The starting gun for one of the biggest fire-sales in western history was fired as Greek officials began appointing advisers for the country's ambitious privatisation drive.
"Our target is clear, and it is to generate €1.7bn from privatisations by the end of September and €5bn by the end of the year," said the finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos.
After securing a second aid package to prop up an economy now dependent on international handouts to pay public wages and pensions, Athens has moved with record speed to divest itself of state assets ranging from prime real estate to loss-making companies.
By any measure it is a gargantuan task. At stake is Greece's €350bn debt, which before the EU and IMF agreed to bailout the country again was predicted to peak at 172% of GDP next year.
Fact-checker: It is not loss-making companies that Greece is selling. On the contrary, struggling outfits wont fetch much of a price. Greece is selling valuable and profitable concessions like its lottery and racetracks, as well as some prime ocean-front real estate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/01/greece-50bn-privatisation-drive
