Greece's Public Power Corp. (PPC) aims to
expand its investments in Turkey, the company's chairman Manolis
Panagiotakis said Tuesday.
The
country's major power utility has an 85 percent share in the retail
market, but agreed to reduce its share below 50 percent from 2020 as
part of the country's bailout terms with the EU.
In
a bid to diversify its assets, PPC is now looking to invest more in
Turkey and in the Balkan region. To this end, PPC is working with an
international consultancy to develop a strategy for the Turkish energy
market, he said.
"We feel that it is
the right time to have a vivid presence in Turkey," Panagiotakis said in
an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency.
"What
we are looking for is the possibility of cooperation and expansion of
investments in Turkey in the wind sector, in some small hydroelectric
projects, and also taking part in a geothermic investment in
Cappadocia," he explained.
The company
already has a presence in Turkey through activities of its subsidiary
company since 2014, PPC Elektrik, which is involved in electricity
trading.
Renewables are not the
company's only pursuit. The company bid in a tender for a coal power
station in Turkey's Eskisehir along side with China's Shenhua,
Panagiotakis said.
Its headway into
the Balkan region involves the acquisition of Macedonia's EDS Group, at a
time when Greece is trying to resolve a quarter-century dispute with
its neighbor over the naming of Macedonia.
Greece
does not accept Macedonia’s name as it has a region by the same name in
the north of the country. Greece also argues that the former Yugoslav
Republic has claims on its territory and its historical heritage.
Since
2017, negotiations have stepped up, as the new government in Skopje
wants a deal over its name with Athens, which can veto its NATO and EU
membership.
"We don’t discriminate
based on other similar issues," Panagiotakis said, when asked whether
the top-agenda issue of recent Greek politics would affect their
investment. He also said that the acquisition would help PPC to become a
regional player.
"Why FYROM [Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia]? Because we have had many years of
cooperation with this country. Our place there may help us expand in
other markets like Serbia, Kosovo and also Slovakia," he argued,
pointing out parameters such as development and peace in the region.
EDS,
a major supplier in Macedonia, also has subsidiaries in Serbia,
Slovakia and Kosovo, and holds trading licenses in several other Balkan
countries.
At home, PPC, with more
than 7 million customers, is battling to collect its overdue bills. The
company has launched new methods to collect its debts through the
introduction of installments payments and incentives for regular payers
to improve its balance sheet.
Panagiotakis said provisions for overdue bills stand at a €2.1 billion and the maximum was estimated to be €2.4 billion.
"It will take time for these figures to be reduced," he said, but remained hopeful that repayments would speed up.
(Anadolu Agency)