Greece has picked
two former business leaders to run the fund it set up last year to speed up
privatizations and make the best use of the country's assets to comply with its
international bailout.
Athens was meant to
appoint the board of directors for the fund, which will oversee the country's
privatization agency (HRADF) and its bank rescue fund (HFSF), and have it fully
operational by the end of last year.
Greece and its
lenders did agree a five-member supervisory board for the privatization and
investment fund in October and this has now appointed George Diamantopoulos,
former Chief Executive at Kraft Foods in Greece, as chairman.
Rania Aikaterinari,
an engineer and former deputy CEO at Greece's dominant power utility Public
Power Corp. (DEHr.AT),
is taking over as Chief Executive Officer, the fund said on Friday.
Privatizations, a
key pillar of Greece's bailouts, have raised little so far since the country's
first international rescue in 2010 due to political resistance, red tape and a
strongly-unionized public sector.
Proceeds from will
be used to reduce the country's debt, which at 180 percent of GDP is the
highest in the eurozone, and boost investments.
The board members
will have a four-year term, while its full composition will be announced next
week.
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