Once Europe's Debt Pariah, Greece Pitches Itself to the World's Biggest State Investors

Little more than a decade ago, Greece needed three international bailouts to avoid bankruptcy. This week it made its case to the world's sovereign wealth funds, the state-owned investors that together manage trillions of dollars, as a safe and strategic place to put their money.

Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis made the pitch to the annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds in Athens. He told the gathering that Greece's public debt is expected to fall to about 137% of economic output by the end of 2026, down from around 209% after the pandemic. The country has regained the investment-grade credit rating it lost during the debt crisis.

"These are not just statistics," he said. "They are the foundation for something far more important: the restoration of trust."

The timing matters.

The European Union's pandemic recovery fund, which has pumped billions of euros into the Greek economy, is winding down. Greece needs private capital to replace it.

Mr. Pierrakakis, who also chairs the group of eurozone finance ministers, said the next phase of growth must come from private investment, deeper capital markets and bigger Greek companies forged through mergers.

He cited the Athens Stock Exchange's integration into the pan-European Euronext group and a new 5% tax rate on fund managers' carried interest.

He pitched Greece as a hub linking Europe, the Middle East and Africa for energy, data cables and artificial intelligence.

That bid gained weight days earlier, when a state fund backed a Finnish satellite maker's plan to build its largest factory in the country.

Mr. Pierrakakis argued that governments are now permanent players in economic strategy. He added a warning: projects labeled "strategic" must face tougher financial scrutiny, not a free pass.

"Invest with us," he urged.

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