"Catastroika - The Rape of Greece" New PW Blog Post by Captain Con O'Sullivan

[C. Flower]

A new PW Blog post by Captain Con on the Greek Privatisation mechanism.
An appalling vista. Comments welcome here on on the Blog.

http://itsapoliticalworld.wordpress.com/

“Catastroika” – the Rape of Greece

September 4, 2012 - Leave a Response
If you look at the work of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (i.e. the Greek Firesale Dept) it has had two CEO’s resign in two years in protest because of the lack of action from the Government (both the Papandreou and Samaras administrations, so ‘socialist’ and ‘conservative’ in pre-decimal terminology).


I believe there is something like an obligation to fire sale up to 50 billion euros of Greece’s assets by 2015 if they are to meet IMF/ECB conditions and there is no way looking at the last two years in Greece under either government that that will happen. They are supposed to have sold 3 billion worth up to this summer and have as far as I know only sold 300 million worth of assets.


The vultures within the Greek government are screaming at the government which I think is clearly stalling on this privatisation sell-off. Caught between a rock and a hard place I think the Greek government is paralysed, not able to go forward or backward with sell-offs or default respectively.


Here are the details on the attempted rape of Greece…
‘ The Fund is governed by its Board of Directors. The General Assembly is not empowered to adopt any decision on privatisations. The Board of Directors is composed of five members; representatives of three political parties (PASOK, ND, LAOS) and business executives. Two observers have also been appointed to the Board; one from the Eurozone and one from the European Commission. The Board has the absolute authority on privatisation decisions. The CEO is fully responsible for the operation of the Fund and introduces the privatisations to the Board of Directors for decision making.
Most of the assets contained in the medium-term plan have been transferred to the Fund, while other assets which the Hellenic Republic has decided to develop or sell will also be transferred. Any asset transferred to the Fund is to be sold, developed or liquidated. The return of any asset back to the State is not allowed.


The assets transferred to the Fund can be grouped in three categories:


■real estate
■company shares
■rights


Specifically, the following have been transferred to the Fund by Inter-ministerial Committee Decision:


■35 Real State buildings
■Shares of Athens International Airport S.A.
■Shares of Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE)
■Shares of ODIE (Hellenic Horse Racing)
■Shares of Ellinikon (National Airport)
■Shares of LARCO (mining /Europe’s largest ferronickel producer)
■Shares of the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP)
■Shares of Thessaloniki Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYATH)
■Shares of OLP (Piraeus Port Authority)
■Shares of OLTH (Thessaloniki Port Authority)
■The economic rights of Hellenic Motorways
■Shares of the Hellenic Football Prognostics Organisation (OPAP)
■Shares of ALPHA Bank
■Shares of National Bank
■Shares of Piraeus Bank
■Rights of natural gas storage in South Kavala
■Rights of State Lottery Tickets
■Gaming Rights to Hellenic Football Prognostics Organisation (OPAP)
■Rights of 39 Regional Airports
■Rights of “Mobile Spectrum”
■Rights of “Mobile Telephony Frequencies” Shares of
■Voting Rights of Hellenic Post (ELTA)
■Voting Rights of 10 Ports


http://www.herbertsmith.com/NR/rdonl...3/0/Greece.pdf


The decisions of the Board of Directors take into account the opinion of the Council of Experts, which, however, is not binding. The Council of Experts is composed of seven persons with broad experience and strong academic qualifications. Four persons are appointed by the Board of Directors and three by the Troika’ http://www.hradf.com/en/the-fund
Interesting isn’t it that the narrative of business persons where their companies go into administration is that creditors lose their money. Where a nation is involved the invoices must still be paid.
In other words those who were foolish enough to buy Greek paper which was rigged by Goldman Sachs do not have ‘caveat emptor’ applied to them.
I don’t understand why the PIIGS economies simply don’t band together and tell the Germans that either debtholders are introduced to ‘caveat emptor’ or there will be a structured default by all members of that group together.
Actually I do. It is because the ECB/IMF have agents inside those governments working hard on the vulture narrative.
One last point I can’t help noticing. The ‘disaster sale’ narrative in Greek politics reminds me very much of the Russian post-soviet sell off of national assets under the programme now known as ‘Catastroika’ in Russia where much of the sell offs were done regardless of market volatility and price and to favoured insiders.
The structure of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund looks similar to me to the equivalent Russian agency at the root of their sell-offs which created a number of billionaire oligarchs in that collection of states.
I have little doubt that a ‘Special Purpose Vehicle’ is envisaged for Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy as well to do the same thing.



Captain Con 4 Sept 2012

[MediaBite]

Yanis Varoufakis has just tweeted that he is on BSkyB right now talking about effect of neoliberal policy on labour

[MediaBite]

Joe Stiglitz on the effects of similar 'shock therapy' on Russia

The radical reform strategy did not work: gross domestic product in post-1989 fell year after year. What had been envisioned as a short transition recession turned into one of a decade or more. The bottom seemed never in sight. The devastation - the los in GDP - ws greater than Russia had suffered in World War II.

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Update on the assets reported for sale including up to 40 non-inhabited Greek islands, embassy buildings and mention of assets up for sale in Ireland, Portugal and Italy as well. The current chief of the Greek Republic Asset 'Development' Agency reportedly calling on 'investors to take up the rich pickings. Greece, he said, was set to become an El Dorado for those who did so.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...rt-of-comments

Ireland's assets reportedly offered for sale are described as; 'the right to run a new national lottery starts next month, and a stake in Aer Lingus is also up for grabs. It is also offering to sell parts of the country's Electricity Supply Board, and some of its forests.'

Some of the comments under the Guardian article are worth reading.

[fluffybiscuits]

Update on the assets reported for sale including up to 40 non-inhabited Greek islands, embassy buildings and mention of assets up for sale in Ireland, Portugal and Italy as well. The current chief of the Greek Republic Asset 'Development' Agency reportedly calling on 'investors to take up the rich pickings. Greece, he said, was set to become an El Dorado for those who did so.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...rt-of-comments

Ireland's assets reportedly offered for sale are described as; 'the right to run a new national lottery starts next month, and a stake in Aer Lingus is also up for grabs. It is also offering to sell parts of the country's Electricity Supply Board, and some of its forests.'

Some of the comments under the Guardian article are worth reading.

Whats the latest on the sale of Coillte to a Bertie led consortium? Was there word that they were buying up the forests for some sort of fire sale?

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

That Bertie-led consortium is just a locally formed special purpose vehicle with him nominally on the board to do the necessary hanging around government doors while the Swiss carbon trading crowd based in Geneva with the half-dozen or so directors (only two or three of whom are visible and explained on their website) hang about waiting to pay some PR company to pretend to everyone in sight that they are 'investing in the future' and just dying to walk in the Irish forests and hug a few squirrels and so on whereas in actuality they'll be using Irish forestry as part of a hedging transaction or as an offset they can flog so bigger companies can manipulate their carbon footprint.

Bertie was announced as joining the board of Helvetica- he was in his arse- they wouldn't be able stand the smell of corruption in their nice clean boardroom in Geneva-he's a front man for the front-office of their empty Irish vehicle.

If he's still there at all.