China will invest billions of euros in different industries in Greece, ranging from olive oil to the shipping industry, as the European nation struggles to cut its massive financial debt.
Around 14 investment agreements were signed by companies from the two nations during a visit of Mr. Zhang Dejiang, the Vice-Premier of China, to Athens.
Out of the total deals, three include an agreement between Chinese shipbuilder Cosco and Greek shipping companies for the construction of seven bulk carriers. Chinese telecommunications provider Huawei also signed an agreement with Greek telco OTE.
In addition, food companies signed four agreements for Greek olive oil. Currently, no exact figures are available as to how much the total deals are worth, however it is estimated that the investment is worth “billions of euros”.
The Greek capital is seeking to lure investments from nations with huge sovereign wealth funds like China, in the government’s effort to fuel growth in its poor economy.
The International Monetary Fund and the European Union have supplied Greece a bailout package worth $188 billion (€110 billion) over three years to solve its financial crisis.