had… “taken the money” to change the Criminal Codes.
The president of Greek Solution had filed a criminal complaint against the former prime minister, prompted by the allegations made by Adonis Georgiadis.
Since the complaint was forwarded to parliament yesterday, Mr Velopoulos called for a Preliminary Investigation Committee, urging the other parties to back the request, as 30 signatures are required and he has 11 MPs.
Will 19 more signatures be forthcoming?
MYLONAS: The chief executive of the National Bank of Greece placed particular emphasis at the investor briefing on the partnerships with Allianz and Dromeus Capital. The two strategic alliances make a significant contribution to diversifying revenue streams and generating substantial synergies.
Both Pavlos Mylonas and CFO Christos Christodoulou also stressed the aim of increasing cash returns to shareholders through dividends, as well as further growth through acquisitions if opportunities arise.
As for spreads on corporate loans, the reduction at NBG is broadly in line with the market, at around 20 basis points.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: The European Commission’s annual report on Turkey runs to 120 pages. But those looking for its position on the hot topic of the day—the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnector (GSI)—were probably disappointed.
The project is explicitly mentioned just once, in a 22-word sentence in Chapter 21 on Trans-European Networks. It says that Turkey “continued to obstruct survey work” on the cable, which is designated an EU Project of Common Interest. Nothing else: no incident, no date, no location, no recommendation to Ankara.
Even more striking is where the GSI is not mentioned. It is absent from the introduction, the main conclusions and the chapter on good-neighbourly relations.
KEFIM: Despite cuts to tax rates and social security contributions, Greece’s tax levels remain at those seen in 2019, according to an analysis by the Centre for Liberal Studies.
The explanation lies partly in rising nominal incomes and prices, but also in the expansion of economic activity and more effective tax collection. These factors broaden the tax base and increase receipts without necessarily reducing the overall burden as a share of GDP.
The KEFIM analysis shows that state revenue from taxes and contributions rose by around 35% in nominal terms over six years, reaching €103.2 billion in 2025. Yet the overall tax burden remained at 41.3% of GDP, compared with 37.9% in the EU.
What is even more striking is where the money goes. Almost eight out of every 10 euros spent on social protection are channelled into pensions, compared with about six out of 10 in Europe.
Meanwhile, health and education receive a smaller share of GDP than the EU average. And, as if that were not enough, Greece ranks fourth in the EU for indirect taxes.
In other words, taxpayers pay a lot, but whether they get value for money remains an open question.
FRANGOU: Angeliki Frangou’s Navios Maritime Partners posted its highest quarterly profit in four years, benefiting from higher freight rates for tankers, bulk carriers and containerships. Net profit reached $185.7 million in the third quarter, compared with $56.3 million in the same period of 2025, while voyage revenue hit a record $432 million.
TCE (Time Charter Equivalent) revenue stood at $30,371 per day, its highest level in 15 years, with tankers averaging $36,183. Meanwhile, sales of older vessels added $21.9 million to profits.
The company confirmed new orders for four containerships, one VLCC and two MR2 product tankers, taking its total orderbook to 34 vessels. Frangou is combining fleet renewal with debt repayment and capital returns.
The shares closed at $87.04, giving the company a market capitalisation of $2.52 billion, compared with a fleet valuation of $4.71 billion.
ANGELOU: Benelux Overseas, backed by shipowner Kostas Angelou, has placed a new order for two medium-sized gas carriers (MGCs) with a capacity of 48,000 cubic metres each.
The two vessels, which will be built at China’s CSSC Guangzhou Huangpu Wenchong shipyard, are due for delivery in the first half of 2030.
This is the company’s third order at the shipyard since 2023. The first two vessels, Olympios Gas and Aeneas Gas, were delivered in July and October 2026, while another sister ship is due for delivery next month, ahead of schedule.
The new vessels will be capable of carrying LPG and liquid ammonia. Their cost has not been disclosed, but market estimates put the price of each vessel at between $68 million and $72 million.
Benelux has also ordered two VLACs with a capacity of 93,000 cubic metres in South Korea, for delivery in 2028, strengthening its presence in the ammonia transport market.
PANAGIOTIDIS: Petros Panagiotidis has made another significant move to expand his shipping presence, with MPC Oceanic acquiring a strategic 41% stake in Marlow Navigation, the Cyprus-based ship-management and maritime services group.
Hamburg-based MPC Oceanic is controlled by the Greek shipowner through Castor Maritime, which is listed on the Nasdaq. The agreement also provides for Marlow’s existing shareholders to acquire a 9% stake in MPC Oceanic through the issue of new shares.
Headquartered in Limassol and led by its founder, Hermann Eden, Marlow specialises in crew management, technical ship management and seafarer training, with 81 vessels under technical management.
As announced, the partnership will preserve Marlow’s independence, brand and management team, while giving it access to capital, digital technologies and artificial intelligence expertise.
For MPC Oceanic, the agreement strengthens its maritime services portfolio by adding an international crew-management platform.
TITAN: Beta Finance expects Titan’s sales to rise by 10.3%, but operating profitability to decline, ahead of the company’s third-quarter results announcement today before the market opens.
Sales are forecast at €755 million, while EBITDA is expected to fall by 8.9% to €170 million, with the profit margin at 22.5%, down from 27.3% a year earlier. Net profit is forecast at €84 million, a decline of 23.3%.
For the first nine months, Beta forecasts sales of €2.17 billion (+8%), EBITDA of €482 million (+1.8%) and net profit of €237.2 million (+26.9%).
Management’s update is expected to focus on US demand, energy costs and the contribution of acquisitions to fourth-quarter profitability.
BANK OF CYPRUS: Axia-Alpha Finance expects Bank of Cyprus to report a further rise in net interest income, stronger fee income and continued high capital adequacy ahead of the announcement of its third-quarter results today.
Specifically, the broker estimates net profit at €119 million and pre-provision income at €158 million. Net interest income is forecast at €196 million, up 9% year on year and 4% quarter on quarter, while fee income is expected to rise by 6% to €48 million.
Total income is forecast at €269 million, with operating expenses at €111 million. New non-performing exposures remain under control, with the NPE ratio at 1% and coverage at 148%.
The CET1 ratio is expected to remain strong at 20.7%. Investors will also focus on management’s indications about the distribution of 2026 profits, with scope for an additional distribution of up to 20%, on top of the regular 70% payout.