Greece appears among the most attractive Investment Destinations in Europe

Updated: Jul 28, 2021

Ernst & Young has published the 2021 edition of the EY Attractiveness Survey Greece. This indicates that Greece is gaining ground as an investment location despite the COVID Pandemic. In 2021, Greece is ranked 23rd among the 51 countries in the EIM database with its performance representing 0.70% of total FDI in Europe, compared to an average of 0.28% over the previous 20 years.

Athens, Greece: 15 July 2021

The Ernst Young Investment Attractiveness Survey indicates that 57% of investors say Greece’s management of the Covid-19 crisis has positively affected their view regarding its attractiveness as an investment destination.

According to the Survey, Greece ranks among the 10 most attractive destinations for foreign investment, with 10% of respondents mentioning Greece among the three most attractive countries for 2021. This is the first time that Greece has achieved such a result.

The EY Survey for Greece was conducted based on a sample of 253 companies worldwide. A summary of results includes:

62% of the sample’s executives stated that their perception of Greece as an investment location where their business might establish or develop activities has improved over the past year.
Three out of four respondents (75%) expect Greece’s investment attractiveness to further improve over the next three years.
7 out of 10 companies state that they will proceed with their investment plans in Greece (61%) or will increase them (9%).
One-third of respondents (34%) stated that their company has plans to establish or expand activities in Greece over the next year.

The investors who participated in the EY Survey said that among the strong elements of Greece’s attractiveness are:

Quality of life;
Transport;
Logistics;
Telecommunications infrastructure;
The local labour skills level.

Among the areas of improvement needed are:

Corporate taxation;
The flexibility of labour legislation;
The geopolitical position of Greece.

The Survey also shows that:

76% of companies report that strong sustainable cleantech policies significantly influence their decision to invest in Greece;
64% of companies state that they will increase their focus to include sustainability in their future investment projects;
51% of respondents expressed their belief that tourism will be the driver of the Greek economy in the coming years.

EY’s European Survey show that the top three priorities for Greece to maintain its competitive position in the global economy are: