Chinese companies might be interested in Greece's privatisation of heavily indebted railway OSE, Transport Minister Dimitris Reppas said Thursday.
"OSE's recovery plan allows private investors to invest in the passenger and freight transport sector," Reppas said after talks in Athens with the head of Chinese shipping giant COSCO, Wei Jiafu.
"That could interest either Cosco or another company which is in rail transport and works with COSCO," he added.
The minister informed COSCO about OSE's finances and "the Chinese company agreed to share the information with companies in China that may be interested," he said.
"Greece's geopolitical position and the fact that Greece is a member of all the European institutions is a considerable guarantee for any investor," he said.
With debts of seven billion euros according to figures from 2007, OSE figues among some 20 Greek companies susceptible to being privatised by the Socialist government, desperate to raise cash to beat back a dramatic debt crisis.
Development and shipping minister Louka Katseli discussed with Wei on Wednesday the possibility of turning the main Greek port of Piraeus, outside Athens into a "global services centre".
Last year, Greece granted COSCO a 35-year concession on the two main container terminals at Piraeus in a deal for a guaranteed premium of 3.4 billion euros (four billion dollars).
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