For a second consecutive year in 2003, Greece receded in terms of competitiveness this year among 29 countries with population under 20 million, from 21st to 26th place, according to the annual report of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), presented by the Association of Industries of Northern Greece (SBBE) yesterday. Greece’s overall grading rose to 34.1 out of 100 from 31.7 in 2002, but its economy was found to have seriously lapsed behind others in terms of performance, governance, business environment and infrastructure. In economic performance, Greece was debited with falling exports and foreign investment and rising unemployment, in governance with red tape and opaque procedures, in the business environment with inadequate worker training and inflexible banking regulations, and in infrastructure with large energy imports and high polulation concentration in large urban centers. On the positive side, Greece was second in terms of GDP growth per head, fifth in GDP growth, eight in lowest cost-of-living index, fourth in the use of factoring, 10th in the cost of electric power to industry and fifth in the low cost of Internet use.