Piraeus Port Shareholders Okays Sale to COSCO
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Monday, June 13, 2016
The buy-out of the Greece's Piraeus Port by Chinese shipping giant COSCO is closer to completion, as shareholders approved a new concession agreement, reports Reuters.
Greece had already agreed in April to sell a 67 percent stake in Piraeus to COSCO for $415.7 million. Now that shareholders have signed off on the deal, it heads to parliament and competition authorities for approval.
The sale of Piraeus and the country’s second state-owned seaport, Thessaloniki, have been key conditions for Greece to be able to unlock the next tranche of its 10.3 billion euro aid package from the European Stability Mechanism rescue fund.
Last week, Piraeus Port shareholders met at an Athens hotel to clear the concession agreement, which specifies how COSCO will operate the port, and the removal of workers representatives from the board, but the meeting was interrupted due to protests by striking port workers.
The port strike has disrupted cargo operations and services provided to cruise ships. Cruise operators have warned they will shun Piraeus in favor of other ports if the action continues.