Greece’s Economy Shrinks Again, Govt To Sell Police HQ & Other Ministry Buildings

The Greek economy shrank by an annual 5.7 percent in the final quarter of 2012, revealed official data on Monday, meaning that the country has seen a 20 percent slump in real GDP since the financial crisis first broke out in 2008.

According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), Greece’s economy has been shrinking since the third quarter of 2008. The latest figures though represented the smallest contraction for the year, with the first, second and third quarters posting 6.7 percent, 6.4 percent and 6.7 percent declines respectively.

The Greek economy shrank by an annual 5.7 percent in the final quarter of 2012, revealed official data on Monday, meaning that the country has seen a 20 percent slump in real GDP since the financial crisis first broke out in 2008.

According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), Greece’s economy has been shrinking since the third quarter of 2008. The latest figures though represented the smallest contraction for the year, with the first, second and third quarters posting 6.7 percent, 6.4 percent and 6.7 percent declines respectively.

Nonetheless, ELSTAT admitted that the fourth-quarter figures would have been much worse if not for a 17.5 percent drop in the country’s quarterly trade gap, while Greece is still projected to shrink even further for a sixth straight year in 2013.

[quote]”The preliminary data confirmed the continuing contraction of domestic demand, with lower imports providing a positive influence,” said Eurobank economist Platon Monokroussos to Reuters. The government and the central bank have both predicted a 4.5 percent contraction this year.[/quote]

Meanwhile, the government also announced plans on Monday to sell off 28 state-owned buildings on long-term lease, including tax offices, ministry buildings, and the main police headquarters in Athens.

A government privatization fund told the Associated Press that it hoped to make 30 million-euros ($39 million) annually from the lease agreements lasting 20-25 years.

Potential investors should express their interest by April 19, according to a statement by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund.

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Besides its buildings, the Greek government also started auctioning off some of its islands last year. In March, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, reportedly bought six Greek islands for at least $10.75 million, while another 6,000 state-owned islands are believed to be still up for sale.

In total, Greece hopes to raise around 2.6 billion-euros ($3.4 billion) from its various privatisation programs. The Wall Street Journal reported that the country only raised about 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) from privatizations last year, and missed a target of 3 billion-euros last year.

Greece has been under pressure to speed up its privatization program in order to pay off its troika of lenders – the European Union, International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank – who remain in Athens this week to continue talks over the international bailout.

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Dows Jones reported that the talks had been delayed over a spat regarding public-sector layoffs. Though Greece is still on track to reduce its public workforce by at least 150,000 workers by the end of 2015, the government has grown increasingly weary of the harsh austerity measures.