Greece hits rock bottom in competitiveness

Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has published its list of competitiveness ranking for 2017 among 63 countries with Greece ranking near the bottom at 57^th spot.

Amongst the factors contributing to the country’s slump are the ongoing negotiations with Greece and its creditors and the continuation of the capital restrictions which leads to investor reluctance and insecurity.

Greece ranked above Venezuela, Ukraine, Brazil, Mongolia and Argentina, and below Kazakhstan (32), Chile (35), Philippines (41), Indonesia (42), South Africa (53), Bulgaria (49) and Romania (50).

According to the IMD report, the Greek economy is showing the poorest performance in “Home Economy” now ranked 60th from 54th, “International Trade” now 40th from 34th, and “Tax Policy” now 59th from 55th.

The Federation of Industries of Northern Greece (FING) says Greece’s position on the competitive listing is a message to the government to step up efforts towards the revival of the Greek economy and to design appropriate policies which will boost competitiveness of local businesses.

This, FING says, can be achieved by accelerating privatisation processes, boosting liquidity for private sector enterprises, planning and implementing an economic development program to ensure the sustainability of public finances, introducing measures that will effectively address the migration problem, and increasing domestic investment via Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).