Greece absorbs more attention by its remarkable economic development in 2019, surprising markets from economy and tourism industry. The coVID-19 has swept the world from 2020, greatly affecting all European countries, including Greece, and changing people's lives style. A recent poll by pulse-RC, a polling firm, indicated that most Greeks were worried about the economic impact of the pandemic outbreak. But at the same time, a majority of the citizens support the measures which announced by the Greek government like close border, quarantine. The poll was conducted between March 15th-17th.
The poll showed that 83% of Greek respondents were "worried" or "very worried" about COVID-19. 94% of respondents believe the epidemic will have a negative impact on Greek business activities, and 54% of respondents believe the country's economy will be quite pessimistic in the future. 51% said they were pessimistic about their financial status in the future.
Although fighting with this epidemic by nationwide quarantine measures equal press"pause" which have a deep effect on economic development. nevertheless 73% of Greek respondents said the emergency measures taken by the Greek government in response to the outbreak were "the right decision".
however, Greece still attracts a large number of international immigrant applicants with its home-buying immigrants, and 2020 is still the best year to invest in Greece.
The Greek 10-year bonds yielding rate soared above 30% during the European debt crisis,being shut out of the market, falling below 1% now after 8 years. It is not hard to see that the Greek economy is in full swing of recovery. GDP growth is forecast by Focuse Economics is 2.2% in 2020 and 2.0% in 2021.
Greek three major industries have developed in unison, and the Greek economy has fully recovered
The three pillar industries in Greece are tourism, shipping and remittances. Among these, shipping accounts for about 4% of national GDP and employs about 192,000 employees (accounting for 4% of the total number of employees). The contribution of shipping industry to the economy cannot be ignored.
According to a survey released by Naftiliaki, Greek shipowners controlled more than 1million tonnes of capacity reach to 72 companies in 2019, The rapid growth of the shipping industry largely reflects the speed of Greece's economic recovery, which has completely lifted the country out of the doldrums.
Greece's real estate industry is also leveraging the overall economic recovery, the real estate market is steadily rising. According to data released by the Central Bank of Greece this year, foreign investors spent nearly 1.5 billion euros on property in Greece in 2019, increased 28.5% compare with 2018. Property prices rose 7.2% under domestic market price level, furthermore in 2018, soaring to 10.4% in Athens.
So how does Greece's current economic situation affect investors?
In recent years, the economic level of this beautiful country surrounding by the Aegean sea is also rising steadily. GDP growth is 1.4% in 2017; In 2018, the figure reached to 2%; the expectation of GDP growth is 2.4% in 2019; The finance ministry's budget about the prediction of increasing number in 2020 will be soaring to 2.8%, which it presented to the Greek parliament on October 7th, forecasts a 2.8% increase this year.
The EU's growth rate is high, even higher than expected, and faster than some European economies. Greece's GDP growth reflects a booming economy, with rising national income and consumption. Greece's finance council predicts private consumption will grow at a steady rate of 1.8% until 2020. In addition, Greek economy growth is projected to grow by 13.4% next year, while employment continues to rise in the annual Greek budget for 2020, .
Unemployment rate is falling and young Greeks acquire more faith to the development
According to the 2018 "Living Conditions in Greece" report, the unemployment rate between the ages of 20 and 64 has been rising since 2009 because of the debt crisis, which is twice than the euro-zone average.
However, the unemployment rate has begun to fall, from 21.4% to 16.3 % between 2017 until now, as the country's economic crisis has eased and the economy has thawed.
The development of tourism has greatly reduced the unemployment rate in Greece, especially the employee of young people and women. Statistics show that during the peak tourist season in Greece, the accommodation and catering industry employs about 410,000 people, and direct and indirect profits take account for 36.7% to 44.2% to GDP.
With the closer bilateral relations between China and Greece, more and more Chinese tourists are going to Greece for investment or vacation. Athens International Airport of Greece has specially released the We Chat mini-program, which is dedicated to providing quick and convenient airport service guidelines for Visiting Chinese tourists.
Greece is also actively defending and against the spreading the of COVID-19. And we believe that the next Greek real estate investment is still very potential. At present, The economic connections between Greece and China are also strengthening constantly, and many well-known domestic enterprises choose to set up branches in Greece more and more. Therefore, the immigration purchase program in Greece will release a greater attraction, and it is believed that Greece will attract more international investors in 2020.
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