In the context of its national and international networking activities, the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece (FING) signed a memorandum of co-operation with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank on Monday, 13 June 2016.
This is an important step for facilitating access to financing for FING company members, as the Bank will be channelling €150 million in capital into the market over the next five years at attractive interest rates and without the intervention of commercial banks.
Given the fact that Greece is a key shareholder in the Bank, holding a percentage of 16.5%, and utilising the management’s intention to increase the issuing of loans to Greek enterprises in the immediate future, FING signed this co-operation agreement, which we are confident will make a positive contribution for the future and for the growth of the manufacturing sector in Northern Greece.
As such, FING is making a decisive contribution to the access of Northern Greek manufacturing enterprises to long-term loans and working capital. This is a substantial step towards improving industrial growth in Northern Greece, with the major contribution and assistance of an important ‘tool’ known as the ‘Black Sea Bank’.
The key points of the Memorandum signed are:-
1. The Federation of Industries of Northern Greece and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, to the extent of the means available to them, will exchange non-confidential information for the development of their co-operation.
2. They will co-operate for the dissemination of information concerning specific business initiatives, programmes, conferences and other events that could be useful to both parties.
3. They will hold meetings to discuss specific forms of co-operation of mutual interest.
4. In order to increase the growth of trade and investments between member states, FING and the Bank will identify and promote projects, particularly concerning cross-border logistics projects and projects in organised industrial zones, etc.
5. According to the memorandum, FING will contribute to the promotion of the Bank’s activities in Greece, informing Greek companies of the credit offered by the Bank. In this context, FING will use all the funding and internationalisation network tools and services provided by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).
6. In the context of this agreement, Chambers and other private organisations from the member states of the Bank will be invited to participate in this co-operation.
We at the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece believe that this memorandum will serve as a driving force for the growth of Greek enterprises in the entire Black Sea region, and that this initiative will promote joint ventures and investments in the abovementioned area.
Therefore, we are enhancing the attractiveness of the local production system to bring about investments, which (like all manufacturing enterprises throughout the country), has sadly been dealing with the problems facing industry in Greece during the recent years of economic crisis: bureaucracy, corruption, a complex and ever-shifting taxation environment, overregulation that allows uncertain factors to hinder healthy entrepreneurial activity, a low level of services provided by the State, inadequate infrastructure, essentially non-existent interconnection between research and industry, internationalisation without actual orientation, minimal support in the international economic activity of enterprises, to name but a few.
