The stock market has already begun to discount a decision by credit rating firms to offer the investment grade to the Greek economy, a prospect fuelling a buying spree in the Athens Stock Exchange pushing share prices and turnover to the highest levels since 2014.
More than 1,100 new foreign investors opened new accounts in the Greek market in the first month of 2023. Foreign investors expressed their interest for the Greek market during a roadshow organized by the Athens Stock Exhcnage in London at the end of 2022, where representatives of international investment funds -with asset under management of more than 30 trillion US dollars- were present.
Obtaining the investment grade will contribute in the upgrading of the stock market and help attract new capital from long-term investors, while it will turn the Greek market from an emerging into a developed market. Such a development will change the market’s map as it will facilitate investment decisions from risk management commissions.
The investment grade will also lead to an upgrade of Greek banks’ credit ratings, allowing financial institutions to borrow at lower interest rates from the interbank market and will be allowed to borrow from the ECB using state bonds as collateral.
The investment grade will also upgrade the state bonds, paving the way for more foreign institutional investors to participate in the market.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
