It's almost been a month since Greece formally accepted the IMF/EU bailout, which approached a whopping $1 trillion. Using a combination of fiscal austerity measures, pension reform, and increased taxes, Greece hopes to balance its budget and soothe market fears that it will default on sovereign debt. The biggest obstacle, however, will be whether or not the government has the political will to follow through on its promises.
So far, despite widespread protests and social unrest, the Greek government is moving forward. According to the Wall Street Journal, Greece is beginning to privatize businesses and sell assets in order to raise cash.
In a news conference, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said the government would move to privatize 49% of the operations division of unprofitable state-owned railways company OSE.
It will also privatize state holdings in various casinos, sell a 39% stake in the Greek post office, and dispose of stakes in a variety of state-owned services including the waterworks companies of Greece's two major cities.
For Greek investors, it's worth noting that the government said there will be no change in the holdings of OPAP SA, the domestic gambling monopoly, or Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (NYSE: OTE), of which Deutsche Telecom (NYSE: DT) has a 30% stake. Nonetheless, if you're an investor and the Greek government owns part of a company that you hold, I'd assume that anything is up for sale. Beggars can't be choosers.
