PM hails Qataris' trust as mining deal is signed
Investments from Qatar in Greece show trust in the debt-choked country's economy, Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Saturday after meeting Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
A senior official at Greek building firm Ellaktor told Reuters on Saturday that Qatar Holdings had signed a deal to buy a 10 percent stake in London-based European Goldfields from Ellaktor and will invest another $600 million in the mining company.
The 1.2-billion-euro investment will create 1,500 new jobs upon its completion, the Athens News Agency reported.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with the emir, Papandreou did not mention any specific deals.
Qatar played a key role in sealing a merger deal in the battered Greek banking sector in late August. It will own about 17 percent of the lender that will be created by the merger of Alpha Bank and Eurobank.
"We have built a very strong bond of mutual respect, and we Greeks are especially pleased that this bond leads to investments in our country,» Papandreou said.
Qatar has shown in the past interest in real-estate projects in Greece and has eyed the 550-hectare former Athens airport at Elliniko that is up for grabs under a five-year privatisation drive worth 50 billion euros the government is pushing.
[Reuters/AFP]
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Il Qatar ha un pò di soldi da spendere ...
Papandreou, potrebbe avergli chiesto di acquistare "debito greco".
Il Qatar, fedele alleato di Washington, potrebbe dare una mano.