International investors increased their presence in the Athens Stock Exchange in 2025, pushing foreign participation in the market’s total capitalisation to a record level close to 69%, according to data released by the Athens Exchange.
Foreign investors strengthened their position for a fifth consecutive year. By the end of September, foreign participation in the capitalisation of the Athens Stock Exchange reached 69.3%, marking an all-time high. That share corresponded to €82.8 billion, the highest foreign-held value ever recorded.
The Athens Exchange said the figure represented a 34% rise in the value of foreign holdings compared with the €60.9 billion recorded at the end of 2024.
Foreign participation in market liquidity also climbed sharply. The Athens Exchange reported that foreigners accounted for 64.1% of liquidity in 2025, a level not seen since the pre-crisis period and close to the 64.9% recorded in 2014.
The market continued a steady climb from the 50.8% baseline recorded in 2020, underlining the growing influence of international capital in Greek equities.
Institutions drive foreign ownership
Institutional investors remained the primary force behind foreign ownership, with allocations concentrated in key sectors such as banking, energy and infrastructure. The Athens Exchange said this trend reflected rising confidence in Greece’s core economic sectors.
The combination of record foreign ownership (around 69%) and foreign dominance in trading activity (64%) confirmed, according to the exchange, that the Greek market has shifted from a peripheral exchange into a destination with high-conviction global institutional investment.
Shift from short-term trades to long-term holdings
The Athens Exchange highlighted continued net inflows since 2021 as evidence of a structural change in strategy.
It said international investors no longer treat Greek listed companies as short-term trading opportunities. Instead, global portfolios increasingly position them as long-term core holdings.
Why foreign involvement increased
The Athens Exchange linked the sustained rise in foreign participation to several factors, including:
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improved macroeconomic stability
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strong corporate performance
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attractive valuations
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deeper market liquidity
The exchange identified Greece’s full return to investment grade status in 2025 as the cornerstone of the market’s strong performance.
It said the upgrade not only boosted valuations but also permanently expanded the pool of available capital, laying the groundwork for a future transition of the Athens Stock Exchange into developed market status.
Greece completed its investment grade restoration in 2025 after Moody’s upgraded the country in March 2025, making it the final major ratings agency to return Greece to investment grade.
The Athens Stock Exchange also maintained a steady expansion in liquidity in recent years, with 2025 showing a sharp acceleration in trading.
The average daily trading value reached €219 million in 2025. The exchange said this marked a 56.6% increase compared with 2024 and more than tripled the €65 million recorded in 2020.
Banks remained the main driver of liquidity. The exchange said the total 237% rise in average daily trading value since 2020 reflected healthy, broad-based growth across all market segments.
Momentum continued into 2026. Market turnover reached its highest levels since May 2008, with January producing €8.3 billion in trading value in just 20 sessions.
According to Beta, the Athens Stock Exchange generated the same level of turnover during the first half of 2018, but it required 122 sessions to do so.
Total market capitalisation climbed to €146.8 billion by the end of 2025, reaching its highest level since June 2008.
The Athens Exchange said this expansion reflected a broad re-rating of the Greek market, as rising valuations increasingly rested on stronger listed-company fundamentals and the wider recovery of the Greek economy.
The banking sector remained the central driver of the market’s growth.
Bank capitalisation rose to €49.1 billion in 2025, representing a 74% annual increase. Banks accounted for roughly 33.4% of the total market.
The market’s growth remained broad-based. Non-financial sectors reached a combined capitalisation of €97.7 billion, rising 29.3%, supported by strong performance in energy, industry and infrastructure.
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